Welcome To Big Blue Nation: Blue Nation Head Coach Mark Pope Set To welcomes Two Elite Star In The Team….

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WSAZ)- Mark Pope arrived at Rupp Arena on Sunday, much like he did after winning the national championship in 1996.

He was captain of the 1996 national championship-winning squad.

Pope enters a rare, dream transition from a former player to the head coach for the University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball program.

Sunday, Pope held his first press conference as head coach.

“When Mitch called me and talked to me about being the head coach at Kentucky, I understood the assignment. We’re here to win banners. As we go through this journey, we are here to win banners in Nashville. Our assignment is to win banners in the final four and win national championships. That’s our job,” Pope said.

Pope is a nine-year coaching veteran with stops at BYU and Utah Valley with a 187-108 career record. His squads won 20 or more games in six of the last seven seasons, and he has made six postseason appearances.

He returns to UK from Provo, Utah, where he compiled a 110-52 record (.679) during five campaigns at the helm of BYU. He took the Cougars to three postseason appearances, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament, and missed another bid when the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three of his five BYU teams finished the season ranked in the top 20 of the Ken Pomeroy efficiency rankings.

UK won the 1995 and 1996 regular-season Southeastern Conference championship, the 1995 SEC Tournament title, and the 1996 NCAA Tournament. He averaged 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 69 career games. Pope was named to the All-SEC Tournament team in 1995 behind a pair of double-doubles in three games, including one in the title game that went to overtime.

Pope expressed his excitement on Sunday for a new era in UK basketball.

“These players are my job to coach and shepherd and our job to love. For every player, I wish they could experience something like this. There’s nothing better. You can’t get it anywhere else besides Kentucky,” Pope said.

Andru Phillips heard his name called on Friday at the 2024 NFL Draft, becoming the first Kentucky player off the board.

Kentucky is on the board at the NFL Draft as defensive back Andru Phillips was the first Wildcat to hear his name called when the New York Giants took him with the 70th overall pick in the 3rd round.

Phillips played in 12 games last season, totaling 47 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and five pass deflections. He had 31 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and five pass breakups as a sophomore.

He played in 38 games for Kentucky finishing with 82 career tackles, 10 pass breakups and three tackles for loss, making him a consistent and solid performer in a much-improved defense.

What really shot him up draft boards was his performance at the NFL Combine. He ranked in the 99th percentile with his vertical and broad jump. That comes from his high school career, ranking No. 1 in the nation in 2020 in track and field as a triple jumper.

On NFL.com, Phillips has a grade of 6.22 which equates to an ‘eventual average starter’.

“Phillips’ tape features a high number of both completions and drops that should have been completions, but that could change in a different scheme and with additional experience. He’s still green, with just two years of real game experience, and often played too loose in Kentucky’s zone cover schemes,” NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein wrote. “Phillips lacks the anticipation to contest catches at a high enough rate from zone but does have the athleticism to play more man coverage, with the tools to stay sticky on routes. He’s an ardent run supporter with excellent toughness but needs to finish tackles at a higher rate. Scheme fit might be critical, along with proving he can play from the slot, but his best football could be ahead of him.”

Phillips was the No. 8 player in South Carolina when he committed to Kentucky.