Mark Pope took over as the Kentucky Wildcats coach after John Calipari left for Arkansas. The move caused ripples within college basketball, as Calipari had written a rich history in Lexington.
Since coming to Kentucky, Pope has been vocal in his praise for Calipari, and he continued the same during his interview with CBS Sports’ Seth Davis on Thursday.
“Coach (Calipari) has been so gracious to me,” Pope said. “I have so much love in my heart for him. I’m a die-hard Kentucky fan, and I gotta cheer for the great things he did here. I mean, he had some epic runs here. Hung a banner up, went to a whole lot of Final Fours, and helped a bunch of kids get into the league. He represented Kentucky so well.
“There is a time and a season for everything. When things go right in the basketball world, it benefits everybody. This was a huge boost for Arkansas. This was a new, refreshing, dramatic move for Kentucky. I think there’s a bunch of winners in this. Now there’s only going to be one winner on February 1st.”
With John Calipari’s exit, most Wildcats players also entered the transfer portal. Mark Pope has built his roster entirely from the transfer portal, except for freshman recruits Collin Chandler, Trent Noah and Travis Perry.
Mark Pope and Kentucky will host Arkansas in 2025
The rivalry between Kentucky and Arkansas is set to reach new heights as the teams will take on each other at Rupp Arena on Feb. 1. The game will see the return of John Calipari and some former Wildcats players who followed their coach to Fayetteville.
Mark Pope commented on the significance of the game during his interview on the “College Hoops Today” podcast.
“For him to be in this league is great for basketball. It’s going to be great for Arkansas fans and certainly great for Big Blue Nation,” Pope said. “It’s going to be a battle. It is going to have some things become super personal.
“It’s one thing competing against somebody that you don’t know. It’s another thing competing against your brother. If you’ve done that in the backyard, it usually gets ugly because you love each other so much. I anticipate there’ll be some of that flavor in this with Coach Cal, for sure.”
The February clash will be the only time the two teams meet in the 2024-25 regular season.