Mark Pope came away from Kentucky’s Las Vegas trip with more than just a few good memories. In an interview with UK Sports Network, he laid out why the Wildcats went, what the group got out of it, and how the whole experience fit into the bigger picture of the offseason.
For Pope, the timing and the setting made the trip a natural fit.
“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.”
Kentucky’s social media accounts also showed the team connecting with people tied to the program and the NBA, which lined up with the point Pope was making about the trip’s value beyond just basketball.
He said the players were energized by the chance to be around that kind of environment, and he pointed to the way the group embraced the experience.
“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 also shown on video holding the big head Pope mentioned for Oweh, along with a big OO for Oweh.
Pope also said the change of scenery mattered because it gave the team a chance to step away from Lexington during the summer grind.
”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.”
Outside the gym, the Wildcats still found ways to enjoy the trip. Pope said he was basically basketball the whole time, but the players got to take in the Sphere, play Topgolf, and, in some cases, do a little shopping on the strip.
“So, I think they had a bunch of fun together.”
The trip gave Kentucky a chance to mix work, recruiting, and team bonding all in one place, and Pope made clear the players came away from it feeling good about the experience.
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