Mark Pope Reveals Untold, Shocking Rick Pitino Moment from 1996 Kentucky Season

Not everybody is built for a program like Kentucky, but Pope is, and the players who he recruits are as well.

Mark Pope’s journey with Kentucky basketball is a full-circle story that’s hard to ignore. Once a player molded by the demanding yet brilliant Rick Pitino—now the St. John’s head coach—Pope soaked up lessons on and off the court that still resonate decades later. Back in ’96, Pitino’s Wildcats didn’t just play for wins; they aimed for perfection, setting a bar so high it might’ve scared off anyone without fire in their belly. The way Pope recalls Pitino’s fierce expectations—“If we didn’t win every game, he was gonna kill us”—it’s equal parts intimidating and inspiring. Now, as Kentucky’s head coach himself, Pope carries that torch, embracing the pressure, the legacy, and the relentless pursuit of greatness that defines Wildcat basketball. Not everyone is cut out for this street, but Pope? He’s exactly where he’s meant to be, along with the players who share his hunger to meet those sky-high demands. The Wildcats didn’t quite hit the mark last season, but you bet they’re hungry for redemption next time around. LEARN MORE“Listen, the expectation here has nothing to do with me setting it,” Pope continued. “It’s what it is at Kentucky. It’s one of the things that sets us apart from every other program in the country. I happen to love it. I love every bit of it. I’m grateful. I’m so grateful to be here where the expectation is only one ending to the season actually makes it a satisfying season. I’m grateful to be in this environment.”“It comes with everything that you guys all know that it comes with, but that’s where I want to be, and I’m grateful,” he said. “That’s where our guys want to be, and they feel it. It comes with all the complications you can imagine, but as an athlete, those are the complications you want to sign up for.”Pope now has the same expectations for his Kentucky teams. It’s been 30 years, but nothing has changed for the Wildcats.Mark Pope had a successful first season with the Kentucky basketball program, but the Wildcats weren’t the last teaming standing. They didn’t meet those lofty expectations that are apparently there before every season, so they will look to be better next year.Mark Pope is now the head coach of the Kentucky basketball team, but he used to be a player for the Wildcats back in the day. When Pope played at Kentucky, he was coached by current St. John’s basketball coach Rick Pitino. Pitino and Pope won a national championship with the Wildcats in 1996, and Pope recently recalled a story from that season. Pitino had big expectations for that team from the start, and he wouldn’t accept anything short of greatness.Rick Pitino is one of the best coaches in college basketball history, and a big reason why is his unique style. He coaches his players in a different way than others, but he gets the best out of them. Not every coach would approach the 1996 season like he did, but it paid off for the Kentucky basketball team.“He was different. He just told us that if we didn’t win every game, he was gonna kill us,” Mark Pope said with a chuckle, according to a video from Tristan Pharis. “And I never knew exactly what that meant. If he was just gonna kill us figuratively in practice, or actually kill us. It was probably some grouping of both, but the expectation was exactly the same, and it’s been the same.”