Mark Pope says assignment is to win banners in his arrival as Kentucky basketball coach
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) — Entering Rupp Arena with a police escort on a bus with more than 40 former University of Kentucky basketball players, Mark Pope took control of the Wildcats’ men’s program with a flourish Sunday afternoon.
Surrounded by Derek Anderson, Tony Delk, Jeff Sheppard, Cameron Mills, Jared Prickett and other teammates from his three seasons with the Wildcats, Pope exited the bus holding the 1996 NCAA championship trophy that he helped win over his head.
Standing next to athletic director Mitch Barnhart, Pope beamed and nodded his head before Barnhart handed him a No. 23 jersey. Pope later brought out the No. 41 jersey he wore as a Kentucky player
“It’s time for us to find our way back,” Barnhart said. “To do that you need a guy who understands the journey … and the heart of this special place.”
“I understand the assignment,” Pope said. “We are here to win banners … That’s our job.”
If you were tempted to view that as Pope signaling a change from the way that John Calipari ran the UK program for the last 15 seasons, Pope gave you more. He said he was also interested in taking the Wildcats to Hawaii to play in the Maui Invitational, an event Calipari did not favor.
He said he was interested in scheduling a game against St. John’s, which is coached by his former UK head coach Rick Pitino, a man who famously quarreled with Calipari. And Pope talked about players who “are not letting letting the jerseys do them a favor by letting them cloth them.”
A crowd estimated at more than 15,000 people started lining up before noon to enter the building, even though the doors did not swing open until 3:30 p.m., an hour before the program began. In fact the start of the event was delayed nearly 10 minutes so more fans could enter the building.
Pope, 51, worked out the 5-year agreement worth $5.5 million per season, with Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart, who started the search for a replacement for John Calipari early last week by talking to Baylor coach Scott Drew and gauging the interest of UConn coach Danny Hurley as well as Billy Donovan, coach the the Chicago Bulls.
After Drew chose to stay in Texas and on at least three occasions Hurley said he had no interest in the job, Barnhart pivoted quickly to Pope, whose credentials were solid as a coach and former Wildcat.
“We’ve seen introductory press conferences like this all the time,” Pope said. “Nobody in the country has ever seen anything like this.”
How quickly did Pope accept the job when it was offered by Barnhart?
“He knew I was going to say, ‘Yes,’ before he even finished asking the question,” Pope said.
“This is a gentleman who loves Kentucky basketball as much as you do,” Barnhart said. “He wants It to win as much as you do.”
