If you’re a Kentucky Wildcats fan, you’ve likely heard the name Jack “Goose” Givens due to his legendary collegiate career, including leading Kentucky to a National Championship in 1978 and also winning Final Four MVP. He’s also an announcer on the UK Sports Network.
In a recent interview with Larry Vaught, Givens praised Mark Pope for his dedication. He noted that after being hired, Pope took the time to review every player’s game from the previous season. This had to be challenging for Pope because he had a completely new roster of 12 players.
“He went back and watched every game for every player from last year. How much commitment does that take with an entirely new roster?’” said Givens. “He did that for every player. That’s how dedicated he is.
“He is going to do some special stuff. Beating Duke was just the beginning. It is going to be so nice. We are not going to win every game. It ain’t going to be that easy but it is going to be fun. Every guy is going to work hard every night. You are not going to be saying this guy doesn’t play hard this year.”
Givens credits Pope’s offensive system, emphasizing how it thrives on constant movement.
“We are a hard team to guard. The only thing you can do wrong in Mark’s offense is not move,” Givens said.
Kentucky has been scoring easily, but what makes them so great overall is that Pope keeps his players engaged by asking them about key details from the scouting report of the player they will be guarding in the upcoming game.
Givens has seen another big difference from John Calipari: Pope uses an analytical approach, noting that he studies player productivity in real time.
“It’s fun talking to him because I learn stuff. He puts a lot into analytics. He even studies how long he can keep a guy in a game and how long he stays productive,” Givens said. “He told me Andrew Carr is a guy who the longer the game goes, the better he gets. But then he told me BG (Brandon Garrison) after two minutes he has to get him out but when he comes back he can go four or five minutes. Those are the kinds of things I had never heard a coach talk about.
