Mark Pope: “Players need coaches more than ever”

Just a few short years ago, college coaches everywhere got unwittingly launched into the windstorm that is NIL and the transfer portal era. This tornado spun some old-school-minded coaches, even great ones like Nick Saban, into retirement. For others, the constant swirl of uncertainty and ever-changing rules made for ripe griping grounds. Kentucky’s Mark Stoops found himself staunchly in this group of top coaches who trudged through the new environment, but begrudgingly so. To absolutely no one’s surprise, though, Mark Pope is embracing the new challenge.

Pope, whose relentless positivity oscillates between profoundly inspirational and borderline cheesy, spoke at the Larry Shyatt coaching clinic last week and expounded on his refreshing perspective about NIL and the transfer portal.

He said, “I believe it’s the greatest time to be a college coach. It’s the most challenging, but also the most rewarding.”

This message embodies a refreshing take compared to other coaches who often have expressed the sentiment akin to, “NIL is here whether we like it or not, so we might as well make the best of it.”

Pope, who wants all the smoke, welcomes the toughest challenges, whether that is a difficult schedule or forging for success amidst the windstorm of NIL. Instead of viewing hardships as hardships, he looks at them as opportunities to conquer.

Pope knows this new world is challenging for players, too

Mark Pope is looking to be a leader for young men equally entering new territory. Pope continued in his speech at the coaching summit, “The players need us more than ever before,” and he’s right.

Imagine if you received hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more than a million, at 18 years old. How would you have handled it? Most of us struggled with doing our own laundry, and we were broke.

Being thrust into living in the spotlight that is Kentucky basketball during such a formidable age is already a lot for a budding adult to take in. Add endorsement deals, accountants, and paying more money in taxes in one year than you made your entire life, and you might need your head coach to be more than just someone who draws up plays for you in the huddle.

Mark Pope’s message to coaches everywhere is not to serve as a mentor because the current landscape requires it, but to embrace it because the players need it. This attitude looks like it is paying off in the form of 14 scholarship players, some signing up fully understanding they will not see much time on the court.

Pope is truly a one-of-one coach, and his unique perspective on life unfolds in different ways every time he steps up to a microphone.