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Mark Pope Discusses Final Assistant Coach Position, “I’m not in desperate need of adding more pieces”

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Mark Pope isn't rushing to fill Kentucky's final assistant coach opening, saying pending NCAA rules on international players could shift his plans.
UK Athletics

Kentucky basketball has operated this offseason without a full staff. Assistant coaches Alvin Brooks III and Jason Hart left the program back in March, and Mark Pope has only filled one of the two spots since, hiring former NBA All-Star Mo Williams from Jackson State.

Despite that, Kentucky managed to bring in the 3rd ranked transfer class in the country, highlighted by Milan Momcilovic, and have secured a commitment from 2027 five-star Ryan Hampton.

“I like my organization a lot right now. I think this group is functioning at a high level,” Pope said about his staff in an interview with BBN Tonight. “I like the way our staff feels. I like the way we feel in the staff meeting every day. I like the way we’re executing on the road. I like the way we feel on the court right now.”

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With an assistant coach position sitting vacant, Pope is satisfied with how his staff is performing and says there is no urgency in filling the role. Instead, he’s waiting to see how NCAA guidelines and rules unfold in the coming weeks.

“I’m not in desperate need of adding more pieces, although I’m open to the idea,” he said.

“There are going to be a whole host of legal cases from our league testing the CSC and the NCAA on their current guidelines and rules on international players. And depending on what the outcome of those are, it could very much shift the direction we go with hiring.”

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Men's Basketball

La Familia Blown Out in Road Matchup Against The Ville

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Photo via UK Athletics

On Monday, July 20, La Familia traveled to Louisville, KY to take on The Ville in the historic Freedom Hall. With a 1-0 series lead, the Kentucky alumni had a game to give before returning home. Unfortunately for them, they fell by a score of 82-62 in a dominant showing from the Cardinals.

Heading into this matchup, there was yet again some drama with the injury report, as Willie Cauley-Stein was listed as questionable, Marcus Lee was listed as out and Archie Goodwin was marked to make his debut on Monday for the Wildcats.

However, as the day went on, TBT officially announced that Cauley-Stein will play but that Goodwin will not, sending Big Blue Nation into another frenzy of question marks. Nonetheless, no matter if it’s a Marquette alum balling out for you or if it’s the Wildcats’ own, the show must go on.

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The majority of the first quarter showed a competitive ballgame, with La Familia holding an 11-9 lead at the media break. James Mainor-Bell banged in two threes to start the game, with Andrew Harrison joining in on the three party after an ankle breaker. The Ville was doing their best to play bully ball with Montrezl Harrell, but the Wildcats held him to only two points in his first quarter of action.

Harrell scored five straight for the Cardinals to start the second quarter, giving them their first lead of the game at the seven-minute mark. From then on, it would be complete and utter domination from the star forward, dropping 16 points in the quarter alone on perfect shooting.

Harrison, Chris Coffey and others did their best to stop the bleeding, but words cannot describe how quickly The Ville took control and did whatever they wanted on the court. La Familia only shot 8/30 from the field in the first half and nothing could go their way.

At the break, the alumni from the bluegrass trailed 36-22.

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From poster dunks, lobs and threes, there was no idea of a comeback in any Kentucky fans’ heart, with The Ville having fun while they could in front of their fanbase.

Harrison and Coffey would combined for 34 points, but in response, Harrell finished the night with 35 points and eight rebounds to tie up the three-game series.

Up next, La Familia will host The Ville on Wednesday, July 22 for the third and final game of the series. The winner will take home the bragging rights and send their in-state rival on a one-way exit out of the TBT tournament. Tip is set for 6:00 p.m. ET and will air live on FS1.

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Men's Basketball

Injury Report Update: La Familia Prepares For Game Two

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*UPDATE (1:10 p.m. ET): Willie Cauley-Stein is ACTIVE but Archie Goodwin has been downgraded to UNACTIVE per TBT Stats & Info. A reason has not been revealed publicly.

There’s nothing like some evening basketball in the middle of the summer, and that’s exactly what we’re getting later tonight with La Familia’s matchup with The Ville. Tipoff for game two is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET inside of Freedom Hall, with the Kentucky alumni looking to take care of business on the road.

Doing so, will be difficult. We all saw what playing in enemy territory can do to a team – Louisville experienced it on Saturday and went down by as much as 15 points in the third quarter. Given the away atmosphere, the desperation from the Cardinals and unfortunately, some injury news, we’re in for an interesting one.

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Game two’s official injury report has Marcus Lee, who missed game one with the team, listed as OUT for tonight’s matchup. He was originally believed to make his debut on Monday, but it seems it may be the next series where Lee will make an appearance. Willie Cauley-Stein, after tweaking his ankle in La Familia’s first game, is listed as questionable, making Kentucky’s size a thing to question.

Don’t worry though Big Blue Nation, because KY Insider brings good news with the bad. Archie Goodwin, who was a major part of the team’s scoring last summer, will be making his debut on July 20. Sources confirmed that he was attending a wedding on Saturday and couldn’t make the season opener.

The Ville will also be without two key players who missed game one, Ray Spalding and Angel Nunez. The full injury report can be seen below.

La Familia

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  • Archie Goodwin – AVAILABLE
  • Willie Cauley-Stein – QUESTIONABLE
  • Marcus Lee – OUT

The Ville

  • Ray Spalding – OUT
  • Angel Nunez – OUT

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Men's Basketball

La Familia Defeats The Ville in Game One of the 2026 TBT Tournament

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Photo via UK Athletics

‘Tis the season of summer fun for all across Big Blue Nation, because Kentucky’s alumni team, La Familia, wants to rewrite the narrative and prove themselves in the TBT.

The first test came in the most challenging way with The Ville, a team assembled of former Louisville Cardinals, the Wildcats’ in-state rivals. In the best-of-three series, game one took place inside of Historic Memorial Coliseum on July 18, where fans who were craving a little basketball decked themselves out in white gear to cheer on their former Cats.

Through the first quarter, it was seemingly anyone’s ball game to start, with both teams tied 12-12 with 2:31 remaining. Andrew Harrison led the way with five points.

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Louisville would proceed to go on a 9-5 run to end the quarter, boosting their lead to four.

A shift was then felt in the atmosphere of Historic Memorial Coliseum, and the former Wildcats reciprocated the energy accordingly. Led by Sean McNeil and Harrison shooting from deep, La Familia would double The Ville in the second quarter, outgunning them 24-12.

Harrison’s last-second and-one would send the fans in a frenzy, giving the Wildcats all the momentum heading into halftime, leading 41-33.

Halfway through the third quarter, with what seemed like a blowout win for the Kentucky alumni, turned quickly into an instant classic. The Ville would have a couple chances to hit the target score after climbing all the way back, but Darryl Morsell’s heroics kept La Familia alive.

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Morsell would finish the night with 17 points, claiming the game-winning dunk and sending Louisville back to their city with a loss.

Up next, La Familia and The Ville will face off on Monday, July 20 inside of Freedom Hall for game two of the series. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will air live on FOX.

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