"He fully acknowledged he was high as a kite": Mark Pope on his hilarious FaceTime call with injured Kentucky star before surgery

During the post-game presser of Kentucky's 78-67 win over Colgate on Wednesday, coach Mark Pope shared how his call with injured player Kerr Kriisa went. Per Tyler Thompson of Kentucky Sports Radio, Pope said that his 3-and-D guard already got surgery as they had a hilarious conversation over the phone.

"In true Kerr fashion, he FaceTimed me the second he woke up and he fully acknowledged he was high as a kite and he was going down a laundry list of the people he loved so much," Pope said while chuckling.

It's a usual procedure to be drowsy after surgery, as Pope knows it'll be a funnier experience given Kriisa's out-there personality. All jokes aside, the former Kentucky Wildcat did disclose details of his player's timetable to return.

"We have the best performance team ever. Kerr has already had the surgery. Vegas would say it's somewhere around this six-week period. I'm saying like 10 days. We'll see how it goes. So, that's kind of the prognosis on his injury," Pope said. (0:30)

Kriisa, who is in his fifth year and third college team, suffered the injury during a non-contact offensive possession at the 8:42 mark of the second half of Kentucky's 90-89 OT victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs. He finished with eight points, three rebounds, and four assists, playing for 27 minutes as he still went up to contest the opponent's layup from his turnover before being ruled out of the game.

Prior to his injury, the transferee was playing a steady role as a glue guy for the now 9-1 Wildcats. For the 2024-2025 season, Kriisa was averaging 4.4 points, 2.4 boards, and 3.8 dimes a game while being a tremendous perimeter defender in what could be his final season of college hoops.

Mark Pope thinks Kerr Kriisa will be giving more energy on the sidelines

Pope was also asked how he thinks Kriisa will still be able to contribute while being on the bench for an extended period. The former NBA player believes that the 23-year-old could become a voice on the sidelines, saying:

"In terms of energy, he might bring more energy to the team on the bench actually. He's going to have to grow into this. I don't know if he's sat like this ever before. But, he can be an incredibly valuable piece of this team right now. We need him. So, he's an important part for us." (0:52)

With the Wildcats win over the Raiders, they'll hope to have Kriisa's presence in their next game against the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday in their home arena. Given his timetable, Kriisa could return amid Southeastern division play sometime in mid to late January.