Louisville's Pat Kelsey says Mark Pope would be national coach of the year if the vote was taken today. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky coach Mark Pope knows many UK fans didn’t want to hear it but he again admitted Friday that he likes Louisville coach Pat Kelsey.
“Pat is a terrific coach. I think he will crush it there. I like him as a person. He is insanely competitive,” Pope said.
Kentucky fans will find out just how competitive late this afternoon when UK hosts Louisville in Rupp Arena.
Kelsey and Pope will both be coaching in this game for the first time even though Pope did play in the rivalry. When I asked him Friday what his favorite UK-Louisville memory was, he paused just a few seconds and then said, “Winning.”
Kentucky already has top 10 wins over Duke and Gonzaga this year. UK’s only loss was at Clemson.
Kelsey was lavish in his praise of what Pope has done.
“I think if the season ended today, Mark Pope would probably be National Coach of the Year. I really believe it. When he took over, what he had to build, the way that team has come together and the way they’re playing,” Kelsey said. “When I was at Winthrop we played against Kentucky in 2019 and that was a really, really good team. Go back to 2017, that was a really, really good team. In my opinion, this is the best one in the last 10 years.
“I mean, those ones were decorated with great players, lottery picks and all that. But not only is this team probably as dangerous, as talented, as potent, but they’re older as well. They’ve got a veteran roster, so a ton of respect for the personnel, for Mark as a coach.”
Wait. He had more.
“I’m familiar with his journey. He scored 1,500 points (at UK), I scored 47 (at Xavier). He seems like a great guy, he’s a man of faith. We have some commonalities. I tried not to like him because I don’t think I’m supposed to like the Kentucky coach. We’ll shake hands and exchange pleasantries, but when 5:15 comes (at tip-off) we’re trying to rip each other’s face off.”
Kelsey said it was a “Noah’s Ark deal” playing UK because the Cats have two of everything. He said UK’s depth and pace both worry him.
“I’m a coach that has always hung our hat on playing at a breakneck speed, tilting the floor, playing downhill, but it’s hard to do that when you’re playing with a limited roster. I’m not saying we’re walking the ball up the floor or anything like that. But Kentucky, man, when that ball comes out of the net or off the rim they’re pitching it ahead, attacking with the dribble,” Kelsey said.
“They’re 20th in the country in pace. They obviously have the ability to attack the rim, finish at the rim. And then they’ve got like a 1,000 3-point shooters as well that can hurt you from inside and outside.”
Kelsey wants his players to “embrace the moment” in Rupp Arena.
“What a special opportunity it is to play in a game like this and an atmosphere like this. Obviously, we’re gonna be outnumbered by several tens of thousands of people, whatever it is, and the noise they bring can have an effect on the game,” Kelsey said. “We have to stay consistent throughout the course of 40 minutes, regardless of the decibel levels in the arena.”
One Response
A lot of basketball was played today. Auburn is for real! They and Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida play the way Pope wants us to play…they shoot a ton of threes or get a layup. It almost seems like we have lost confidence in our shooting ability. We have the shooter’s DNA, but we are passing up too many 3s trying to take contested 2s. Ohio State got murdered by Auburn so they will have a week of hard practices to make a better showing against us. Lousyville shouldn’t be much of a game but it would be nice for us to show that we have the bully mentality to put a 40 point whooping on them. We need to be coming together as SEC play is only a couple of weeks away. Go CATS!!!