Can Mark Pope land five-stars at Kentucky? He hadn’t leading up to his time as the head coach in Lexington. Can he find postseason success with the Wildcats? Again, he hasn’t up to this point beyond his playing days as captain of the 1996 championship team under Rick Pitino.
Those were the two biggest questions surrounding the hire when Mitch Barnhart made it back in April, why the move was met with early skepticism before Big Blue Nation quickly rallied behind Pope in the form of a sold-out introductory press conference inside Rupp Arena.
There’s nothing he can do about the postseason concerns until the games are played and March rolls around. He understands that. As for the recruiting, Pope responded to those worries by building a competitive portal-heavy roster in year one while adding two quick top-25 commitments ahead of the early signing period. Factor in the final list cuts and momentum Kentucky is building with some of the other top targets in high school basketball — the Wildcats are in contention to finish with the No. 1 recruiting class in 2025 — and it’s hard to ask for a better start for the first-year coach on that side of things.
A night and day difference from the uncertainty immediately following the hire six months ago, how has Pope been able to gain traction so quickly? That part has been easy.
“Well, it’s Kentucky,” the first-year coach said in an exclusive sit-down interview with KSR.
A brand that speaks for itself
Sure, but it was still a ‘completely different program’ with John Calipari out and Pope in, at least in the eyes of some blue-chip recruits. The Cats were quickly cut from consideration in a few instances while others were ‘definitely still interested’ with the caveat ‘Coach Cal added to that prestige and the (rich basketball) culture” in Lexington — something Pope would have to prove in time.
It’s been on him to change that narrative, and he’s done that. In his eyes, though, the program sells itself — Pope has just taken over as the leading voice, an alum previously in their shoes with similar goals as a player. That foundation is the main reason things have gone so well so quickly.
“Kentucky — No. 1, this is a different place than anywhere else. I mean, we’re different,” Pope told KSR. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to win a national championship every single year — although that’s the expectation — but it’s just different, like every metric. Eyes on (us), the most-watched games in college basketball, every facet of BBN, draft picks and NBA players, NCAA tournament wins and NCAA championships. You kind of work through the whole spectrum. Our academic institution, the way it’s grown is just — it’s just really humbling and incredible here. I got to live that myself. So No. 1, it’s Kentucky.”
Big Blue Nation’s ultimate gift
The fanbase is included in that, setting the tone right away by filling Rupp Arena from top to bottom for his debut presser with 5,000 diehards turned away at the front door. There hasn’t been a better recruiting tool than that, Pope calling it ‘the greatest gift’ he could have possibly received to help build some early momentum.
Some coaches tell you their program can make a difference with branding and exposure. Pope is able to show these kids the power of BBN.
“I’ve talked about this a lot, but BBN gave me the greatest gift that you could ask for as a first-year head coach at the University of Kentucky,” he said. “With every recruit and every family, you have the conversation where you try to describe with anecdotes and words a thousand different ways why Kentucky is different than anywhere else — and it just is factually different. There’s Kentucky, then there’s the blue bloods, and then there’s the other great programs. All great programs, but Kentucky’s different.
“On my very first day on the job, we had the press conference, so now I have this graphic and this video where I can tell these stories when people are like, ‘Yeah I know, but every coach says this and every coach is like’ — no, no, no, no. Let me just give you one tiny little example of how this place is different. Let me show you something that’s never happened in any sport at any level anywhere before. It doesn’t have anything to do with me, it just has to do with Kentucky. This is a visual of what you experience at Kentucky and every facet of your experience here. It’s been an incredible gift, that’s helped us gain traction.”
Help from Keeneland
Pope’s first official visitor as head coach was Drexel transfer Amari Williams, his staff limited to a few support staffers and administrators at the time. Looking to get creative with resources given the timing and need to build a competitive roster in a hurry, he leaned on what he knew best.
It was a successful pivot, one he’s used time and time again since landing Williams out of the portal.
“Just selling Kentucky, right?” Pope added. “And the uniqueness of the horse industry here, the fact that we can pick a player up in the portal season and go straight to Keeneland and just breathe in that and all the things that define Kentucky. You can feel different parts of the state.”
Building a staff
That brings him to step two, going back to those early days where it was lonely in those Joe Craft Center offices. Pope had to hire a staff to help him sell Kentucky as a basketball program and as a Commonwealth.
Six months later, he couldn’t be happier with the five-man assistant pool of Alvin Brooks III, Cody Fueger, Jason Hart, Mikhail McLean and Mark Fox, along with the support staff help he managed to put together.
“No. 2, I have an incredible staff. I’m really blessed,” he said. “I’m incredibly blessed by the staff and that’s real. That’s a big deal.”
An exciting pro-style offense
And then there is what Pope leaned on to get the job to begin with, why Barnhart felt he ‘checked every box’ as a coach, bringing a system that was ‘dynamic and interesting.’ He found offensive magic at BYU and wanted to take it to another level with better talent at Kentucky.
“No. 3 is the way we play,” he told KSR. “We had a chance to go in the Big 12 last year at BYU and leave a lot of people shaking their heads feeling like, ‘Man, it’s really hard to guard this pro style.’ The translatability of what we do to the next level in terms of — there’s a very, very minuscule learning curve because of how we approach the game and how we attack the game. That’s really exciting.”
“Kentucky is a one-of-one.”
The sell is that there isn’t a sell at all. Kentucky is a program Pope would have crawled across glass to lead, just as he knows elite talent would do the same to play here. Of that massive pool, the first-year coach is looking to find the right fits.
If you don’t see what’s on the table here, this place is not for you. He’s simply relaying that message.
“The whole package is what we’re selling. Well, listen — it’s not selling, we’re actually not selling anything. What we’re doing is we’re looking for the right fit,” Pope said. “This has been said since the beginning of time: Kentucky is not the right fit for everyone because Kentucky is a one-of-one. You have to find guys that are wired that want to be in a one-of-one situation.
“Fortunately there are really good players that want to do that.”
