Pitino says UK/UL rivalry 'will be awesome for years to come' under Pope and Kelsey

It’s been a weird year for Rick Pitino, who has gone from hated figure in Lexington to embraced once again by Big Blue Nation, putting that move to Louisville in the past and wrapping our arms around those memories of the 90s. He was one of the first to push for Mark Pope as the next head coach at Kentucky, then helped flip the bitter anger to overwhelming support once Mitch Barnhart made the hire with a video calling his shot on the former Wildcat’s future leading the program.

“Mark Pope will go on to greatness. You can put it down,” Pitino said at the time. “… I guarantee you one thing. Nobody, nobody epitomizes the name ‘Kentucky’ on the front of the jersey more than Mark Pope.”

He was correct, Kentucky in good hands under Pope with six top-15 wins in his first year as head coach. Nobody could be sitting in that seat right now and give BBN the shot in the arm it needed the way the 1996 national championship captain has.

Pitino then congratulated Pope following his first statement win over Duke to open the season — the first of many to come in his first season in Lexington.

“Congrats Cap. No surprise to me,” he said, just a few weeks removed from his return to Rupp Arena for the very first time since his time coaching at Louisville.

He followed that up with a statement on Kentucky vs. Louisville ahead of the in-state rivalry battle on December 14.

“Today the great rivalry, Kentucky vs Louisville. Two captains and champions on the bench,” Pitino wrote ahead of UK’s win. “Asst coach Pey Pey Siva, two time MVP of the Big East tournament, and Mark Pope the leader of the Untouchables. Should be fun!”

Fast forward a month and he’s back to keeping up with his former schools, this time tipping his cap to the Cardinals under fellow first-year coach Pat Kelsey. We already know his thoughts on Pope in Lexington, but Pitino shared similar praise of Kelsey in Louisville, saying the rivalry is in good hands with both new coaches.

“The rivalry with UK and Louisville will be awesome for years to come,” Pitino said. “Two great young coaches with Pat Kelsey and our captain Mark Pope.”

The rivalry with UK and Louisville will be awesome for years to come. Two great young coaches with Pat Kelsey and our captain Mark Pope.

— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) January 29, 2025

Pitino has St. John’s rolling

The current St. John’s head coach may not want to get too lovey-dovey with the Cats and Cards, though — he’s got the Red Storm in position to make a run in March, setting up the possibility of a head-to-head battle with either team in the NCAA Tournament.

St. John’s currently sits at 18-3 on the year and No. 23 in the NET, projected as a No. 7 seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology update. The Johnnies are 6-3 in Quad 1 and 2 games with zero losses in Quad 3 or 4 — a strong resume with a favorable schedule ahead. It’d be a shock to see Pitino not make the tournament, plus four more Quad 1 matchups to close out the regular season and potentially strengthen that resume.

We’d all be up for Pitino vs. Kelsey in March Madness, but what about Pitino vs. Pope?