Both Kentucky and Arkansas suffered tough losses in SEC play on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats got thumped by No. 1-ranked Auburn at Rupp Arena, missing out on the chance for a marquee win and putting their shot at a bye into the second round of the SEC Tournament in serious jeopardy. The Razorbacks, meanwhile, put their shot at a spot in the NCAA Tournament in jeopardy, getting outright embarrassed against a South Carolina program that entered the weekend at just 1-14 in conference.
While the contexts were different, the performances were similarly dispiriting, giving head coaches Mark Pope and John Calipari plenty to work on as they attempt to right the ship as the calendar turns to March. But one of those coaches responded much, much differently than the other, in a way that should have Kentucky fans feeling pretty good about who's leading their program right now.
Mark Pope shows John Calipari how to respond to a disappointing loss
Pope was frank after Saturday's loss, shooting straight about the gap between the Wildcats and Tigers and just how many things went wrong. Crucially, though, all of those things came back to one person: Pope himself, as the first-year coach repeatedly took responsibility for his team's performance.
“At the end of the day, that’s just what you deal with as a basketball player," Pope said of his team's uncharacteristic ability to get its offense into gear. "I failed to lead our team today to have the energy that is required for us to come out and be great. It’s not a lack of desire. It was a whole cocktail of some energy miscues, some being sped-up miscues, some terrific shot-making from Auburn, all put together resulting in a really, really terrible day for us.”
Bad days will certainly happen, especially while rebuilding a roster on the fly, and the fact is that Kentucky had some clear flaws even before injuries ravaged their lineup. But this still bodes well about the trajectory of the program over the long haul: Pope has his players' backs, and he knows how to identify what's gone wrong and how to fix it in a way that won't lose his locker room.
Calipari, meanwhile ... well, let's just say things haven't changed since swapping blue for red. Here's how Coach Cal responded to his team's loss:
“We needed to have more,” Calipari said.“You do not plan on what happened. We needed more guys. When we had the guys, we played better as we got shorter, less guys. It’s not only being injured, but you can’t have three or four of your seven play poorly and expect to win. I can’t make any trades. I can’t pick up anybody on the wire. This is who it is. How do we make this work?"
It's certainly true that Arkansas has been hit by injuries, both to guard Boogie Fland and big Adou Thiero. But, well, so has Kentucky, arguably even more so. And while Pope is keeping things positive and moving forward, Cal is sounding the alarm, sending the signal to his players that he doesn't think they're good enough. How is this supposed to be inspiring, exactly, with his team on the ropes and needing to close strong to get back on the right side of the bubble? If you want to overcome adveristy, you need to instill belief, something that will get the players you do have left to give even more of themselves. Pope seems to have done just that, while Cal is mostly concerned with letting himself off scot-free.