I'm convinced Mark Pope is a basketball savant. And he's going to have absurd success at Kentucky.
This roster was thrown together at the 11th hour. He had no returning players. He hasn't had a fully healthy roster most of the season.
In spite of that, he'll have Kentucky in the big dance as a 3 seed.
I've come full circle, I think.
When Pitino left, I (and many others in BBN) felt like IF He would have stayed at Kentucky, we would have passed UCLA long ago. Well. That didn't happen.
Instead, we see Pitino finally come back after the debacle at Louisville, and have success at St. John's. I am happy for him in his least years coaching. I do wish him luck against everyone but playing Kentucky. Having said that :
Coach Pitino has been consistent in praising Coach Pope and being positive for BBN and Kentucky in keeping him and moving forward. It's another legacy he has given us. All of the good things Coach Pitino has said regarding Pope, of all the wise basketball things he has spoken, he has never wavered in saying how much he supports Coach Pope and thinks Kentucky will love him, everyone in BBN will love him, because Coach Pope loves Kentucky, has a great mind, and is the best man in the world for the job here. He would know.
I think he's right. And he is the best basketball coach in America, sorry Coach Hurley. You ain't. You're not even the best coach in your own conference. Pitino is.
I hope Big Blue Nation stays the course and focuses on the future with Coach Pope, and realize that maybe everything had to happen for a reason.
When you stop and consider that this year's Kentucky team might be the LEAST talented (from a standpoint of roster building/construction/recruitment) that Coach Pope will ever have here at Kentucky ( and why would he not be able to recruit at a high level and get the best players after this year, at least a better team than this team that he had to put together in such impossibly short order??)
In short, the results of juggling the injuries and adapting, overcoming, in a year when the SEC has never ever been better .... and he has already beaten more top 15 teams in a single season in the HISTORY of Kentucky basketball? Whew.
THAT IS SAYING SOMETHING.
And I like Coach Pitino's words about the modern sport today, and his assessments are still the most insightful of any other person I've heard about today's game.... (and truthfully, his remarks about Beard and IU, eh. I could stand to see IU hire anyone except Beard, but Pitino is right about him, too, he would be perfect for IU and that he may even be able to bring the Hoosiers back to relevance - I know - blasphemy!)
Coach Pitino is right.
So I am ecstatic we got Pope. with him, we have the true heir apparent for Rick Pitino. And he is one of us.
Trust in Coach Pope. We are going to have ultimate success with him here. If we don't then Coach Pitino will actually have been wrong, and in this case, I don't think there's a shadow of a chance we fail with Pope.
Go Big Blue !