Mark Pope says Rick Pitino's ovation at Big Blue Madness was 'really special'

Mark Pope hugged Rick Pitinoreturned to Kentucky with open arms from the start, pushing for the fan base to see the good in his time as a Hall of Fame coach in Lexington rather than what came after his departure. That led to a moment at Rupp Arena that has to be seen to be believed: Pitino walked into Big Blue Madness with the 1996 national championship trophy in hand alongside his former players and generations of British basketball legends.

Pope previously said his former coach “changed my DNA as a person” and was undoubtedly his greatest and most influential mentor as a coach. Then the wildest weekend ever came and went.

What was it like to see Pitino receive ovations for three decades? Well, it was certainly a special moment for the first-year head coach at Kentucky.

“Coach Pitino is very personal to me. When you think about your life, on the one hand, you might count the people who really, really, really change you forever, and I love Coach Pitino for that,” Pope said Tuesday at SEC Media Day in Birmingham. “I will forever be grateful to him. He's changed the way I see the world, and he's changed the way I walk into a room, and he's changed the confidence with which we approach challenges. And what’s more, under his leadership, we as a team were able to share the most extraordinary experiences together.”

Pope reflected on his coaching career and the impact he had at Kentucky. Very few would disagree with the idea that he is one of the greatest basketball minds in the history of the sport.

“He’s a coach who’s also one of the Mount Rushmore of Kentucky basketball coaches, and that’s really saying something,” he added. “He took a program when it was in a really, really, really tough situation and brought it back to where it belongs, to the top of the college basketball mountain, and he did it with all his style and his Intensity and everything he could bring to the game.”

The guy was then chewed up and spit out by Big Blue Nation – and rightly so. He was a friend who became the ultimate enemy, trading blue for red and causing endless controversy.

But a second (or third or tenth) chance is sometimes in order. And Pope is grateful that the fan base gave him one and embraced Pitino in a tribute to Kentucky basketball history, two things that undeniably go hand in hand.

“I love him so much and it was really special for him to walk into Rupp Arena and feel BBN’s gratitude,” Pope said. “In our team we talk about gratitude every day. It's a really important part of our work. The fact that Coach could feel BBN’s gratitude for him was very special to me.”

What a night.