Mark Pope says Kentucky has 'right pieces' in place: "We've got a chance"

All of the stars came out to Rupp Arena on Tuesday to watch La Familia defeat Herd That in The Basketball Tournament and advance to the event quarterfinals. Rajon Rondo and Jasper Johnson were surprise guests while the current Kentucky Wildcats rolled out for a third consecutive game. Vince Marrow was there, as was Marcus Lee, among others.

The biggest pop of the night, though, came when Mark and Lee Anne Pope entered the building with their daughters, the Kentucky head coach making his TBT debut wearing a custom La Familia jersey with his old name and number.

After making his rounds meeting up with fans and his players, Pope joined the TBT broadcast team for a TV interview, talking about having all-time Kentucky talent back on campus mingling and practicing with the current squad.

“This is really special on a very personal level. It’s been fun having these guys around campus for the last two weeks,” Pope said. “… This is basketball heaven, there is nowhere like it.”

The Cats of past and present got to sharpen iron a bit, going head to head in practice both at the Joe Craft Center and Rupp Arena. It’s been a unique opportunity for the current group as it prepares for the upcoming season amid summer workouts, teams allowed four practice hours per week for eight weeks, that clock starting for Kentucky on June 17.

The early returns? Extremely positive, Pope making it clear the talent is there, now the puzzle pieces just have to fit together as a cohesive unit. If that happens as planned, the Cats have a chance to be special.

“I think we’ve got a chance. We have a ton of work to do, but we have super, super interesting pieces,” Pope said on the broadcast. “And we have great young men. I’m talking about young men you’d hire to work a high-intensity job, the same guys you’d have come babysit your children. We’ve got some of the best young men in all of college basketball.

“We have the right pieces, but if we can build the connective tissue and synergy — which is a huge challenge in a short amount of time — we have a chance to be what Kentucky expects. That’s our goal.”

In terms of style of play, that’s just as important. Pope’s offense is complex with a lot of moving parts, the pieces playing off one another. Chemistry is a non-negotiable for it all to work.

The good news is they’re picking it up quickly.

“Pace is really important to us. People think of pace as just crossing halfcourt really fast, and that’s certainly a part of it, but our pace and movement with player movement — the game for a while was ball movement, ball movement, ball movement,” Pope said. “Now it’s evolved to the point where there is ball movement, but also player movement. That’s so vital. We’re trying to emphasize both of those things and our guys are doing a nice job picking it up. I’m really pleased with the progress so far.”

"It's been fun to have these guys around the last few weeks." 🗣️ @CoachMarkPope x @LaFamiliaTBT

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— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 24, 2024