Mark Pope admits Kentucky has not met program standard, ‘but we are making progress’
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Mark Pope ended Year 2 at Kentucky with a 22-14 record and a first weekend exit after falling to Iowa State on Sunday. An expensive Wildcats roster, therefore, met a bit of an anticlimactic end with regard to some Kentucky fans’ expectations preseason.
During his radio show on Monday, Pope was asked what he would say to Wildcat fans who are feeling down with the season now over and done with. In his response, Pope assured that Kentucky has not met the program standard, but insisted the Wildcats are making progress.
“I’m not talking about meeting the standard of where we’re trying to get. Clearly, we did not do that, but we are making progress,” Pope said, via Kentucky writer Keith Taylor. “In the four years before we got here, we won one game in Nashville. In the last two years, we’ve won three games in Nashville, and clearly the seed hasn’t been as good.”
He wasn’t finished, either. Pope also had the following to say regarding the Wildcats post-John Calipari.
“The winning percentage is higher. The NCAA Tournament success is higher. The strength of schedule is ridiculously more difficult, and all of that done in the context of having one of the most unfortunate health trends in the history of Kentucky basketball. And so, in those senses, like we haven’t met our goals, clearly, but we are making progress in that part of society. And I really bring that up because I think at times, our guys feel like, man, everybody says this is the worst it’s ever been. It’s not. We’re actually making positive progress by the numbers and I’m grateful for the work and the commitment of our guys, and we’re going to keep going. And the thing is, we have to keep getting better and better and better as we as we grow this program to the point where we’re actually hanging a banner. And this is all part of the process, and we have nothing in our offices, in our locker room besides hope and excitement for the future.”
It may not be what some Kentucky fans want to hear — every fanbase has a subgroup of people who just want to complain — but it’s hard to disagree with Pope, who took the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 one year and performed to their seed line expectations the next. As far as rock bottom is concerned, Kentucky is far from it entering the 2026 offseason.
However, that program standard Pope was talking about will always be relevant, and he’ll have to hit that standard sooner rather than later to keep Kentucky fans and boosters happy. With several players on the way out this offseason, it’ll be back to the drawing board for Pope and Co. heading into 2027.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
