Kentucky Basketball - LIVE BREATHE BLUE - Chest Bumps and Magic Dust: Pope’s Return to Memorial

Nearly thirty years have passed since Mark Pope last experienced “Memorial Magic” as a Kentucky player. This Saturday, he returns to Vanderbilt’s infamous gymnasium in a more vaunted role as the Wildcats’ head coach. Ever the diplomat, Pope recently gushed superlatives about his opponent’s home court. 

“I think it’s a great venue,” Pope said to the twenty or so media die-hards attending his weekly Thursday press conference. “I think every venue in this deal is great. It’s a little bit of a different vibe for our guys being on the baseline. I think point guards love it because they can’t ever hear what the coach is saying so (it’s easy not to) pay attention. But I think they’re letting us roam the sidelines all the way to hash now.”

What Pope was referring to is the configuration of the team benches. As you probably know by now, the actual court in Memorial Gym is slightly elevated. The team benches are located in the opposing end zones, leaving enough room along the sidelines for Kevin Stallings’ long departed ego. The best of the 14,316 seats in the house are actually located in the second level balcony boxes overlooking the baskets. The media is sequestered so far away as if they’re reporting from a whole different time zone.

Ironically, for Pope, his most lasting memory of the Vanderbilt venue stems solely from the unique position of the benches. 

“We’re racing down the floor in the second half,” he relayed in his usual storytelling fashion. “We’re kind of making a run and had gotten some separation. Someone kind of hit me with a trail pass. We were in transition, they got within two feet of the baseline, and they kind of threw it over their shoulder. And I ran and dunked it. If I remember it correctly, I barely got it over the rim and got fouled. And then Coach P[itino] was standing right there, so I got to go chest bump him. I don’t think Coach was super happy about that. I’ve always loved the configuration of the gym since that moment.”

So, what’s so “magical” about this most unconventional sports venue? Built in 1952 as the campus memorial to Vanderbilt students and alumni killed in WWII, Memorial Gymnasium is as weird as it gets for a basketball arena. Rumor has it that upon completion, the basketball gods were so impressed with the facility that they slipped some magic dust into the rafters. Just approaching the facility gives you an eerie feeling as if you’re walking into a turn of the century Lady Macbeth production. The last time I was there, I reached for opera glasses, a spot of tea, and mints just as the house lights dimmed.

But the real magic begins on the court after the ball is tipped. Over the years, I’ve seen the building make superstars out of lesser-known players such as John Jenkins, Shan Foster, Derrick Byars, Dan Langhi, and Billy McCaffrey—frequently at the expense of the Wildcats. You ever heard of Will Perdue? He went to Vandy and made millions in the NBA. Still not convinced? How about Kentucky natives Scott Draud, Barry Goheen, and Phil Cox—all good high school players who suddenly looked like college All-Americans when they faced off against their home state team. Memorial Gym has seen enough of its share of banked in 3-pointers, last second buzzer beaters, miraculous comebacks, and coaching melt downs to convince even the most hardened cynic that something mystical is going on behind the curtains. Back in 2016, UK’s Jamal Murray dropped 33 points on the Black and Gold, but the Cats still lost 74-62.

So, anything can happen when Kentucky (14-4, 3-2 SEC) and Vanderbilt (15-4, 3-3 SEC) square off surrounded by all that hocus pocus. Here’s hoping that Mark Pope and the Cats sprinkle some of their own magic dust and do plenty of chest-bumping along the baseline benches.

Dr. John Huang is a retired orthodontist, military veteran, and award-winning author. Currently serving as a columnist for Nolan Group Media, he invites readers to follow him on social media @KYHuangs. Explore his debut novel— “Name, Image, and Murder”—and all his books at https://www.Amazon.com/stores/Dr.-John-Huang/author/B092RKJBRD