Mark Pope says he's 'pissy, but good' as Kentucky digs out of early season hole

Even after a 42-point win, Mark Pope could not avoid questions about Kentucky’s loss to Michigan State on Tuesday night. With the second question of tonight’s press conference following the 88-46 win over Loyola Maryland, Darrell Bird asked Pope if he was okay following the loss to the Spartans, Kentucky’s second straight to a ranked opponent in a week. It was the first of several questions from Bird and John Huang about Pope’s behavior on Tuesday night.

“You’re asking if I’m sick?” Pope said. “No. We need to play better. We’ve got to get better, and we will stop at nothing to get better. And there was nothing to stop us from getting better. And we won’t sleep, we won’t eat, we won’t do anything till we get better. We’re going to get better. And that’s going to take every ounce of our soul to do it.”

Pope admitted that he didn’t sleep much after the 17-point loss to the Spartans, which, combined with the loss at Louisville, prompted some national media members to dub Kentucky the most disappointing team in college basketball. Clips of his postgame interviews went viral. Pope admitted he actually held back some of his emotions after the game.

“Well, I stunk after Michigan State. I was terrible. Listen, guys, I’m a terrible, terrible loser. I’m the worst. Maybe that disqualifies me from this position. I hate it with a passion that is unknown on the planet Earth. I hate it, and especially here. This jersey matters. This thing matters, and sometimes when you’re holding back all your emotion, I think that was probably more of a manifestation of me after the Michigan State game was there. I was so proud of myself for not saying the things that I wanted to say, actually.”

Pope would not disclose what he really wanted to say after the loss in New York — “I would be in jail” — but he did say that he’s better now. The sun came up on Wednesday morning.

“We’ve got a long slog ahead of us, and I’m hyped. I’m telling you, this is my heaven space, right? It’s ugly and it’s tough and it’s great, and that’s what I’m born to do, and that’s what this group is born to do. And so we’re gonna hit some hard space, but bring it, and let’s go.

“I’m actually so happy in the misery of it. I just love every second of it, and I love the fact that we’re a little bit in the hole and we get to pick ourselves out. I think that’s inspiring to me. I’m so good, guys. I’m really good. I’m pissy, but I’m good.”

That line sums up all of BBN this week.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

Lee Anne Pope’s impact

Of course, Pope’s wife Lee Anne has helped. When asked, Pope said that Lee Anne has been a crutch to him this week, coming into practice on Thursday’s practice at Rupp Arena to help lighten the mood.

“We talk a lot of hoops at the house, talk about the guys, talk about them as individuals. Lee was at practice yesterday, and I tell you, it’s such a gift. I can’t tell you how much it matters, especially when I’m in a space like this where I’m just gonna have to be hard driving. We have to, and the guys have to embrace it, and so it was really great for me.”

Pope said that he and Lee Anne sat near the tunnel where Kentucky comes out for games at Rupp, and each player made a point to come and say hello to Lee Anne, who returned the affection with some one-on-one attention.

“I sat down at practice, and I was pretty salty and every single one of the guys came by and stopped and gave Lee a hug, and then had a full on individual, one after another was like a train going through over the course of a half an hour conversation about their family and their life and their new haircut and their girlfriend and the whole thing.

“And I can’t probably be that person right now. I’m never great at being that person, but Lee Anne is that person, and it matters. Having that matters. She’s an incredible ally, especially for a journey like we’re in right now.”