Mark Pope says the moment he turned into the coach he is now

Coach Mark Pope is known for being one of the most upbeat, fun, and positive people in all of the big sports. Almost never does he lose his cool or yell at anyone, let alone his boys. He talks about how he helps his players stay upbeat and watch their body language. He cheers people on, helps them, and loves basketball. During an honest moment during his news conference this week, he talked about when he stopped being this kind of coach.

He talks about how intense he was as a player and a teacher in the beginning of his career. Every day, all the time, only basketball. He would scream and get mad at players, refs, and anyone else who didn’t pay attention. During his press conference, someone asked him if they were going to do anything fun in New York or if they were just going to worry about basketball.

You’re missing the point of this question. It was a big change for me. At the moment, it makes me feel tense and under pressure. As a player and for the first half of my teaching career, I was always thinking, “How long can you keep up a level 10 level of intensity and focus?” I would pace, criticize, and yell 24 hours a day, just like in game mode. A lot of energy. That made me wonder where I got it.

Peter Mark

Everyone in the room started to laugh because he knew they would think of Rick Pitino, the famously tough coach he had at Kentucky where he played. These things have changed because of a team of clinical psychologists at BYU that Pope calls “the squad.”

“When I started working with this team at BYU, it was four clinical psychology professors who changed the way I coach by giving me feedback and encouraging me to do better.” That just changed how I’m going to do this. Rather than trying to live in a state of being completely free and emotionally and mentally focused on the game all the time. Not letting up while getting my team ready to go. “We switched to a completely different philosophy, and it works better for us now.”

Peter Mark

The quote says a lot more, but this part talks about how it’s good for you and makes connective tissue. This exact change in coaching mindset is part of what has worked so quickly at Kentucky. He talked about how, a few years ago, the idea that they would be going to New York to do something other than play basketball at Madison Square Garden would have been strange to him. The fact that they saw Hamilton on Broadway last night was written about yesterday.

Pope says that the unique experiences he can give the guys and the fact that they can share them together foster the unity that everyone talks about. It is a special way to win. It was done on purpose, and that’s what led to this early success, he says.