Mark Pope wants the intensity increased to 9.5 in the first exhibition fight

The real noise begins Wednesday for Kentucky basketball — well, sort of. The something Things really get going on Wednesday: The Wildcats' first matchup against Kentucky Wesleyan will take place at 7 p.m. ET in Rupp Arena. It's the team's first attempt against someone other than themselves to officially open the unofficial game Mark Pope era in Lexington.

It started with summer training under major time constraints, followed by autumn training at the start of the preseason. Then came Pro Day and Media Day before the Wildcats faced the BBN at Big Blue Madness. Add in the SEC Media Days and the Blue-White Preseason Event and all the preparation stuff for the year is finally behind us.

What does Coach Pope think about facing real competition this week?

“We are so excited. I hate to give general answers, but it's the truth,” he said Monday at the 2024 Wildcat Tipoff Luncheon. “I can't wait to get all my guys on the bench. I can barely wait for it. What we’re going to do is see if we can play with all the intensity and all the drive, all the drive and fight that you get when you don’t get tired.”

Figuring out the rotation and lineup combinations begins now, something they simply haven't been able to do before. If at any given time on the court 12 are reduced to five, you take away the fatigue and increase the intensity.

He has a specific number in mind for Wednesday.

“What I'm looking for is – I want to see if our intensity level can get to 9.5 and we can actually be there and last 40 minutes,” Pope said. “Every second of 40 minutes with the 12 great basketball players we have. That is our goal.”

What does he want to show the world about his team's identity when he makes his Kentucky coaching debut at Rupp Arena? The last thing he wants to do is see 10-second violations in the backcourt.

Pope wants speed, speed and more speed. And he hopes that when the rust is shed, it will result in a beautiful mess with more ups than downs.

“I hope not. That would go against what we want to achieve (laughs). I feel it more and more every day, but we as BBN will love watching these guys compete,” he said. “We will love her so much. These guys are there for each other. There will still be moments, but they play with incredible intensity, courage, bravery and ruthlessness – which is a wonderful way to play this game right now.”

It's a group of wildcats who put their bodies on the line and put everything they have into this program. This is his favorite part of coaching.

“They spend almost as much time on the ground as they do standing and running down. “It's really fun, at Blue-White on Friday the crowd was probably the most engaged – and it was so fun to point this out to my boys – when three guys on the floor jumped for a loose ball and all collided with each other,” said Pope. “That’s when they really felt BBN. That's it. We're going to love watching these guys play because they're going to bring their hearts out on the floor every night.

“They understand who they represent and what they represent, and they do it together. It will be really fun. That’s the best thing about this team right now.”

It all starts on Wednesday evening at Rupp Arena.