Kentucky paid for a Final Four. Not this. Mark Pope’s bluegrass honeymoon is over
No one spent bigger on its roster than Kentucky, who fades into the offseason among college basketball’s biggest disappointments.
ST. LOUIS – On the same afternoon Iowa State overcame the loss of an All-American to stamp its ticket to the Sweet 16 with a 19-point win , Mark Pope lamented the injuries that in his view kept his Kentucky team from realizing its promise this winter. “I think we were disappointed we never got to run with the roster that we thought we had,” Pope, Kentucky’s second-year coach, said Sunday, following the Wildcats’ 82-63 season-ending second round NCAA Tournament loss.
“These guys did an amazing job adjusting. ” Given the juxtaposition, that argument — however fair — will probably fall on deaf ears close to home. Because what might be the most expensively assembled roster in college basketball is going to spend the business end of its postseason watching.
And Pope’s bluegrass honeymoon is probably over. Opinion: On Miami (Ohio) schedule, Matt Painter is right — and the right person to say it Punishing the Wildcats purely because of their price tag is unfair. There’s nothing wrong with an expensive roster.
It isn’t cheating, and it isn’t unimaginative. In the modern landscape, it’s a choice. A way to win.
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