If you think Mark Pope did a ‘poor coaching’ job in his debut season at Kentucky, you’re crazy. So, yes, Mark Pope, you’re crazy.
Entering year two in Lexington, Pope sat down with KSR to talk through what went well for the Wildcats and what needs to change as he pushes the program closer toward championship contention — the only goal that matters every season for the blue and white.
“We failed at our job last year,” he said — despite tying an all-time college basketball record for most top-15 wins while leading Kentucky to its first Sweet 16 since 2019.“We have so much room to grow, we have so much more to do, we left so much on the table. We weren’t quite the team that I envisioned us being when we’re great.”
Plenty led to that nit-picky shortcoming beyond coaching and he wishes those circumstances were different, but that’s what the offseason is for. You build upon what worked in year one — again, plenty did work — while fixing what didn’t.
“Part of it was injuries, part of it was coaching, part of it all the things, part of it newness, part of it roster construction. It was all little pieces of it,” Pope said. “I’m super proud of what the guys did, I think it’s incredible. It was a really amazing journey, but you go through that and you’re like, ‘Man, we weren’t even close to what we’re supposed to be and what we’re aiming to be.’ I think that gives you great hope for what we can actually be.”
It’s part of a greater point he was trying to make, obsessing over ways to put a winning product on the floor capable of hanging banners. They were close in year one, but not close enough with those tiny details separating Kentucky from championship status.that didn’t work, then, reasons Kentucky did not win a championship. Why did the Wildcats only shoot 25 3-pointers per game after entering the season wanting to take 30, if not 35? They were top-30 in efficiency from deep, but barely top-70 in terms of volume despite boasting a top-five scoring offense?
“It was poor coaching,” Pope said.
The tone was lighthearted in a self-deprecating way, joking that for all of the team success they found together, being five 3-point attempts short of their preseason goal each game kept them from taking things to another level. It wasn’t the only thing and he was pleased with the team’s identity overall in year one, but it helped show how far away they are from being where he wants to be.
It’s five attempts on the surface, but so much more when you dig deeper.
“I’m still really disappointed with that this year, it still eats at me a little bit, like, ‘Ah!’ We couldn’t quite get there,” Pope said. “I was really proud of the product our guys put on the floor last year, and I thought — with all things considered, I was really proud of it.
