Monday Headlines: Rick Pitino’s Return to Kentucky Basketball

NCAA Basketball: Kentucky Blue Madness — Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Friday night was electric.

Rick Pitino’s return to Rupp Arena on Friday was exactly what Kentucky Wildcats fans needed.

When now-former head coach John Calipari saw his time at UK come to an end, the program looked to former player and national champion Mark Pope to lead the way.

Pope answered the call and has put together quite the team for his first season at UK.

Someone who has backed Pope since the day he took the UK coaching job is Pitino.

He took to social media to congratulate Pope on his dream job and joined Pope for Big Blue Madness in Rupp Arena on Friday night.

That really just happened. Rick Pitino took the floor at Rupp Arena at the end of Mark Pope’s first Big Blue Madness as Kentucky’s head coach.

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— KSR (@KSRonX) October 12, 2024

A vast majority of Kentucky fans were out of this world with applause for Pitino when he took the stage. Not only was he excited to be “home” but you could feel a lot of honesty and openness in his voice.

It was clear he was glad to be back in Lexington with the fanbase he still has a place in his heart for.

Also while in Lexington, Pitino joined Pope for practice and more time around the team.

Rick Pitino stopped by Kentucky’s practice this morning to address Mark Pope’s team and tell them why being a Wildcat is so special.

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— KSR (@KSRonX) October 12, 2024

We’ll leave working out the logistics to those who do that best, but a series with St. John’s would be a terrific idea for Pope and Kentucky. What say you?