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“We’ve got hope with Pope:” Businesses, former players share excitement of new UK hire

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“We’ve got hope with Pope:” Businesses, former players share excitement of new UK hire


LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Mark Pope’s hiring has had fans and former players talking all Friday long.

It all comes after what’s been a whirlwind of a week for Kentucky Basketball.

“Whether they wanted Cal back or not, everybody including Mitch Barnhart thought we had a coach…and then all of a sudden we didn’t,” said Cameron Mills, who played guard for UK from 1994 to 1998.

Many of those who followed the frenzy weren’t put at ease when Mark Pope emerged as a top candidate.

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“I was surprised on Sunday night when that all was breaking – and I was equally surprised Thursday evening,” said former WKYT Sports Director Rob Bromley.

But initial hesitation transformed into hype as Pope’s hire sank in for Big Blue Nation.

“I’m ecstatic, man. I’m an old school Cats fan,” said Rick Paynter, owner of The Kentucky Shop. “I was at the ‘97 championship when we lost, even met Mark Pope at the ‘97 Championship when I was 12″

It’s also gotten businesses to find some fun ways to back the new Big Blue head coach. Rick Paynter and The Kentucky Shop are riding the wave of excitement with new shirts that read “We’ve got hope with Pope!” flying off the shelves.

“It’s been a crazy day, we’ve sold several thousand,” Paynter said. “So, we’ve got to go over and print some now.”

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Pope wasn’t the highest scoring player, but former teammate Mills says he was among the hungriest.

“We hated him, because he outworked us all. He made us all look bad,” Mills said. “He’s the guy that will run through the wall first and then you can go through it easily, that’s who he is.”

“You could tell how much he wanted to be here,” Bromley said. “How much he enjoyed being a Wildcat, and I think that’s an important thing. You really got to want this job.”

Now that he’s coming back to Lexington, Mills says his fellow Untouchables from 1996 are behind him all the way.

“This is a meat grinder, and you have to handle it,” said Mills. “Mark Pope is ready to handle that meat grinder because he is one of the mentally toughest people I’ve ever been around.”

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Pope’s introductory press conference is open to the public and is set for 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Rupp Arena.



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Kentucky

Bipartisan bill filed that would target violence committed by minors

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Bipartisan bill filed that would target violence committed by minors


FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) – Kentucky’s general assembly is currently on a break after convening for four days to start 2025 legislative session.

However, hundreds of bills were filed in those four days.

“I feel like too many young people are committing act of violence with guns and we need to get it under control,” said Rep. Kim Banta (R-Ft. Mitchell).

Republican Rep. Banta said House Bill 55 does not just apply to guns.

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“My party asked me they said, ‘look why pick on guns, why not any weapon?’,” she said. “And so, I changed it and so if you buy your child a machete and they choose to put it in their backpack and go to school and harm people, you’re going to be held accountable for it.”

The bill would make parents or guardians civilly liable for injury caused by a destructive device, explosive, firearm or other deadly weapon. The bill would apply to legal guardians who allow the minor to have the device, know that the minor has a delinquent history or knows that the intended use is to commit a crime.

“Anything that we can do that may deter a horrific crime would be something I’m all about,” said Rep. Tina Bojanowski (D-Louisville).

Democratic Rep. Bojanowski said she is cosponsoring House Bill 55 because as a teacher, she said it is important for parents or legal guardians to have a pulse on their child.

“You know maybe yeah your son really enjoys hunting and you gave them this knife, but you may want to think twice if he’s been accused and found guilty of a crime already,” said Rep. Bojanowski.

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As the session continues, Rep. Banta said she hopes to convey that the bill is not about taking away guns or imposing restrictions.

Kentucky’s House of Representatives and Senate will meet for part II of the 2025 legislative session on Feb. 4.



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Strack scores 25, Amoore has 24, and No. 12 Kentucky women top Georgia 78-64

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Strack scores 25, Amoore has 24, and No. 12 Kentucky women top Georgia 78-64


Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Led by Clara Strack with 25 points and Georgia Amoore with 24 points, No. 12 Kentucky defeated Georgia 78-64 on Sunday.

Strack made 9 of 19 shots and 6 of 7 free throws. She had 12 rebounds to complete her fourth double-double this season. Amelia Hassett had 14 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double this season and Amoore had eight assists.

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Trinity Turner scored 19 points and De’Mauri Flournoy had 19 of Georgia’s 21 bench points.

Kentucky dominated the first quarter, building a 23-4 lead. All three players who scored for the Wildcats — Amoore (11 points), Strack (6) and Hassett (6) — outscored Georgia. The Bulldogs made one of 16 shots.

Kentucky led 44-31 at halftime before being outscored by nine points in the second half.

After the disastrous first quarter, Georgia battled back and got as close as 69-57 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. A layup by Asia Avinger had Georgia within 12 points again, 73-61, with a minute to go but Amoore hit a jumper and Cassidy Rowe made 3 of 4 free throws to close it out.

The Wildcats are 16-1 overall and 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference, marking their fourth-best start to a season through 17 games in program history and their best start to league action since 2012-13. That season, the Cats won their first six conference games.

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The win for the Wildcats was their 15th by at least 10 points but the 14-point margin ended a streak of six straight wins by 16 points or more.

Kentucky visits Texas A&M on Thursday.

Georgia (9-11, 1-5 SEC) is idle until a road game next Sunday against No. 13 Oklahoma. ___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

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KSR Today: Recapping Kentucky's first shootout loss

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KSR Today: Recapping Kentucky's first shootout loss


We all knew a shootout was coming when Kentucky hosted Alabama on Saturday. Odds were decent that the first team to triple-digits would leave Rupp Arena victorious. Unfortunately, Kentucky ended up on the wrong side.

The Tide won the three-point attempt (34-27) and free throw attempt battle (34-20). Nate Oats saw his team win the shot volume battle and that was enough to knock off the Cats.

KSR Today is taking a look back at the loss and a look ahead to another Sunday Funday for Kentucky women’s basketball and the NFL playoffs.

KSR recaps Kentucky’s first home loss of the season

KSR has you covered from every angle as we recap what all went wrong for Kentucky against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

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Smash those links.

More postgame coverage on KSR’s YouTube Channel

Want to know what Mark Pope, Otega Oweh, Brandon Garrison, and Ansley Almonor said after the game? We’ve got you covered. KSR’s YouTube Channel has the postgame press conferences and a Rapid Reaction featuring our staff wrapping up the tough loss.

Smash play. Subscribe. Hit that like button as we talk about some Kentucky hoops.

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Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

Kentucky WBB hits the road to face Georgia

Kenny Brooks has led his first Kentucky team to a 15-1 (4-0) start and is riding eight consecutive victories. But the Wildcats will be playing a road game on Sunday for the first time since the loss to No. 16 North Carolina on Dec. 5.

Georgia (9-10, 1-4) has struggled this season. Before the season, the Lady Bulldogs were picked to finishing 14th in the SEC.

KSR will have live in-game and postgame coverage as UK looks to improve to 5-0 in league play. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET. The game will stream on ESPN+.

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NFL Divisional Round wraps up

The football was not boring on Saturday. Kansas City beat Houston in a slugfest as the Texans fall to 0-7 all-time in the divisional round. Then Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders shocked the football world when they took out the best team in football.

That sets the table for Sunday with two championship game participants locked in. The No. 6 seed Commanders could play an NFC East game next weekend and will hit the road for the NFC Championship no matter what happens in Philadelphia today. The Chiefs will host the winner of Baltimore-Buffalo.

Buckle in for some more playoff football.

  • No. 4 seed Los Angeles Rams at No. 2 seed Philadelphia Eagles (3pm ET | NBC)
  • No. 3 seed Baltimore Ravens at No. 2 seed Buffalo Bills (6:30pm ET | CBS)



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