“You have to win a championship every year”: Kentucky HC Mark Pope describes how his days went by since becoming Wildcats leader
The Kentucky Wildcats hired Mark Pope in April just days after John Calipari left for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Calipari's surprising decision changed Pope's life, who seems happy to be at a big program like his alma mater.
When asked about how his life has been on "College Hoops Today with John Rothstein" on Monday, Pope said he's in "basketball heaven."
"If you're a little bit of an adrenaline junkie and you love this game and college basketball coaching, then it's heaven," Pope said. "You're gonna hear this from me until you just get sick of it, but this is basketball heaven. It just is.
"It's almost unthinkable to think that you get an opportunity to come here to the University of Kentucky and take a swing at it. It's exhausting and draining and exhilarating and overwhelming, and the list is endless. And it's also like family and home and love and together.
"This is this state's team. It's Big Blue Nation's team. It's everything. The standard is impossible. You have to win a championship every year, and nothing else is acceptable. And all of that makes it a beautiful job."
Jon Rothstein also asked him who would play him if his life was a movie, Pope humorously described the character as someone with low intelligence and less charisma.
Mark Pope, who won the 1996 national championship as a player at Kentucky, has the responsibility of one of the biggest programs in college basketball.
Pope landed his first head coaching job at Utah Valley, where he took the program to three straight postseason appearances.
He then coached BYU for four seasons, leading them into the Big 12 last season.
As a player, he played for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA.
Mark Pope will have four-star Travis Perry for the 2024-35 campaign
Travis Perry, a four-star prospect in the 2024 class, signed with Kentucky in November.
Perry, who led Lyon County High School to a Kentucky state title this season, was ranked No. 70 by 247Sports, while ESPN had him at No. 84. He's known for his scoring abilities as he averaged 29.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game as a senior. He also made 41.9% of his 3-pointers (170 of 405).
Perry, Kentucky's Gatorade Player of the Year this season, is the state's all-time leading scorer, with 5,481 points.