Quotes of the Week

Published 8:37 am Friday, July 25, 2025

“He knows so much about the game, it’s been really interesting to pick his brain and talk to him about what he feels I need to work on and how I can improve my game. He’s very passionate when he talks about basketball. It’s been cool to lean on that and see through his eyes what he sees in me,” Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance on playing for coach Mark Pope.

“I’m not in the NBA. I’m not hooping anymore. So I’m going to end up having to turn into, like, a businessman and really find other opportunities to make money. I think just having that degree gets you through some of those doors,” former UK basketball player Willie Cauley-Stein on why he’s taking classes at UK to finish his degree.

“I think one of the things you have to feel good about if you are a Kentucky fan when it comes to Mark Pope is this: many players in the transfer portal are being evaluated by their overall talent and what they can do from a production standpoint. Mark Pope thinks about putting together a team. He does not look and try to just accumulate talent,” CBS Sports College Basketball Insider Jon Rothstein on one of Mark Pope’s undervalued talents.