WATCH: Mark Pope talks Andrija Jelavić, summer practice, defensive potential, and more

With summer practices already halfway over, Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope sat down with reporters Monday to talk about what’s been going on behind closed doors inside the Joe Craft Center.

This was the first time we heard from Pope in over a month, when he chatted with KSR’s Jack Pilgrim in Colorado Springs at USA Basketball training camp. A lot has happened since then, including the start of said summer practices. In his 30-minute conversation with the media, Pope talked about the status of incoming freshman Andrija Jelavić, what he likes about his backcourt pieces, the team’s potential on defense, scrimmaging against La Familia, and much more.

Dive in below to hear everything the head ball coach had to say as we inch closer and closer to the start of the 2025-26 season.

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