Pope era begins with a bang

It was a scene longtime Kentucky basketball observers had never seen before.

On a sunny April afternoon, nearly 20,000 eager UK fans streamed into Rupp Arena; not for a big game, mind you, but instead, to welcome a former player back home.

The enthusiastic throng was amped up and thrilled to see a former Wildcat return to Lexington to lead the storied program.

Similarly to the scene in 1996, when Mark Pope led the newly crowned national champions off the bus proudly holding the trophy, the newly named head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky repeated the honor. The only difference was that 28 years ago, the team captain was the first player off the bus, and this time Pope was the last person to disembark, but with the same wide smile.

The former team captain appeared genuinely surprised by the raucous ovation that greeted him, more than once calling it unbelievable. Loyal UK fans arrived hours before the doors were opened, and the crowd on the sidewalks surrounding Rupp continued to grow throughout the day. The arena staffers were not expecting more than a thousand or so fans to attend what was termed a public press conference on short notice, but they were eventually forced to open more sections to accommodate the adoring crowd.

The press conference turned out to be a full-on pep rally, a Big Blue Madness type crowd that was more than ready to cheer wildly when Pope, other former players, and especially, the members of the 1996 team as they made their way off the bus.

In my most recent column, I was critical of some UK fans who were hyper-critical of UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart with their kneejerk reactions to the hire. They had dreams of a bigger name coming in to lead the program, but Barnhart deserves credit for sticking to his plan. His first choice to fill the position, Scott Drew, decided to

stay at Baylor, but his second choice was overjoyed to return to a place he truly loves.

Pope said he was answering the question from Barnhart about taking the job before the AD even asked if he was interested, adding that he would’ve walked from Utah to Lexington to accept the position. It became difficult to ascertain who was more excited during the ceremony.

Was it the new head coach, or was it the fans? The 51-year-old said all the right things and more, and the crowd went berserk. The energy that Pope brings to the program cannot be overstated. He flat out gets it and he realizes what Kentucky basketball means to folks in the Bluegrass and beyond.

As the ceremony continued, it truly became a celebration of the tradition that makes UK basketball unlike anything else in college sports. The realization for fans of how Pope feels about the program has already won most of them over, and that is a trend that will likely continue.

On the other hand, there will always be critics and naysayers, and UK haters were out in full force online ridiculing Kentucky fans for filling a large arena for the event. It’s just another example of the negativity prevalent in today’s society, and my thought is that some of the reaction is pure jealousy. Since many of these keyboard warriors have nothing to believe in, they put down what they don’t understand.

The anti-UK folks will never understand the passion felt for the storied program by folks from Maysville to Murray, from Covington to Williamsburg, from Pikeville to Paducah, and all points in between. For people who didn’t grow up in the Commonwealth or have the love instilled in them from the time they were born, they just don’t get it, and they never will.

Unlike his predecessor, who remarked that administrations win championships, Pope instead said that passion wins championships. He also stressed that this is “our team”, a veiled reference to John Calipari always calling it a “players first” team. He also mentioned that the SEC

tournament was important to him, which didn’t align with Calipari’s thoughts, and that UK is interested in returning to the Maui Invitational, an event the former coach eschewed.

The new head coach can already claim one huge victory, winning over a fanbase with just how much he cares about a program dear to his heart. The crowd picked up on his message from the start, and it felt like they were more than ready to begin a new era, and put the last few years and postseason failures behind them once and for all.

Pope realizes that many, many more victories are expected, and he relishes the opportunity to provide that to rabid fanbase. More than anyone, he also knows what a challenge it is that he’s facing, and vowed to work tirelessly to get the program rolling again.

It will be interesting to see who Pope brings to Kentucky to fill out his staff, with one name, Cody Fueger, already being mentioned. Fueger did an excellent job as the BYU “offensive coordinator” last season and has been an assistant coach under Pope for nine seasons.

Expect Pope to be extremely busy assembling the 2024-25 roster in the coming days, and he’s already talking with several members – including Adou Thiero, Zvonimir Ivisic and DJ Wagner — of last year’s team to gauge their interest in staying at Kentucky. My guess is that Thiero returns, but Big Z and Wagner head to Arkansas.

The player UK fans want to hear about the most is Reed Sheppard. There was a clear “one more year” chant among the crowd at the introductory press conference referencing his return on Sunday. That decision from Reed and his family will not be made until more information can be gathered in the coming weeks about his chances to be an NBA lottery pick.

As expected, 7-foot-1 sophomore-to-be Aaron Bradshaw will not be back. The New Jersey product will be heading to Ohio State after an injury plagued and rather disappointing season in Lexington.

Incoming freshman Travis Perry, Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball and the state’s all-time leading scorer who led Lyon County to a state title, is still on board, but it remains to be seen if any of the other recruits will

be joining him, or heading to Arkansas or elsewhere. My best guess is that Perry will be the only player among that group who keeps his commitment to Kentucky.

The transfer portal will play the most important role in roster reconstruction, and the new coach will be bringing in several players to fill various positions in the coming days, with possibly several BYU players joining him at UK. There are still a multitude of question marks surrounding the makeup of next year’s team, but fans can rest assured Pope will leave no stone unturned.

(With this being written and submitted for publication on Monday, there will likely be several names linked to the Cats by the time this goes to press.)

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BAT CATS GETTING IT DONE – Along with all of the excitement surrounding the UK basketball program, another team on campus deserves recognition and accolades.

Coach Nick Mingione and the team known as the Bat Cats recently swept a three-game series at Auburn, lifting their season mark to 30-5. UK is 14-1 in Southeastern Conference play (the best conference start in program history) and currently sits atop the SEC East, three games ahead of Tennessee. Kentucky completed the sweep at Auburn by rallying from seven runs down to win the series finale 13-8.

The strength of the SEC can be measured by the latest D1Baseball Top 25 rankings, which lists Texas A&M in the No. 1 spot in the country, followed by Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee rounding out the top four. Other ranked SEC teams in the pol include No. 13 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Alabama, No. 20 South Carolina and 24th-ranked Georgia.

The Bat Cats are looking at an imposing schedule in the immediate future as well, beginning with the Battle of the Bluegrass at Louisville, a makeup of an April 3rd rainout which was played Tuesday night, after this was written.

UK returns to Kentucky Proud Park to host Tennessee in a massive three-game series beginning Friday evening. Following a three-game set

at South Carolina April 26-28, the Bat Cats return home to host the Razorbacks for three games May 3-5.

You can hear their games on the UK Sports Network with an outstanding crew bringing you the action. Darren Headrick handles the play-by-play duties, and former Mason County and Kentucky pitcher Darren Williams does an excellent job as the color analyst.

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A few more quotes from UK head basketball coach Mark Pope at the introductory press conference:

“I learned about gratitude here at Kentucky, I learned so much about gratitude. Entitlement leads to sorrow and depression. And gratitude leads to joy.”

“What all of the future players will learn really quickly, is that they are not doing those jerseys a favor by letting the jerseys clothe them.”

“For every player I wish that they could come experience something like this. There is nothing better. You cannot get it anywhere else besides Kentucky. There is nowhere else you can get this, nowhere else.”

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“The rain… falls upon the just and the unjust alike; a thing which would not happen if I were superintending the rain’s affairs. No, I would rain softly and sweetly on the just, but if I caught a sample of the unjust outdoors I would drown him.” — Mark Twain