It Took One Month For Mark Pope To Save Kentucky Basketball And Continue To Show The World Why He's A Coaching Genius

It's 12:48 in the morning right now and we just watched the best game of the day. Any sport. I don't care. I'm willing to go there. Stakes of Clemson/SMU? Of course not. But it was the best game I watched. I don't know what would make me say such a thing besides this beautiful bald genius

Wait, wrong bald beautiful genius. This one.

Steph Chambers. Getty Images.

Let me clarify on this. The adjustments made from Mark Pope is why he's winning us games against Duke and Gonzaga in his first 9 games as a head coach at Kentucky. Throwing out a zone, starting the possession in a zone until the first pass, he's the reason Kentucky won that game. Again. I said it after Duke, I'll say it again. Mark Pope is Kentucky's best player and I'm completely fine with that. Let's have some fun with numbers, for the hell of it: 

Oh and did this without Lamont Butler (starting PG), Kerr Kriisa getting hurt (backup PG). No big deal. We'll just move Jaxson Robinson over there and open up everything about his game. No big deal when Mark Pope figures out how to get Andrew Carr in the right spot and kick Gonzaga's ass the second half. And then in OT, never trailed. And when Andrew Carr missed 2 free throws, this is how we win a game: 

Don't mind me rewatching all the highlights: 

I sat through enough shit the last few years. That's why these wins matter. Adjustments from Pope. Guys not quitting. Winning the big games and already having two top-10 wins? That's why I'm fucking excited about this team. A team that was put together at the last minute after all the coaching changes and Mark Pope constantly figuring everything out. What a win. What a coach. Kentucky basketball is back.