Mark Pope was thanking Kentucky fans when he noticed a fan in a wheelchair who couldn’t come down.He went up and talked to that fan for a little bit after the game#[email protected]/bJuNZtNjp8
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports)January 12, 2025
Mark Pope took a moment tonight to acknowledge a fan’s grandmother, who originally got him into basketball.When someone urged the crowd to hurry, Pope responded, “No worries, we have all the time in the world for you guys.”Meeting Coach Pope in person just hits different. 💙pic.twitter.com/kzaTkQRc3G
— Casey (@BleedBlueCasey)January 12, 2025
Ultimate moment right here. Just a perfect some things are bigger than sports and a man who understands everything about Kentucky. He’s the face of the program. He’s the most powerful man in the Commonwealth and I’m only about 50% joking in that line. That’s what it means to be the head coach of Kentucky basketball. Mark Pope understands it all. Goes out of his way to talk to fans, he’ll come up to the stands, whatever it takes to keep every person happy.
Oh, and does this after his 4th win over a top-15 team in the country. Pretty good!
🎥 Highlights: Kentucky 95, Mississippi State 90Jaxson Robinson – 27 PTS (9-12 FG, 7-10 3FG)Otega Oweh – 15 PTS (6-9 FG) | 8 REB | 2 STLAndrew Carr – 13 PTS (5-8 FG) | 6 REBAnsley Almonor – 11 PTS (4-7 FG, 3-6 3FG)Amari Williams – 10 PTS (3-4 FG) | 12 REB | 6 AST | 2 BLK…pic.twitter.com/gCCOLRs81v
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB)January 12, 2025
I can go on about how smart Mark Pope is by throwing a triangle and 2 defense for a possession to confuse Mississippi State. I can go on about how smart Mark Pope is with him zoom offense and drawing up sets for mismatches. I can go on about how smart Mark Pope is with his substitution pattern to get guys like Lamont Butler the most amount of rest time while missing the least amount of game time. Or I could just say Kentucky is a top-10 team in the country in year 1, with a roster put together late, with 4 top-15 wins and we have our head coach…