1. CALM BEFORE THE STORM

One of the main themes from Mark Pope's inaugural Media Day address as Kentucky head coach was a concept he picked up during a recent trip to church. The sermon dealt with an old Japanese proverb promoting the ability to be "still." That's no easy task for a high-energy personality like Pope, but he's using it to prepare his team for a rapidly approaching season that includes a high-profile early clash with rival Duke. "We're spending time with our staff and our team talking about finding moments just to be still," Pope said. "From a religious perspective, be still and know that I am God; from a team perspective, just be still, just find a quiet moment off of your phone, off of media, off away from guys." It certainly sounds like Pope is preparing his guys for the approaching storm. Once the season arrives, things move fast, and the noise and the clutter, the praise and the criticism can keep players from that peace of mind. "I think it's centering," said Pope, who noted that the passion at UK can be both empowering and debilitating at times. "... It's a way for us to stay calm and focused, which is something we'll be chasing all season long." This had the feel of some classic Phil Jackson Zen-coaching.

2. POPE PROMISES 'PERFECT EFFORT'

Kentucky has one of the more unique teams in program history and arguably in the history of the NCAA. The Wildcats will be the most experienced team to ever wear the blue and white, but none of the players have ever played a single minute at UK. Despite having to build an entire roster from scratch in a very short amount of time, Pope is pleased with how things have come together. "It's just a new experience," he said. "And I'm really excited about our guys' talent level. I'm really excited about their experience. I'm really excited about their commitment and desire to be here at the University of Kentucky and represent what this place is... I'm excited about how they're growing together as a team." The new UK boss made a promise of sorts to Big Blue Nation: "We're not going to see perfection (in play) but we're going to see perfect effort and we're going to see close to perfect commitment."

3. COMPARISON TIME

There were a number of questions aimed at Pope that had the feel of testing his position on some hot-button topics from previous seasons, including lineup construction and use of analytics. Pope kind of danced around the first one, noting that there are many ways to determine a lineup. "I believe in the synergy of every aspect of this game," he noted. "... So there's going to be times when I'm saying, hey, we're going with this starting lineup because the pieces fit together. There's going to be times we'll go with the starting lineup because it's the best five guys... we'll consider all those things as we go." There is one point for which he agrees with his predecessor when it comes to lineups: "We don't spend a lot of time emphasizing starting. It's finishing that really matters." On the topic of analytics, Pope is much more demanding when it comes to adherence to data-based decision-making. "Mostly, I do what I ask my players to do, right, which is to take in all the information. Be curious, (have) humility and curiosity. You'll hear me talk about that from day one to the end of time." The biggest challenge to processing analytics in basketball, he added, is that coaches and players have to make fast decisions in real time.