When Mark Pope took the job at Kentucky two years ago, he brought the 1996 team with him \u2014 literally. Pope\u2019s old teammates came off the bus with him at his introductory press conference and have been fixtures around the program since, reuniting at his first Big Blue Madness and the 30th anniversary of their national championship. Several of them were on the sidelines in Atlanta to see Pope and the Cats beat Rick Pitino and St. John\u2019s in the CBS Sports Classic, mobbing their old team captain after he knocked off their old head coach.<\/p>\n
The 1996 team, aka \u201cThe Untouchables,\u201d set the standard of excellence for a generation of college basketball. So, what do they think of how the program has fared so far under Pope? One of the stars of that squad, Derek Anderson, didn\u2019t shy away from the question during an appearance on KSR this morning at Whiskey Thief Distilling Co.<\/p>\n
The 1996 team group chat has become famous, with Pope mentioning on more than one occasion how his former teammates roast him. Anderson said the group chat is still very active and Pope is still a part of it, although \u201che gets ghosts sometimes,\u201d meaning people will type something then delete it in fear of being too \u201cbrutal.\u201d Anderson, Cameron Mills, and Wayne Turner are the most active participants. Anderson is now a Player Wellness Counselor for the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), so he often chimes in with his perspective from working with elite high school players.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody gives it, but I just think we\u2019re just more \u2014 like, I\u2019m more passionate about it, because I see the game differently, because I work with the NBA guys, top 100 high school kids, so I see the evolution of how the IQ game is not there, and I\u2019m trying to get them to understand that the teacher part.\u201d<\/p>\n
As someone who works with the type of players Pope is recruiting and coaching, Anderson doesn\u2019t think Pope has a problem relating to guys; however, there may be a disconnect when it comes to the mentality needed to succeed at Kentucky.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what his speeches are,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cHe can relate to the guys because he\u2019s a great guy. When it\u2019s time for Xs and Os, it\u2019s time to change, it\u2019s time to do things, I think that\u2019s when we don\u2019t know what he\u2019s actually done, because it\u2019s a new situation. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re at BYU, you get to kind of run and play, and it\u2019s a different style when you\u2019re in the SEC and Kentucky thing. We were coming for your throat, and that\u2019s a different mentality. Is he teaching that mentality? Because he\u2019s never been that rah rah guy anyway. You saw when we played, I\u2019m dancing when I dunk on you. He\u2019s just like this, \u2018Good play, DA. Go sit down.\u2019 Like, that\u2019s a great guy, but that\u2019s not Kentucky. Like, I was taught to dominate players whenever I played, and that was a mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n