“There’s no reason for my heart not to be full of gratitude to him.”
Mark Pope started off his tenure as the Kentucky Wildcats head coach with a classy gesture toward the guy he replaced.
During an interview with CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Pope thanked the recently departed John Calipari for everything he accomplished for the team, including winning the 2012 NCAA Championship and qualifying for four Final Fours.
Coach Cal has my eternal gratitude, Pope declared. “I will be appreciative of his actions at the University of Kentucky, where I attended college. There’s no reason my heart can’t be overflowing with appreciation for him. In addition, he is among the best college basketball coaches of all time.
Prior to joining the NBA, Pope was a player for the Wildcats, where he won a national title in 1996. He took the Kentucky position after Calipari left for Arkansas, where he would still be close enough to Lexington to be significant, and has been the head coach at BYU since 2019.
Pope is excited about what Calipari still brings to the SEC and what he can do for Arkansas.
It’s fantastic for basketball that Calipari is in this league, according to Pope. “Big Blue Nation and lovers of Arkansas will both benefit greatly from it. There is going to be conflict. Certain things will become really personal.
“I could no longer appreciate what he had done for Kentucky Basketball in particular, or for college basketball in general.”
The most successful active coach in men’s collegiate basketball is Calipari. With a 410-122 record at the end of his 15-year tenure at Kentucky, he led the Wildcats to seven Elite Eight appearances and one national championship.
I hope both Cal’s relocation to Arkansas and Pope’s return to Kentucky work out well.
