Kentucky's Mark Pope Comments on New Wave of G League Players Heading to College Basketball: 'It's a Fascinating Time to Be a College Coach'

College basketball has seen lots of changes in the last few years. Kentucky head Mark Pope is working to balance it all, especially with the latest influx of G League players heading to college basketball.

G-League guard London Johnson committed to Louisville earlier this week, amidst a larger push of G League players who have found eligibility. Pope was asked about this new development during his press conference on Thursday.

“I think we’re still trying to iron out the specifics of exactly what is going to be allowed and what’s not allowed. I know that there’s a player right now being recruited at a pretty high level, where it’s still pending, waivers, and everything that goes into that,” Pope said. “We’re working it all out in real time. I think it’s a fascinating, fascinating time to be a college coach. There are so many things that we don’t know, but I still come back to this place.”

Pope said that he was frustrated a bit in the spring about how college athletics was “pro, pro, pro.” However, his mindset has changed since then.

“I might be standing a little bit alone on this runway,” he said. “I still feel like this is the greatest opportunity in the world for these young men to grow into men; I don’t think we’re losing that.”

While Pope acknowledged that college sports are “clearly getting to a new area, he doesn’t believe his job has changed. If it’s done right, player development is still most important.

“At the first meeting with our guys, I was like, No, this is not. This is like young guys who have a couple of dollars in their pocket, but they need this more than ever before,” Pope said. “I still think this is the best place in the world to grow and make that step from being a high school kid to being a pro. When I say pro, I mean an NBA player. That transition, to me, is one of the most extraordinary, fast-paced, all-encompassing transitions that athletes go through. Our guys need leadership, they need guidance, they need mentorship, they need to grow. That process is still intact; it’s still beautiful. It’s more complicated than it’s ever been before.”

Mark Pope’s NBA Experience Gives Him Perspective

Mark Pope played six seasons in the NBA in the late 1990s and early 2000s. That time gave him the chance to earn some perspective.

“We trick ourselves that our life is going to be great once we get to the NBA. That’s actually not true. I loved everybody I got to play with in the league,” Pope said. “It was an incredible gift to be able to play with these guys, but there are a lot of guys that I got to play with in the league that their lives were really, really complicated. It’s not the end of the rainbow when they get there.”

Pope said that many players believe their problems will be fixed when they get to the NBA. That’s not the case.

“It doesn’t. All it does is make everything bigger,” Pope said. “When you get there, if you’ve grown into a secure, self-aware, disciplined, sharing, making things about bigger than yourself person, it’s the biggest ride ever. But if you get there and you haven’t grown into somebody that’s capable of taking it on, it can actually make your life incredibly miserable.”

Pope believes that college basketball can be a “learning ground” for players during this journey. There will be constant change in college basketball, but Pope still sees it as a great place for young players.

“I don’t know specifics, but I do know that,” he said. “I do believe that. Our jobs are more important than they’ve ever been in terms of mentoring these kids to become something great that’s going to be able to give them a joyful life.”

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