BY ALEJANDRO LOPEZ
One of college basketballs most iconic programs have struggled to garner any excitement from its fans over the past few seasons. This season has been no different.
After the Wildcats narrow 78-77 victory over Northern Arizona on Friday, former Kentucky star Jamal Mashburn expressed his dissatisfaction with the program.
“I think most people in big blue nation are very disappointed at this particular time” Mashburn said on TNT’s postgame show. “They take their basketball very seriously. It just seems like this particular team, or I will say over the last few years with (Mark Pope’s) team, they’ll do something well and then the next game they won’t do it well.”
Kentucky is 3-1 on the season, however, its one loss came from a 20-point blowout against Kansas, the only power four opponent that the Wildcats have faced thus far.
“This is going to be a long road,” Mashburn continued. “I think a lot of people are going to start asking the bigger question, what does Mark Pope’s future look like?”
Pope is in his third season with the Wildcats. During his tenure Kentucky has a 21-17 conference record, a far cry from the expectations of one of the most iconic programs in all of college basketball.
With those expectations continually mounting anxiety and restlessness within the program’s fanbase, it seems to be only a matter of time before Pope’s seat gets too hot to handle.
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