Everything Mark Pope, Otega Oweh and Amari Williams said on SportsCenter

SportsCenter is LIVE from Lexington on Tuesday ahead of the top-15 matchup between No. 15 Kentucky and No. 5 Tennessee inside Rupp Arena, the ESPN crew catching up with some of the heavy hitters on campus — namely Mark Pope, Otega Oweh and Amari Williams before tip-off at 7 PM ET.

Fighting through the snow on campus, ESPN’s Matt Barrie bounced around from the Joe Craft Center lobby to the practice gym to Historic Memorial Coliseum for his conversations with the Wildcats. What did they have to say before tonight’s rivalry battle against the Volunteers? KSR has the full transcript below.

Mark Pope talks about the magnitude of the Kentucky job, trajectory of the season

With eight games left, how has this experience been for you?

POPE: “I say this to people all the time, imagine that in whatever field you’re in, that the greatest job possible in that field is the one that you get to have. That’s how I feel. To me, on a personal level and maybe objectively, it’s the greatest job in all of basketball at any level. The fact that I get to be here with this incredible fan base, and coaching these great, great kids that we’re coaching right now is pretty special.”

How much has knowing what it takes to win big at Kentucky as a player helped in year one as a coach?

POPE: “I don’t think that’s unique to me or any other coach. I do think that knowing Kentucky basketball is helpful. I think it’s really helpful. I think knowing this fan base, I think knowing what this place is about, I think having been able to experience it gives me a little bit of an edge on being able to share it with the fan base, with our current players, with recruits. I think this is a one of one. It’s University of Kentucky basketball, there’s nowhere like it. I think that helps, certainly, with the learning curve.”

How would you grade out your first season?

POPE: “I’m really proud of our guys. We’ve got ballers in our locker room, they want to come play and they want to come compete. We’ve had some frustration, we’ve had some newness that we’ve had to overcome. Like everybody, we’ve battled through some really uncomfortable injury situations. What I love about grading a team is trajectory-wise. Like, can you focus them on an area and can your team get better at that area? My guys have done that over and over and over again. We would like to get really healthy, but I think that we’ve got a chance to have a big time stretch run.”

How has your team handled adversity?

POPE: “They keep showing up every day, which is the first key to handling adversity, right? They show up every day and attack the day, and I think they’ve been really willing to grow. They’ve been really willing to kind of accept the facts. We want to deal with the facts first. We’re about facts, not feelings. What are the facts? Let’s deal with the facts and let’s see how to attack them. I have a growth mindset group, so we’ve had to get super creative and have had a bunch of guys playing in positions and situations they didn’t imagine. They believe that what they are today in that situation, they can actually be something more than that tomorrow with good work. That’s a pretty good vibe. The last thing that we talk about is our guys are trying to do this for each other, and that’s a real strength. So you mix all that stuff together in a stew, and it’s pretty good cocktail for having a chance to do something special.”

What is it like coaching in the SEC with the league historically great?

POPE: “It’s unbelievable, it’s so great. I’m so grateful that we are in this league this year, getting to compete with these great players and great coaches in this environment. I heard somebody postulate today the same possibility of four number one seeds coming from the same conference. Even the fact that that could be a crazy conversation is pretty incredible. It’s a great time in this league, man. Every single night you go out on the court, it’s against a top-five, top-10, top-25 team with an incredible fan base. It just tests you and tries you. It’s either going to break you or it’s going to make you into something really special.”

What is the mindset going into the rematch vs. Tennessee?

POPE: “Again, we’re facing the top defensive team in the country, one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country, one of the best-coached teams in the country. You get it every night.”

"It's one of one, it's Kentucky Basketball. There's nowhere like it."@CoachMarkPope joined @MattBarrie live on @SportsCenter. pic.twitter.com/8mpjOduZsH

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 11, 2025

Otega Oweh, Amari Williams talk about ‘dream come true’ playing at UK

What has the transition been like getting to Kentucky?

WILLIAMS: “It’s been crazy, it’s different than any other league we’ve been in. The support we get from the fans, how we are as a group, it’s a lot different than what anyone’s been a part of.”

OWEH: “It’s just been a dream come true, playing at Kentucky. It’s the biggest platform, biggest atmosphere you can have for us as basketball players. The jump has been amazing.”

How have you enjoyed the snow day?

OWEH: “Just chilling at my apartment, getting ready for the game. I have a dog, so I’ve just been hanging out with him.”

WILLIAMS: “I had an online class, so I just joined that. We had to watch a video, so I just did that before I came here.”

What do you do until tip-off?

WILLIAMS: “After shootaround, we usually stay at Rupp, so I just sleep on the couch. A bunch of us stay, sometimes we play video games, watch any of the other games on TV. That’s about it, just trying to get mentally prepared.”

OWEH: “I just go about it like a normal day until it’s game time. We have shootaround, then we have a lot of free time. I just spend my time relaxing and trying to get in that mode.”

What show are you watching?

OWEH: “I don’t really have a show right now. I did just finish a show called Tell Me Lies on Hulu, but that’s just a filler show while I’m waiting for the good ones to come out.”

How important was the win at Tennessee?

OWEH: “That was huge for us, just going on the road in a hostile environment. We just had to know it’s us in the circle we have and believe in each other. To go out there and get a win in that hostile environment was huge.”

What would you say about the team right now with eight games left?

WILLIAMS: “I mean, I feel like we’re going to finish strong. We’ve had a lot of setbacks, a lot of injuries, but guys are getting more healthy, so I feel like we’re definitely going
to turn it around.”

What is it like playing in the SEC?

OWEH: “Every game is just a battle, that’s how it is. There are so many teams that you know can go out there and do anything any given night. Even the teams that you don’t think can, they’ll give you their best. So you just always have to be prepared.”

How as the adjustment with so many new pieces and a brand new coaching staff?

WILLIAMS: “I mean, in the summer, it was definitely tough. Learning the concepts and just trying to read each other, but I feel like as the year has gone on, we’ve been able to read each other quite well. We know what each of our roles are, so I feel like it’s going good.”

OWEH: “I think it’s been smooth so far. We’re all kind of older, so we know what we have to do if we want to win games. That’s all of our goals and aspirations, to win big. We know we just have to come together and make something happen.”

Do you try to make it on SC Top 10 every time you dunk?

OWEH: “That’s my game. I’m just trying to get downhill and be aggressive. If someone is there, it’s gonna end up bad.”

Are you the team’s best point guard?

WILLIAMS: “I’ve filled that role quite well these past few games, but I gotta respect Lamont, Jaxson and Travis, all those guys. They’re our main point guards.”

How big is tonight’s game vs. Tennessee?

OWEH: “I mean, every game is huge for us. We kind of look at it like every game is the biggest game of our life right now, because you want to live in the moment and just be where your feet are. Obviously this game is gonna be huge for us because it’s a home game, top-10 team, so we’re just trying to go out there and win.”

What was your reaction to the Luka Doncic trade to the Lakers?

WILLIAMS: “I remember someone told me at the Kentucky media and I just kind of brushed it off because I didn’t believe it. I thought they were telling me a joke. That was my first reaction.”

OWEH: “I was shocked. That was right after the Arkansas game and I was with my family. I saw the notification and thought it was fake, I didn’t believe it. Then I got inside the house and turned on the TV and saw it was true.”

Did you expect to see the Eagles blow out the Chiefs in the Super Bowl?

OWEH: “I didn’t see it coming. I had the Chiefs winning because of Pat Mahomes, but I was kind of excited because it’s a different winner.”

WILLIAMS: “I lived in Philly for four years, so you know who I was pulling for. I knew the Eagles were going to get it done.”

.@OtegaOweh and @amxriwillixms joined @MattBarrie live on @SportsCenter.

📺 – ESPN pic.twitter.com/r7XT178G6z

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 11, 2025