The captain of the Untouchables deserves the Big Blue Nation's support

Mark Pope isn’t Dan Hurley, Scott Drew, or Billy Donovan. He wasn’t Mitch Barnhart’s first choice in the search, nor was he mine, and I assume he wasn’t yours. The instant reaction to the news late Thursday night mainly was disbelief, with a majority of the fans online expressing frustration in how Kentucky’s athletics director, Mitch Barnhart, went from offering the hottest name in the sport a stupid amount of money in the morning to hiring Pope, a former player with zero NCAA Tournament wins, that night.

Barnhart’s choice was, and still is, fairly criticized. He was tasked with replacing a Hall of Fame coach and given a budget to do whatever it takes to re-energize The Greatest Tradition In College Basketball. Popular names were thrown out as tier-one and tier-two candidates, most of whom were never considered. Barnhart’s mind was made early. He liked the former Wildcat way out in Utah, who is unproven at a major program but Big Blue to his core.

So, whether you like it or not, Mark Pope is the new head men’s basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, the eighth person to hold the position in its modern day. It’s done. Pope will land in Lexington this weekend with the future of Kentucky in his hands. When you and I learned the news, he was already working the phones for potential players with at least $4 million in NIL support to get started. At the same time, he is interviewing candidates to fill his first coaching staff in Lexington, which will be critical to his success.

All of those things are beyond your control. What you can control is the energy you bring to the program’s future. Are you a Kentucky fan or not? Do you want this to work or not? Vent about the hire now if you must. Voice those frustrations about how Bruce Pearl, Sean Miller, or [insert coach you preferred] didn’t get an interview. A friend of mine was so mad last night that he, jokingly, I hope, said he was going to set himself on fire. A good night’s sleep helped him. He’s in on Pope today.

I am, too. After analogizing Barnhart’s hire to ordering the chicken tenders and questioning what the hell he was doing, I slept off that initial shock of the Pope hire. (For the record, I wanted Mitch to call Bruce.) Now, I’m writing to you while wearing replica Converse UK denim shorts (the home whites), recognizing Pope’s connection to the program may be what the Big Blue Nation needs with its fresh start. Pope knows what the name on the front means more than what the typical fan ever will. He lived it. He wore the denim. He roomed with Reed’s dad. Hopefully, as the new head coach, he can recruit the talent to meet Kentucky’s standards, which he has already experienced at the highest level, wearing #41 in your program.

If you’re a Kentucky fan, you don’t need me to explain Mark Pope, and I’m not here to tell anyone how to fan (except you should always hate Louisville, Tennessee, and Duke, in whatever order you prefer). But I hope everyone within the Big Blue Nation will give Pope a chance. The man may not have a tournament win as a coach, but he has a ’96 ring on his finger as the captain of the Untouchables. There is this video from BYU, too:

On Sunday, the Big Blue Nation can use its power for good by rallying around Mark Pope in Rupp Arena when he is formally re-introduced to Lexington at 51 years old. If you can, consider attending the 4:30 p.m. public press conference at Rupp to show college basketball the BBN hasn’t lost a step, only some tournament games. The visual of the fan turnout at Pope’s introduction can either say (a) Kentucky is one step closer to Indiana, which is what the outsiders want or (b) the Big Blue Nation is still a force. I say C A T S and I’ll see you there.

I don’t know what’s ahead for the Mark Pope era of Kentucky Basketball, but it’s feeling like ’96, and I’m here for it, whether it all goes horribly wrong or this is the beginning of something special. Hopefully, it’s the latter, and Pope’s UK national championship ring becomes a collection of them.

Rupp Arena on Sunday. 4:30 p.m.

As always, Go Cats.