As a loyal men’s college basketball fan and proud graduate of Michigan State University, I have also spent more than 40 years of my life dedicated to doing my professional best to be objective in my role as a sports writer.
The outcome of a Michigan State basketball game has never impacted the overall quality of my life. I am happy when the Spartans win, but a loss does not affect my mood, let alone my day. Part of that mentality stems from my objectivity as an experienced sports writer, but a bigger part stems from being secure in the knowledge that I could do nothing to impact the final outcome.
Because I use official statistics and facts when I write game stories, I am never in position to point fingers at the shortcomings of individual players or coaches, let alone officials. Whether the team I am covering wins or loses, it remains important to accurately and honestly describe the events that ultimately produced the outcome of the game. Period.
The bottom line related to the Spartans’ win Tuesday night over Kentucky in the State Farm Champions Classic game at Madison Square Garden, is that MSU was simply the better team during those 40 minutes, on that given night. The Spartans shot the ball better, defended and rebounded better and were able to produce a victory over the bluest of blue-blood men’s college basketball programs.
But just five games into the still-new season, and despite the frustration being expressed throughout social media platforms by Big Blue Nation, the loss by the Wildcats does not define a team that is still a work in progress and could very well still emerge as a team that could contend for an NCAA championship by the time March rolls around.
Kentucky has relied heavily on the transfer portal during the first two years of Mark Pope’s tenure as head coach. He pieced together a team last year that overcame a rash of injuries to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, and expectations were at a fever pitch heading into the current season based on the combination of returning players and transfers.
Affected again by injuries to key players during the first part of this season, Kentucky has stumbled out of the starting blocks with a 3-2 record that includes a bitter-tasting loss at arch-rival Louisville.
The outcome of early season games should never be viewed as a way to predict how a team will finish a full, 30-game season. The basketball court should be viewed as an extension of the classroom, where improvement is always possible through learning and practice. Pope knows that and is vowing to use the disappointing loss Tuesday night as a building block to still meeting the lofty expectations of a demanding fan base.
“Coach Pope is an exceptional person, and a brilliant basketball mind. I’m just so fortunate to be able to learn from him and the coaches he has on the staff. I mean, they’re just so talented, so smart, and for me to be able to be in the same building and just hear them talk, I get to pick up and learn so much.”
Those were the words of then-freshman Trent Noah from an interview just weeks into his first year in Lexington, and they should resonate with Kentucky fans.
Pope said he has a long list of items on which the Wildcats need to work in order to be the team he still believes it can be. He knows the Wildcats need to develop more physicality, communicate better on both ends of the court, and work together to create more success on offense.
He is also doing his level best to remind the players that the name on the front of their jersey is a heck of a lot more important than the one on the back.
The Wildcats lost to a team Tuesday night that returned four starters and is under the coaching tutelage of 31-year veteran Hall of Famer, Tom Izzo. With a string of 27 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, Izzo has made a career out of scheduling/playing highly-ranked teams during the non-conference season to prepare the Spartans for the rigors of play in the rugged Big Ten Conference and with an eye on playing their best basketball come March.
Pope has one of the most high-pressured jobs in all of college sports. He is also a UK graduate who played on the 1996 national championship squad and is committed to returning his beloved alma mater to glory and title No. 9.
With some healing, some hard work and some further chemistry development among the players, Kentucky could still pull off that goal this season. Don’t count ‘em out.
