Jack Givens likes that coming to UK was about a lot more than money for Mark Pope. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Former UK All-American Jack Givens has been refreshingly honest with his analysis on the UK Radio Network and that includes him also being surprised by coach Mark Pope’s early success.
“I think everybody has been way surprised by the guy,” Givens said. “We just didn’t know a lot about Mark when he was hired and if you tell me he was your first pick, I don’t think so. After the choice was made, there were a lot of choice words coming from fans.
“The only thing I didn’t want in that next hire as a fan and former player was if he really wanted to be here or did we pay him the most money. We just got through that situation and I didn’t want to go through that again. I just didn’t want to pay anybody that much money just to be here if he didn’t really want to be here.”
Givens, the 1978 Final Four MVP, believes UK sells itself and should not have to “buy” a coach.
“Mark would have crawled from Utah to Lexington to be in this position. He loves the university and he loves the position he is in. I am good with that but how does Mark get the players to buy into that?” Givens said. “How does he go to Koby Brea, who everybody in the county wanted, and convince him to come to UK.
“All of these guys on this team are of the mindset that I have to prove every night that I belong here and I deserve to wear the blue and white. Every guy on the team believes that. They want to be here.”
8 Responses
Very happy with our team and coach.
My problem stems from the wide spread recognition by fans that the Fraud was a FRAUD, and now it is clear that insiders like Givens, and no doubt many others, also knew that he was indeed a FRAUD.
Yet, crickets from all of them until the FRAUD is gone. That seems short on integrity to me. I understand that their silence reflects a sense of loyalty, but if that is the supposed motivation, it is misplaced. The loyalty, as such, must be attached to the program, not any individual even called Coach, of AD, on star player.
And Goose understands it’s the fans like me who’s never been to a game but setting with my grandpa listening on his old radio to the cats and to Cawood saying Kentucky is going to be running to the right side of your radio and later me hiding in a loud motor room on night shift with a small hand held Japanese transistor radio to my ear listening to Kevin Grevey hit another great shot! Then watching Fire (James Lee) and Ice (Jack Givens) on TV! Explaining BBN is like trying to explain the Beautiful Sky to a Blind Man!
Here we go again!
I listened to many Caywood broadcasts on WHAS from the early 50s’ on a car radio at the top of graveyard hill in East Tennessee. To this day I can still recall most of the players from that era, not so during the Cal era of 1 & done. I was satisfied with Cal leaving and taking his concept of, “players first” over “UK Tradition”, of winning tournaments & hanging banners, not turning the program into a NBA training program.
I remember and miss those radio days Larry
I remember laying in bed listening to Kaywood call the game even when cotton Nash played and was a kid the best times of my life it’s a shame to see it become a business
Same here Bob. I can remember being in a church bus that stopped on top of a hill so we could listen to 1966 national title game