Kentucky basketball’s Mark Pope has beautiful message for John Calipari amid Wildcats takeover
Calipari’s last game with the Wildcats was a disappointing loss to Oakland in the national tourney.
Kentucky basketball head coach Mark Pope spoke to the media Tuesday to talk about not just the state of the team as it heads into the summer, but also about his predecessor in John Calipari. Pope would speak highly of the former Wildcats head coach during his press conference expressing that he “gave his heart and soul” to the Kentucky basketball program.
“Cal is one of the great coaches to ever coach here,” Pope said. “He went to four Final Fours in five years, coached a billion draft picks, and represented Kentucky really, really well. Gave his heart and soul to this place. As BBN, and I’m just as much a member of BBN as anybody, all of us will be grateful to him forever. He’s a Hall of Fame coach.”
“One of the things that you learn really early on if you have great mentors in this game is you just have to coach you,” Pope continued on Calipari. “I have to be me, I can’t be coach Pitino, I can’t be Tubby, I can’t be Cal. It would be disingenuous and my guys wouldn’t actually believe it if I tried to take on that persona or personality. We’re us. I love getting to coach me.”
Pope talks building the Kentucky basketball roster after Calipari
Calipari’s 15-year tenure as the Wildcats’ coach came to an unexpected conclusion in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament against Oakland, making it a bittersweet farewell to his time there. That shouldn’t detract from the fact that Calipari guided the team to four Final Four appearances, six conference titles, and a national championship in 2012.
Pope left BYU to take over as head coach of the Wildcats, and Calipari eventually took over as head coach at Arkansas. He stated that his objective is to “build on this incredible legacy that is Kentucky basketball,” which is undoubtedly partially due to Calipari’s tenure. Essentially, he is starting over with a completely new group.
“I’m a big believer in what we do and our staff,” Pope said. “So I think right now, we’re just trying to do everything we can to build on this incredible legacy that is Kentucky basketball and do it the way that we know how to do it that we really believe is gonna work. Cal has been super generous. I’ve had a chance to speak with him multiple times. He’s always been generous throughout my whole career.
Pope went on, “But as you take on this role, know that it is the only one of its kind.” “It’s up to us to go accomplish this the best we can. Although we’re trying to do ourselves, I must admit that I’ve been a tremendous fan of both these coaches and the coaches who trained me. As such, I take ideas from each and every one of them.
The Wildcats, in any case, are hoping to improve on their 23-10 overall record, 13-5 in conference play, and first-round losses in the SEC conference tournament and March Madness.
