Hello HOB. We'll gather here today at 4:30 ET and discuss Mark Pope's big day as he is introduced as the 23rd head coach in the history of the UK Basketball program during a public press conference at Rupp Arena. Stay tuned for notes and observations here...
PEP RALLY SESSION:
* Wow... A SLEW of former UK players get off the bus leading Mark Pope onto the Rupp Arena floor. Probably two dozen (or more) from different eras. Impressive show of support.
* "Amazing," Mitch Barnhart says before introducing Pope as the fans chant "Go Big Blue!" over and over. Mitch says there are places where you don't get this many people for games.
* Barnhart holds up a UK 23 jersey for a photo op with Pope, 23 signifying the 23rd HC in Kentucky program history.
* Barnhart admits he's dating himself, but cites a 70s hit from Jefferson Starship, "Find Your Way Back" as his theme music for the day.
* Pope breaks out his old denim Kentucky No. 41 jersey from the 1996 championship season. The crowd goes wild. Says he keeps that jersey in a hallowed place in his home.
* Pope says every other coach in America who gets up at his introductory press conference try to moderate expectations. "We don't do that here at Kentucky... We are here to win banners." (Crowd erupts.) Adds that it's not just national championships, but in Nashville for the SEC Tourney. "You guys turn out for Nashville, and that matters!"
* Pope leads the fans in a C-A-T-S chant. It's a LOUD one.
* When he got the job offer, one of his daughters started the "Tell me who's in the house tonight... UK!" chant that the 1996 Cats used to do before taking the floor. And they started unboxing all his old 1996 championship T-shirts.
* Pope says he's bringing a "relentless 24-7 work" mentality to this job. Tells a story of his old teammates getting after it in the gym early in the morning. "Those guys taught me how to work."
* Says UK's future players will learn it's "one of the great honors of life to put that jersey on," that they're not doing the jersey a favor.
* Pope makes a shepherd pun, and the crowd goes nuts. Jeff Sheppard blushes as crowd chants "One more year!" over and over.
* Says his BYU team made the 2nd most 3-pointers in the nation last year. "At Kentucky, we don't come in second."
* Says they'll be "absurdly aggressive" on offense and keep people on their heels on defense.
* Closes the pep rally portion of the event by saying the rafters look awfully crowded with banners, but if he knows Mitch Barnhart, they're going to find room for more.
MEDIA Q&A:
* Asked how living in a home with so many women, how do they make you better. He says he hears a boatload from them after games.
* Asked if he's talked to anyone on the team, Pope says he's spoken to all of them, everyone that they've been recruiting, and everyone in the portal. "We're going to get guys who fit how we play here and want to be at the University of Kentucky."
* Pope acknowledges that they're looking at a GM position to navigate the challenges of building a roster with NIL and the transfer portal.
* Asked about scheduling, Pope asks the crowd if they'd be down for a game with St. John's. Crowd seems to be interested. Pope asks the crowd if they want to go back to Maui. Another large ovation.
* Winning in March "is the assignment," Pope says. "Nothing else is acceptable."
* Asked about his approach to in-state recruiting, Pope gives Richie Farmer a shout-out and asks Travis Perry to stand up. Mr. Basketball obliges and gets a huge ovation. Pope says the heart of the in-state player cannot be duplicated or fabricated.
* Asked what he would tell a parent for why their kid should play at UK.... Says there are a lot of great programs out there, but there is NOWHERE like Kentucky."
* On his offensive scheme and how's it's changed over the years... Acknowledges that he borrowed a lot from "Coach P." But more than that, he wants to emulate the fight that those teams had. Tells a story of when they were beating Athletes In Action in an exhibition game, and it was something like 28-4 at the start. Then AIA got a 4-0 run on them, and Coach Pitino called a timeout and told them they were going to pay for it tomorrow in practice. Says Walter McCarty looked like he saw a ghost and was almost in tears before telling him, "Man, we've got to fix this." LOL
* Has mentioned the term "Gratitude" several times today. Says it's an important word to him.
* On his reaction to the crowd at Rupp... #BBN rallies in a big way.
* On what he's most excited about next season. Simple answer: "Winning... let's go win."
PEP RALLY SESSION:
* Wow... A SLEW of former UK players get off the bus leading Mark Pope onto the Rupp Arena floor. Probably two dozen (or more) from different eras. Impressive show of support.
* "Amazing," Mitch Barnhart says before introducing Pope as the fans chant "Go Big Blue!" over and over. Mitch says there are places where you don't get this many people for games.
* Barnhart holds up a UK 23 jersey for a photo op with Pope, 23 signifying the 23rd HC in Kentucky program history.
* Barnhart admits he's dating himself, but cites a 70s hit from Jefferson Starship, "Find Your Way Back" as his theme music for the day.
* Pope breaks out his old denim Kentucky No. 41 jersey from the 1996 championship season. The crowd goes wild. Says he keeps that jersey in a hallowed place in his home.
* Pope says every other coach in America who gets up at his introductory press conference try to moderate expectations. "We don't do that here at Kentucky... We are here to win banners." (Crowd erupts.) Adds that it's not just national championships, but in Nashville for the SEC Tourney. "You guys turn out for Nashville, and that matters!"
* Pope leads the fans in a C-A-T-S chant. It's a LOUD one.
* When he got the job offer, one of his daughters started the "Tell me who's in the house tonight... UK!" chant that the 1996 Cats used to do before taking the floor. And they started unboxing all his old 1996 championship T-shirts.
* Pope says he's bringing a "relentless 24-7 work" mentality to this job. Tells a story of his old teammates getting after it in the gym early in the morning. "Those guys taught me how to work."
* Says UK's future players will learn it's "one of the great honors of life to put that jersey on," that they're not doing the jersey a favor.
* Pope makes a shepherd pun, and the crowd goes nuts. Jeff Sheppard blushes as crowd chants "One more year!" over and over.
* Says his BYU team made the 2nd most 3-pointers in the nation last year. "At Kentucky, we don't come in second."
* Says they'll be "absurdly aggressive" on offense and keep people on their heels on defense.
* Closes the pep rally portion of the event by saying the rafters look awfully crowded with banners, but if he knows Mitch Barnhart, they're going to find room for more.
MEDIA Q&A:
* Asked how living in a home with so many women, how do they make you better. He says he hears a boatload from them after games.
* Asked if he's talked to anyone on the team, Pope says he's spoken to all of them, everyone that they've been recruiting, and everyone in the portal. "We're going to get guys who fit how we play here and want to be at the University of Kentucky."
* Pope acknowledges that they're looking at a GM position to navigate the challenges of building a roster with NIL and the transfer portal.
* Asked about scheduling, Pope asks the crowd if they'd be down for a game with St. John's. Crowd seems to be interested. Pope asks the crowd if they want to go back to Maui. Another large ovation.
* Winning in March "is the assignment," Pope says. "Nothing else is acceptable."
* Asked about his approach to in-state recruiting, Pope gives Richie Farmer a shout-out and asks Travis Perry to stand up. Mr. Basketball obliges and gets a huge ovation. Pope says the heart of the in-state player cannot be duplicated or fabricated.
* Asked what he would tell a parent for why their kid should play at UK.... Says there are a lot of great programs out there, but there is NOWHERE like Kentucky."
* On his offensive scheme and how's it's changed over the years... Acknowledges that he borrowed a lot from "Coach P." But more than that, he wants to emulate the fight that those teams had. Tells a story of when they were beating Athletes In Action in an exhibition game, and it was something like 28-4 at the start. Then AIA got a 4-0 run on them, and Coach Pitino called a timeout and told them they were going to pay for it tomorrow in practice. Says Walter McCarty looked like he saw a ghost and was almost in tears before telling him, "Man, we've got to fix this." LOL
* Has mentioned the term "Gratitude" several times today. Says it's an important word to him.
* On his reaction to the crowd at Rupp... #BBN rallies in a big way.
* On what he's most excited about next season. Simple answer: "Winning... let's go win."
