The Unforgettable has weighed in on this upcoming Kentucky team.
When it comes to opinions that matter and hold value, Richie Farmer’s carries a lot of weight and value.
In a recent interview with KSR, Farmer opened up about the Kentucky basketball program being led by Mark Pope, one of the sport’s best young minds.
“Everything that I’ve been hearing, we’ve got a lot of potential and a lot to look forward to this year. I’m really excited. … I’m really excited about this team,” Farmer told KSR. “I’m always hesitant about saying, ‘We’re going 40-0…we’re going to win the national championship.
“But with this team, I really do think that they have Final Four potential.”
Like many of us, it took some time for Farmer to get behind Pope and the vision he had for the Wildcats program.
Was Pope a big name at the time he was hired? Maybe not. However, expectations are now high due to the job Pope has done in just over a full year as the head of the program.
“All of us that got a chance to watch him coach this past year saw that he’s one of the great young coaches out there,” Farmer said. “I mean, he’s young in his career, but the way he analyzes games and the way he takes bits and pieces of what he’s learned from different people that he’s played with and played for throughout the years, I think he does an outstanding job.
“And his offense is something that these young kids, they want to play for him. They want to be a part of it. That’s a big part of what’s happening now. You’ve got to have something that appeals to these young guys.”
The biggest part of the Pope era so far in Kentucky is the connection he has with the fanbase. He understands it because he played for Kentucky. Pope was a Captain on Kentucky’s 1996 National Championship Team. It doesn’t get much bigger than that.
The hope is that Pope can lead Kentucky back to the Final Four, somewhere the program hasn’t been since 2015.
Category: General Sports
