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Mark Pope says Kentucky didn’t ‘finish the job,’ but praises group
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Mark Pope told reporters after Kentucky’s Sweet 16 loss to Tennessee that, though Kentucky did not finish its season the way it hoped, he felt they established a standard and set the scene for more to come during his tenure.
“I do believe God brought all of us together with this extraordinary group,” Pope said Friday night. “I think he brought us together so each of us individually could grow. … I’m pretty sure one of these guys will be slumming at my house some time in the next years.”
The Wildcats lost 78-65 to the Vols. They trailed by double digits throughout the entire second half. They had a brief lead early in the game, but spent most of the regional semifinal playing from behind. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise promising debut season for Pope in Lexington.
Pope won 2 March Madness games in his first year. Kentucky had 1 tourney win in the 5 years prior to his arrival. Some hope was certainly restored.
“I think that these guys have had an incredible impact. They’ve gone out of their way to have an incredible impact on BBN and the state of Kentucky and the community around them, whether it’s been their regular hospital visits or Ronald McDonald House visits, or meeting with fans before or after games, finding other ways to serve, and serving each other,” Pope said. “I think this group was brought together to serve best they can, and these guys did it in an incredible fashion.
“We didn’t finish the job, which is a real thing. But short of that, you couldn’t ask one more thing from these guys in how they serve, the standard they set, and how much of themselves they have given to this jersey and this community.”
Kentucky players praised Pope’s culture after the game. Lamont Butler urged transfers to consider Kentucky. Andrew Carr said he wasn’t ready to take his jersey off.
The Wildcats (24-12) will lose 6 seniors from their rotation — Butler and Carr among them. Each of those 6 players were brought to town last offseason to be part of Pope’s first Kentucky team.
It was something of a leap of faith joining Pope, who had previously coached at BYU and Utah Valley and had only made 2 NCAA Tournament appearances. When John Calipari left, some thought Kentucky needed to chase a huge name. Pope checked more important boxes. And there was a little doubt about whether this all would work, but only a little.
“If the spotlight on you is brighter than the light that comes from within you, then it’ll destroy you. These guys have an amazing light coming out of each of them. At the end of the day, it’s not about them. I feel the same way. It’s not about us. I think that’s the space where we live,” Pope said. “And so, when you live that way, of course we all have doubts every single day, we do, but when it’s about something more important than just ourselves, man, those doubts seem to blur a little bit.
“You just spend all your time trying to figure out how we’re supposed to make a difference, how it’s supposed to be, how we’re supposed to serve, how we’re supposed to make an impact. That’s what these guys have done, man. What they did on the basketball court is incredible, but what they did for each other and this community is bigger and it’s going to last longer and mean more.
“So, I don’t know. I think the doubt gets swallowed up in that, I really do.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
