"This is gonna be so fun!": "Hyped" Mark Pope reacts to Kentucky commits Jasper Johnson and Acaden Lewis' special appearance during Brown game

Kentucky coach Mark Pope couldn't be more excited about the future of the Wildcats basketball program, as a couple of his 2025 recruits were in attendance at a game on Tuesday. Jasper Johnson and Acaden Lewis made a special appearance at Rupp Arena during the Wildcats' game against Brown.

Johnson, a five-star shooting guard and Lewis, a four-star point guard, were introduced to the BBN crowd in the second half of the game, with Johnson taking the microphone to introduce his future teammate.

Here's the clip:

However, Mark Pope wasn't initially aware of the plan, so he was as surprised as the fans when he saw his two incoming recruits midcourt. The coach quickly ran out to embrace the two young men.

"I was hyped," Pope said postgame (12:05). "And I got so excited. It was the first time I’d seen them on the court together. Definitely the first time I’ve seen them on the court in Rupp with the joint filled.

"And I was like oh this is going to be so fun. Not even containable. Those two guys are gonna be incredible and work some real magic in this building. I can’t wait to get them there, on the court in uniform. They’re two beautiful, beautiful kids who are really talented and great competitors. It’s gonna be fun to watch them grow."

Jasper Johnson, the No. 14 recruit in the 2025 class, visited Lexington in August and verbally committed to Kentucky a month later. He signed his letter of intent on Nov. 14. Lewis, meanwhile, is the No. 33 overall, who committed to the Wildcats on Nov. 2 and inked his deal on the same day as Johnson.

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Mark Pope reflects on facing adversity before Christmas break

For the first time since his first season as coach of Utah Valley in 2015, Mark Pope's team lost a game leading up to the Christmas break. On Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden against Ohio State, the Wildcats suffered their second defeat of the season, falling 85-65.

Pope explained that the loss was even more frustrating because it came at an inopportune time right before the holiday break.

"I don't think I've lost going into Christmas," he said after the Brown win (2:50). "This is maybe my first year, I might be wrong. My first year at UV was the last time I lost going into Christmas. This is the worst. It's miserable."

Mark Pope's Utah Valley lost back-to-back games in December 2015, before the holiday break. In 2021, BYU also dropped a game ahead of Christmas on Dec. 23 but bounced back with a win on Dec. 25.