"It’s really touching and it’s everything": When Mark Pope was left awestruck by Kentucky's rich fanbase ahead of the 2024 season

Mark Pope shared how heartwarming it was for him to get a hero's welcome at Kentucky. He replaced John Calipari as the new basketball coach and thousands of the Big Blue Nation welcomed him.

Pope expressed his feelings on The Paul Finebaum Show during the Spring Meetings:

“It’s really touching and it’s everything. It’s everything from like, you know, I got a letter recently where there was a fan that was really twisted up that we lost the Kentucky 120 patch on the back of the jersey."

Mark Pope talked about the uniqueness of Kentucky:

"Kentucky is a unique place that’s got 120 counties and people actually in the state of Kentucky, they don’t tell you the city they’re from, they tell you the county they’re from, right?"

Pope shared that he keeps getting letters of gratitude from the fans. He added that it was incredible for him to be part of the Big Blue family again.

Pope has made his goals clear after taking the reins from the outgoing John Calipari. He has said that his dream was to get to the Final Four and win the NCAA title this year.

Mark Pope played at Kentucky as a captain and led the program to a national championship victory in 1996. Earlier, he spent two seasons with the Washington Huskies in his intercollegiate basketball career.

Pope was a second-round pick by the Indiana Pacers in the 1996 NBA draft. He also played with the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets.

When Mark Pope called Kentucky Wildcats 'a beast'

Mark Pope tried to ensure that players felt special to play at Kentucky as soon as he joined the program. The messaging has been central to how he wants the coaches, players and staffers to feel

Pope talked to Finebaum and said that the program was a "unique beast" on the college basketball scene:

“Kentucky is a unique beast in all of the college basketball landscape. And there is something special about being able to recruit here and being able to find guys where they put on this jersey and it means something different. It rings different.”

As Pope has set his eyes on the NCAA title this year, he has stressed continuity. He's been critical of the idea of players changing teams because continuity breeds champions according to him.

What do you think about Pope getting to the Kentucky Wildcats camp again? Let us know in the comments section below.