Anything Mark Pope touched turned to gold in his debut season at Kentucky, pushing all of the right buttons with the most passionate fanbase in college basketball from the second he took the job. He made promises of winning games that mattered again, regular season to SEC Tournament to NCAA Tournament, understanding the assignment of banner No. 9 — plus fun things like returning to Maui and bringing back the denim. Every box was being checked, and it led to a feel-good run to the Sweet 16 with some massive wins along the way to make the slip-ups not feel so serious.
Mark Pope 'thought (he) had a better pulse' on this team, but he needs a better pulse of the fanbase
