Mark Pope wants the focus on the players who came to play for him this season. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Coaches can sometimes try to do too much during games and put the spotlight on themselves just like some players might do at times.
Mark Pope is not one of them. The Kentucky coach might be more team-oriented than the majority of the players playing college basketball today.
That’s why chasing a ninth national championship for UK is much more important to Pope than trying to get his first NCAA Tournament win as a college head coach.
Kentucky is a solid favorite over No. 14 seed Troy for Friday night’s NCAA Tournament first-round game in Milwaukee.
“Guys, if this is about me, then it’s just dumb. I didn’t come to Kentucky to make this about me. Like, I actually have no interest in me. I have interest in our team, I have interest in this program, I have interest in this tradition,” Pope said.
Believe him.
“I have interest in these guys who made this bold and brazen decision to come here with nothing proven to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to go make our mark on this game’ — which they’ve done so incredibly well this season,” Pope said.
Pope knows he can’t control conversations/perspective about UK basketball but he “would hate for this ever to be about me” and I totally believe him.
“This is just so much bigger than any one individual here. If, in my mind, I make this about me or make it about one person, we’re missing out on the greatness of what Kentucky is because this is the biggest community in sports. It’s way bigger than that,” Pope said. “I’m not trying to be dismissive, I’m just — like, of all the things that matter, that doesn’t matter.”
4 Responses
Gotta love the Pope – however 17 year old kids aren’t of his elk. Still gonna need to put about one kid a year in the league.
The Pope is easy to love but this is a results tradition that has been abused last few years, and I do hope we are able to get a more complete team buy-in. I do think we have enough talent, but it is time to show it and not just talk it.
Mike – makes since. Gotta remember he put together a team that beat 8 top 15 teams that included arch rivals UL, UF, and UT TWICE. No Coach has ever gotten out of the blocks that fast. What in the world do you want ?
With all of the key injuries this team has had, Pope has already overachieved no matter what happens in the Dance. Pope will focus on younger players in the portal who will have 2 to 3 years of eligibility left and that’s when we will approach being Final 4 ready.