By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
The Southeastern Conference took note of Lamont Butler’s career performance against Louisville.
The Kentucky guard was named the league’s co-Player of the Week, sharing the honor with Auburn’s Johni Broome.
After missing the two previous games because of an injury, Butler scored a career-high 33 points, made all 10 of his shots from the field, and dished out six assists against the Cardinals. Butler’s performance against Louisville tied for the third-best in program history. He also made a career-high six 3-pointers in the win.
“It’s definitely up there — one of my top-20 games for sure,” Butler said. “It was a great rivalry game and atmosphere here at Kentucky. It was definitely special.”
“Unbelievable credit to him,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said Saturday. “ I’m so proud of him and major credit (to him).”
Pope praised Kentucky’s conditioning staff for helping Butler recover quickly.
“I’m telling you, this Brandon Wells is probably the best in the entire business,” Pope said. “He’s incredible. And for Randy to have limited access but to be creative enough to keep Lamont in playing condition without him being able to set foot on his ankle for a week is really remarkable.
“We are blessed at Kentucky to have two of the best guys in the whole business doing it. It’s a real credit to Lamont — his heart, it’s a real credit to Brandon and Randy. What an unbelievable team they were. So, hats off to those guys.”
TOP COACH
Louisville coach Pat Kelsey offered praise for Pope following his team’s loss to the Wildcats Saturday. Kelsey credited Pope for the job he has done through the first 11 games this season.
“I think if the season ended today, to me, Mark Pope would probably be National Coach of the Year,” Kelsey said. “What he took over, what he had to build, the way the team has come together, the way they’re playing … you know, it’s good.”
Pope, three wins away from reach No. 200 in his coaching career, has the Wildcats off to their best start since the 2016-17 season.
“In my opinion, this is the best (team they have had) in the last 10 years,” Kelsey said. “(The others) were decorated with great, great players, lottery picks and all that. … They’e got an old veteran roster, so a ton of respect for their personnel, for Mark as a coach, and we’re doing everything we can to figure out, both on the offensive and defensive end, what our best plan of attack is. They make it difficult because of their talent and their scheme.”
POLL POSITION
Kentucky (10-1) moved up one spot from No. 5 to fourth in the Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday.
Overall, the SEC has three teams ranked in the Top 5 and five in the Top 10. Tennessee (10-0) retained the top ranking, followed by Auburn (9-1) at No. 2 and Iowa State (9-1) is third. The Wildcats are fourth, while Duke (8-2) is No. 5.
Alabama (8-2) is sixth, undefeated Florida (10-0) is No. 7, Texas A&M (9-2) is 12th and Ole Miss (9-1) is ranked 17th in the poll.
NEXT GAME: Kentucky vs. Ohio State, CBS Sports Classic, 5:30 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: CBS, UK Radio Network.