KSR Today: Mark Pope, Coach Cal, Trent Noah and the Bat Cats
Good morning, Big Blue Nation. Happy Friday to each and every one of you.
It’s been a hectic week (and month, for that matter) and things aren’t slowing down anytime soon, certainly not going into the weekend. We’ve got a lot to get to, so let’s jump right in.
Kentucky Sports Radio has teamed up with Louisville City and Racing Louisville to provide you discounted tickets in 2024! Both clubs play at beautiful Lynn Family Stadium, the perfect place to spend an evening while the Cats aren’t in action.
LouCity is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, while Racing is the city’s only top-tier pro sports team newly featuring UK Hall of Famer Arin (Gilliand) Wright. Take advantage of those special discounted tickets for KSR fans.
Mark Pope drools over new roster
Sitting down with Jeff Goodman on The Field of 68 late Thursday evening, Pope gave a player-by-player breakdown of Kentucky’s roster additions this offseason, raving about the group his staff has put together in a few short weeks.
He loves that the Wildcats were able to add three dogs on the defensive end of the floor first, despite being considered an offensive-minded coach.
“Lamont Butler is the best defensive backcourt player in the country. And Otega (Oweh) is right there with him,” he said. “Then Amari (Williams) is probably the best rim-protecting defender in the entire country.”
From there, he added elite offensive help.
“We’ve been really blessed to put together a roster that I think fits brilliantly what we’re trying to do. Andrew Carr was born to play for us. Koby Brea is the most efficient — look it up. He’s the most efficient high-mid, high-major player in the last decade offensively. He’s a 1.33 points per possession last year. The next closest guy is at 1.31,” Pope told Goodman. “I’ve never seen numbers of what he did last year ever. He is exactly us.
“You think about Kerr Kriisa and Collin Chandler and this whole group. Brandon Garrison — this dude is just a rising star. I think the pieces are incredible with how they fit together and how they fit us. We couldn’t be more excited.”
Pope added that Chandler has gotten two inches taller since he left for his two-year mission and is “gonna be a star” while assistant coach Jason Hart was wowed by Travis Perry on film.
“‘That dude’s a baller,'” Hart told Pope.
Trent Noah breaks down commitment with KSR
Pope talked about having nine scholarship players signed up for the upcoming season during his pre-recorded interview with Goodman while hinting at one more to come in the near future.
That player would end up being Harlan County’s own Trent Noah, who signed with the Wildcats on Wednesday.
Following his decision to play for Pope at Kentucky, Noah joined KSR on Thursday to talk about picking the Cats and what it means to stay home as a lifelong member of Big Blue Nation.
Pope meets Life is Good at WinStar Farm
When he’s not adding Thoroughbreds to his roster on the floor, he’s meeting with them away from it — this time at WinStar Farm.
Pope traveled to Versailles to meet with the fine folks at WinStar, namely Life is Good, a Todd Pletcher horse with $4,541,700 in career earnings and a 12:9-1-0 overall record.
“That is awesome,” Pope said upon meeting the star who won the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and 2022 Pegasus World Cup.
The new Kentucky coach sure is making his rounds. You never know where he’ll show up next.
John Calipari hates the way his time at Kentucky ended
What’s it like to start over after 15 years as the king of Kentucky basketball, now relocating to Arkansas? CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd interviewed Calipari in his new office in Fayetteville, which he compares to a “sterile” dentist’s office still under construction.
In the sit-down interview that I’m sure included the latest copies of People, MOTORTREND and National Geographic Kids, Coach Cal said he’s currently living with his son, Brad Calipari, in a condo in downtown Fayetteville near the entertainment district. It’s so loud, he says, he has to sleep with earplugs to tune out the noise — or clutter, as he called it back in Lexington.
Among the topics of discussion? His thoughts on the Oakland loss and just how much it stung to have things come to an abrupt close.
“The way it ended … I’ll just say, sucks,” Calipari said.
He added that “some people were happy” he decided to leave for Arkansas, throwing a jab at the folks who said he “only won one national title and four Final Fours and eight Elite Eights.” Then he said that Reed Sheppard told him after the season he “thought I’d be carrying water” and “I expected to be here all four years.”
Then he decided to go on and become a top-10 pick.
You can check out the rest of the interview here.
Coach Cal wishes Pope well
You know when parents are going through a divorce and they tell the kids it’s definitely not their fault? And mom and dad will still be friends, only now with two Christmases? That was Coach Cal on social media Thursday, looking to cut through the ugly breakup tension with some kind words about Kentucky basketball as he gets settled in as the new head coach at Arkansas.
His comments came out of the blue following a visit to Lexington this week, addressing some speculation regarding his rumored fallout with Joe and Kelly Craft — UK Athletics’ most powerful donors — to close out his tenure.
“Was in Lex letting friends know of our appreciation. Talked with Joe and Kelly Craft about our friendship and relationship,” Calipari wrote on Twitter. “They were a part of our journey. We are still friends.”
He added in a follow-up message that his relationship with the Crafts did not impact his decision to leave, nor did the fans. Then he gave Mark Pope a nod of respect, making it clear he wishes Kentucky nothing but success moving forward under new leadership.
“Let me assure you all, that the fans nor the Crafts were part of our decision. ANOTHER VOICE WAS NEEDED!” Calipari said. “I like and respect Coach Pope. He and his staff will have success. My memories are of 15 great years. Thanks to all!!!”
It was a hell of a run, Cal. Thanks for the memories.
Kentucky baseball at Florida begins at 1 p.m. ET
Do not trust your DVR if it’s set to record the Bat Cats taking on the Gators in Gainesville at 6:30 p.m. ET tonight. That is no longer accurate and you will miss the whole thing — hopefully a beatdown for the road team, now projected to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Instead, first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET due to expected inclement weather in the evening.
Ranked No. 2 nationally in the RPI behind only Texas A&M, Nick Mingione’s group is ready for what the No. 23 Gators have to offer at Florida this afternoon.
Kentucky sits at 35-10 on the year with 17 Quad 1 wins — the most in baseball by a substantial margin. Time to see if the Bat Cats can add to the list in Gainesville, building a top-ranked resume with their eyes on Omaha.
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