"That's wheelchair Mike": Mark Pope once unveiled how Michael Jordan destroyed him even in his Washington days

In April 2022, then-BYU coach Mark Pope joined the "Y's Guys" YouTube show to talk about the legendary Michael Jordan. He was guarding “wheelchair Mike” late in Michael’s career, but even then, Michael was remarkable.

"I got little spot switches and stuff against Mike for example when I was playing with Indiana in the Last Dance," Pope said. "But the only time I guarded him I was playing for Milwaukee and he was with Washington. So we started the second half and George Karl's like 'Hey we're switching you on to Mike let's go.'

"And so, the third quarter, like six minutes in he scored 13 points in the quarter and I had picked up three fouls ... And that's old Mike! That's almost a wheelchair Mike."

Mark Pope on having shooters this year at Kentucky

Mark Pope's Kentucky is loaded with shooters, and while their recent games haven’t showcased great shooting performances, the mere threat of their shooters has opened up the floor. This extra space allows the Wildcats to capitalize on opportunities in the paint.

Otega Oweh, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr and Jaxson Robinson have helped Kentucky take advantage of this spacing on the court. Pope recognizes the value of having skilled shooters. Even when shots aren’t falling, their presence creates other scoring opportunities.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Pope explained how shooters bring freedom to their offense.

"What these great players have done with their ability to shoot the ball and extend the floor is now you have teams that are guarding so much more space, and you have players with so much gravity away from the basket, and so it’s actually allowing the beauty of the game to be pronounced," he said.

"What really gets fun in this game is when you trick the defense and you do it by moving bodies, and moving players, and moving the ball. All those things happen better when defenses have to guard more space."

The Wildcats are using the 3-point threat to spread defenses and create opportunities, and once their shooting improves, it will give them an even bigger edge.

Mark Pope has led his team to an impressive 10-1 start this season. Their next game is against Ohio State (7-4) on Saturday in New York. The tip-off is at 5:30 pm ET.