Rick Pitino’s Wildcats homecoming didn’t end with a win, but it did come with a tip of the cap to the man on the other bench - his former player, now Kentucky head coach, Mark Pope. In a 78-66 statement win over St. John’s, Pope not only earned his first victory over his old mentor, but also quieted some of the noise that’s been swirling around his team during a rocky start to the season.
This was just the fifth time Pitino has lost to one of his former players in 23 such matchups, and while he’s as competitive as ever, there was no mistaking the pride he had for Pope after the final buzzer. And it wasn’t just sentiment.
This was a win Kentucky needed - badly. The Wildcats had been 0-for-4 against ranked opponents before this one, and while last week’s win over Indiana helped, this was the kind of performance that could reframe the narrative around this team.
And Pitino? He’s still in Pope’s corner - even if he did call him after that ugly Michigan State loss to tell him to get it together.
That’s the kind of tough love you give a former team captain, and Pope was exactly that under Pitino back in the day. But the truth is, this Kentucky team hasn’t been at full strength much this season.
Injuries have kept key pieces like Jaland Lowe and Mo Dioubate off the floor, and Jayden Quaintance - one of the most anticipated additions - just made his season debut after a long recovery from an ACL tear.
All three were active for the first time this season in Saturday’s game, though Lowe’s return came with a scare. He re-aggravated his shoulder just seven seconds into his first shift and sat most of the first half.
But when Lowe and Quaintance were on the floor together in the second half, Kentucky looked like a completely different team. They combined for a staggering +38 in plus/minus, helping the Wildcats surge past a tough, physical St.
John’s squad.
Quaintance, in particular, made an immediate impact: 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in his debut. Pitino didn’t hold back in his praise.
“I think he’s a big-time basketball player,” Pitino said. “They’re only going to get stronger with him and Lowe.”
Then, in classic Pitino fashion, he turned his attention to the critics.
“You all need to learn a little bit of a lesson,” he said, addressing the media. “You can’t be a great basketball team without two of your best players.
No point guard, no big men - you’re not going to win like that. People really exaggerate one game, or two, or three.
Kentucky got blown out, and usually that doesn’t happen. But now they’ve got two gigantic pieces back.”
He’s not wrong. The 35-point loss to Gonzaga in Nashville was brutal - and yes, Lowe played in that one - but this version of Kentucky feels like a different animal.
And that’s not just about getting healthy. It’s about Pope making some tough, tactical shifts.
Coming into the season, Pope built this roster with toughness and defense in mind, even at the expense of shooting - a bold move for a coach known for spacing and perimeter play. Early on, it looked like a miscalculation.
Kentucky struggled to find rhythm offensively, especially from deep. In games against ranked teams and Indiana, the Wildcats have shot just 23.9% from three - 34-for-142.
That’s not going to cut it for a team that wants to play modern basketball.
So Pope pivoted. He retooled the offense to play inside-out, leaning into physicality, rebounding, and defense - or, as he calls it, “smash mouth basketball.”
It’s not pretty, but it’s working. Against a St.
John’s team built in a similar mold, Kentucky didn’t flinch. They punched back - and in the final minutes, it was Lowe and Quaintance who delivered the knockout blows.
Pitino noticed.
“I think Mark did a brilliant thing,” he 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.
So he said, ‘Let’s change the whole mindset. We’re going to be a physical team.
We’re going to be a tough team.’ And they totally changed their personality.”
That’s not an easy thing for a coach to do - especially one with a system he believes in. But Pope recognized what he had, and more importantly, what he didn’t.
He adapted. And now, with his full roster finally available, the Wildcats are starting to look like the team fans hoped they’d be.
“They’ll be a very good basketball team,” Pitino added. “They’re going to have to keep playing smash mouth basketball.
That’s who they are now. And I give Mark all the credit in the world - he’s a big believer in finesse, in shooting the three, but he said, ‘It’s not working, let’s change.’
That takes guts.”
It’s still early, and consistency will be key. But if Saturday was any indication, Kentucky might be turning a corner - not just getting healthy, but finding an identity. And with Pope at the helm, backed by a mentor who knows a thing or two about winning in Lexington, this team might just be finding its edge at the right time.