Mark Pope recently sat down with UK Sports Network for an interview, where he fielded a range of questions regarding the team’s earlier trip to Las Vegas this month. During the conversation, Pope offered further insight into the reasoning behind the visit, the activities the group took part in, and the overall outcomes of the excursion.
When questioned about the factors that influenced the decision, Pope explained, “Well, during that week, Vegas is kind of the basketball capital of the world, and it’s a perfect fusion of Kentucky Basketball, and all the guys that we’re recruiting, and all the guys that have played here that are now playing in the NBA. So, you bring the high school and the college and the NBA ranks together, it was perfect for us.”
Given that mix, Kentucky men’s basketball’s social media accounts posted images showcasing the team alongside several Kentucky-connected NBA players.
Pope was also asked, “What is it like for you as a coach to give the guys this opportunity?” He replied, “Well, it was awesome. The guys were so excited to take the Otega Oweh big heads, even though he couldn’t play, and go celebrate that, and it meant a lot to Otega. Malachi Moreno, before he went on the trip, he didn’t care about anything else. He just wanted to see Amari (Williams) play. So, the guys got to see Amari, and got to see Drew, and Jaxson, and Koby. JQ came by. It was unbelievable. We practiced really hard in the mornings, and the gym was full of NBA personnel during our practice, so it was fun for our guys to get that exposure. Our guys took it on themselves to roll through all the AAU games and cheer on recruits. Got to do some stuff off the court. It was an unbelievable trip.”
Video footage captured Malachi Moreno and Braydon Hawthorne holding up the large head Pope mentioned in reference to Oweh, along with a big “OO” sign for Oweh as well.
Pope was later asked about the value of getting out of Lexington to break up some of the repetitiveness that can set in during the offseason.
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