When Mark Pope was going through his checklist of top talking points during his introductory press conference, one of the loudest Rupp Arena pops came when he discussed the possibility of putting Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm on the schedule — potentially to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1996 national championship team.
20 months later, the captain is taking on his former coach in Catlanta in the CBS Sports Classic. How about that for a full-circle moment?
It won’t be as warm and fuzzy as Pitino’s return for Pope’s very first Big Blue Madness as head coach, wearing blue and sporting a UK logo on his chest as the active head coach of an opposing high-profile Big East competitor.