“He was the guy who sacrificed it all and did whatever was asked of him. He started and then Walter (McCarty) did in that spot but he did not care because he wanted to win. He was selfless,” said former UK teammate Derek Anderson.
“We all voted for him as team captain. Usually you do not have a senior captain coming off the bench but he was different. He was tremendous for us with his sacrifice and effort. He cares more about UK than he does anything else and always has. That’s his passion. We knew who he was and he was our captain. He was an impactful person and an impactful player. It just went hand in hand with him.”
Anderson valued Pope so much as a teammate that he flew into Lexington from Los Angeles on the day of Pope’s introductory press conference as UK’s new coach and flew back to LA later the same night.
“I was not going to miss that,” Anderson laughed and said. “I would have flown more than four years to be there for him.”
Maybe that’s why Pope gave the national championship trophy to Anderson to hold after the new coach carried it off the bus when it rolled into Rupp Arena to mimic UK’s 1996 national championship reception.
“We were on the bus talking about who should take the trophy and somebody said I should take it because I had better hands. So rather than take a chance on breaking it, I did it for the team just like Mark used to do things for our team.”
Anderson said UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart knew the support Pope would have from former players when he hired him following John Calipari’s resignation. The initial UK fan base may not have seemed overly thrilled with the pick but Anderson knew that would change.
“You are getting a coach who believes in Kentucky and believes you will win. No one could have wanted this job more than him and no one understands the history better,” he said. “Mark loves Kentucky and has
always loved Kentucky.”Anderson remembers how former UK players like Jim Master and Roger Harden left their numbers in lockers so new players would learn who they were year after year.
Anderson said he has no ill will toward any UK coach but admits many former players did not “feel a part of the program” under Calipari.
“We are part of Kentucky basketball. Mark knows that because he was part. We just want the coach to win games and see enthusiasm for players and the university. We want to win championships,” Anderson said. “Mark knows his assignment. He came here to win. All games matter. That’s why we play. You don’t just play for a good time or what is coming later. We all came here to win and Mark did too.
“If you are a golfer, the goal is to make the PGA (Tour). If you are a boxer, you want to win titles. If you go to med school, you want to be a doctor. Mark wants to be the Kentucky coach.”
Anderson said Pope, who came to UK from BYU, will “never” make excuses for a loss or how his team plays.
“He knows he has to get the right guys to play hard and that’s not easy to find,” Anderson said. “We (former) players are going to help in recruiting any way we can. We’ve told him, ‘What you need, you let us know.’
“He doesn’t make excuses. He will hold himself accountable and keep the standard high because that’s how he played. You have to believe when you come to this university that it is about winning and banners.”
Anderson admits NIL and the transfer portal make constructing championship teams harder but not impossible.
“UConn just did it again. Villanova won two (titles),” Anderson said. “Bill Self (of Kansas) won in the NIL era with transfers out of control. It can be done and Mark will figure it out.”
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Andru Phillips has wanted to play in the National Football League for as long as he can remember but he heard the doubters when he declared for the NFL draft after his junior season even though he had 47 tackles, five pass breakups and 1.5 tackles for loss in 2023.
However, his belief in himself was rewarded when the New York Giants took him in the third round of the NFL draft with the 70th overall pick.
“I took a big gamble (by going into the draft) when I left school and came into the draft,” Phillips said. “I had some decent grades coming into the draft. I just had to trust who I am and make the right move. I trusted I would be able to perform during the draft process and show who I am.”
He took advantage of invitations to the Senior Bowl and NFL combine to impress NFL scouts and then did the same at UK’s Pro Day in March.
“I put my head down and worked to get where I am today. This just shows how hard I worked,” Phillips said. “This was not in the game pan when I declared but we all knew I could get there if I worked as hard as I could.”
Phillips is an elite athlete. He ranked No. 1 in the nation in high school in the triple jump and won the South Carolina 2019 state championship with a leap of 49 feet, 4 inches. He also ran the 100 meters in 11 seconds, the 200 in 23.07 and 400 in 54.88. He recently ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds, had a 42-inch vertical jump and 11- standing broad jump.
He’s not worried about whether the Giants play him inside or outside. He moved to the outside last year for Kentucky and “worked to be the best” without questioning defensive coordinator Brad White.
“At the start of the season it was a little bumpy. When I found my footing I became a dog on the outside,” Phillips said. “Going to the league I realize I am not a finished book. Great coaches can make me a better player outside as well. I am confident the organization can get me to be a great player.”
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Dick “Hoops” Weiss of the New York Daily News is one of the nation’s most respected college basketball writers and has watched new Kentucky signee Amari Williams play at Drexel where he was a three-time Colonial Athletic Association defensive player of the year.
“He is a major defensive presence with a 7-5 wingspan. He’s big and can block shots. He’s a definite rim protector,” Weiss said. “He went to prep school in England but he is pretty fundamentally sound.”
Williams has played in 105 games at Drexel and averaged 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.6 assists per game in his career. Last season he averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.
“I don’t see him as a focal point offensively for Kentucky,” Weiss said. “He was the biggest kid in the league but only averaged 12 points per game and you kind of think he should have done more.
“The SEC will be a big adjustment for him. It’s not like he played against a lot of athletic bigs in the Colonial. He is a three-time defensive player of the year but I don’t see him being Anthony Davis. He is a good kid and I think he will fit the mold of what they are looking for.”
Fitting that mold could be partially due to his passing ability because coach Mark Pope’s offense likes to utilize a center’s passing ability.
“He’s not a bad passer. He sees the floor. But I have not seen a lot of his perimeter game,” Weiss said. “He was the best pure center in Philadelphia last season. He blocked some big shots during his career at Drexel but I really don’t think anybody expected him to be on the radar of Kentucky, Mississippi State and St. John’s like he was.”
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Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff made a believer of UK receiver Dane Key during spring practice.
“He’s a ball player and he’s also a really good leader that we’re so happy to have on this team because he just brings a lot to the table with everybody, just being around him and all the other guys clicking with him,” Key said on the Paul Finebaum show on the SEC Network. “All the other guys on the team, even the defensive guys, are clicking with Brock and that’s not really normal. He’s such a good leader that everybody on the team was clicking with him.”
Key also didn’t shy away from answering when Finebaum asked him about Texas and Oklahoma coming into the Southeastern Conference. Kentucky plays at Texas on Nov. 23.
“I think it’s an awesome opportunity that Texas and Oklahoma are now in the SEC. It’s just another great game to add to the schedule for every team in the SEC because those are two great opponents and everybody’s gonna be looking forward to playing them. I think we’re gonna be super excited to play there,” Key said.
The junior-to-be receiver also admitted NIL money is a reason for some players to stay closer to home to play in college
“A lot of guys who would leave their home state to go play at other schools, big name schools, a lot of kids are staying locally now so that they can play in front of their home state and also get a chance to earn NIL revenue and really make a name for themselves in their home state,” Key said.
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Mark Pope can successfully recruit at Kentucky without doing it the same way as former coach John Calipari who liked to load up with highly ranked freshmen year after year.
YahooSports NBA draft analyst/college basketball writer Krysten Peek said signing Collin Chandler, a one-time BYU signee who has been on a two-year mission trip, was a “big win” for Pope.
“He was one of the best players in his recruiting class before going on his mission,” she said. “I think he is going to surprise a lot of people. That was agreat flip for Pope and Kentucky.”
Peek said the Kentucky fan base will still carry weight with recruits even with Pope as the coach. She also says the fact he won as a player at Kentucky and runs an NBA-style offense will help.
“I think he will be just fine. Yes, Calipari leaving and bringing in Pope changes the way Kentucky will recruit so he can get players to fit his offense and what he wants to do and get a guy like Collin Chandler who does not have tunnel vision to the NBA.
“There will not be a roster full of one-and-done players again at Kentucky but I honestly think Mark Pope will be just fine. Recruits will see videos of sold out Rupp Arena and how BBN was so excited at that press conference. All that resonates with players. It’s a new era and new chapter of Kentucky basketball.”
Peek said there will likely be no more No. 1 or No. 2 recruiting classes like Kentucky got used to with Calipari.
“Pope plays more of a NBA style game with spacing and how he uses his bigs,” Peek said. “Kentucky is still a top program with recruits. There will not be multiple five-star recruits in one class. It will be more like UConn sprinkling in elite recruits with transfer portal guys. It’s going to be different but that’s not bad. Pope’s playing style will be a positive in what Kentucky fans wanted from Calipari and his system.”
What about NIL money? How much will that impact Pope’s recruiting?
“Some recruits will go for NIL. There are always going to be money kids who have a starting bid number.With Pope and what he wants to build at Kentucky I do not think he will go after the highest bid. He is not going to win if you are bidding against Kentucky’s old coach now at Arkansas with his NIL budget. I just do not think Pope will want get into bidding wars.
“Pope will find players in the portal and then sprinkle in some top recruits and you are not going to see almost an entire roster turnaround every year like you have seen the last 12 years or so.”
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Quote of the Week 1: “It’s a great hire. It’s outside the box for UK, but the entire college athletics experience is operating outside the box now with the NIL and transfer portal. I think being a former player makes it easier to go back to a school to be the head coach because they know and understand the pulse of the program,” former UK player Reggie Hanson on the hiring of Mark Pope at Kentucky.
Quote of the Week 2: “This opportunity is extra special because not only do I get to work at one of the most traditional basketball powers in the country, but I also get to work with a former player and a former staff member who is like family to me,” Mark Fox after joining Mark Pope’s UK staff as an associate coach.
Quote of the Week 3: “The one thing I know about Big Blue Nation is if I say anything about L’s down I will get run out of town so I am going to keep my mouth shut on that one,” new Kentucky coach Mark Pope when asked how he feels about L’s down.
