"Doesn’t happen in basketball with very many teams": Mark Pope impressed by Kentucky players' "unbelievable" desire to learn

Mark Pope has done a solid job in his first year as Kentucky's head coach, and he has been most impressed by his team's "unbelievable" desire to learn.

The Wildcats are coming off an 81-69 victory over the No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies in conference play. After the game, Pope praised his team for being focused in the way they paid attention to the game plan.

“You know you’re really blessed as a coach when you have great students. What I mean by that is our guys want to learn. When we point our guys in a direction, our guys go. Like, it’s unbelievable. That sounds so simple, but it actually doesn’t happen in basketball with very many teams," Pope said (4:00 onwards).

"When our guys dig in and focus, it might not be an immediate payoff in a day, but over the course of a week or two weeks or a month, these guys — every single time, they’ve kind of answered the bell, and actually got better."

Mark Pope, Kentucky slide in new AP Top 25 poll

The 2024-25 season has been positive for Mark Pope and the Wildcats as they look to make noise as potential championship contenders.

Kentucky has impressed many with their ability to get quality wins, boasting an overall record of 14-3. However, after going 1-1 against Georgia and Mississippi State last week, the AP Top 25 had them down a few spots.

The Associated Press released the new rankings on Monday, which showed the Wildcats at No. 8. They dropped down two places as Tennessee now holds the sixth spot after falling out of the top spot.

Their victory over Texas A&M will give them a chance to go back up in the rankings. But they must continue their winning momentum should they wish to be in the top five by the end of the season.

Kentucky produces 88.7 points on 48.4% shooting from the field and 36.5% from beyond the arc, beating opponents by a solid margin of 14.1 points per game. Otega Oweh leads the squad with numbers of 15.4 points and four rebounds, while Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson provide over 13 points each.

Mark Pope and the No. 8 Wildcats will have a big ranked matchup at home, hosting the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide at the Rupp Arena on Jan. 18 at noon ET.