Mark Pope has proven to be an intriguing man both on and off the court.
Of course, most people know UK’s head coach for his reputation as being a great human being with a fiery, competitive spirit. However,
with only one season under his belt, fans are still learning about who Coach Pope is on the field and how he holds his players accountable.
Amari Williams recently appeared on a Twitch livestream and revealed a side of Pope that some may not have realized existed. The Boston Celtics rookie and former Cat told a story of an intense running punishment that last year’s team suffered after someone arrived late, which apparently is one of Pope’s trigger points.
“After practice, he goes ‘Sideline!’ We’re thinking we’re gonna do one 17. Bro, 17 in a row of 17s. Like back-to-back-to-back, a minute in between. Everyone was sprinting the first one because we thought it was one. After that, no one else made it again. He cut it to like 11 or 12 because he had to get a flight to go recruiting. So that’s when I knew certain things ain’t gonna slide.” Williams said on Twitch.
It’s evident that Coach Pope walks by faith, but that may not always include a merciful approach when attempting to land a message with his team. This type of swift accountability may be exactly what’s needed in the transfer portal era, where there’s a lot less opportunity to build the culture of your program. It clearly worked for a guy like Amari Williams, who now has the chance to make an impact at the next level.
