Orem • Some programs like to ease into the season. Utah Valley University head basketball coach Mark Pope, however, has opted for a more ambitious warmup.
UVU will open the season Nov. 10 at Kentucky and follow that with a game the next night at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Wolverines are calling it the toughest 24 hours in college basketball. And as they prepare for what are likely to be two top-five programs, Pope hopes the stress is sharpening his squad.
“If it just gave our guys a little more edge every day of this summer to get to work,” Pope said Tuesday, “it’s totally worth it.”
UVU will receive some compensation for its daunting trip. Kentucky agreed to pay the Wolverines $90,000 for the game and Duke will pay $85,000, according to contracts obtained this week by The Tribune. The Wolverines’ only other compensation will be 100 complimentary tickets to the game in Kentucky and 75 to the game in North Carolina, according to the document.
But as Pope looks to continue building up his program, the coach hopes the real payoff will come later.
“Our goal is to win the WAC tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament,” Pope said. “I want to go play these teams at the beginning of the season so we can go play these teams at the end of the season. So we can know exactly what we have to become so we can compete once we make it to the NCAA Tournament those first couple of rounds. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
As the Wolverines posed for photographs and spoke with reporters Tuesday, the team’s media day at the school’s new basketball facility on campus, they weren’t shying away from the challenge.
“Those are games everyone wants to play in life, arenas everyone wants to play at,” senior guard Kenneth Ogbe said. “We’re all excited about it. We’re not scared or anything. It’s going to be exciting.”
The Wolverines feel confident about the makeup of their roster this season, thanks to a number of experienced transfers to the program.
“It’s going to show who we are right off the bat,” said Akolda Manyang, a 7-foot center who is eligible to play after sitting out last year following his transfer from Oklahoma.
But as they gear up for the start of their season over the next month, there will be plenty of reminders of the behemoths that await.
Pope had to laugh on Tuesday when discussing Kentucky’s pro day over the weekend, which drew 90-plus scouts and executives.
“I didn’t even know there were 90 NBA scouts,” Pope joked. “And every single of them was there for those guys. That’s who we play the very first night.”