Mark Pope and John Calipari respond to Kentucky basketball’s 2024 NBA draft choices.

Former and current Kentucky basketball coaches expressed their support for UK’s performance in the 2024 NBA draft. Three players from the 2023–24 squad were selected by the Wildcats: Antonio Reeves (No. 47 overall), Rob Dillingham (No. 8 overall), and Reed Sheppard (No. 3 overall). And as these former Cats found out their NBA destinations, former UK coach John Calipari and current UK coach Mark Pope shared posts on social media.

Calipari was there at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday night for the NBA draft’s first round. It was there that Calipari met up with Sheppard and Dillingham, who had been invited to the draft as green room guests.
During this year’s draft, Calipari also had the opportunity to meet the Sarr family: the eldest son Olivier spent four years of college playing at Wake Forest and Kentucky, while the younger son Alexandre was selected by the Washington Wizards with the second overall pick in the 2024 draft.

Pope, for his part, expressed his congratulations on social media with two posts following Sheppard and Dillingham’s selection in the draft.

Following Thursday’s UK draft selection of Antonio Reeves in the lone second round, Calipari and Pope shared on social media.

Pope talked on the NBA draft’s significance to the Kentucky basketball program on Tuesday at his first press conference for reporters only as the team’s head coach.
“We’re very enthusiastic about the draft. Five players are available for this draft, and more Kentucky basketball history will be made in the NBA draft, according to Pope. “We’re very happy about the contributions these young men made here and what they will do moving forward.” Pope continued, “Part of what makes this place so special is this tradition at Kentucky of having great players come here, hang banners, then go play in the NBA.” Kentucky’s three draft selections from this year’s event bring the total number of UK-born players taken in NBA drafts to 141.

The Wildcats had at least three players for the 24th time in program history this year in Kentucky.