Kentucky coach Mark Pope gives insanely tone-deaf answer after Wildcats nearly lose as 30-point favorites
KENTUCKY COACH WILL STEIN TELLS WILDCATS PLAYERS 'IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN WHAT WE'RE DOING, YOU ARE HIGH' "It's really entertaining," he said, without a hint of irony.
Key points
- The Kentucky Wildcats are one of the bluest bloods in the sport, but their season was already off to a shaky start coming into Friday's matchup with the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
- What's worse, the Wildcats were 30-point favorites against Northern Arizona; this was supposed to be a "get right" game.
- Big Blue Nation has already had to endure a scare against James Madison and a 20-point beatdown at the hands of the Kansas Jayhawks, but nothing could have prepared these Wildcat fans for what was to come in Rupp Arena against an 0-3 NAU squad.
For context, that man is Mark Pope, head basketball coach for the University of Kentucky.
If you thought maybe that was the Northern Arizona coach, you would be forgiven, because in no world should a coach at a royally blue-blooded program like Kentucky ever say something like that after his $20 million roster just got worked by a mid-major.
Additional details
- My buddy Dan Zaksheske wrote an entire piece about the game itself, so check that out if you're interested, but suffice to say, Kentucky needed a near-miracle to escape against the visiting Lumberjacks.
- With all the upheaval caused by the FAA ground stop on Friday evening, it's easy to forget there were plenty of intriguing sporting events taking place to provide an appetizer to a weekend of great football.
- After Pope's eventful spring, in which he lost out on top recruit Tyran Stokes and had a disastrous Q&A on social media, I suggested he lie low for a bit and do some soul-searching while the fanbase cooled down.
- Either hire a PR team or start winning some tournament games, Mark, because this isn't going to get any better as it stands right now.
- I don't envy anyone who decides to be the head coach at Kentucky.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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