Kentucky HC Mark Pope surprises country music star Dolly Parton with a custom Wildcats jersey

Dolly Parton was in Kentucky on Tuesday and coach Mark Pope honored the country music legend with a custom Wildcats jersey. Parton was in the Commonwealth and Lexington for the expansion of her "Imagination Library" to all 120 counties.

Founded in 1995, the Imagination Library offers free books for children five and under. This gift-giving program aims to encourage families to read. To honor Dolly Parton's charitable efforts, the Kentucky Wildcats gifted the singer a basketball jersey with the number 9-5, a nod to her popular song of the same name.

Kentucky Wildcats assistant coach Megan Summers shared a picture of the jersey and it included a signature from coach Mark Pope.

Mark Pope gives his progress report on the Wildcats' summer practice

Since taking over the job in April, Mark Pope has rebuilt the roster from the ground up with transfer portal additions and freshman signees. Utilizing the NCAA-mandated eight hours of practice sessions since June, Pope and his team have built a rapport and set the foundations for the season's success.

Speaking at the 10th annual Leadership Louisville Luncheon at the Kentucky International Convention Center on Wednesday, Pope gave a report on the new Kentucky Wildcats roster.

"We tried to squeeze a whole season into eight weeks, and my guys responded brilliantly," the coach said (via WLKY). "While there are the things they learned on the court I was excited about, it was their interactions off the court is what really has me inspired.

"Where I see guys going out of their way to intentionally, as a verb, love each other, and lift each other and care about each other."

Pope also gave his perspective on what makes someone a great leader, as he said:

"We have CEO, CFO and CIO, but really, I think the best leaders are CLOs; Chief Listening Officers. I think the only way that we can lead is by listening. In my particular case, it's really important that I listen to my staff.

"If I'm up all the time just barking out orders, I'm missing out on the potential that we have to grow and the great ideas that are floating around in the room and the synergy that can happen on the staff."

Coaching a new program is not an easy task and fans are curious to see how Mark Pope's era in Kentucky will unfold.