Nate Sestina believes former UK player Mark Pope was a good choice to coach the Cats. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Nate Sestina doesn’t mind admitting he was surprised when coach John Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas.
“Coach Cal changed my life when I first got here (as a graduate transfer). The transition that I had to make for my body to be able to play in the SEC and ultimately the transition to being the pro I am all stems from how he coaches players and the demands that he puts on his guys,” Sestina said.
“I think he said it best. All good things come to an end. I think it was great timing in terms of a good transition into a young and hungry coach like coach (Mark) Pope. He’s a guy that has been successful in his coaching career and for coach Cal transitioning into something new and something fresh for him.”
Still, Sestina admits he was “definitely shocked” when he learned Calipari was leaving Kentucky.
“He treated me like family from the first day I got there. So I’m a big coach Cal fan. I’m not an Arkansas fan. I want everybody to know that right now, but I’m a big coach Cal fan,” Sestina said. “He really changed my life and has put me into this position as a young pro now, but I’m excited for him and happy to see KP (Kenny Payne) is back with him.”
Sestina, who has been playing professionally in Europe, can now appreciate what Payne did for him before leaving UK for the NBA and then to become head coach at Louisville. Now Payne is back on Calipari’s staff at Arkansas.
“KP was the guy who really, really changed my life,” Sestina said. “That dang treadmill. But no, I think, I think handing the keys over to coach Pope was an amazing thing. A guy that’s been here and played for Kentucky was the best possible option.”
Sestina will be playing for La Familia, Kentucky’s alumni team, pursuing the $1 million prize that goes to the TBT (The Basketball Tournament) winner. Kentucky opens play July 21 in Rupp Arena.
4 Responses
If Calipari had focused on winning titles for Kentucky instead of getting kids into the NBA, he would have won at least 4 national championships, we would have been on the verge of catching UCLA in total titles won, he would have been revered as the modern day Adolph Rupp, and he would still be coaching here. HE DID NOT DO THAT!
Calipari realized early on that he just didn’t have the coaching acumen to win titles, even with superior talent. That’s when he announced the Players First philosophy in an attempt to cover up the fact that he wasn’t winning titles. If it had not been for Barnhart’s ridiculous lifetime contract, he would have been fired in 2019. It won’t take long for the Hogs to grow tired of his cute, egotistical excuses for why he can’t win there either.
Mark Pope is the coach that Kentucky has been seeking since the Joe Hall days. He is not going to win a national title every year, but he is going to put a competitive team on the floor that plays hard, plays smart, and will not embarrass BBN with losses to the likes of Evansville and St. Francis. An article this morning stated that he would be lucky to win 11 SEC games this year. The SEC has become a gauntlet with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma. I won’t be surprised at North Carolina and Florida State coming on board in the next couple of years. As for this season, I think we will win 12 to 14 games and be at the top of the league, if not the regular season champ. I definitely like our chances in the SEC tourney. As for the Big Dance, us making it to a regional final is not a stretch. Making it to the Final 4 would be a marked overachievement. Go CATS!!!
See even a player of cals even said Kenny Payne helped him the most. What’s crazy is after Kenny left the staff that’s when Kentucky was stuck in the mud with Cal. Kenny is great at making the bigs much better. Something that we hav lacked the last couple of years. We played Oscar out of position. He was really a power forward. When the NBA measured him he was 6’7" tall. Playing against guys 6’10- 7’2". That’s a major height advantage. If you remember most good big men scored on Oscar with ease. But like I said after Kenny left Cal was never the same. Then he hired bonehead assistants who also had big egos. I’m just glad we are onto the next chapter. If you watch Arkansas this year you will get a great idea what Kentucky would have looked like this year with Cal. Minus the couple freshman who ended up going elsewhere. But the core of starters from last year’s Kentucky team are back. I think Big Ztakes a giant step forward this year. We have someone for him tho. Williams and Garrison both great at defense so we will see .
The ESPN Way too Early Top 25 has 8 SEC teams ranked ahead of Kentucky. Come March, we will be the talk of college basketball.
Malachi Wood, a 6’8" 283 offensive lineman for Stoops might be a great fit for the 13th scholarship for Pope…if Stoops would let him play for Mark. It would not hurt to have some more size and muscle coming off the bench when we get into some of the rock’em sock’em matchups that we will encounter in the SEC. He is a Richmond, KY product who is familiar with Kentucky basketball and BBN. He would be the designated enforcer, if nothing else.