By Jamie H. Vaught
At the recent SEC Basketball Tipoff Media Days in Birmingham, all of the league’s 16 head coaches participated in the media interviews.
One of the popular topics that came up at the Media Days event was new coach Mark Pope and his Kentucky Wildcats.
Texas coach Rodney Terry, who is beginning his third year in Austin, praised Pope. Like Kentucky, the Longhorns are a Top 25 team, placing No. 19 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll.
“I think Mark is a tremendous coach, tremendous person,” said Terry. “He was a good player, as well. I think I'm living my dream job. It's my dream job here. Every day I'm blessed and honored to be the head coach at the University of Texas. I think he feels the same way with Kentucky. He's a former player, won a national championship there. There's a lot of pride in walking into the office every day when you feel like you're living a dream every day. I can't speak for him, but I think that it would be a dream for him to be the head coach at the University of Kentucky.
“I think that his teams play with a great spirit about themselves. They're very unselfish. They share the basketball. Very good offensively. So you have to prepare in terms of really trying to have a really good defensive mindset because they're a team that can really score the basketball in my short time competing against his team (at Brigham Young) in the Big 12. But very well-coached. Really good guy, great person.”
They met once last season with Brigham Young winning 84-72 at home.
Said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, whose Tigers are ranked No. 11 in the AP preseason poll, “How much better is the league with John Calipari at Arkansas and now Coach Pope at Kentucky? I can tell you from watching his BYU teams, he's got a brilliant offensive mind. That doesn't mean he's not a good defensive coach, but he is next-step European, the latest and the greatest offensive schemes that are out there right now.
“Obviously, he was a great player, loved Kentucky, and from what I have experienced so far and what I've known about him, he's a really quality person, like the foundation of who he is and who he wants to be and how he wants to lead. I think Kentucky got themselves a great coach, a great person, and somebody that understands the history and the responsibility of leading that program.”
Third-year LSU coach Matt McMahon, who once guided Murray State to three NCAA Tournament trips, including two appearances in the second round, has seen Pope coach at Brigham Young.
“(I’m) familiar with the way they played at BYU, the pace of play, the spacing, the importance of the three-point shot,” said the LSU boss. “I thought they (Kentucky) did a great job going out in the spring and through the transfer portal adding experienced players that have proven themselves at the highest level, and I expect them to be really good.”
McMahon also has former Kentucky player, Daimion Collins, on the roster. A former five-star prospect from Texas, Collins played two years at UK before transferring to LSU. The 6-foot-9 forward missed significant action last season after suffering a shoulder injury.
“You know the story about the tragic passing of his father during his time at Kentucky. Can't imagine what that was like for him,” said McMahon of Collins. “I think now a year under his belt at LSU, he seems very comfortable. He seems like he's really settled in and is ready to move forward with his basketball career. I think he's really matured.
“Again, (he’s) just a once-in-a-lifetime athlete, and his skill set is good. He can hit a catch and shoot three. He's got great hands around the basket. He's a great rim threat as a roller in our ball screen offense, and then his shot-blocking presence is going to be important for us in this league. You have to have rim protection. I'm really excited for him. I think he's handled adversity incredibly well and put himself in a position to have a breakout season for us.”
Third-year Mississippi State coach Chris Jans has coached against Pope several times during their younger days.
“Just happy for Mark,” said Jans. “I know him personally. We were in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) together for a couple of years when he was at Utah Valley and I was at New Mexico State. I had a ton of respect for him then and certainly still do now. He's an excellent coach and even a better person.
“I was always impressed with how hard he worked at his craft. I would see him on the road recruiting, and he was pretty relentless when it came to that. And I know he's gone home, if you will, and back to where his playing days were. He's an excellent coach. I look forward to competing against him as the year unfolds again.”
Pope’s predecessor at Kentucky, John Calipari, had nothing but good things to say about the new Wildcat boss.
“I think they hired a perfect guy for that job, and part of it is he played there, graduated there, has a heart for the place and has an idea what that is,” said Calipari, who is beginning his first season at Arkansas. “When I walked in (2009), I had Coach (Joe B.) Hall. I had Coach (Tubby) Smith, too. But (for) Coach Hall, it’s a different place if you're just walking in. He's been there and understands it. He and I have talked. I'll be rooting for him. I want Kentucky -- come on, man, (for) 15 years. I gave my heart and soul -- to do well, except that date (when Arkansas visits UK on Feb. 1). “He's a good man, terrific basketball coach. They hired the right guy. They really did.”
By the way, Calipari pointed out his father’s birthday is on February 1.
On Pope, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes commented, “Well, I think you've got someone that knows what he's into at Kentucky, what it's about, being there, being a former player. I've been around Mark on the road, and I can just tell you, wonderful person. You look at his teams. He won where he had been…. But I think he's very comfortable in who he is, and I think he's also lived in that system. In terms of the (Big) Blue Nation, he's been a part of it, he understands it, and he I'm sure will do a fine job there.”
Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams, who is beginning his sixth season at the Aggie helm, wonders if Pope is too smart for basketball. As you may recall, Pope is a former Columbia University medical student in New York City who also was Rhodes Scholar candidate at UK.
“I read a lot. I don't know Coach Pope, but I know he's been very successful everywhere he's been,” said Williams. “I've read and listened to everything since he got the job, and it seems like the Big Blue Nation is really excited that he's back, and it looks like he's done a really good job assembling this year's team, and they're doing a great job in recruiting.
“Seems like he's incredibly intelligent, maybe too smart to be a coach, but has a lot of energy. I thought what they did this past weekend (Oct. 11-12) with Coach (Rick) Pitino only kind of gives context to all of that, all of the former players on the bus for the press conference (in April). That’s hard to find in 2024 at any level where there's that type of crowd, 19,000 people at a press conference and you're driving a bus, I'm assuming, into the arena. That's really cool. Good for Coach, and I wish him the best.”
New UK women’s coach Kenny Brooks was asked about the excitement surrounding the entire brand of Kentucky basketball.
“First and foremost, when I got to Kentucky, Calipari was there. Cal stayed for a week. I told everybody that the talent wasn't big enough for the both of us, so I ran him out,” smiled Brooks. “Coach Pope comes in. An infusion of energy in itself. That's what he is.
“We've been kind of feeding off each other with that. Around town I think it's really caused a lot of excitement around the university. Just Kentucky in general. Not that it needed any more, because Kentucky, they're fanatics.
“It's been a blessing to be able to be a part of it, the excitement, what it is. A little pressure because you want to make sure you do your part. But you want those type of situations.”
Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of six books about UK basketball, including recently-published “Forever Crazy About The Cats: An Improbable Journey of a Kentucky Sportswriter Overcoming Adversity.” Now a retired college professor who taught at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro., he is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle@gmail.com .
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