Mark Pope knows what it means to coach and play at Kentucky.
Pope will have a lot to live up to in his debut season in Lexington. Pope talked about what to anticipate at Kentucky on The Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday.
It’s going to take more than just winning titles at Kentucky.
“…Our objectives and standards are very clear. The standards are not the same as they are elsewhere. It is the ninth. We discuss assignment number nine on a daily basis, according to Pope. It is our responsibility to come to the University of Kentucky and raise the ninth banner. Nothing less than that will suffice..”
Pope’s philosophy is based on constant improvement no matter what. That’s how he believes his program will achieve its goals.
“With that understood as the goal, there’s this dichotomy in that you have that out there on the horizon, but where your focus has to be every single day is getting better,” Pope said. “That’s how you get there. So, if you spend all your time looking out at the horizon, we’re not gonna make the progress that we need to do every single day.”
Mark Pope is introduced as Kentucky basketball’s next head coach.
© Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Kentucky coach is attempting to connect with his staff and create a winning roster.
“So, what we’re doing as a staff is trying to get to know each other better every day,” Pope said. “Putting together a roster, trying to make this roster better every day.”
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Kentucky is now firmly a top-25 team entering Year 1 of the Mark Pope era
Almost immediately after Mark Pope was announced as the Kentucky Wildcats’ next head coach, rumors began that Robinson would follow him to Lexington. That was before Robinson tested the NBA Draft waters, and there was a point where it appeared he’d stay in.
Thankfully, as a fifth-year senior, Robinson made the decision to play one more season of collegiate basketball. In addition to having a strong chance of being Kentucky’s top player the following season, he also has a chance to be an All-SEC player after winning the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year award the previous campaign.
The Wildcats now confidently appear to be a top-25 club going into next season (and that’s before a potential Will Riley reclass) when combined with the additional firepower Pope brought to Lexington, which included players like Lamont Butler, Koby Brea, and Andrew Carr.
FOX Sports’ Aaron Torres believes this roster has the makings of a top-15 club capable of winning the SEC.
Stadium’s Jeff Goodman also believes this could be a top-15 team.
Andy Katz of Power 36 actually had Kentucky ranked 20th before Robinson picked the Cats.
With Andrew Carr and a younger group of big men making plays inside, Mark Pope’s team is primed to challenge the best in the SEC right now. In the backcourt, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, and Kerr Kriisa provide a formidable combination.
Before Robinson committed, CJ Moore of The Athletic also had Kentucky ranked in the top 25, coming in at number 24 overall.
Without a standout player, Kentucky seems to be a team made up of a lot of excellent complementary players. However, you could have made the same argument about BYU a year prior, since they had one of the top offenses in college basketball and finished the most of the season ranked in the Top 25. Mark Pope demonstrated his passion for shooting by landing two of the top shooters in and Williams and Garrison should do the same on the interior. The one guy who could end up turning into a star is Chandler, a four-star prospect in the 2022 class who spent the last two years on a mission trip. He could change the calculator. Nonetheless, Pope has established himself as a capable X-and-O coach, and this team has the best depth and talent of any he has ever had. With or without a star, this team will most likely score goals quickly and win a lot of games.
For the upcoming season, I would personally have Kentucky start in the 18–20 range. They are undoubtedly capable of going much higher, but they are a brand-new club with a lot of chemistry that needs to be worked out while Robinson is the sole player on Pope’s new offense.
Where do you think the Cats will be positioned for the upcoming season? Tell us in the space provided for comments!
