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Mark Pope recently did an interview with UK Sports Network and was asked numerous questions about the team’s trip to Las Vegas earlier this month. Pope provided some clarity on why the team went, what they did, and what came from the trip.
When asked what went into the decision, Pope responded, “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.”
With the blend of that, Kentucky men’s basketball social media pages shared pictures showing the team with some Kentucky/NBA connections as well.
Pope was asked, “What is it like for you as a coach to give the guys this opportunity?” He responded, “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”.
Malachi Moreno and Braydon Hawthorne were captured on video holding the big head that Pope referred to for Oweh, and a big OO for Oweh as well.
Pope was then asked about getting away from Lexington to break up some of the offseason monotony.
“Well, first, nobody ever wants to leave Lexington; it’s the greatest place in the world to be, but on occasion, where the job takes us away, it was good for our guys. It was midway through our summer session, so it gave them a quick break. They were able to bond in a different way, be stuck in hotel rooms together, did some fun events in Vegas, just to be together.
“We did a debrief. The guys loved summer league. They loved the workouts in front of NBA scouts. They loved the chance to see future Kentucky players, and every guy said they just loved the condensed time together in a different environment. It was a win all the way around.”
Pope shared later in the interview what the guys did outside of basketball on the trip. He said that he was essentially basketball the entire time, but the guys got to do a lot. Saying the guys “went to the Sphere, they did some Topgolf, I think some guys did some shopping on the strip. So, I think they had a bunch of fun together.”
It was nice to see the guys get away and enjoy some time together before things start to get ramped up and get closer to the 2026-27 season. Team bonding is always super impactful. It’s nice to see the guys continue to grow closer off the court so they become even better teammates on the court.
