Jack Givens Knows Mark Pope can do ‘special stuff’

Former UK All-American Jack Givens likes the way Mark Pope does things differently from other coaches. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Even before the season started, former Kentucky All-American Jack Givens knew that Mark Pope was the perfect hire for UK.

“He went back and watched every game for every player from last year. How much commitment does that take with an entirely new roster?’” said Givens. “He did that for every player. That’s how dedicated he is.

“He is going to do some special stuff. Beating Duke was just the beginning. It is going to be so nice. We are not going to win every game. It ain’t going to be that easy but it is going to be fun. Every guy is going to work hard every night. You are not going to be saying this guy doesn’t play hard this year.”

Givens, the UK Radio Network analyst, likes the mix Kentucky has even if it does remind him of some not so pleasant times from the last few years.

“If you think about teams over the last four or five years that Kentucky has lost to, and I am not just talking about tournaments which have been bad enough, but during the season and that is the team we have now,” Givens said. “It is a team with a couple of point guards who know how to play the game.

“We used to have veteran players on every team we had and teams that have beat us have had that. I like those young lively guys who come in but I am an old school guy. Give me some experience when it comes to winning. Give me experience along with talent and we can win games. We are fortunate to have that this year.”

Givens knows beating Duke was just one win and that UK has a major road test tonight at Clemson. However, the 1978 Final Four MVP knows the Duke win was important.

“I really liked that our guys said you (Duke) are good but we know how to play, too. It was fun to see how we won that game and that stays with us,” Givens said.

Givens was a scorer and appreciates offense. He loves the weapons Pope was able to assemble and how he uses those weapons.

“We are a hard team to guard. The only thing you can do wrong in Mark’s offense is not move,” Givens said.

At practice Givens has seen Pope have a drill where players can only have the ball in their hand for a half second before doing something with it.

“You have to be thinking about what to do with the ball before you catch it,” Givens said.

Pope also randomly asks players for three key words off the scouting report from a player they will be guarding in the next game. The UK coach also demands total silence at the shoot-around when players are shooting free throws.

“I asked him why he wants it totally quiet and he said because it might be the only five minutes of quiet time the players have all day where they just have to focus on what they are doing. He does things I have not seen before and it works for him.”

Givens marveled at what Pope did after he got the UK job to connect with former players.

“He had a meeting and called all the former players in. He individually called every player,” Givens said. “He asked everyone what he can do to make this thing better. Then he invited us to come around and these young guys saw us and thought it was amazing all these guys came around, so there must be something special here.”

Givens often watches practice and gets a chance to talk with Pope. He likes how the former UK team captain does things differently from other coaches.

“It’s fun talking to him because I learn stuff. He puts a lot into analytics. He even studies how long he can keep a guy in a game and how long he stays productive,” Givens said. “He told me Andrew Carr is a guy who the longer the game goes, the better he gets. But then he told me BG (Brandon Garrison) after two minutes he has to get him out but when he comes back he can go four or five minutes. Those are the kinds of things I had never heard a coach talk about.