There is no bigger story in college basketball this season than John Calipari‘s long-awaited return to Lexington — whether the out-of-touch suits making the calls on national coverage agree or not. It’s consuming our lives in the best way possible, everyone from fans to media to coaches taking stances on whether Coach Cal should be celebrated for the good times or booed for the bad and his move within the conference.
Mark Pope isn’t taking sides on the issue — he previously called it a ‘complicated relationship right now because he’s coaching the other team’ — but the new leader of the Kentucky program is a fan of the ‘drama’ and build-up to what is certain to be appointment viewing Saturday night.
This is why you spend your life working to coach or play at UK. People care.
“I don’t know that I have a lot of comment on it. I love the drama. I think it’s — you know, it’s Kentucky, right? It follows us, everything we do,” Pope said Thursday. “One of the beautiful things about getting a chance to play here and coach here and be associated with this program is we care, and people feel how much we care. They care to be interested, so I love that.
“I love that people are interested in what’s happening, and it’s always been that way. These moments in time, they’re fun for fans and fun to capture, and they can be super dramatic. I think it’s great. It’s something to write about, talk about, and enjoy and celebrate on a personal level.”
For him personally, he gets to coach in one of the highest-profile matchups in recent memory with his mentor on the opposing bench, someone who changed the game of basketball, specifically during his time in Lexington.
“I love competing against people that I admire and look up to with love. And Cal is certainly one of those people,” he said. “I mean, he’s a Hall of Fame coach, and he’s a legend in the sport. He’s rewritten a lot of the book on how things are done, he’s one of the best that there ever was. He’s also got an unbelievable legacy here at the University of Kentucky.”
He used a similar analogy when Pat Kelsey and the Louisville Cardinals came to town, taking on a coach he has a ton of respect for — but will do whatever it takes to beat. It’s like two brothers brawling in the backyard, knowing the deeper the love, the greater the passion when fighting for a victory.
“It’s like an in-state game in the sense of that vibe we get. There’s nobody you love to compete against more than your brother, or somebody in the family, or somebody tied to you,” Pope said. “You’re searching for bragging rights and all the things that come with it, all the drama and emotion that comes with it. That’s what makes it really special. That’s all the 30,000-foot stuff at the end of the day.”
Whether fans boo or cheer, whether Rick Pitino tells you Coach Cal deserves a standing ovation, whether ESPN tells you no one outside of Lexington and Fayetteville care, you have every right to feel how you want to feel about this matchup.
Pope knows it’s his job to win the game. When the ball is tipped, nothing else matters.
“We have serious work to do. This league is brilliant and wonderful and incredibly competitive, every single team can win every single night,” he said. “Everybody’s dealing with dynamics and the roster and injury and fatigue and frustration and growth and trying to make it through to position themselves in the best place they possibly can in the SEC Tournament and to make a run in the postseason.
“That’s what consumes most of our time, but I love this, man. I love it.”
