Mark Pope introduced as Kentucky's men's basketball coach
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — One of the last players to exit a bus full of Kentucky greats on the Rupp Arena floor, Mark Pope held the 1996 NCAA championship trophy aloft and basked in the cheers during his introduction as the Wildcats’ new men’s basketball coach.
Pope then ratcheted up the energy in the packed arena, making clear his expectations are as high as the fans welcoming him to the most challenging chapter of his coaching career.
“Every coach in America at every other job in America stands up at the press conference and they try and moderate expectations,” Pope said Sunday. “We don’t do that here in Kentucky. When (athletic director) Mitch (Barnhart) called me and talked to me about being the head coach here at Kentucky, I understand the assignment. We are here to win banners.”
Pope’s introduction came two days after Kentucky hired him to replace John Calipari, a Hall of Fame coach who was hired by Arkansas on Wednesday after 15 years highlighted by winning the 2012 national championship. The 51-year-old Pope returned home after going 110-52 in five seasons at BYU with two NCAA Tournament appearances, including this spring, and found Rupp Arena just as he left it — loud and packed, even late on a Sunday afternoon in April.
Related articles
3 dead, 4 missing in explosion at Italy power station
An explosion at an Italian power station on Tuesday killed at least three people and left 4 others m2024-04-30Bridgerton fans are all saying the same thing about season 3's costumes as new trailer drops
Today is the day Bridgerton fans have been waiting for, as the trailer for the highly-anticipated th2024-04-30Fernando Alonso commits his future to Aston Martin by signing new two
Fernando Alonso is set to announce that he has signed a new two-year deal to stay Aston Martin, Mail2024-04-30- Ryan Reynolds might be a huge movie star, but even his busy shooting schedule hasn't stopped him fro2024-04-30
Chinese scientists use machine learning for precise Antarctic sea ice prediction
Chinese scientists made accurate predictions regarding Antarctic sea ice for December 2023 to Februa2024-04-30HKFP Lens: Past Macau meets present in Portuguese photographer Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro's images
Portuguese photojournalist Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro has sought to capture the changing face of Macau, t2024-04-30
atest comment