Charles Barkley raves about Mark Pope, importance of Kentucky being relevant

Mark Pope has been one of the most successful first-year head coaches in college basketball, leading Kentucky to wins over Duke and Florida as a part of seven wins of AP Top 25 ranked opponents this season.

On the verge of winning 20 games in the regular season, Pope has drawn praise across the board for how he’s led the Kentucky program thus far. NBA legend and Auburn alumni Charles Barkley was the latest to join in on the praise of Pope and his coaching abilities.

“He’s gonna do a hell of a job,” Barkley said of the Kentucky head coach. “I got a chance to speak to that team earlier in the season. One of his assistant coaches, Coach [Mark] Fox, is a great friend of mine. When they played in Atlanta, I got a chance to speak to that team.

“Hey, Coach Pope’s gonna do a fabulous job. And you know what? We need Kentucky to be relevant. Kentucky’s one of the five best programs in college basketball history. We need them to be relevant.”

Barkley is referring to when Kentucky beat Duke 77-72 in the State Farm Champions Classic on Nov. 12 in Atlanta. That was the Wildcats’ third game of the season, which saw UK improve to 3-0 on the season. Pope would end up winning the first seven games of his Kentucky tenure.

6.5 games back from No. 1 Auburn for the top spot in the conference standings, and just four games left in the regular season, the Wildcats won’t be winning the SEC regular season championship. However, Kentucky has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for the entirety of the regular season to this point and is a threat to beat any team on any given night.

That is, of course, when they’re healthy. For most of February, the Wildcats were without guards Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson as they nursed respective injuries. Even without their two primary ball handlers, Pope was able to adjust to his available personnel and beat No. 5 Tennessee in Lexington on Feb. 11.

Speaking of the Volunteers, Mark Pope is 2-0 against Tennessee as UK headman. Sweeping the rivalry series, he is also in the good graces of Big Blue Nation for his success in rivalry matchups this season. He also has wins over Duke and Louisville during the non-conference slate. Still, BBN’s eager to see what magic Pope can create in the postseason.