“We’ll forever be grateful for everything”: Mark Pope has words of affirmation for John Calipari

Kentucky's coach Mark Pope is ready to start his first season with the Wildcats. After 15 years with John Calipari, the time had come for the team to undergo a major change.

Through this transition, Pope has consistently thanked his predecessor for helping him and being an inspiring figure, while Calipari praised the new coach as the "perfect" choice for the program.

“You’ll never hear me say a negative word about Coach Cal, because there’s not a lot to say," Pope said during the SEC Media Day Tuesday. "He’s a Hall of Fame coach. As a diehard Kentucky fan and alumnus and former player, I’m grateful for everything, all the incredible things that Cal accomplished at the University of Kentucky."

“And he’s also been a good friend, he’s been a terrific mentor, and he’s always been generous to Lee Anne and I as we’ve gone through our coaching journey. And so we wish him the best in everything that he does, and will forever be grateful for everything that he did at Kentucky. And we’ll be cheering for him every day like crazy, except for February 1.”

---

Mark Pope shares his thoughts on playing in the SEC

After spending the last five years in the Big 12 conference with BYU, Mark Pope will lead one of the best teams in the Southeastern Conference. When asked for his thoughts on it, Pope expressed excitement for the potential rivalries, as he said:

"But right now it is a gauntlet that is to be respected and probably feared a little bit, and all of that feeds exactly into what we love with this game," Pope said.

"We’re incredibly blessed to be here in this league when it’s so powerful and it’s so strong, and it’s really setting the standard for college basketball right now, and can’t wait to get to it."

One of the most anticipated games of the 2024-25 season is the tip-off between Mark Pope's Wildcats and John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks on Feb. 1. Calipari will return to the Rupp Arena with some of the former Kentucky players who followed him to Fayetteville.