When Mark Pope was first hired as the head coach at Kentucky, a big emphasis he had when finding players to fill the roster were players who understand the assignment, what it means to play at Kentucky,

Mark Pope delivered an early signature win as Kentucky's head coach, but he's putting the attention on his players.

Pope played two seasons at Kentucky, winning a national championship with the program in 1996 under legendary coach Rick Pitino. Following five seasons piloting BYU, Pope accepted the head job for the Wildcats this past April to succeed John Calipari.