Mark Pope added more preseason excitement with his player breakdown and KSR interview

Mark Pope did it again. He seized another opportunity to spread more excitement into Kentucky Basketball‘s fan base through the infectious enthusiasm he brought to Kentucky Sports Radio’s morning airwaves. Pope joined KSR on Thursday morning to preview what is ahead for his Wildcats and the Big Blue Nation, including Big Blue Madness and the Blue-White Game, a couple of preseason events needing to be re-energized.

The Blue-White Game on Friday, October 18, is an entirely different event in Pope’s first season, moving from Rupp Arena to Historic Memorial Coliseum and adding a fundraising aspect through Club Blue. Pope told KSR that it will be like a coaches’ clinic. He even encouraged fans to bring notebooks with their pom poms as he pulls back the curtain on the new-look Kentucky program. He assured fans that the intrasquad scrimmage will be full-speed and full-intensity, with coaches wearing microphones so fans can hear their coaching throughout the first-look practice. Tickets go on sale for that one on Friday. Read more about the Blue-White Game here.

On Big Blue Madness, which is Friday, October 11, the Friday before the Blue-White Game, Pope said something is in the works that college basketball has never seen before. What could that be? Whatever Pope has dialed up, it will be memorable if it’s anything like his first appearance as head coach in Rupp Arena on that Sunday afternoon in April. My guess is former players and UK’s tradition will also be a big part of Big Blue Madness. Something about understanding the assignment, too.

[Mark Pope pledges to go ‘next level’ with Big Blue Madness]

More exciting takeaways and comments from Mark Pope’s fourteen minutes with KSR:

If we’re to believe these practice stories, then get Andrew Carr the ball

Mark Pope spoke highly of everyone on the team, but none more than Andrew Carr, the forward from Wake Forest. Pope and his assistants are now figuring out ways to get Carr the ball often, citing a stretch of five straight summer practices in which Carr didn’t miss a shot. “He did not miss a single field goal, not a single one,” said Pope. “We’ve got to find more ways to get the ball in his hands.”

Pope also confirmed the summer reports of freshman Travis Perry hitting 100 of 100 free throws on three consecutive days. Pope told KSR, “I’ve never seen this at any level of basketball.”

These are some tall tales out of early practices. I believe them.

I loved his quote about defending SEC point guards

It sounds like the Wildcats can shoot the lights out of the ball, including Ansley Almonor, who has been “incredible at making shots all summer long,” according to Pope. Still, I found Pope’s comment about UK’s backcourt defense most exciting from the conversation.

In bragging about guards Lamont Butler and Kerr Krissa, a couple of veterans with contrasting styles, Pope shrugged off any worries about their defense. With the quote of the morning, Pope said, “This league, the SEC, is full of great point guards, and I sweat about a lot of things at night, but I’m sweating zero, exactly zero ounces of sweat are coming from my body, when I think about guarding point guards in this league.”

Butler was the 2024 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and a three-time selection on the Mountain West’s All-Defensive Team, so word of his defensive prowess is no surprise. Pope said Kerr takes a different approach to defense because, frankly, he’ll piss you off.

“Kerr’s got a little defensive juice of his own,” Pope explained. “He’s not really taking your ball, but he’s going to end up flopping at some point, and you’re going to get an offensive foul, and you’re going to be so pissed at him. He’s so beautiful in that way, getting under your skin.”

Kentucky’s new offense runs through the big guys

Pope likes his point guards, but it is his big men who, in Pope’s words, “stir the drink.” To Pope’s point, centers Amari Williams and Brandon Garrison ranked second and third in assists over the summer. “We got that from the two five men. That’s super cool, man,” he told KSR.

Centers are facilitators in Kentucky’s new system, often initiating the offense from the top of the key. It creates space and cuts for open looks; thus, Williams and Garrison are among the early assist leaders in practice.

“It’s a fun way to play the game,” Pope said on Thursday.

“It’s the greatest job in the world.”

We’ll finish with Pope’s opening answer when Matt Jones asked how the first five months on the job have gone. Pope replied, “It’s the greatest job in the world. I took the greatest job in the world. The day I forget that is the day that Mitch should move me out of here because this is just really incredibly special, and it’s the greatest challenge that I’ll ever face in my life, professionally, and it’s also the greatest honor to be here coaching this program.”

He added that he is doing it in front of the greatest fan base of all of sports, too. That’s you, Big Blue Nation. Listen to your new head coach on KSR below.