Why Jason Hart wasn't the biggest fan of Mark Pope (at first)

On April 22, Kentucky Men’s Basketball announced that Jason Hart would be joining the coaching staff as assistant coach. Fast forward nearly a month later, and the former Syracuse guard revealed that he wasn’t the biggest Mark Pope fan when he first heard the name.

In an interview with Maggie Davis on BBN Tonight, Hart said that the first time he saw Pope was when Kentucky beat Syracuse in the 1996 National Championship — Hart’s senior year of high school prior to joining the Orange. Pope happened to drain the free throws that pushed Kentucky to a seven-point lead with a minute to go in the finals, clinching the program’s sixth national championship.

“The first time I seen Coach Pope, I didn’t like him,” Hart said with a smile. “I was at home my senior year and they was beating my college, Syracuse, in the national championship. He made those free throws.”

Four years later, Hart and Pope officially met in 2000, the year Hart was drafted into the NBA. The pair played one season together for the Milwaukee Bucks.

“When I went to training camp, there was a guy named Mark that I didn’t… I didn’t register the face from the championship game,” Hart said. “As the training camp went on, I got to know him. Really nice guy, everybody loved him. Brought energy every day, joy to be around, and he became, like, our fan favorite.

“So it was just good to obviously connect with him then, and then 24 years later. Now we get to work together, which is awesome.”

The former guard also stressed the importance of being able to listen. Hart played point guard at Syracuse and said a lot of what he learned on the court translates into his coaching.

“I think a point guard is the coach on the floor,” he said. “So, you got to take everybody’s feelings into account… It hardens you and softens you at the same time, but as long as you have a passion for young men and you care, that’s the only thing these parents care about.”

“And I think I’m a guy that cares,” Hart added.

Mark Pope clearly knows what he’s doing at Kentucky, and the addition of Jason Hart seems like a perfect fit. With the help of assistant coach Cody Fueger, associate head coach Alvin Brooks III, and associate coach Mark Fox, the program is definitely in great hands.