Mark Pope reflects on his time so far as the head coach at Kentucky

When Mark Pope was hired to be the next head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, this was met with a lot of shock. Some fans were expecting more of a splash hire, and some were a bit concerned with the hire.

Well, concern lasted all of one evening because everyone bought into the hire the next day, and this was made clear at the press conference.

Coach Pope went on the Eye On College Basketball Podcast with Matt Norlander, and one of the questions Pope was asked was to reflect on his time so far at Kentucky.

Here is what Pope had to say, "When you ask me what I think about the biggest thing, my heart is full of gratitude in a really sincere sense. The fact that we had 27,000 people show up for my press conference, which didn't have much to do with me but had to do with what BBN is. Forever in my life, I'll be thankful for all those people who trekked from wherever and stood in line forever. It's hard to express how grateful I am for that."

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope calls out to his team Friday, March 28, 2025, during the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Speaking from someone who was in person for the press conference, there was absolutely nothing like it. No other fan base would ever be able to do what Big Blue Nation did, filling up Rupp Arena, and this is what makes this place so special.

After talking about how special the press conference was, Coach Pope went on to talk about how thankful he is for the super seniors from last season and all they did for the program. These players only played one season at Kentucky, but they made a large impact, and if Pope does become a legendary coach, the impact these players made to begin his tenure will always be remembered.

Every time Coach Pope speaks, it is so clear how much he loves being the head basketball coach at Kentucky. He isn't just saying this to make the fan base happy; it is obvious that Pope believes this from the bottom of his heart.

Coach Pope talked about how he learned a lot from his first season here at Kentucky and will look to make some positive changes to lead Kentucky to their end goal. Obviously, the end goal at Kentucky is to win a national title every year, and this season, he has a team good enough to accomplish that goal. Kentucky definitely got it right when they hired Mark Pope.