Kentucky coach Mark Pope on how team can find the joys in basketball
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope discusses how players should care about something more than themselves to find the joys in basketball with their team.
Mark Pope has yet to coach a regular-season game for Kentucky basketball. But he keeps picking up wins on the recruiting trail.
His latest triumph occurred Saturday afternoon, when four-star 2025 combo guard Acaden Lewis committed to the Wildcats. Lewis, who made his announcement at Trinidad Recreation Center in Washington, D.C., chose UK over his two other finalists, Duke and UConn.
Lewis joins a pair of Kentuckians, guard Jasper Johnson and center Malachi Moreno, as commitments for UK’s 2025 class.
Lewis is a consensus four-star prospect in the 2025 cycle, earning that rating from each of the four major recruiting databases: Rivals, 247Sports, On3 and ESPN. Per the 247Sports Composite, Lewis is the No. 36 overall player in 2025, ranking No. 5 among point guards.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
