Mark Pope is seen as one of the most positive, fun, uplifting coaches in all the major sports. You rarely see him lose his cool or yell at anyone, much less his players. He talks about how he works with his players on body language and staying positive. He encourages, lifts up, and enjoys the game of basketball. He wasn't always this type of coach, and in a candid moment during his press conference this week, he mentioned exactly when that changed.
He talks about how, as a player and a coach in the first half of his career, he was only intense. Basketball 24/7 and only basketball. He would yell more and get mad at players, refs, and anyone who needed to get more locked in. He was asked a question in his press conference about doing something fun in New York while they were there or whether the focus would just be on basketball.
"This is a better question than you think it is. It was a real change for me. It makes me feel pressure and tension right now. Throughout my whole basketball career, as a player and then the first half of my coaching career - I was about 'how long can you sustain a level 10 intensity and focus. I would spend 24 hours a day pacing and criticizing and yelling, being in game mode. Full-on intensity. I wonder where I got that from..."Mark Pope
He began to laugh because he knew everyone in the room would think back to the coach he played under at Kentucky, Rick Pitino, who is famous for his intensity. That all changed thanks to a group of clinical psychologists at BYU that Pope calls "the squad."
"I started working with this squad, this group at BYU; it was four clinical psychology faculty members who changed everything I do about coaching through investigations and studies and really criticism from them. It just changed the whole way that I approach this. Instead of trying to live in that space of being absolutely unfettered, laser-focused every second, emotionally and mentally, on the game. Being intense, getting my team ready to go. We actually flipped to a totally different philosophy, and it actually fits us better now. "Mark Pope
There is a lot more to the quote, but he talks about how it leads to great results and connective tissue. That part of what has worked at Kentucky in such a quick turnaround is this exact coaching philosophy change. He said the fact that they are going to New York to play a game at Madison Square Garden and do something that isn't just basketball would have been foreign to him a few years ago. It was posted last night that they went to see the play Hamilton on Broadway.
Thanks to the cast and crew of Hamilton for having us on stage after the show tonight! pic.twitter.com/udxusz0pNd
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) December 20, 2024
Pope says these experiences that he can give the guys that are unique and they can share it together builds the cohesion that everyone talks about. It helps win "in a unique way." He talks about its intentionality and how it led to this early success.