4-Point Play: A behind-the-scenes look at practice with Mark Pope

We’ve seen some practice footage and photos this week to go with behind-the-scenes scuttlebutt shared on KSBoard on how things have gone at the Joe Craft Center. Now how about some actual stories from the start of official practices under Mark Pope at Kentucky? We’ll leave that to Cameron Mills, who was in attendance bright and early to start the week with the former Wildcat sharpshooter sharing his thoughts in a UK HealthCare Practice Report on Wednesday.

We’ll dig into the UK Sports Network analyst’s comments today on 4-Point Play.

A sports psychologist attends to give feedback

Mills wasn’t alone at the Joe Craft Center on Monday, joined by a professional from the UK Department of Psychology — as requested by Coach Pope himself. In fact, a sports psychologist is in attendance at every practice and hasn’t missed one to the former Wildcat’s knowledge.

Why is calling on the experts to help out?

“To look for things, to notice things,” Mills said. “I asked the lady that was here on Monday, I said, ‘What are you looking for? What happens and how are you helping?’ She said, ‘Well, the other day I noticed there was a kid I felt was losing confidence.'”

The psychologists attend practice and provide feedback on the team, going straight to Pope on new developments both good and bad. It allows the first-year coach to stay one step ahead with his players’ mental health and bring the best out of them each day.

“Look, sports psychology has been around for a long time, but the cool thing about this is between at least two of these members of the department of psychology, a practice has not been missed,” Mills said. “They are here, this one was with me at six o’clock in the morning to watch the very first real practice of the year.”

Sharing gratitude in the team huddle

Sticking with the theme of building his players up, Mills caught something that stood out in the team huddle to wrap up practice. With the Wildcats tired and worn down after the early-morning session, Pope talking to the team about what he was most thankful for, singling out individual players.

During his playing days at Kentucky with Pope under Rick Pitino, Mills remembered “last-minute rah rahs from Coach, or we’d talk about things we needed to correct,” conversations that were “usually calm and laid back when the yelling had ceased.”

Pope’s approach was different.

“In that particular moment, he mentioned a player that he was thankful for and why. Now it’s that person’s job, he’s got to look around the huddle and find another player and say why he’s thankful for them,” Mills said. “He can pick whoever he wants, and that went on five or six times. I’ve never seen this before.

“It was basically yet another thing that Coach Pope’s doing to make sure these guys are a team and I would even go further and say a family, knowing that they are verbalizing — not just assuming somebody knows, but they’re verbalizing, ‘I appreciate what you did today, I appreciate what you did today, and I appreciate what you did today.’ It makes a difference.”

Sprints decide difference between Final Fours and titles

Now for the coolest part of Mills’ update from practice — the really good stuff. Pope apparently blows his whistle and brings the former Wildcat back to his playing days under Pitino and some of the more “deflating” experiences they shared together.

“Everybody on the line.”

Mills said Pope “ran and ran and ran them” while also keeping a close eye on the players cutting corners, then making them run some more.

“The guys that are struggling to make their time — and really, that’s a lot of them — they would come down and they would hit right here, not right here,” Mills said, pointing in front of the baseline rather than the line itself. “There’s a foot difference, and they would take off and they’d run back. The bad thing is the coaching staff is right there watching this entire line, and if somebody missed the line, they would tell Pope that, and what Pope would say is, ‘Back on the line.’ So you not only had to run again as a team if someone didn’t make time, you had to run again if somebody cheated.”

That was part of a learning lesson designed to establish a championship mindset, the staff’s top priority going into the season.

“Here’s why that matters, because as Pope said, as he ended practice on Monday, he circled everybody together, it was right down here by this goal,” Mills said. “He basically talked about the difference between here and here, and this is what he said: ‘Here is Final Four. Here is banner.'”

Will you take the extra step to bring a ninth national championship to the winningest program in college basketball history? That’s Pope’s hope and demand for his players.

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“The magic is in the work.”

As Mills shared his side of the story from the Joe Craft Center on Thursday, Pope shared his, as well. His take? ‘Banner Camp’ is off to a hot start with team’s hard work paying off early.

Four practices down and 15 days until Big Blue Madness, but most importantly, seven months until next April — the only countdown that matters.

“Four practices into this week. Banner Camp!” Pope wrote. “The magic is in the work. I’m so excited about how our team is building up to the season. #GoBigBlue.”

Four practices into this week. Banner Camp!

The magic is in the work. I'm so excited about how our team is building up to the season. #GoBigBlue pic.twitter.com/KRVcvwyrjz

— Mark Pope (@CoachMarkPope) September 26, 2024

Basketball season is here, folks. Enjoy it.