BREAKING NEWS: In an overtime thriller, the Kentucky Wildcats, led by their reluctant point guard, upset Gonzaga after….

Led by their reluctant point guard, the Kentucky Wildcats shocked Gonzaga in OT thriller

Mark Pope couldn’t wait to tell the story. Just minutes after his Kentucky Wildcats unleashed a furious comeback to recover from an 18-point deficit and defeat the No. 7-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs 90-89 in overtime, the UK head coach sat at a table in Climate Pledge Arena. Two stars of the improbable victory — Jaxson Robinson and Andrew Carr — sat on either side of him. Pope knew a question would be coming about Robinson’s performance. And when it did, he beamed. “I love this story so much,” Pope said, looking over at Robinson. “Can I tell it?”

“I guess,” his veteran guard mumbled, a smile on his face and a here-we-go-again tone in his voice.

Pope set up his story by reminding those assembled that — these days in college basketball — guys like him don’t get to coach players very long that often. In this particular case, Robinson is the only Wildcat that Pope had coached before this season. The pair spent two years at BYU together, and both have talked in the past about how far Robinson has come in that time, putting his trust in Pope and watching his game grow as a result.

“I’m insanely blessed to get to coach Jax for a third year,” Pope said. “And watching players grow is like the best thing ever. It’s just the best thing ever. It’s the best thing about basketball.” And then it was time for the story that he couldn’t wait to tell. Pope reflected back to BYU’s game at Oklahoma in February — an 82-66 loss, the Cougars’ most lopsided defeat of the season — and explained that Robinson (a 6-foot-6 guard more accustomed to hunting shots) was having to play a lot of point guard for the team that night.

By his account, it wasn’t going well. After one particularly bad play, Robinson was running back down the court in transition defense, and — without breaking stride — he turned his attention briefly toward his coach on the sideline. “And he turned and yelled — in transition defense — ‘I am never playing point guard again!’” Pope recalled with sheer glee. “And my guy — a year later — is a five-assist, zero-turnover (player). Played the point for the last eight minutes of the game — under massive duress — and the full overtime. And I’m telling you, he’s special, man.”

Pope went on to praise Robinson’s recent defensive efforts. “Breathtaking,” he said. The coach lauded his player’s toughness in recent games. “Incredible,” Pope called it. And then he got in one more playful dig at the player on this team that he knows best. “Actually, the first thing he did was go straight to the training room to try and get Lamont (Butler) and Kerr (Kriisa) healthy. We’ll see how that works out. But until that happens, we’re really blessed to have Jaxson Robinson.”