Rick Pitino Praises Kentucky’s Grit, Credits Mark Pope for Midseason Identity Shift
Rick Pitino has never been one to hold back behind a microphone, and following St. John’s loss to Kentucky in Atlanta, the Hall of Famer had no shortage of praise - and perspective - for the Wildcats.
First, he singled out the player who changed the tone of the game.
“I congratulate UK for the great second half,” Pitino said. “Think a big difference is the play when Jaland Lowe comes in the game - they’re a different basketball team.
He makes people better. He is very tough to guard in pick and rolls.”
Lowe’s impact was hard to miss. The moment he stepped on the floor, Kentucky’s offense found a new gear.
His pace, poise, and ability to create out of the pick-and-roll didn’t just give the Wildcats a spark - it flipped the game on its head. For a team that’s been searching for consistency at the point all season, that kind of presence is game-changing.
But Pitino didn’t stop there. He turned his attention to Mark Pope and the way Kentucky’s first-year head coach has reshaped the team’s identity on the fly - something that doesn’t happen often, especially at a program with sky-high expectations.
“I think Mark did a brilliant thing,” Pitino said. “He came into the season thinking he had this great shooting team, and it’s obvious that it’s probably just an average shooting team.
And he said, ‘I’ll change the whole mindset. We’re going to be a physical team.
We’re going to be a tough team.’ And they totally changed the personality of who they are.”
That’s not just a compliment - it’s a nod to one of the hardest things to do in college basketball: pivot your team’s identity midseason and get buy-in across the board. Pope has taken a roster built for finesse and turned it into a group that embraces contact, wins battles in the paint, and thrives in the trenches. That’s not just coaching - that’s culture-building.
Pitino also pointed to the return of injured players as a major turning point.
“That’s all [Pope] talks about - the physicality and toughness,” Pitino said. “I think he made a change, and the injured guys have come back. Makes them a much better basketball team.”
Then came the moment that’s bound to resonate with Big Blue Nation for weeks: Pitino telling everyone - media and fans alike - to take a breath.
“I think you all need to learn a little bit of a lesson as writers because you’re expecting Kentucky to be this great basketball team with all those injuries,” he said. “You can’t be a great basketball team without two of your best players, with no point guard, no big men.”
It’s a fair point. The blowout losses earlier in the season came with key pieces sidelined.
No team - not even one with Kentucky’s pedigree - can thrive without its core contributors. Pitino made it clear: the version of Kentucky we saw earlier this season isn’t the one we’re seeing now.
“So I think they’ll be a very good basketball team,” he added. “They’re going to have to keep playing smashmouth basketball and play like that physical team, and I give Mark all the credit in the world.”
That’s high praise from a coach who knows a thing or two about what it takes to win in Lexington. And for a fanbase that’s been riding an emotional rollercoaster since November, hearing Rick Pitino - yes, that Rick Pitino - tell everyone to relax and believe in Mark Pope might be the most unexpected endorsement of the season.
But here we are. Kentucky is as healthy as they’ve been all year.
The rotation is stabilizing. The identity is clear.
And if they keep leaning into this gritty, hard-nosed style of play, they might just be turning a corner at the perfect time.
Pitino’s message? Trust the process.
Trust the coach. And maybe, just maybe, trust that this team is about to start looking like the Kentucky we’ve all been waiting to see.