John Clay: Never mind the sting of the NCAA Sweet 16 loss, Kentucky basketball has the right coach

John Clay, Lexington Herald-Leader on Mar 29, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Hey BBN, you’ve got the right guy.

Never mind the 78-65 loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional semifinals on Friday night at Lucas Oil Stadium. Never mind that the No. 2 seed Volunteers controlled the game from start to finish. Never mind that after beating the Vols twice in the regular season, Kentucky could not pull off the three-peat feat. Or that Tennessee was probably the better team all along.

Never mind that Kentucky basketball’s season ended at 24-12, in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, without a regular-season SEC championship or an SEC Tournament championship and four victories shy of the ultimate goal of hanging a ninth national championship banner at Rupp Arena.

“We didn’t finish the job, which is a real thing,” Pope said Friday night.

He will. Give him time and he will. This season was just the first step. Truth be told, a better-than-expected first step. We’ve said it over and over, but it bears repeating. Pope put together a totally new roster on the fly of college athletes who didn’t know each other until they stepped on campus. He built his roster in about a month. And that roster built a strong bond in a short amount of time. A bond that carried them through injuries and losses and big wins.

If you don’t believe me, ask the players.

“It was fun,” said Otega Oweh, the Oklahoma transfer who was the team’s leading scorer. “The coach pumped unlimited confidence into his guys. I’m really appreciative for him and all that he’s done for each and every one of us. We all came here with no team. We trusted him and believed in everything he had for everybody.”

As Kentucky’s turn at the postgame podium was about to come to a close, point guard Lamont Butler said he had something to say. “The bar is going to be set high for the next group that comes in under Pope. It’s going to be fun to watch, for sure.”

“If you’re in the transfer portal and you’re looking for a spot to go, go to Kentucky,” said teammate Andrew Carr, using his thumbs to push out the “Kentucky” on the front of his jersey. “I’ll tell you that much. Go to Kentucky.”

Did the Cats play well Friday night? No, they did not. They were held to a season-low 15 attempts from 3-point territory, making six. They were outrebounded by 11 and outscored on second chance points by 14. They were never able to find any offensive flow or rhythm. Credit Tennessee for that. The Vols played to their strength.

But if one win doesn’t make a season, neither does one loss. From the day of that first press conference/celebration of Pope’s hiring back in April through the NCAA Tournament, the new head coach set the tone for how he wants to be as UK’s coach. His offense. His defense. His roster construction. His team building. His personality.

To me, the personality piece is the most important. We knew it before, but it became so evident as the season progressed. Mark Pope is just a genuine person. Through and through. Start there.

He’s a pretty good coach, too. One who will only continue to get better. He’s never had the resources, nor the support, nor the tradition he’s had at Kentucky. Expectations here are a high bar, yes. But I have no doubt he can clear it. If not next year, then the next year, or the year after that.

Remember what Pope said right from the start: “I understand the assignment.”

This season was the first chapter in completing that assignment. It was an opening chapter that drew you in to what promises to be a much bigger story.

“That standard will carry us for a long time,” Pope said Friday. “We’ll be talking about these guys 10 years from now as the guys that came in here and set a standard of what this is supposed to be, how you’re supposed to carry yourself as a Kentucky basketball player, how you’re supposed to connect yourself with your teammates. We’ll set this as a standard for the future. I’m very proud of these guys.”

So let this take the sting out of Friday night’s loss: Kentucky, you have the right coach.

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