Mark Pope wore a special shirt for five-star Kentucky commit Jasper Johnson

Kentucky has an elite basketball coach in Mark Pope.

University of Kentucky’s new men’s basketball coach Mark Pope applauds as Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart introduces him to the thousands of fans in Rupp Arena for his press conference on Sunday, April 14, 2024. / Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kentucky football hosted South Carolina on Saturday in a big game and the Wildcats weren't able to get the job done. The Gamecocks won this game 31-6 in Kroger Field, killing the Cat's chances of hosting College GameDay.

SEC Nation was in Lexington for this football game, and Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope was brought on the show to talk about his recent recruiting success. Over the last few weeks, Coach Pope and his staff have landed two highly ranked 2025 recruits, and both are from the Bluegrass State. Seven-footer Malachi Moreno committed first, and five-star guard Jasper Johnson followed, committing to the Wildcats on Thursday.

When Coach Pope was on the set of SEC Nation, he was wearing a shirt that said: "Kentucky till I die." This was the precise message Johnson had for Big Blue Nation after he committed to the Wildcats on Thursday.

Both Moreno and Johnson were born and raised in Kentucky, so when elite talent is right in your backyard, Coach Pope has to get the job done, and he was able to do that with both of these elite prospects.

Coach Pope was rumored to not be the best recruiter when Kentucky hired him, but in only a few short months, he has killed recruiting both in the transfer portal and high school. Coach Pope will end up being an excellent recruiter at Kentucky because he is really good at building relationships, which is a big part of recruiting. The Kentucky Wildcats are going to be really good for a long time.