It’s been just over a month since Kentucky officially named Mark Pope its next men’s basketball head coach. During an appearance on “College Hoops Today with Jon Rothstein,” Pope revealed how life has been since he accepted the job.
“If you’re a little bit of an adrenaline junkie and you love this game and college basketball coaching, then it’s heaven,” Pope said. “You’re gonna hear this from me until you just get sick of it, but this is basketball heaven. It just is.
“It’s almost unthinkable to think that you get an opportunity to come here to the University of Kentucky and take a swing at it. It’s exhausting and draining and exhilarating and overwhelming and the list is endless. And, it’s also similar to home and family.”
Following Pope’s appointment, Kentucky has acquired via the NCAA Transfer Portal Amari Williams (Drexel), Lamont Butler (San Diego State), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), Andrew Carr (Wake Forest), and Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State), Koby Brea (Dayton), and Kerr Kriisa (West Virginia).
Pope also got promises from three-star Trent Noah (formerly committed to South Carolina) in 2024 and four-star Colin Chandler (returning to college basketball after two years on a mission tour) in 2022.
To pile on, Pope reconfirmed 2024 four-star Travis Perry’s commitment to the program. Perry is the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school basketball history. With four spots left to fill on the roster, Pope’s adrenaline-filled race to the finish line isn’t over yet.
Mark Pope is not done yet
In April, Pope pulled back the curtain on the program’s roster construction during an appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio.
“I’m really excited about where we are today,” Pope said. “It’s very artistic. It’s puzzle pieces. Every new piece kind of changes the picture, where you have to readjust and see what you’re looking for in the next piece.
“I’m elated with where we are right now,” Pope continued. “We got a ton of work to do. We feel like we’re really close in many respects. As a staff, I think we spend far too much time together—late nights and early mornings.
According to reports, Kentucky is in communication with three transfers: Wooga Poplar (Miami), Chaz Lanier (North Florida), and most significantly, Jaxson Robinson (BYU). Robinson played for BYU for two seasons under Pope’s tutelage, winning the 2024 Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year award.
All three of the aforementioned targets are actively taking part in the NBA Draft and will shortly decide their course of action. Mark Pope will be hard at work getting ready for his first season leading the ‘Cats until then.
