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Mark Pope played for the University of Kentucky and was a team captain for the Wildcats during their national championship-winning season in 1996. In other words, Pope understands what it means to play for Kentucky, but playing for the Wildcats and coaching the Wildcats are two very different assignments.

Some members of Big Blue Nation were a bit skeptical about Pope being hired as head coach, to put it mildly after John Calipari bolted for the Arkansas gig. While Kentucky fans never operate with full confidence, it’s safe to assume most fans are all aboard the Pope train 16 games into his tenure.

The 13-3 Wildcats earned a huge win over Duke in the third game of the season, knocked off Gonzaga a few weeks later, and are now off to a 2-1 start in SEC play with wins over Florida and, most recently, Mississippi State away from home.

Kentucky will likely see themselves ranked as a Top 5 team to begin the week, and on top of getting results on the floor, Pope has proven he fully understands the assignment and expectations of being the face of the program.

Well after the final buzzer sounded in Starkville on Saturday, Pope noticed a Kentucky fan still hanging around inside the very empty arena. The fan happened to be in a wheelchair and unable to make his way closer to the floor, so Pope made his way up to where they were seated.

Not only did he make his way up to the fan, he greeted him with a hug, snagged a chair, and sat down right next to him to share a conversation and snag a few photos.

There are few better compliments in life than saying someone ‘just gets it,’ and it’s abundantly clear that Pope is one of the rare people who does.

Pope’s Wildcats welcome No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 5 Alabama to Rupp Arena this coming week; two wins there and his team could have a No. 1 next to his name in the next week’s polls.