Kentucky basketball coaches’ takeaways after the Wildcats’ win over Oklahoma

After his Kentucky Wildcats ran Oklahoma out of Rupp Arena, Mark Pope, too, had to sprint.

The UK coach left in a hurry after the Cats beat the Sooners 94-78 on Wednesday, bound for the airport to pick up daughter Avery, returning home after her Mormon mission. Pope made a brief statement before assistant coach Jason Hart took questions from reporters.

The full postgame transcript:

Mark Pope: Guys, I will make a statement and J-Hart’s is going to take all the questions. He can give you way better answers than me. My daughter lands in 23 minutes. I’m super proud of our guys. Really proud of the effort. Really proud of BG stepping up and being great. Otega continues to play at an elite level. We got contributions from everybody. And it’s 22 minutes before Avery lands, so I’m out, guys.

Jason Hart: Hey, all right. Shoot.

Q: Jason, nine 3s, 9 for 16 in the first half there. Just what did you see as far as just getting those open shots and getting into a rhythm there?

Hart: We have a slogan called make a play for a teammate. And I thought our guys have been doing a tremendous job the past couple of weeks. And we are making shots now. Early on in the season we wasn’t. But we practice every day. Guys are coming in faithfully shooting and fortunately tonight they was going in.

Q: Coach, now that it’s over, was there any kind of anxiety or nervousness about the so-called trap game being Arkansas was Saturday and Tennessee is coming in?

Hart: You know what, as a former player, that rings in your mind with these young men. But I thought tonight they came out and executed. This team was playing well, Oklahoma. Although their record doesn’t indicate it. But our guys stepped up and met the challenge and was able to fight through those issues.

Q: Jason, coach Pope mentioned it briefly there. But what Brandon was able to do tonight and honestly the whole scope of the season, I know it’s been an up-and-down year for him. Where have you seen Brandon persevere the most and how did that come to fruition tonight in his performance?

Hart: Well, he’s a young professional in terms of coming to work every day and doing his job. When you do that, the basketball gods will bless you, and tonight he was in the right spots and played with a lot of energy. That’s what happens when you just continue to work. Every game won’t be like that for him, but as long as his effort is there, we’re happy with that.

Q: Coach Hart, you have been a former player and you just talked about it. It seems like Brandon and Otega really have special games every time you guys play Oklahoma. And what is that like when I know there is a storyline there, the coaches don’t get into it too much. But as a former player, how much extra motivation is there when there are those storylines going on behind that?

Hart: You know what, that’s kind of — Brandon does play well and obviously Otega plays well against his former school. I just think it’s the juice of the game. Otega playing against his former coaches, so he wants to impress them. And then Brandon, he just steps up and brings energy. He’s from Oklahoma, so he gets bragging rights when he goes home in the summertime to see those guys. Just happy that they played well tonight. We needed it.

Q: You mentioned Otega playing great tonight. But yet again, he gets to double digits. He’s done that every game this year. He had three games in his UK career he has not reached double figures. How hard is it to not just take for granted how consistently good Otega is?

Hart: You know, as coaches you always want to nitpick, but he’s a bad dude. Otega Oweh is a really good basketball player. He’s consistent, he’s our leader. You know, sometimes I kinda be in awe watching him. He’s been playing at a high level and that’s why he was preseason SEC player of the year.

Q: Coach, obviously a lot’s going to be made tonight about how well they shot the ball. But you all also jumped on them pretty hard on the boards, obviously, Brandon had 11, but it felt like pretty much everyone got in on the rebounding. What can you say about how they fought and responded on defense as well as with their scoring?

Hart: In the first half I thought we did a good job taking away the 3-point shots. We know number one likes to shoot threes. In the second half, unfortunately he made some, but we just got to continue to get better at that. That’s part of the game. They fought. They wasn’t going to quit. They made some 3s, and we were able to keep fighting to hold them off.

Q: Jason, what have you seen from Collin’s progression just since he got here, even going back to the beginning of last season? And especially the confidence he seems to be playing with the last 2 to 3 weeks.

Hart: In college, it doesn’t happen often because guys often transfer. He’s a prime example of believing in coach Pope’s system. This is his second year, he’s real comfortable, He’s grown, he’s matured. You know, he was on his Mormon mission for two years and he’s got his legs back under him. He’s just playing at a level where we knew he was and I’m just happy to the world to get to see Collin Chandler playing at a high level. We need him.

Q: Jason, every time there’s a scuffle or a dusting like that, where’s Brandon? Because I know he’s going to be in the middle of it. What do you guys say to him about, there’s a fine line there between being physical, being tough, and crossing over?

Hart: Nothing. Keep doing that, we need that. A lot of times, me working here at Kentucky, it’s always the other team’s biggest game. So, we need him to go back to who he is – getting physical with players, and we feed off of that. Especially as coaches. We’re encouraging him to do anything dirty, but we need physical play and we need him to do that and I applaud it.

Q: Jason, with Andrija, there were moments this year where he wasn’t getting playing time and it could have been easy for him to sulk on the bench or even check out of things. But it seems like ever since, especially since he’s moved into the starting lineup, he’s really made an impact. He had an effective night shooting the three and on the boards tonight. What can you say about the way he’s stuck with things and the progression that he’s made of the course of the season, especially since becoming a starter?

Hart: Yeah. Super proud of him. He got a little down on himself early in the season, being from another country, trying to come in and learn a language, llearn our culture, system. When he did sit, he had to sit and learn. Sometimes sitting on the bench does that to you, light a fire up in you, I don’t think he wants to go back to the bench. So he’s coming out with a sense of urgency and he kind of know what coach Pope wants and he know what he can do. We need him to continue to play strong, shoot with no fear, and give jaw. And that’s what he’s been doing.

Q: Coach, in the game versus Mississippi State, Pope said he was happiest with that assist to turnover margin. It was 21 to six. How important is that aspect for you all in the teamwork front?

Hart: I’m a point guard, so I keep those turnovers. If we take care of the ball, it gives us a chance to win, and I think we can be one of the top teams in the SEC. Tonight, it just shows that we can pass too, sharing. And I think when you share the basketball that makes it more enjoyable to watch. So, those six turnovers are huge for us. Anytime they do turn the ball over and they do something we ask them, we don’t really count that as a turnover.