TODAY NEWS: Wildcats return with the $60.5 million mega Star… Mark Pope future see why…
LEXINGTON — Mark Pope apologized in advance for not knowing the exact numbers, joking that “somebody will verify this” by hopping on Google. But the specifics mattered less than the point he wanted to make.
Best he could recall, Pope and his Kentucky teammates were in the middle of an exhibition game against Athletes in Action three decades ago. The Wildcats had jumped to a big lead — Pope thought it was 28-4 — in the early going. Then they gave up four straight points.
Rick Pitino was furious. He called a timeout. And proceeded to rip into his players.
The last thing (Pitino) says is, ‘You guys are going to pay for this tomorrow!'” Pope recalled.
All these years later, Pope remembered the response of his teammate, Walter McCarty.
“Walt stands up, white as a ghost — his eyes tearing up — and he looks at me and his voice,” said Pope, dropping his tone a few octaves to mimic McCarty’s high-pitched, anxious timbre, “and he’s like, ‘We’ve got to fix this!'”
That all-out, nonstop intensity and commitment to excellence are traits Pope plans to bring to the fore as UK’s new men’s basketball coach, which he highlighted numerous times Sunday during his introductory news conference at Rupp Arena.
“We’re gonna find our own way to fabricate that type of organization, because that’s what Kentucky deserves,” said Pope, who spent the past five seasons at BYU. “And if we don’t do it, then we don’t belong here
Pope called it his coaching “DNA.” As long as he’s leading the Wildcats, Pope said, there’s a phrase he’ll utter every day.
“‘Relentless, 24/7 work,'” he said. “Those are not fake words: ‘Relentless, 24/7 work.’ And I learned that here.”
That sense of appreciativeness bled into a Pope proclamation that surely brought a nod of approval from all UK supporters in attendance — a packed house, at that — as well as those watching on the livestream of the event:
Donning a blue-and-white Kentucky uniform, Pope believes, is one of the most sacred privileges a basketball player can attain. After years upon years of former coach John Calipari touting his pupils’ NBA successes, Pope’s Kentucky-first mindset was music to the fan base’s ears.
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