Mark Pope says his team is learning that playing for Kentucky means playing for its people

Over the past year and a half, we’ve gotten many examples of Mark Pope encouraging his players to connect with the Kentucky fanbase. The free fan fest before Big Blue Madness is the biggest example, but Pope even invited the media’s families to Rupp Arena yesterday to meet the players and coaches, a goodwill gesture that won’t soon be forgotten. As Pope said yesterday, forming those relationships is just as important as what happens on the court, a lesson he himself learned 30 years ago.

“What’s great about this place is, I don’t have to talk that much; I just have to connect. So, my guys are out in the community a lot on purpose, finding chances to serve because that actually helps us win, and it actually fulfills a higher purpose also.

“And so it’s not me that teaches our guys what Kentucky Basketball means and what this Commonwealth is and what this community is. It’s actually this community and this Commonwealth.”

Pope said the team went to London, the site of the deadly tornado back in May, for a luncheon that Jeff Sheppard put together for storm victims. In addition to bringing smiles to the faces of people who have been through so much, the players got to witness their resiliency firsthand.

“It was just families that lost homes, and in some cases, lost loved ones, and had miraculous stories,” Pope said. “And so my guys got to sit there and listen to these stories of the people in Kentucky, and then witness how they were rallying around each other, and that says everything that they need to know.”

For every story like that you hear, there are three that you don’t. “Playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back” may seem like lip service — especially in this day and age of college sports — but by taking his guys out into the community, Pope is ensuring that it’s not. It’s a responsibility he does not take lightly.

“So, when you hear my guys talk about this Kentucky on their chest and walking in Rupp and wanting to play for the people that are in the upper deck just as much as people in the lower deck, those aren’t hollow words; they’re actually seeing it more and more every day and learning it.

“And what a shame if they miss that. What a fail for me if they were here at the University of Kentucky and they missed the one thing that sets Kentucky apart from everyone else.”

As if we needed another reason to love Pope and this group, right?

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