Kentucky head coach Mark Pope will see a familiar face on the opposing sideline Saturday as the Cats take on St. John’s in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta (12:30 p.m. ET, CBS).
St. John’s, of course, is coached by Rick Pitino, who was head coach at Kentucky from 1989 to 1997. Pitino took UK to three Final Fours (1993, 1996 and 1997), won the NCAA championship in 1996 and finished second in 1997.
Pope was on Pitino’s team in 1994-95 and was a member of the national championship team in 1995-96. He remembers knowing how to work hard, but not understanding how that translated into a broader perspective.
“I think I came here with a good understanding of how to work really, really, really hard, and I left here with a better understanding of how to translate that work into a competitive nature,” Pope said.
Pitino praised the UK administration when the university hired Pope as Kentucky’s head coach. Pope said they had only one recent conversation.
“He called me after the Michigan State game and told me to get my act together,” Pope said. “That was the last time I spoke to him.”
As for this year’s Kentucky and St. John’s teams, Pope knows both teams should have Final Four aspirations.
“I think we probably have two teams that have really, really high ceilings, that haven’t totally found them yet,” Pope said. “I think you have two teams that, at any given moment, could be incredibly explosive. But I think at the heart of the game, there’s going to be a lot of physicality in the game.”
On the Kentucky side, one of the storylines is the potential return of big man Jayden Quaintence, who has not played a single game this season. Pope wouldn’t commit to Quaintence playing on Saturday, but he hasn’t ruled it out either.
“It’s kind of a day-to-day thing and you know, once he’s confident and healthy and cleared, we’ll move on,” Pope said. “He hasn’t played basketball for nine months and crossed half court for the first time in a drill two days ago. So we’ll see.”
In the meantime, a matchup between a head coach and one of his former captains, plus seeing two teams with Final Four potential face off should be enough to keep fans engaged in this competition.
