Mikel Brown Jr. talks importance of Kentucky vs. Louisville rivalry with KSR: "It means everything."

At one point, Kentucky was seen as a top contender to land 2025 five-star guard Mikel Brown Jr. and carried momentum going into the fall, leading to an official visit in late September. The Wildcats were pursuing a handful of guards, Jasper Johnson the first to join the fold with the top-10 prospect out of Orlando flirting with the idea of teaming up with the Lexington native in the backcourt.

That trip to UK was a productive one, as Brown remembers it, and he liked the winning history and culture of the blue and white.

“It was good. It wasn’t anything crazy — Kentucky is a really known, historical school,” he told KSR. “I enjoyed myself, for sure.”

From there, the Wildcats gained traction with four-star point guard Acaden Lewis and quickly added his commitment in early November, effectively ending the school’s pursuit of Brown — no one knowing at the time Lewis would ultimately back away from his pledge. Brown then turned his attention toward Louisville, Alabama, Ole Miss and UCF, among others, leading to an official with the Cardinals in early December. A commitment followed on January 1, a potential Kentucky hero comfortably becoming a villain under Pat Kelsey.

That led to an interesting dynamic at USA U19 Training Camp in Colorado Springs last week, Brown attending as a player and Pope joining as a court coach — their paths not only forced to cross, but the two having to work together.

They used the opportunity to throw lighthearted jabs and ramp up the rivalry banter, even if there is nothing but mutual love and respect there deep down. The Louisville signee’s talent speaks for itself while Kentucky has a heck of a coach, too.

“It was great. That relationship is pretty good, but obviously, I’m at the rival school now, so it’s kind of a little bad blood [laughs],” Brown told KSR. “He was here, and we talked about a lot of things, a lot of concepts and this USA (Basketball) stuff, everything that has been going on. It’s been solid. … He’s great. Obviously, he’s very soft spoken, but when he gets on the court, he’s loud. He also lets his team play, lets them kind of play free. Him coming here, I definitely learned a lot of things.”

Don’t get it twisted, though. As much as Brown liked Kentucky and Pope during the recruiting process, they are now the enemy — especially when the two teams face off to open the 2025-26 season inside the KFC Yum! Center.

“It was great (going back and forth with Pope in Colorado Springs),” he said. “I mean, it’s competition. That rivalry is definitely rich. You see the fanbases going back and forth, I see that all the time. I’m just trying to enjoy the moment and I can’t wait for November 11.”

What does the rivalry mean to him? He’d be doing his team a disservice if he didn’t pour everything into that game, knowing how important it is to both sides and their fanbases. It’s life and death in Lexington and Louisville, and he wants to make sure the red lives.

“It means a lot, it means everything,” Brown told KSR. “Because if it doesn’t, then I’m failing the fanbase. It means a lot to me and I’m always gonna rep the Ls.”

He got his first taste of the rivalry, throwing down a poster slam on Kentucky freshman Malachi Moreno at USA U19 Training Camp — L1C4 fans certainly letting BBN hear it after the fact.

.@MikelBrownJr1 seen dunking on Kentucky signee Malachi Moreno at Team USA practice in Colorado Springs. pic.twitter.com/rKSwuzZdwe

— Jeff Lightsy Jr. (@jlightsy7) June 16, 2025

Little did we (unfortunately) know, Brown and Moreno were actually roommates in Colorado Springs, so the Louisville freshman made sure to let the Wildcat newcomer know what was coming for him from Cardinal fans.

He didn’t have to gloat, because he knew his supporters would do the work for him — again, all in good fun, especially considering his friendship with Moreno as former adidas 3SSB circuit standouts.

“It was — he was my roommate, actually. I didn’t really talk to him about it, but I just warned him, like, ‘Yo, it’s gonna get out. Once it gets out, boy, the fans are gonna go back and forth. You’re in trouble.’ It was great,” he said. “Obviously, me and Malachi have known each other for like two, three years. We played together at (adidas) Euro Camp, so that relationship is there.”

For now, he’ll be teaming up with Jasper Johnson on the 12-member 2025 USA Basketball Men’s U19 National Team, working to win a gold medal together in Switzerland. After returning home to the Bluegrass State, though, Brown is putting the gloves back on.

“(I want to accomplish) a lot. Win the national championship,” he told KSR. “That’s the biggest thing, and all of the accolades that come with it.”

We’ll see what the Kentucky Wildcats have to say about that — starting with their head-to-head battle on Nov. 11.