Kentucky coach Mark Pope has confidence in his players and it is clearly paying off

Mark Pope is his players #1 fans, and this is leading to success.

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope instructed his team as the Wildcats faced off against the Brown Bears at Rupp Arena on New Year's Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. / Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal & USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Every time Kentucky's players talk to the media, one thing they talk about time and time again is how much confidence Mark Pope has in his guys. Sometimes athletes, at times, have a bad game and hang their heads, but that doesn't seem to be the case with this team.

There are a ton of examples of this but two of the big ones have been Amari Williams and Andrew Carr. Williams has had some struggles turning over the ball early into the year, as well as some defensive problems, but Coach Pope continues to voice his belief in the seven-footer. Williams proceeded to have a great game in the win over Florida, and after the win, Coach Pope talked about how proud he was of him.

Carr has not shot the three-ball all that well this season compared to previous years, and Coach Pope has continued to push him to shoot the three. He then proceeded to go 2-5 from deep in the win over Florida, with one of them coming in crunch time.

Coach Pope is incredible at making sure that his players are confident because players who play freely with a lot of confidence play well, and that is what the Wildcats are looking for.

The freshmen Travis Perry, Trent Noah, and Collin Chandler have also talked about how Coach Pope always tells them to keep shooting the ball no matter what. Coach Pope coaches in a way that helps his players feel free on the court, and this will lead to a lot of success.