Mark Pope gets brutally honest on his first season in Kentucky

This was a bit of a transition year for the Kentucky Wildcats. Needless to say, that doesn’t mean they weren’t expected to compete at a high level, not even after John Calipari left.

The SEC was an absolute bloodbath from start to finish, with 14 of 16 teams earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament, with seven of them even moving on past the first round.

The Wildcats were the No. 12 team in the nation after getting a 10-8 record in the conference. Looking back, it was quite a positive first season to start the Mark Pope era.

Mark Pope opens up on first year in Kentucky

“It was the greatest experience of my basketball coaching career, by far,” he said. “Last year, I was blessed to coach in the Big 12. That was an incredible league. But I don’t think college basketball has ever seen a league like the SEC last season.”

Mark Pope

Pope knew that he would be in for a massive challenge. He had some big shoes to fill, and while he was a former Wildcat, he didn’t have any experience with a powerhouse.

The former BYU coach has a bright future ahead of him, and while it won’t be easy to get back to the mountaintop, the early results were most definitely encouraging, all things considered.