As a parent of three children in a divided household, I have lessons to learn from this mother. I’ve already lost one to UofL. Whatever it takes to get the other two to cheer on the Cats, I’ll do it. All your tips and tricks will be greatly appreciated.

We quoted Drew Franklin on ESPN

Big Blue Nation has grown fond of Myron Medcalf through his work with Matt Jones on ESPN Radio. That’s just a small part of his gig at the four-letter network. The college basketball reporter spoke to many sources for a long time about his lengthy article on Mark Pope. This story quotes people like Tubby Smith, Tony Delk, George Karl, Rick Pitino and Drew Franklin. Yes, that Drew Franklin.

“At the next football game they’ll have a Kentucky basketball tailgate where you can just meet the players,” said Drew Franklin, radio host at Kentucky Sports Radio in Lexington. “That never happened under (Calipari). It almost looked like a president. You had to call someone to call someone to go to (Calipari). Now you just walk out your front door and there’s a good chance you’ll see Mark Pope somewhere in Lexington.

ESPN

As much as I love Drew, that wasn’t actually the quote that stood out the most. Very few have successfully replaced a legend, especially in the sport of college basketball. Tubby Smith is one of those exceptions, and his insight into what it takes to succeed feels prescient at the moment.

“Well, you’re always in Kentucky,” Smith said. “You have to win and you have to be productive. And even when you win, sometimes it’s not enough. It is clear that every coach wants to become a champion. We all want to win. But it’s not as easy as it seems or as it seems to win. And at Kentucky you have the resources, you have the resources, but even with that you have to have a little bit of luck. But I think (Pope) will do a great job.”

ESPN

It’s an excellent read and you won’t regret for a minute that you sat through the magazine-style article, “How Kentucky Coach Mark Pope Decided to Follow a Legend.”

Mark Pope steals the headlines from the New York Times

The New York Times shared the following message with his more than 55 million followers: “At age 37, with four children and the blessing of his wife, Mark Pope dropped out of medical school and took a job as an assistant coach. Salary: $24,000 for the year. Now he holds the keys to perhaps the biggest job in college basketball.”

Brendan Quinn of The Athletic, a division of The New York Times, detailed the long and winding path that led Pope to the most respected position in college basketball. The story sheds light on how Pope’s character and personality shaped him into the man fit for the job.

“As a coach at Kentucky,” Pope says, “if you’re all you are, you’re not going to be good at it.”

The Athletic: The keys to Kentucky are in the hands of a coach unlike any other