Kentucky Boss Talks About Coach Cal's Return to Rupp Arena

Pope is enjoying immediate success as Wildcats' replacement for Hall of Famer

Bob Stephens | Jan 31, 2025

Kentucky Wildcats coach Mark Pope shouts at an official during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. No. 12 Kentucky beat the No. 8 Vols 78-73 on Tuesday. / Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

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Arkansas Razorbacks

Kentucky's basketball coach, the one who replaced the man with more victories than any active coach, is doing quite well with only 11 games left in the regular season. He has the Wildcats ranked No. 12 in the nation and fresh from an impressive road win against their archrival, No. 8 Tennessee.

That new coach is also making a mockery of an old saying: don't be the one to replace a legend. It's easier to follow the coach who tried to replace the legend. Well, Mark Pope is certainly following a legend, no matter if his final few seasons at Kentucky were far less than legendary.

That legend is John Calipari, the coach who spent 15 seasons at Kentucky before bolting to Arkansas, which made both programs happy. Both got a fresh start although the Wildcats (15-5 overall, 4-3 in the SEC) are doing a lot better than the Razorbacks (12-8, 1-6).

Records aside, it'll be an interesting matchup Saturday night when Calipari returns to Rupp Arena for the first time. ESPN will televise the matchup and has called it "A Homecoming Like No Other."

Pope was asked about the clash between the 'Cats and Hogs on his weekly radio show Wednesday night and didn't hesitate to praise the former Kentucky coach, a Hall of Famer who led UK to the 2012 national championship and sent 47 Wildcats to the NBA, 23 as lottery picks.

"We have been blessed at the University of Kentucky to have some of the greatest coaches to ever coach the game of basketball and, certainly, Cal is one of those. He's a Hall of Fame coach," Pope said. "In his 15-year tenure, what he accomplished at the University of Kentucky was incredible. In some ways, he revolutionized the game of college basketball and left a legacy that probably won't be ever reproduced in the same way that he did it.

"As a member of (Big Blue Nation) and a huge fan of Kentucky basketball, my whole heart is here and I love Cal. I love Cal for what he did for Kentucky basketball and on a very personal level, he's been so great to Lee Anne and I as a mentor and a friend."

Mark Pope on John Calipari and his return to Kentucky. “I love Cal. I love Cal for what he did for Kentucky basketball…...
Posted by KY Insider on Wednesday, January 29, 2025

With Calipari wearing a red sport coat instead of blue and sitting on the visitors' bench, Pope admitted it'll be a "complicated" reunion at Rupp. "It's a little bit of a complicated relationship right now because he's coaching the other team," Pope said. "... but I know BBN. I know our fanbase. There will be so much emotion because we care so much."

Pope didn't say if he thinks Calipari should get a round of applause and he certainly didn't encourage the blue-clad folks in Rupp to boo their former bench boss. But he seems to think the Kentucky crowd might be more inclined to warmly welcome Coach Cal on his next visit to Lexington -- but not on Saturday.

Pope continued: "... as time goes on and circumstances change, there's going to be a time where Cal walks back into this arena, he's going to feel all the love that BBN possibly has to offer because that's what we do with our family. We'll see Saturday.

"Saturday is also a competition, right? So, it's just going to be what it is. But I have a ton of love for Cal and I'm grateful for what he did here at Kentucky and grateful I get to be here and enjoy some of the fruits of his incredible labors here. I'm super appreciative of him and I know everybody in BBN feels the same way and I also know everybody in BBN wants to win this game on Saturday."

If Calipari and Arkansas somehow win, it would be an upset of gigantic proportion. Kentucky is 6-1 this season against teams ranked in the top 15. Pope has done that with a completely rebuilt roster and hopes to make Big Blue Nation ecstatic again Saturday by beating his legendary predecessor.

For Kentucky fans, the 8 p.m. game will be destination TV, the one everybody in Big Blue Nation circled on the calendar when the schedule was released. For Razorback rooters, they'll undoubtedly tune in also, but mostly hoping their team can simply keep it close. Calipari and his players, of course, are planning on shocking the nation.