Mark Pope doesn’t talk about basketball the way most coaches do. He speaks on parts of the brain, and how to use them. He talks about philosophy and joy. He speaks on his faith and how it fuels him. And now he talks about physics.
It's bot basketball, it's physics
“Everything we think about in this game is about how do we achieve gravity,” Pope said. “You achieve gravity with space. You achieve it with pace. You achieve it with great cutting.”
It’s not jargon, it’s the essence of his basketball blueprint. Pope’s Kentucky is designed to pull defenses apart and create motion where others see static. In order for you to be able to create that space, you have to be able to suck the defense in to where you want them to be. If you don't have any gravity, then you can not create space.
Permission to launch
Last year, his team made more three-pointers than any in school history. This year, he wants to double down.
“I’d like to run that back, times two,” Pope smiled. “We’ll keep pushing that number as high as we can.”
That pursuit blends math with emotion. Analytics drive the scheme, but freedom fuels the players. The Wildcats aim to take between 30 and 35 threes per game, a tempo few teams can match. And Pope believes this roster is built for it.
“This group might not have come in with the reputation of great shooters,” he said, “but their progress has been remarkable.”
A symphony of movement
Behind that is a deeper principle: Kentucky’s offense is designed to be as beautiful as it is brutal, a symphony of movement meant to force defenses into mistakes.
As Pope put it, "...you bring bodies together and then you create vacuums," and space opens up, that’s gravity. And Kentucky has it.
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion