Mark Pope and Kenny Brooks bring new life to Kentucky basketball

Kentucky basketball, on both the men’s and women’s side, just hasn’t felt the same in recent years. Two programs that both have a winning history seemed to lose their touch. In the past, runs in March were practically a given, but neither team has even made it to the Sweet 16 since 2019.

As a result of one underwhelming season after another, the energy for both programs took a dip. Not that the passion for either went away, but the optimism hasn’t been there. The good times seemed like a thing of the past.

However, with changes at the helm for both programs, it may be time to say that Kentucky feels like Kentucky again.

Hope in Pope

When Mark Pope was first hired at Kentucky, the reaction from the fanbase wasn’t entirely too positive. It seemed like it was either going to Dan Hurley or Scott Drew, but after some things fell through, it was time to look at the next wave of candidates.

Should Kentucky wait on Billy Donovan? Take a flier on Shaka Smart? It was assumed that there would be a wait — a wait to make sure Kentucky hired the right man for the job. So, when Mark Pope was hired not a day removed from the Hurley and Drew talks, there was mass confusion and ultimately rebuttal.

However, in just over a month in Lexington, Pope has revitalized Kentucky.

The Big Blue Nation rallied around Pope, giving him a chance. He’s already here, so might as well, right? Well, the result of that was perhaps the best introductory press conference of all time. The older generation of fans was flooded with memories of the 1996 championship team while younger fans finally got something new and fresh to be excited about.

Since then, Pope has gone to work, assembling a roster that can be more than competitive in the SEC. We knew Pope had the X’s and O’s figured out from his time at BYU. However, questions came about regarding recruiting — if Pope and his staff could really compete with the top dogs, the “Blue Bloods”. It should be safe to say the answer to that is yes.

The expectations for next season are unique, and that’s because there really aren’t any right now. Sure, part of the reason is that it’s not even June yet, but this is also just so new. A new head coach, a new staff, not having a team full of freshmen. All of it.

Regardless, there’s a level of anticipation and excitement floating around Lexington that we haven’t seen in several years.

Let Kenny cook

Then, you have Kenny Brooks. Similarly to how Pope came along, Brooks seemingly came out of left field. Throughout the hiring process, it was mostly mid-major coaches that were brought up. There was one ACC coach who also got brought up, but it wasn’t Kenny Brooks.

So, when Brooks’ name suddenly popped on the radar a few days before he was hired, it was a bit of a shock — like a fever dream.

Then, that dream became reality. On March 26th, Brooks was announced as the ninth head coach of the women’s basketball program. Brooks came from Virginia Tech, a program that had seen great success in his eight seasons there.

Unlike Pope, Brooks didn’t really see much criticism. It was really only disgruntled Hokie fans that didn’t like the hire. From day one, everyone in the BBN knew that Brooks would be a good get for Kentucky, and he justified that by starting off with a bang.

On April 4th, Brooks received three transfer commitments from JUCO star Amelia Hassett, Clara Strack, who had a phenomenal run in the NCAA Tournament, and All-American guard Georgia Amoore. It really felt like Kentucky was back. It’s been full-steam ahead since then.

There hasn’t been this much excitement around the program in a decade-plus, since Matthew Mitchell led the ‘Cats to three Elite Eight’s in four years.

Both the men’s and women’s programs are in great hands, and this season should be fun for fans of both.