Mark Pope literally went the extra miles to get Andrew Carr

Since Mark Pope took the job at Kentucky three weeks ago, we’ve been treated to a lot of anecdotes about how he goes the extra mile in recruiting, picking players up at the airport, personally driving them around campus, etc. There’s no better — or more literal — example of that than what he did for Andrew Carr, the Wake Forest transfer who committed to Kentucky on Sunday night.

Kyle Tucker caught up with Carr and his parents, who told him about their visit to Lexington, which got off to a very bumpy start. The Carrs were coming from Lubbock, Texas after an official visit to Texas Tech and due to delays, missed their flight to Lexington. Long story short, they ended up in Nashville, and when Mark Pope heard Carr’s mother rented a car to make the three-hour drive to Lexington, he got in his car and headed south to get them himself.

Pope picked the family up in Bowling Green in the middle of the night, despite having flown back to Lexington from Las Vegas earlier that day to get a commitment from Lamont Butler and taking Aidan Mahaney out to dinner a few hours prior. With road trip snacks in tow, Pope and the Carrs headed to Lexington, talking hoops until he dropped them off at their hotel at 4 a.m.

Last night, Tucker shared Pope’s side of the story on Twitter and it’s pretty fantastic. He talks about flying to Vegas and realizing that people are tracking the staff’s private jet, the visit with Mahaney — including how fans swarmed them at dinner and Steve Zahn came to their table — and finally, the drive to Bowling Green and back to get the Carrs. A giant tray of ketchup was also involved.

So I talked to Mark Pope today, after the wild Andrew Carr story already published, but asked him about it anyway … and his answer is an even wilder ride. This dude is all gas, no brakes.
✍️ https://t.co/lHS2GKh7jk pic.twitter.com/JxOgY4W45h

— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) May 2, 2024

More Mark Pope stories, please. I can’t get enough. For more on the Carr/Pope road trip, I’ll direct you to The Athletic.