Mark Pope on Louisville being good again: "It's good for college basketball and it's good for us."

Before they ever coached against each other in the most heated rivalry in collegiate athletics, Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey toned down the vitriol and said the two sides refused to hate each other.

“I want to not like Mark, but it’s hard not to because he’s a really good dude,” the Louisville coach said of his new rival.

“I love Pat, man. I actually love him. He’s a hard-driving, on it 24/7 guy. I love him, actually, and I’ve got a ton of respect for him,” the Kentucky coach responded.

The cruelest thing Pope has said about the other side is that he named the pesky mole in his backyard, The Cardinal. That was after describing the rivalry as a “brawl, like brothers going in the backyard and getting after it.”

Quite the shift from Coach Cal vs. Rick Pitino — although that was all before they faced off inside Rupp Arena for the very first time on December 14, Kentucky winning 93-85 in that one. Maybe things have changed entering year two with both teams expected to enter the year as top-10 programs capable of Final Four runs?

Pope says you shouldn’t rule it out.

“You don’t understand the level of hatred that we have for each other,” he told The Field of 68 this week. “I mean, this Pat Kelsey — have you been in his room? He has pictures of me, just throwing darts.”

Spoiler alert: nothing has changed, he still has nothing but love for the guy. And while it’s in his job description to have hate in his heart for the Louisville Cardinals, he’s thrilled the competitive fire is back on both sides. Think of the biggest names and brands in the sport at every level, whether it’s the New York Knicks or North Carolina Tar Heels. It’s easy to poke fun when they’re down, but the game is better when they’re competitive and back on top, right?

Because it makes beating them that much more meaningful.

“Listen, it’s great. I’m telling you, college basketball is great. Like, when the Knicks are great, the NBA is great, right? How fun was last year? It was so fun,” he continued. “Louisville is picking it up, which is so awesome. Indiana’s gonna pick it up, which is so awesome. I think North Carolina is going to be better this year, which is so awesome. I think Virginia is going to be better this year.”

Look at what the SEC turning into a cannibalizing juggernaut did for the sport last year. It’s all anybody wanted to talk about with ranked matchups all week, every week.

“When the heart of this and that cluster is great, the game is even better, right? Last year, the SEC was just a monster. I mean, we’ve never seen a league like it ever in the history of college basketball, and that was a great answer for college basketball. It was so fun.”

Now, how about some of the national brands picking back up where they left off — some decades ago, but better late than never? Kentucky is rolling, obviously, but so is Louisville.

And that means November 11 is going to be must-see TV at the KFC Yum! Center, exactly the way it should be.

“We’re gonna have this kind of Heartland Revival right now that I think makes the game so much better for these incredible fan bases, and I love it,” Pope said. “It’s awesome. It’s good for college basketball and it’s good for us.”