Mark Pope 'pumps a lot of confidence' into players: "He lifts us up"

It doesn’t take much time being around him to realize Mark Pope is — well, different. He’s goofy and passionate, but clean and calculated. Again, this is the same guy who dropped out of medical school at Columbia to become a glorified towel boy under Mark Fox at Georgia, going skydiving without a parachute.

But, hey, that leap of faith ultimately landed him the Kentucky gig, so who are we to judge? The way he operates clearly works. And most importantly, it works with his players.

“It’s different. We’re just all adults and he handles it like everybody is an adult. I like that, I respect it,” Fairleigh Dickinson transfer Ansley Almonor told KSR. “That’s a good way to teach. That’s why I say he’s a great teacher, he knows how to handle us and knows how to teach, knows how to get a certain reaction out of us. He doesn’t yell, doesn’t curse. It’s been different, but I like it so far.”

That’s the technical side of Pope, the offensive guru always thinking two or three steps ahead. He’s patient and thoughtful, driving points home until they’re mastered, no matter how long that takes.

And sometimes that takes a minute considering the language differences and complexity of his system.

“For a coach, he’s really detailed and hands-on, trying to make sure every player understands and there is no confusion. He takes things really slowly,” Almonor added. “If no one is picking up on something, he’s going to do it over and over to make sure everybody understands. He doesn’t want to leave anybody behind.”

Then there’s the stuff that goes beyond the teaching and Xs and Os. It’s the relationship-building, motivation and trust, a process that begins during the recruiting process.

Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr got to see that personally, Pope driving to pick him up in Bowling Green in the middle of the night during his official visit to Lexington — or the one he was trying to make, at least. Despite missed flights and travel delays, the Kentucky head coach got Carr and his family to their hotel in town by 4 AM.

That’s just who he is, whether you’re a prized transfer or a janitor cleaning up the Joe Craft Center.

“One thing I love and know about Coach Pope, and he showed it recruiting (me), but he loves people. Coach Pope is just a really, really great personality and it bleeds into everything that he does,” Carr said. “With his family, the way he coaches us, the way he acts with the coaching staff, all the way down to the way he acts with the janitorial people here. It’s everybody.”

If you’ve ever listened to Pope talk, you know he’s got a tendency to hyperbolize on occasion — or what comes across as hyperbole, at least. Lamont Butler was “(maybe) the best perimeter defensive player in all of college basketball” when he signed. Koby Brea was “the most efficient mid-to-high major player in college basketball in the last decade.” Amari Williams was a “gifted defensive player” and “one of the special passers in college basketball.”

Go down the list, he did it with every player on the roster this offseason.

Thing is, Pope believes every word. And most importantly, once again, he makes his players believe every word. They feel like they are the best in the world at what they do, which is all that matters.

“He brings out confidence, he talks to all of us like we’re the best player ever,” Almonor said. “He lifts us up and I’ve never had a coach like that, someone who just comes in while we’re doing little drills with, ‘Nice job! Great job!’ Just walking around, talking to us, complimenting us, it’s different. He definitely does instill confidence in us.

“He’s a different kind of coach. He allows the guys to play, pumps a lot of confidence into his players,” Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh added. “And he likes shooting a lot of threes. I’d say the system is very pro-based, he gives you the confidence and ability to do the things you’re very strong at.”

Call him quirky, call him different, call him hyperbolic — it doesn’t matter. It’s working with his guys, and that’s all that matters.

“It rubs me a really great way, just the way he cares about people and goes out of his way to love on people, the endless gratitude,” Carr said. “That’s been really special to see out of someone who’s a leader at the University of Kentucky.”