Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope said he understood the assignment when he was hired. We’ll find out on Tuesday, when the Wildcats play Lipscomb, to what extent he did. Handling success at most college basketball programs can be problematic.

Kentucky's win over the Duke Blue Devils turned heads in the college basketball world as this finally proved Mark Pope's team is capable of beating the best tea

Hating Kentucky isn’t cool or fun anymore because Kentucky’s coach is both. Mark Pope is relentlessly likable, which means Kentucky basketball has become likable. Adjust accordingly.

Kentucky basketball has already picked up a signature win on their resume three games in by beating No. 6 Duke on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic. A win

Kentucky basketball has its first signature win of the Mark Pope coaching era. The No. 19-ranked Wildcats toppled No. 6 Duke 77-72 in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night at State Farm Arena. Despite trailing by as many as 10 points late in the first half,

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.

That's exactly the type of people Mark Pope is getting to join the Kentucky program when he goes out to recruit. It started with this year's Kentucky roster, but Pope says there is "elite level kids" in this program.

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