'What you see is what you get' with Mark Pope: "He's gonna shock a lot of people"

At some point or another, it’s fair to admit you’ve wondered if the Mark Pope you see publicly is the same guy behind the scenes. On the surface, he appears to be an absolute gem of a human and a workhorse who refuses to be out-hustled. He’s crushed every PR move from the minute he took the job, starting with the introductory press conference at Rupp Arena through the staff- and roster-building processes and to close out his first summer recruiting cycle. Even the extra-curricular activities are going well, Pope prioritizing the alumni and getting his players out in the community to use this platform for good.

Something has got to give somewhere eventually, right? Maybe one skeleton in his closet or two?

If there are, his players certainly haven’t found any yet.

“What you see what you get, there’s no false advertisement with him,” Dayton transfer Koby Brea said Tuesday. “He’s an amazing human being.”

Pope is charismatic and goofy, bringing non-stop energy and enthusiasm. Right when you think he’s plateaued, he takes it to another level. It’s contagious.

“Every time you see him, he’s gonna have a big smile on his face, super energetic and it’s just good to be around a guy like him every single day. He brings the best out of you, great energy,” Brea added. “You’re always gonna be positive with him . He’s not gonna put you down. He might do it for a second, but it’s always to help you. He’s been amazing with me so far. He’s been amazing to the group. I think he’s gonna shock a lot of people.”

Emphasis on bringing the best out of his guys and instilling confidence. Pope has made each player feel like the greatest in the world at their respective crafts — Brea is the best shooter in the last decade, for instance — since the minute they signed with Kentucky and that’s extended into summer workouts.

If you’re open, you shoot. And he wants you to genuinely feel each shot you take is going in.

“The confidence that he gives us — he’ll literally stop practice if you don’t take a shot he feels like we should’ve taken,” Brea said. “As a player, that’s what you want out of your coach. He’s literally giving the green light and all the ultimate confidence. And he’s not doing it just for me or another player, he’s doing it for the whole group.”

That confidence has led to what most would consider bad shots on the surface, and that’s by design — early on, at least. Pope’s goal is to fire away early in hopes of creating better, cleaner scoring opportunities over the course of a game.

“As you all will see throughout the season, we take some pretty — some people will say they’re bad shots,” he added. “In our offense, you’re open and free to take some pretty uncomfortable shots. It happens at first, but then it kind of opens things up for the rest of the group.”

Pope set the tone on day one of practice, making his expectations clear regarding his player-driven system that relies on trust and feel. If you’ve got the talent, you’re going to get your opportunities. And they’ll come organically, not through selfishness.

The Kentucky head coach has stuck to his word in the weeks since.

“As we keep going, it’s just like, ‘Oh, man, he was not playing around. He’s for real about this.’ It’s been good to be around,” Brea said.

Don’t believe him? Ask the guy who played two seasons for Pope, then decided to follow him to Kentucky for his final year of eligibility. No one on the team knows the first-year head coach better than Jaxson Robinson.

One way or another, you’re going to find the confidence to let it fly under Pope.

“We were playing 3v3 during practice. Andrew (Carr) came off a screen and he was supposed to shoot it because he was open,” Robinson said. “Coach Pope stopped the whole practice and told Andrew, ‘If you don’t shoot it, you’re not gonna play.’ Everybody kind of looked around all confused because I’m sure nobody has had a coach like that. That just goes to show the kind of guy Coach Pope is and how he treats his players.”

Has that surprised a guy like Brea, who dreamed of playing for Kentucky as a kid and finally earned his shot as a star transfer for his fifth and final year of eligibility? He did his research before signing and liked what he saw, but never imagined it’d be like this.

His time with Pope has exceeded early expectations, to put it simply. It’s a team-driven system that puts players in position to succeed, sure, but one that allows individual freedom and creativity, too. He lays the foundation and allows his guys to execute.

“Just watching him on TV, you see what kind of coach he is — really loud, but I didn’t know that he gives that much confidence to his players. How free and open he is to players creating for themselves and creating for others,” Brea said. “He gives us a system to run, but he lets it flow on its own. I’ve never been around that.

“Most of the coaches hold you back a little bit, they want to run their sets, they want to run their plays. He’s kind of just like, ‘I’m gonna give you a whole lot of stuff, you guys take care of the rest.'”