Mark Pope's mentality at practice will lead to wins for the Kentucky Wildcats

Mark Pope has an elite practice mentality.

Mar 20, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Brigham Young Cougars head coach Mark Pope watches the team during the NCAA first round practice session at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports / Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky Athletics posted a video on social media pages yesterday that showed Coach Mark Pope mic'd up at practice. When watching this video, it was very clear that practice has only been going on for a few days, but there is a ton of intensity at these practices. It looked like this team was getting ready for their matchup with Duke, yet this game is still four and a half months away.

Seeing practices like this should have Big Blue Nation excited as it shows there won't be a lack of preparation ahead of games. Coach Pope is preaching the mentality of making mistakes now and we can fix them. This is the time to make mistakes and learn the system. This philosophy leads to not making mistakes at big moments in the season, which is why high-intensity practices so early into the offseason are good for a team.

Knowing that this team, which is already full of veteran leadership, is practicing like this in June should make Kentucky fans feel very confident they won't make mistakes when November rolls around.

These players are all also learning a new system, so it is good to take it slow and learn as they go, which is what Coach Pope is preaching.

When watching the player's reactions to this style of coaching, they all seemed to be soaking in the information well, and that could be seen from the way the players looked running the drills. Coach Pope's style of coaching will lead to wins for the Kentucky Wildcats.