ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla believes Kentucky coach Mark Pope has a “zest for life” that will help him at Kentucky. (UK Athletics Photo)
ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla, a former head coach at Manhattan, St. John’s and New Mexico, had a chance to get to know new Kentucky coach Mark Pope when he first got into coaching.
“I am a huge fan of him as a human being and think he is a heck of a basketball coach,” Fraschilla said. “I have known Cal (John Calipari) since 1978 when we were college sophomores. Cal needed a new lease on life (at Arkansas). He did a terrific job at Kentucky but Mark is going to be a great fit. He has a terrific offensive mind. If he gets the kind of players I think he will, the program will continue rolling.
“He played for a great coach (Rick Pitino) and is following a great coach. Mark has become a good coach and may be a great coach. He has a zest for life exactly like what he did as a player. He has not changed and that’s what makes him a player’s coach. He gave kids at BYU a lot of freedom. Guys who can shoot will love him.”
Fraschilla said he doesn’t believe Kentucky fans should expect “greatness” in Pope’s first season because he had so little time to put together a roster.
“But he’s going to be able to concentrate on future recruiting and I think you will see the program take back off again,” the ESPN analyst said. “He has some good pieces but this will be a transition year. I think Kentucky will be capable of making the (NCAA) tournament and doing damage but the best is yet to come.”
Pope has only one player on his roster — Jaxson Robinson — that he has coached before and no one on the roster who has played at Kentucky.
“That’s the new challenge in college basketball. All coaches have to deal with roster management,” Fraschilla said. “Coaches get paid to handle adversity but managing a roster in today’s college basketball is so different. Mark is not in any different position than anybody else.
“It’s very hard to mesh a team together every single year with eight to 10 new players. Cal was great but even he could not master that aspect because not every class has a John Wall or Anthony Davis. Mark will get some one and done guys but he will build his program around kids staying two or three years.”
10 Responses
Riley commits to Illinois. Apparently, he didn’t see enough PT here. Scholarship 13 is still available.
No real surprise on riley
Maybe Caden Miller, a 6’8" power forward at Covington Catholic would be a nice fit…if he wants to wear blue & white as a developmental player for 2025 and beyond.
UK baseball, soon FB & then BB & even Women’s BB are all in the upswing in 2024!!!
I appreciate the work Larry V does to offer a variety of articles about UK sports, as well as from other media members. The games will prove the accuracy of compliments & positive projections. Success beckons.
You are right Little Barom. Many of us enjoy the mix of articles that Larry brings to this site. Incorporating the human interest side as well. A good example is the article on Cassidy Rowe on this page. The picture of the little girl with Cassidy also tells us a story.
Hope that Pope…
will get a KY HS player with #13, who will be 100% FOR UK. No one really knows how many of the transfers will TRULY fit into being a Team player for UK until after Pope has worked with them & given them the opportunity to prove it in real games – when the real test begins.
Coach Mark will hit the mark…
when he selects the starters & projects (in his own excellent mind) the breakdown of minutes for players, but some may have a change of heart as the season rolls along, due to outside pressure from family/friends or even within themselves, and start to play selfish.
Surprises…
may be in store on who gets PT. The defense I expect to see will be most effective with a lot of fresh legs.
A deep bench has been recruited for a reason.
Fresh legs…
will be vital for UK to maintain full court pressure D & to hit long jumpers late in the game. That means a lot of players will need to see action. Some zone may be mixed in, but running on the FAST break will still be wearing on legs.
Hitting a very high % from 3…
will be extremely valuable for many reasons, including unclogging the middle to give the bigs room to operate 1 on 1.
You make some really good points , Little Barom. I enjoy reading your comments. We do have a lot of players, coaches and teams to get our BBN excited. A good summary of basketball and Coach Pope.
Also thanks for the recent shout out about my handle. I was really proud of myself when I came up with it. I have been lucky to be able to attend a few Final Four games with friends and my son. Some special memories!
Hope you are back at another Final Four seeon
I believe this team will mesh by mid season and take off. We’ll make the tournament more than likely around a mid seed I’m thinking 6 to 8 and we’ll at least make a run to the sweet 16 then my psychic mind goes blank but! Lol
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