Mark Pope & Kentucky players discuss win over Duke in Champions Classic

[@kingsimba1605]

What a gutsy performance by the Kentucky Wildcats. Mark Pope coached an incredible game. The guys were clutch. Experience won out this game. Duke played well. Great game overall.

[@Doorgunner50]

The more I hear Pope talk basketball and philosophy the more excited I get for the future of Ky basketball. Absolutely the perfect hire!

[@Wild1KY]

🔥 Ain’t that the Truth! We got us a BALL coach 💪😜 I am so Glad Calipari is GONE! His “philosophy” wasn’t Good for the state of Kentucky Basketball,,, I put it like this; He would go out & get the BEST ingredients Available, but would Do ZERO cooking Himself to put together a great dish, an abject Failure as a “Kentucky” basketball coach,, maybe they will like it in Arkansas, but NOT here! Let the Pope era Begin 🙌

[@jaygroovy]

Great coaching job. I mean great fucking coaching job. Great team and great group of coaches. Huge win. This is the feeling us Kentucky fans have been missing for a very long time. We win games like this, that’s what BBN does. BBN is special! Great way to adjust in the second half and compete. Love this coach and his energy. Pope is hope, god bless everybody ♥️

[@michaeljwilliams769]

Well said my guy💪

[@wildcatrewind]

Yessir!

[@mllruss1]

Really good roundball IQ and focus

[@DB-rr9og]

Interesting. In one sentence you are dropping an F bomb, and a couple later you say "god bless everybody."

[@jaygroovy]

@@DB-rr9og people like you focus more on the negative then positive lol. God bless you

[@Kevin-m5e7d]

Great coaching and strong to the end

[@indigomarine91]

How the tides have turned since march..

[@erinmichaels8195]

Yeah baby!!!! Who's in the house tonight?! UK!!

[@landofthedreadheads8901]

GO BIG BLUE!!!!!!

[@Wild1KY]

🔥 🙌 🔥 Ain’t that the Truth! We got us a BALL coach 💪😜 I am so Glad Calipari is GONE! His “philosophy” wasn’t Goof for the state of Kentucky Basketball,,, I put it like this; He would go out & get the BEST ingredients Available, but would Do ZERO cooking Himself to put together a great dish, an abject Failure as a “Kentucky” basketball coach,, maybe they will like it in Arkansas, but NOT here! Let the Pope era Begin 🙌

[@masoncarlile125]

This team/group absolutely oozes '98 vibes...no superstars, but outstanding toughness and resolve and the ability to fight as a team through thick and thin. Im a humble man and have no problem apologizing to Mitch Barnhart and Mark Pope. I didnt like the hire immediately and was very vocal about it. Ive never been so happy being wrong in my life!!! Ill take this over 5 5 star freshmen every year...proud of this win!!!

[@Syrin23]

I disagree on the stars. Brandon Garrison, Brea, Robinson, and Oweh have legit NBA talent that will now be showcased at Kentucky. Maybe Carr, maybe Amari. But yes, I agree completely with your point

[@christiansmith5033]

@@Syrin23bro I feel like every player on the team, can develop into at least a bench player in the nba.. Especially carr and amari. They will definitely make the nba

[@BBNTrashtalker]

Mark pope will do what Cal didn’t do he’ll go undefeated in a season

[@BBNTrashtalker]

Duke is poop GO CATS

[@Syrin23]

@@christiansmith5033 I 100% agree. Not sure if Lamont has NBA size or shooting, but we'll see

[@blairbtravis]

Refreshing to see such fight and poise during this game. Congrats! 💙💙💙

[@peytonblock3670]

Duke fan here. First time hearing Mark Pope talk and it's hard not to like the guy. Good luck to BBN this season. I know ya'll don't want to see us in March though!

[@LordRa88]

Thank you, and you right. Got a squad. I hate Duke but I'll admit that. You guys are gonna be incredibly hard to beat come march.

[@davidfrey5654]

(BYU/UK fan) Super happy to see Pope with this one with his new set of players. I'm an adopted member of the BBN. Otega was ICE at the end of the game making all four of his free throws in the final 10 seconds. That's superstar stuff right there. Not easy to do.

[@lindawray6685]

Welcome to the family!!

[@LordRa88]

Welcome to BBN my man. All are welcome here. We love having ya.

[@mitchellmullins9411]

So proud of these guys for not giving up and especially our COACH who knows how to change things up when needed . Big difference from last year , Last year this would of been a loss . So glad to have ANDREW CARR , IT'S nice to finally have a BIG MAN who can play like a big man . All in all we have a great team that's only going to get better and better as the season goes by

[@asadenniston]

Proud of our team !!

[@tcfire40]

Everything just feels right. To the extent of the question being when the first banner comes, and how many? Hate to jump the gun, but it all just seems to fit.

[@alexavery7532]

Gosh I love Mark Pope and the new era of Kentucky Basketball!! #BBN

[@CrimsonCharlie]

Me toooo!

[@DylanJohnsonmusic423]

Game of the year

[@lanedyke198]

This team is a special group, can’t wait to see the rest of the season

[@hdhxhebdh]

💯%. Me2 😅😂..BBN

[@BBNTrashtalker]

Duke is poop

[@czrmalone4441]

@@BBNTrashtalkeryall got lucky once we play again we’re beating yall easily we have way better players by far just early in the season

[@Mdbyass]

@@czrmalone4441cope

[@BBNTrashtalker]

@@czrmalone4441 are you deaf ??? I said DUKE IS POOP

[@bikerbeliever8169]

Told yall this team is legit. They struggled and still found a way to win. Dont forget Cat fans, humble in victory and humble in defeat. Pride goeth before a fall.

[@whitneywilliamson7384]

Super proud of this team let's gooooooooo

[@Dapper1948]

The young men battled for that hard fought win! My belief in us prevailing was led by the coaching, where in years past I always felt our team lacked leadership to guide us late in games, i.e. clock management, set plays and exuding confidence. NOT ANYMORE!! This staff is competent, present in the moment and only concerned with the TEAMS success. So blessed to have Coach Pope and the staff leading our team this year. BBN4LIFE

[@webbedshadow2601]

I love watching these players, especially tonight. You could see their toughness!! These guys played well against duke even under pressure in the final moments, the exact time when Cal teams again and again would fall short and not be able to come out with the win. For the first time in years Kentucky actually looked like KENTUCKY. Great job Mark Pope and the cats!!

[@williamtennill6744]

Go Cats, being fan for years it’s been awhile seen been so excited . Yall played with HEART and effort ..U all stayed together ..this was a big win for us !! Really Proud of how u all didn’t go away and battled ..testament to hard work and team work..good team victory !! Great game Carr, O!! Both came up big down the stretch too.

[@biff2218]

Love this coach and team

[@williamtennill6744]

Great job as well Mark! I like the call on the long pass late to some others ..we support ya

[@Greenwashedhipppie]

If this was a typical Cal rookie team. Duke would have crushed UK by 20. Duke is going tough late in the season, UK is tough now.

[@Syrin23]

NO DOUBT. Duke is clearly a good team, and they would have beaten us with Cal by 20 for SURE, especially after we got down by ten.

[@j-ferrell144]

We are back!! Pope and the boys were cookin!!

[@scottfleckenstein7948]

Pope is the smartest coach we have ever had. Human intelligence and knows the human condition.

[@dianecole7141]

Congrats UK great win this fan is on cloud 9 been a while since we beat duke

[@hdhxhebdh]

Pope is the man for kentucky basketball 😊 love this team good job keep it up wildcats 💪😺🏀🔥🔥🔥💙🤍💙 .... BBN ...call us ...come back CATS 💙🤍🔥#9..2024🙏🏻

[@wayneguess7946]

The more I listen to Coach, the more I love him! What an awesome person!

[@bigpapi2658]

I gotta say it’s nice not hearing John Calipari‘s screaming run!!! Hustle!!!

[@Honkey_Tonker]

Or saying on the postgame press conference about Cal’s tweek “I just told the guys, go play, just go play”. 😂

[@Plumbob_3]

First of all, I'm really proud of our guys, all of them. It's incredible to get a big win in November, something we hadn't been doing in recent years. We were able to grind out a win, in a game where Jax-Rob wasn't at his best. He will bounce back and win us some games in the future for sure! This team is special! 💙

[@nomopayn]

To win that game when Jaxson Robinson was a no show is extremely impressive, and I hope Kerr Krissa shoots the ball better from here on out because his 3 or 4 in a row three point shot misses just about lost the game. Andrew Carr was without question the difference maker for UK.

[@Michael-tj5bk]

At least kirr hit some and played decent overall. Robinson looked like the worst basketball player on the team.

[@faithfitnessandfatherhood]

Krissa definitely missed his fair share, but you can’t tell me his energy didn’t play a factor in that win. That guy stayed intense the whole game! Every time they showed him on camera he was pumped.

[@davidfrey5654]

At BYU Jaxson was a shot making machine. And Kerr played in our same conference at West VA and he could knock down shots like crazy. They'll have their time. Maybe just some jitters.

[@bookertee3057]

GO CATS! Kentucky basketball is back.

[@Syrin23]

Can we talk about Brea for a minute. How in the HELL are people not seeing the dude is ABSOLUTELY an NBA player and should be a lottery pick? Ignore the INSANE shooting, the dude played GREAT defense. How many strips did he get on guys driving the paint? How many clutch rebounds did he get? GREAT pass for a lay up, great cut for a lay up. 6'7". ABSOLUTELY an NBA player.

[@heathbaker1138]

The problem is lottery picks are more about potential than all else.

[@BBNTrashtalker]

BG too

[@randalljones-k7p]

Fagg is overrated how u have 2 TO in the last 20secs and then not box out lol he lost tht game for duke

[@BBNTrashtalker]

@@randalljones-k7p flagg is sad and bad. He makes my poop mad

[@Syrin23]

@@heathbaker1138 And that hasn't turned out well for a bunch of those teams. We'll see

[@jerellperry9783]

Im loving this kentucky team, we gotta work on our turnovers and rebounding, but damn it the toughness and tenacity and swag our guys are showing is what makes them a championship caliber team

[@kylecritchelow965]

Something seems special about this team. Calipari made NBA players. Mark Pope is making Kentucky players ...cohesive and selfless.

[@alpharealmsportspro]

Bruuuuuuhhh!!! Let's goooooo!!! I was watching and hoping

[@Potts87_Thor_RIP_Adp]

Love this!!! We haven’t had a coach run plays like pope did in a long ass time!! These dudes are gonna win a championship!! Tough ass team!! Scary good, GO CATS

[@christiantan2499]

They laughed at me when I said don’t doubt the Cats in Catlanta

[@ronelliott5405]

What a refreshing change in the positive that Coach Pope brings to the Kentucky program! Even if the Cats had lost this game, I appreciate the fight and determination, the effort that this team brings to the game. Well done Cats and Coach Pope!

[@davidjessee7701]

I’m born Kentucky! Live in Kentucky! Love Kentucky! Fan of Kentucky baseball!!!! So happy tonight!!!!! Go Big Blue!!! Go Cats!! Go Pope!!! Glad to see Cal go!!!!!

[@RDMar222]

Pope is the man..This is the type of team I love great win.Old school Kentucky basketball

[@Antbeast23]

Coaching experience is night and day defense shooting toughness energy and effort is different better system

[@scottmcclish5860]

Go Big Blue.

[@kadencoup2839]

Pope’s philosophy and language >>

[@Syrin23]

It is SO refreshing to see MEN playing ball. If we lost, it wouldn't be because we beat ourselves, or didn't give effort. Our veteran interior play was just too much. Pump fakes, up and unders, GREAT positioning, team rebounding. We won with Jaxson playing terrible and Amari being a non-factor on offense. SUPER deep team. Go back to my posts before we even played the FIRST exhibition game. THIS IS A TITLE CONTENDING TEAM, and to all the clowns who laughed at me then, WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?

[@Michael-tj5bk]

Yeah Jaxon Robinson looked like he never played basketball before. Don't know what that was. You are wrong about Williams. He.had 8 first half points. Kept us in the game when Butler and Robinson were terrible. He just didn't play as much in second half cause wanted a smaller lineup at times.

[@Syrin23]

@@Michael-tj5bk No, he was an offensive liability. Guys would drive then kick it out to him at the three. He is never going to take or hit the three, and the next guy he would swing it to was guarded. He is SO quick for his size, and he would get down to within five feet of the basket then not look for his shot or force a bad shot if he couldn't find an outlet. He went 3-12. But his defense and rebounding were outstanding. His scores in the first half came mostly off of rebounds, and that one push shot from the FT line was so off target that it took a bizarre bounce and went in. I am sure Pope will find a way to use him more in this offense because the dude might be one of the most athletic bigs we've seen. And yeah, I have no idea what happened to Jaxson. It has to be intimidating to see the third regular season game is the biggest game you've ever played in your career. Welcome to Kentucky.

[@Michael-tj5bk]

@Syrin23 he was not in the first half. He had 8 points moron. He is a 5. He is not a 3 point shooter. Pope played him up top. Duke was smart and left him up there. That's basketball. It's not Williams fault and he didn't play bad at all. Get a clue

[@atech902]

​@@Syrin23I would disagree about Amari, he played a good game, Not shooting wise but that's not his game or the reason he is here. 2nd half he didn't get a lot of playing time as Pope moved Carr to the 5

[@Syrin23]

@@atech902 And why did he move Carr to the five and Amari to the bench? Because Pope agreed with me

[@CellarDoorx06]

All I can say is it was a helluva win. Lets go guys!!

[@PhylissMcCreary]

So proud of this Kentucky team.❤❤

[@sanster7700]

Exciting game! Go Cats!!

[@wildcatrewind]

Just to be clear....i STILL hate Laettner

[@gregburklo253]

Congrats men! I'm so proud of y'all!

[@zachm.6572]

GOAT

[@vetgamernetwork623]

Good job fellas, so so proud of you guys! God Bless!

[@MC-nb6lu]

Great job, CATS!! I'm ready for this season.

[@johnhenderson6139]

Great players and coach

[@lonniemoody5318]

WHAT A GREAT BALL GAME ..... BOTH TEAMS LOOKED GREAT, BUT THE Perseverance FROM the KY wildcats PERVAILED ...IS THIS ANOTHER COME BACK CAT TEAM??? BBN 💙

[@austincornett367]

The experience from these older guys impacts the young players so much. We always started over every year under Cal. Over time we had forgotten the energy we are now going through

[@yunghizzle92]

When Pope got the white board out towards the end of game, and started drawing plays up. He went around to every player to make sure they understood where they needed to be, and what the needed to do. I knew right there regardless of the outcome this is the guy kentucky has been missing all these years.

[@jt1765]

Mark Pope! CATS!

[@jennlove-36]

So proud of our team! That win felt so good

[@scottgreene844]

That’s Kentucky Basketball

[@Syrin23]

Anyone else noticing that the Cal recruited Cats have been pretty silent about Pope and this team? As I suspected for a decade or more, most of Cal's players were about the name on the back of the jersey, and loyal to Cal, not to Kentucky.

[@BBNTrashtalker]

I think it’s gonna take a lot of work for pope to gain everybody’s faith and trust, but it’s gonna happen that we won the national championship this year

[@BBNTrashtalker]

We are underdogs against Clemson in a couple weeks hate and disrespect. They made it sound like Kentucky and Duke are the greatest college basketball programs ever I disagree. There’s not two basketball. There’s only one and there’s only one room for us because we’re the greatest greatest.

[@wildcatrewind]

Anyone else dieing to hear from coach Patino after this? 😉

[@mikeironhorse]

All boxes…checked.

[@SundaySchool-with-Jud]

“The Gospel” Thank You Lord

[@williamtennill6744]

Also Carr 😂😂 u need to Coach one day man, good with your words and know the game etc ..play the right way too

[@BBNTrashtalker]

Carr future Kentucky head coach….i like it great prediction we’ll see someday all we need is for Calipari to go to Louisville in that span of time also

[@marymays8846]

💙💙💙CATS CATS CATS. Ya'll are the #BBN

[@glenosborne9807]

Wait until you get back to Lexington. You'll see how big this was and how grateful we are. Congratulations Battle Cats.

[@Sum-hung-guy]

It's good to see Kentucky teams actually get coached.

[@BBNTrashtalker]

Kentuckys the 👑 of 🏀 don’t ever say…there’s two kings were the only ones Mark Pope is gonna be special this year will be special Kentuckys back BBN, GO CATS!!!

[@DeborahAnderson-d4v]

So happy to have Coach Pope at UK❤

[@cutmemick4949]

It's magic

[@ElbertBelt]

Great win wildcats 😊!!!!😊

[@RogerRobinson-mk2kd]

CONGRATULATIONS UK

[@vickievanhoosier1636]

Great game

[@darthrevan9858]

Pope said it best "It's about US." It's more rewarding and better that way.

[@atech902]

At the beginning of this new era I wasn't that big on Otega, Dam has that changed. Hats off to Carr, Otega, Butler, Garrison, Amari.... I could kepp going what a TEAM!

[@wildcatrewind]

Welcome back kentucky basketball #BIGBLUENATION 💪

[@LordRa88]

I love my coach. I love my team. I love my wildcats!!

[@wayneguess7946]

I would also like to point out, never once did you see any panic set in for the CATS, not once!

[@oakleyjack7600]

OTEGA TRON !”!!!

[@BBNTrashtalker]

Yes let’s the nick names begin

[@wrenning4ever]

Congrats to UK. Saddened Duke fan here 😢. Pope is solid and so are his players.

[@FlyingMonkeys69]

Pope is the “Plato” of college basketball coaches. He is just a different kind of leader, and I would be anxious to have my son or daughter coached by such a great mind. He has a team which is literally a quilt of players, all from other teams assembled at the 11th hour, and he has coached them up to do great things! I’m sure there will be bumps in the road and failures this year, but I’m all in with Pope and this team. It feels so much different than the Cal Carnival, which seemed so disingenuous. In the future, Pope will get elite recruits because the players and their parents will want him to “teach” them the game, and the game of life

[@Wetrockstah2116]

For them to fight back and beat what i think is the best Duke team since 2018, was impressive. Duke big African dude reminds me of Dekembe Motumbo. Same height and everything. Was tough when he was in the game, but they found a way. And thats what great teams do. Lets goooo BBN!!!

[@ARIN4UK]

C 🏀 A 🏀 T 🏀 S 🏀 are BACK!!!! BBN

[@shartshooter]

Oweh is him

[@pressmaster1255]

I’m proud of the Cats!! They just beat one of if not the best team in the country!! Duke looked good and could’ve ran away with it if not for the adjustments made at halftime by coach pope! What a game!!

[@edwardkimakaballislifekim_578]

Let’s go Kentucky 🔥great win

[@TheLibraryChamber]

Ok I went from "maybe a second round and hope for a S16...this is a Final Four caliber team"...but there is still a LOT of work to do just to get through a very rugged SEC. And it so refreshing to see actual COACHING during the game.

[@leecrump9404]

KY till I Die 💙 Let's Go 💪

[@nate.hanlon]

love the chemistry. andrew said it was a 2 instead of a 3 for BG cuz hes got big feet 😂😂 that’s the type of relationship a team needs and to have it with random guys out of the portal and this soon is awesome.

[@ZiklagStripling]

This is just the beginning. Much respect to the Blue devils. Duke is going to be a problem for a lot of teams if they stay healthy. Now, Duke played very, very well! Kentucky did not play well (in my opinion) and still won!!! Ok, let me not say they didn't play well. I BELIEVE they can play much much better! And still won against a quality team! The experience factor was on display. I believe Kentucky will actually grow from this win, which is always a good thing. They will get better. Duke did somethings that caused some problems for the Cats on the offensive end. They are going to need some sets to get those shooters some open looks. Great win for the Wildcats. Congrats.

[@johnghatti5435]

I honestly can o ky remember one time in the game where there seemed to be a little doubt. Was a timeout called and they were focused and dwindled the Duke lead and fought til the end to pull out that win.

[@ky42]

💙

[@mikerose5226]

What a difference a real coach makes! Kentucky loses this game if Calipari is still coaching. Thank the Lord!

[@eddie3489]

I said that if pope wins three games (duke,Louisville and Arkansas) this yr! It would be a successful! Lol

[@thechestnutking736]

This is what has been missing with UK Basketball. Fight, fight, fight!!!! There has been absolutely no fight in those young Crapapari teams. Feels good to be a UK fan again.

[@hermanblume275]

Very reminiscent of early Pitino/Richie Farmer era. I got the chills...

[@that5oh19]

Go Cats !

[@ThizzKamp06]

WE ARE BACC BAYBEE!!

[@johnnovince2962]

Big THANK YOU to John Tyson for making this win possible.