Mark Pope showed off a special edition of Devin Booker's new Nike shoe, the Book 1s

Mark Pope was coaching in style during Kentucky’s Tuesday night exhibition win. Yes, he was still rocking the same classic look (quarter zip and pants) he has since accepting the head coaching job back in April. It was what he had on his feet that stood out though — especially after he propped a shoe up on the postgame press conference table.

Pope was sporting a pair of Book 1s, the debut signature Nike shoe for Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, who attended Kentucky during the 2014-15 season. But these were no ordinary Book 1s. These were the “special edition” pair that came with some Kentucky flavor.

On the tongue is “34-2”, which is the overall record of Pope’s 1996 national championship-winning Kentucky team. The old-school Wildcat logo makes an appearance on both the heel of the shoe and on the soles. Pope also liked that it read “chapter one” on the back heel, which he uses as a nod to the first chapter of the new Kentucky basketball era.

“These are incredible, right?” Pope said after taking off his shoe and showing it to the media. “They also got our record 34-2 in 1996. Conveniently, Book One is chapter one, which is very relevant to us. Super cool. Even the sole has got the old logo — it’s fire. Am I gonna get in trouble for saying that? It’s also a very large shoe. I would hand it out, but none of you could wear it.”

Coach Mark Pope shows off his custom “Book 1’s”

They feature the retro UK logo, ‘96 on the heal and the 96 team record 😼😼 pic.twitter.com/ecu25OUqJM

— Dylan Ballard (@DylanBallard_UK) October 30, 2024

Pope also used the moment to show some praise to Booker, who was named an All-Star for the fourth time in his career during the 2023-24 season. As most Kentucky fans know, Booker went from never starting a game in Lexington to being a lottery pick in the NBA to being among the league’s most talented guards.

Now, he has his own Nike shoe.

“And most importantly, this Devin Booker is a superstar man,” Pope added. “You think about Devin Booker, came here and played on one of the all-time great teams in Kentucky, never started a game, played 20 minutes a game, on a great team that ran the table, except one game. Dude’s going to be the MVP in the NBA here this year, the next year, or the year after. It’s incredible. He’s a great ambassador for this game and certainly a great ambassador for Kentucky. I thought it was pretty swaggy, I thought I’d show you that. It felt good.”

We sure do love a Swaggy Pope.