In the post-game following Kentucky’s second straight loss, this one coming on the road at Vanderbilt with a final score of 74-69, Mark Pope provided an injury update on the absent Andrew Carr.

“There’s just so much he can’t do with his back,” he said. “He wants to play so bad.”

Carr sitting the Vanderbilt game came after weeks of up-and-down performance, playtime and speculation. His injury seemed to come out of nowhere, and has evolved quickly from a quiet concern to something that could hold him out for “weeks.”

“What we’re hoping is that we can get to a space sometime in the next few weeks, next few days, somewhere where we have enough confidence… he hasn’t practiced in a couple weeks,” Pope revealed.

“Every game, it’s kind of like he just gets beat up so bad it’s back to square one where it’s hard for him to walk essentially. We’re hoping that, with more time, we can get him to some sustainable place where he can endure a practice, and endure a game, and not be back to zero…”

“But we’ll see if that actually happens.”

Rocky Roads

The revelation that Carr hasn’t practiced in weeks is certainly a sobering one. That, combined with the apparently restrictive nature of the injury itself, explains his inability to stay on, let alone produce on, the court.

This news couldn’t come at a worse time for the Wildcats, who have only two days to recover from the loss to the Commodores before they find themselves center stage in Thompson-Boling Arena taking on the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Volunteers are also on a two-game losing streak and, in front of their home crowd, will be chomping at the bit to turn things around.

With Kerr Kriisa still out indefinitely, Lamont Butler dealing with a shoulder/off-hand ailment (something Pope has briefly alluded to,) and Andrew Carr joining the former off the court, Kentucky will have to rely on reserves to stay afloat in the SEC. It’s a long road to rocky top, to say the least.

Get well soon, #7. All of Big Blue Nation is behind you.

On the heels of yet another loss featuring a brutal free throw discrepancy, this time to the Alabama Crimson Tide at home, Mark Pope reassured fans that he, the staff and the team are working tirelessly to overcome what has essentially become their achilles’ heel: SEC officiating.

‘We’re spending an insane amount of time right now on fouls,” he said. “We’ve gone back and categorized every foul that has been called on us over the last five games, and we’re seeing some trends where we can really, really aggressively attack and make some strides, and that’s really important for us to do.”

Currently slated at 3-2 in SEC play, the Wildcats have still managed a solid stretch of conference basketball in spite of their strike-related struggles. To Pope, enduring the pain wrought by this trend is worth it if the team grows as a result.

Pain to Progress

“There’s gonna be times where it’s super painful, but as long as that pain is turned into us growing, and preparing, and getting better, it’ll be worth it… It’s given us some real direction, and I think there’s a good chance that we have a chance to make some massive improvements.

As far as those improvements go, they’d have to be mainly concerned with finding ways to level free throw numbers going forward; whether that means Kentucky shooting more or opponents shooting less, something will have to change for the ‘Cats to keep pace in SEC play.

In addition to attempting to “learn” the league and the whistle, as he put it, Pope admitted to sharing many fans’ frustration with the officiating as of late.

“There are times when I internally and sometimes externally lose my mind with some of the officiating, but the truth is, usually when you go back and watch the film, the officiating might not be what you’re used to or how you would correlate things with the book, but there is some consistency with the officiating.”

“…that’s a place where we can really grow.”

And grow they must. While it is encouraging to hear Coach Pope detail the team’s efforts to combat the whistle, only time will tell if a strategy forged in the film room will translate onto the court.

But with each of the next two games being in-conference and on the road, it’s likely we won’t have to wait long to find out.

In the aftermath of his first loss at Rupp Arena as the head coach of Kentucky, wherein Alabama prevailed in a 102-97 shootout, Mark Pope made a strong point in the post-game.

“We will punish teams in the future that guard us like this,” he began, referencing Kentucky’s scorching shooting performance on the day in spite of the loss. The Wildcats shot 47% from the field, as well as 40% from downtown; both metrics were marginally better than that of the Crimson Tide.

“Every game gives you a new challenge…”

What’s New is Old

Yet it was recurring problems that kept Kentucky at arm’s length against Alabama. Not only were they out-rebounded, though barely so, but they shot 14 less free throws than the visitors in red, tallying 16 makes on 20 attempts to Bama’s 29-34.

Exactly why Kentucky always seems to lose close games due to that margin is an uncomfortable question, and one that may pose a “new challenge” all on its own. That’s a ball we’ll have to kick down the road for now, though.

Either way, it comes down to the guys in the jerseys for Coach Pope, and he won’t have them painted incorrectly in any way.

“I got beautiful guys, my guys are fighting for each other… there are zero part of my guys that are in this for themselves at all. That doesn’t exist at all. These guys are fighting for each other,” he said, with an unfamiliar frustration.

‘Til The Battle is Won

And fight they have. If this Kentucky team has done anything well, it’s returning a punch when they take one. After each of their three losses prior to the one at hand, the Wildcats won the next game out. It’s been a crucial, positive pattern in a year full of new experiences and uncharted territory.

With a two-game Tennessee road trip up next, UK will again be forced to respond. Their first opportunity comes at Vanderbilt, who just took down the sixth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in the same building.

As is the case with every SEC game this season, it’ll be a powerful test. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that Kentucky will be eager to “ring the bell.”