'Kentucky Magic, Ain't Nothing Like It' - It Took 1 Game For Mark Pope To Win Over Every Kentucky Fan, Sums Up The Program Perfectly
Was it one game? Of course, but there isn't anything else important going on and all I can think about is 1) this quote by Mark Pope and 2) what I saw last night. It's what me and every Kentucky fan has spent the last 5 years begging for. An offense that is modern, playing fast, not afraid to shoot the ball and doing shit like this:
It wasn't just getting the best shooter in the country in Koby Brea, it was the fact that everyone was willing to make a pass. It wasn't standing around, trying to only beat guys off the dribble. 30 assists happen for a reason and it was the offense that Pope brought in. It was letting Amari Williams get a rebound and push tempo. Too many times under Calipari, especially the last 5 years, we saw guys hesitant to shoot because if they missed or didn't get it to the post, they were benched.
And now we have divine intervention - not the Ed Cooley type either. Winning by 41, the number that Mark Pope wore when he won a national title at Kentucky. It's finally Kentucky's team again. It's not the University of Calipari which worked out from 2010-2019. It's now a coach engaging with fans, not speaking down to people and running something that's actually fun to watch. One game? Again, I don't give a shit. It's one game we've been begging to see. One game removed from losing to Oakland.
This is all I needed to see though. A 41-point win. The perfect quote. Kentucky Magic.