KSR Today: Mark Pope previews South Carolina + NBA trade deadline

Good morning, folks! Mark Pope went on his radio show last night to help provide the Big Blue Nation with a bit of a basketball therapy session. Like everyone in the fanbase, Pope was not pleased with Kentucky’s effort on Tuesday in Oxford. The Wildcats gave up 54 first-half points against Ole Miss and could never recover.

But Pope did take us behind the scenes during his hour-long conversation with Tom Leach. If you’re someone wanting to see more “anger” from Pope, then this will be music to your ears.

“There may or may not have been some completely destroyed furniture in the locker room recently — a little Coach P, maybe. That’s just part of it,” Pope said. “It’s got to be for a purpose. It just can’t be an emotional release, that’s not the most productive thing. We try and make sure it’s always something that’s really, really personal and not just indulgent, like an indulgent emotional outburst. It’s not functional.”

Another fan called into the show to tell Pope he saw some blood on Pope’s hands coming out of the halftime locker room. Just because we don’t see Pope get angry during games doesn’t mean he doesn’t come alive behind closed doors. Everything is calculated.

We’ll have another chance to hear from the headman this afternoon when Pope sits down with the media for his weekly press conference. The ‘Cats have a must-win on Saturday at home against a South Carolina team that has yet to win an SEC game (0-9). Now let’s dive into the rest of this morning’s news and notes.

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NBA trade deadline day

Three former Wildcats have already been traded to new teams ahead of this afternoon’s deadline. It started with Nick Richards going from Charlotte to Phoenix last month before the Anthony Davis-Luka Doncic trade shook up the entire NBA over the weekend. De’Aaron Fox also found a new home in San Antonio. He went for 24 points and 13 assists in his Spurs debut last night.

De’Aaron Fox in his Spurs debut:

24 PTS, 5 REB, 13 AST, 3 STL, W pic.twitter.com/uUDxHIn2aW

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) February 6, 2025

More Kentucky alums could be on the move today. The NBA trade deadline is set for 3:00 p.m. EST. Just last night, Jimmy Butler was traded to the Warriors while Brandon Ingram was sent to the Raptors. It’s only going to get crazier over the next few hours.

Bat Cats in the Preseason SEC Poll

Baseball season is right around the corner. After making the program’s first-ever trip to the College World Series, those outside of Lexington are expecting a “rebuild” for Nick Mingione’s team. UK is projected to finish 10th out of 16 teams in the SEC Preseason Poll released on Wednesday. Seniors Devin Burke (First-Team) and Robert Hogan (Second-Team) were named Preseason All-SEC players for the ‘Cats.

The SEC is deep once again this season. Five different teams received first-place votes to win the league championship. Texas A&M led the way with 10 first-place votes. The Bat Cats begin the 2025 season next weekend with a road series against Lipscomb. If you missed Mingione’s interview at Media Day on Tuesday, you can listen below.

Watch List SZN is here

It was Georgia Amoore winning all the awards and receiving all the honors to start the week. The men’s team is getting in on the action now, as well. Jaxson Robinson is one of 10 players named to the 2025 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Watch List. Meanwhile, Lamont Butler is one of 15 players named to the Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year Watch List.

Especially since SEC play began, Robinson has been shooting the ball at an elite level. The fifth-year graduate transfer is averaging 16.1 points and 3.0 rebounds in 30.7 minutes per SEC game, shooting 48 percent overall and an elite 47.9 percent from deep on nearly eight attempts per contest. As for Butler, he’s been out as of late due to an injury — and his absence is being felt throughout the roster. He’s having his best season yet, with per-game averages of 13.2 points, 4.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.8 steals.

Yesterday afternoon, Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ dropped some news on Butler’s status over on KSBoard. Pope said last night Butler is “making progress” with his rehab.

2025 Bourbon and Beyond lineup

The four-day music festival (Sept. 11-14) held in the fall at the Fair and Expo Center in Louisville unveiled its 2025 lineup on Wednesday. There’s music in this lineup for everyone. I’ve heard of a lot of the bigger names on the poster below, too (although the Squirrel Nut Zippers are new to me). Weekend passes start at $399 for general admission and single-day tickets are also available.

Do you like the lineup or no?

Check out the latest KSR podcasts

Need something to listen to while you make it through Friday Jr.? We’ve got you covered with fresh episodes of Sources Say and Memorial Memo.

Jack Pilgrim and Shawn Smith broke down Kentucky’s embarrassing loss to Ole Miss earlier this week and how the Wildcats can respond at home this weekend against South Carolina. Meanwhile, Phoenix Stevens and Katie Hutchison break down Kentucky WBB’s current resume and also look ahead to Monday’s game against Ole Miss.

Sources Say

Memorial Memo

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