Kentucky’s Mark Pope could feel Trent Noah’s big game vs. Arkansas coming

Kentucky is coming off an upset victory over Arkansas and former Wildcat head coach John Calipari. Kentucky got a solid game from Trent Noah, off the bench. Mark Pope said after the game that he could feel the big game for Noah was coming.

“There’s sometimes when you walk in for shootaround, and you see a guy, and you can just see that the rim looks like it’s seven feet wide, and Trent just had that vibe,” Pope told the media after the game, according to Tyler Thompson of On3.

“I told him this morning, ‘Trent, I don’t know why, I just feel it in my bones that you’re gonna have a game tonight,’ and he delivered. His ball screens were great. He came in and got a couple of early defensive rebounds, clean rebounds that were really important. Controlled the ball, was good defensively, made shots, made free throws. He was really good,” Pope continued, celebrating his player.

Noah played just 19 minutes in the game, but added nine points and seven rebounds. He hit a big three-pointer in the game, plus got to the line for eight free throws, hitting six of them. It was a season high in rebounds, while being the third most points he has scored this year.

“I have coaches that are always lifting me up, and my teammates are always lifting me up, and I get to compete with them in practice,” Noah said. “But that’s kind of the beauty of basketball. There are so many highs and lows, and you get to take those skills and apply them to your life because that’s how life goes. Life isn’t always how you want it to be, so you’ve just got to take the hand you’re dealt and make the best of it.”

Noah has not been a star player for Kentucky, but a much-needed role player. Those become more important as the team finishes its SEC schedule and prepares for March Madness. Kentucky is now 15-7 with a 6-3 record in SEC play. Currently, they are on pace for a seven-seed in the NCAA tournament, but could still jump up a few lines.

Mark Pope and the Wildcats return to the court on Wednesday for a home game against Oklahoma.

The post Kentucky’s Mark Pope could feel Trent Noah’s big game vs. Arkansas coming appeared first on ClutchPoints.