As the Kentucky Wildcats gear up for their second season under Mark Pope, the new head coach is doubling down from last year on building a foundation.
“Last year, from Day 1, we were incredibly devoted to teaching from the ground up the way we play,” Pope said of last season’s roster at a recent press conference. “We were really intentional about it.”
“This is the bet we’re making,” Pope continued. “If we spend an extraordinary amount of time now on the foundation in a new but 100 percent way, then the framing of the house and finishing the house is actually going to go way faster. It’s going to be way more palatial, and the resale value is going to be incredible if we really, really dig in hard on this foundation.
“But when you walk up to a house and all you see is the foundation, it’s not very inspiring. So we’re spending a massive amount of time and energy and focus on the foundation, making the best, deepest, most sure foundation that we possibly can, and we’re trusting that the next steps are going to go faster and that we’re going to get a better product.
“It’s a calculated decision on our part that I think is going to pay off in the long run.”
With a renewed focus on legal contests, full-effort practices, and being coachable, Pope believes: “This group has a chance to be beautifully coachable.”
