Mark Pope, the first-year basketball coach at Kentucky, is carrying on the illustrious legacy of John Calipari, who guided the Wildcats to multiple NCAA Tournament deep runs and a national championship. Pope, however, is making sure to honor those who came before him while also adding his own unique touch to the Bluegrass program.
Pope has spent the last five seasons at BYU. He played for the Wildcats for three seasons in the 1990s.
Yes, pay attention, I mean. Pope said, “I’ll always be appreciative of Coach Cal,” in an interview with Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. “I will be appreciative of his actions at the University of Kentucky, where I attended college. My heart should be overflowing with gratitude for him. In addition, he is among the best college basketball coaches in history.”
Calipari ultimately chose to play for Arkansas, where he will take on the Wildcats the following year.
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Under Coach Calipari, the Razorbacks currently have the third-best recruiting class in the country. This cycle, Calipari has added four players from the transfer portal, including Kentucky’s Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic.
Pope stated, “It’s fantastic for basketball that he’s in this league.” “Big Blue Nation and fans of Arkansas will both benefit greatly from it. There is going to be conflict. Certain things will become extremely personal. However, what has he done particularly for Kentucky Basketball and for college basketball in general? I was unable to appreciate it any longer.”
Pope guided BYU to two NCAA Tournament appearances and an overall record of 110-52 (.679) in five seasons.
“A stylistic basketball standpoint is one of the things that I think is fascinating,” Adam Finkelstein, director of scouting at 247Sports, stated last month regarding Pope’s hiring. “Mark Pope is an advanced offensive coordinator. His teams
“They’re going to play at a fast pace, so that won’t be taken as a criticism of Mark Pope. They will employ a complex playbook. They will attempt a lot of threes. Considered, therefore, to have an extremely sophisticated offensive mind. Though it doesn’t have the same level of gravitas or personal brand as someone like John Calipari, I think Kentucky fans will be excited to see that. Additionally, he lacks the gravitas of some of the other applicants who were being considered when the position initially became available.”
