Kentucky-Tennessee Tech Postgame Quotes
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE
November 26, 2025
Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Coach Mark Pope
Press Conference
Kentucky – 104, Tennessee Tech – 54
MARK POPE: We are grateful for this group. Grateful for my staff. Grateful for the opportunity to be here at the greatest basketball University ever created. I’m grateful for BBN. I’m grateful for all of this. And I’m amazingly grateful for these legends, I think all four of us are going to do radio after this, which I think is super cool. I think John is going to come with us. These guys changed, they reset the trajectory of Kentucky basketball. They laid the foundation for what I got to experience when I came here as a player. They reset it for all of us that have played since then, and certainly reset it for me and having a chance to come be here as a head coach. It’s really special. Is this the first time you all four have been in the gym? Since when? That’s incredible to me. The first time since 1992 we had these four unforgettable’ s in here. I’m grateful you guys are here. Go ahead and ask them questions guys. I’m just going to admire their beautiful answers.
Q Why not, what does it mean for you guys to be back and to see John Pelfrey doing what he’s doing over on the sidelines?
SEAN WOODS: Well, you got to know John first. He was so nervous doing this. We all had this group text and he’s asking us, you know, what do you think? If I’m going to come, you guys better be there. I said, shut up, I did this four times, take the money and fricking do the best you can and go on and come hang out with us guys. That’s how that conversation went, as you know we, still treat and talk to each other the same we did when we were 18-19 years old.
RICHIE FARMER: You know, if you played with John and grew up around John you would know that he was built to be a basketball coach. And we knew when he was playing that he would be a coach when he finished. I think he’s done a tremendous job and as Sean said, he was really nervous about coming in here and playing in front of the fans and playing his old team. He said if I can get through the first four minutes, the first four minutes look good. It was after that that got him. But, you know, John is a great guy and we love having an opportunity to come back and everybody be together for the first time in 30 years. It was good.
DERON FELDHAUS: I think they did a pretty good job, you know. I’m not the person who will say a lot but this is a great, just to get back and see John and these two guys, we don’t get to do this very often. In this environment, I was telling John’s kids, man, you get to playing Rupp Arena, that’s a big deal. By bringing this team there it’s a great experience for them. Not too many people can say they played in this arena, that’s a big deal. That’s the best five years of my life, that’s for sure.
SEAN WOODS: And before we go on to the next question. I’ve got to give this guy credit. We all do because everybody gets kudos about unforgettable’ s and things like that. Nobody knew who Rick Pitino’s best assistant was that made us who we were, you know, heart, mind, body, and soul. That is our guy right here. He gets all the kudos. He scared us to win games. I just want you guys to know that’s Ray Rock Oliver. Everybody has to give him a round of applause. He’s the guy who actually, he was just as important in our success as any coach or any player during that time. He’s the only man still that I’m scared of and we are all still scared of, just so you know. That’s why we are successful right now because we are scared to fail. We know if we start acting up, he’s still mean enough and tough enough to kick our behind’s. Make sure that doesn’t go unsaid.
Q For any of you, or all of you guys. I saw you back there standing with Rock for some of coach Pelfrey’s comments there. I’m not sure how much of it you heard, but as you hear him talk about his emotions and see that emotion and the feelings that kinda rekindled with him coming in here for this occasion. Does it, I guess, stir up similar memories for you guys and just what were you thinking when you walk into a situation like this and see him on the other sideline?
SEAN WOODS: I’m tearing up now because I’ve done this four times. I’ve been in John’s shoes. Twice in Mississippi Valley and once at Morehead and once at Southern. I know the feelings and the emotions that go through coming into this building and seeing familiar faces with being on the other side is just, you don’t understand the passion that we have and the love that we have for this place, and including him. We are all refreshed that one of ours is at the helm now. And you don’t know how that means to us because he’s going through the trenches just like us. He’s one of us and knows as the coach here what it means to put that uniform on. God works in mysterious ways and there’s a reason why Mark Pope is here right now because the University of Kentucky needed somebody that is part of us to get this thing back to being realistic about what being a Kentucky basketball player and this program is all about.
Q Mark, you’re going to want to use John Pelfrey’s press conference in your recruiting pictures from now on. But two, what does it mean, they are referring to you, one of our own, you are the one who’s in charge of the program now, what is that with guys like this here tonight?
MARK POPE: Listen, what’s really beautiful is we know each other but we don’t really know each other. But the love that I have for these guys is I can’t even describe it. Because before I even got to Kentucky I got to watch these guys work their magic and just restore this program. I think you think about this group of unforgettable’ s and it’s not just what they did but it’s the way they did it that was what all of us were striving to be like. Just the guts and the grit and the suffering. You know, I brought up the post Kansas one experience with John and he didn’t share many of the details on the radio show but, when I got here to Kentucky, those are the stories that we heard. And it was really so beautiful to come here to Kentucky and hear the stories about this group and about, you know, I came here and Kentucky was just coming off a final four against Michigan. But they were still talking about what this group went through to get Kentucky basketball back where it was supposed to be. They went through it. I think it was probably like, they get triple X rating if they ever do a movie on it. Just for the sheer torture these guys went through, but they did it and they did it in a really special way and represent this play so well. To be a part of this family is awesome. It’s great.
Q You guys tonight come in and John’s team comes out and does well with seven minutes to go it was 25-25. Even though you guys bleed blue, were you kinda pulling for your guy a little bit as the game got close, or were you thinking, Mark played for Coach Pitino and it may be one of those X-rated movies if they don’t get this thing going at halftime or something. What was going through your guys mind when the game was tied in the emotions in that?
RICHIE FARMER: You don’t want that one, Sean? I think it was really good to see John because like I said, when we talk to him before the game, he was wanting to make sure that they came out and got to the first four minutes and as you said with seven minutes left to go in the first half it was a tie ballgame. It was good to see the Cats kind of start to get themselves together and start to make some shots and start to play a little better. It’s always good when you see your former teammate over there in the trenches and doing a wonderful job. They did a great job the first half.
Q For coach, Mark, what do you hope your team will learn from the unforgettable’s and from these guys?
MARK POPE: Oh man, if we could capture these guy’s heart and spirit and their commitment, we would be unbeatable. We’d like to ensure that as quickly as we can. You know, there are just certain people that capture, that just put everything on the table to get it done and they are iconic in what Kentucky basketball is supposed to be. That’s something we are striving for every single day is to learn and understand and grasp and make that commitment and before the game we talked about Kaizen, just about this relentless, unyielding effort for continual growth and these guys embodied that in a really miraculous way.
Q Hey guys, John was pretty emotional when he talked about his jersey being retired and I was just wondering how have your thoughts on having those jerseys hanging up there. How has that changed over the course of the years with the benefit of hindsight?
DERON FELDHAUS: You know, every time I walk in this building, I have to take that glance. To see if it’s up there and it’s something that, it is just special. I’ve said this before, the four of us as players, I felt like it should just be one jersey, the unforgettable’ s. I gotten in trouble for saying that, all four of us. But it was a group. We talked about a lot of the people, but Coach Pitino is the one that made this happen. He’s the one that pushed us to the limits and that guy right there, he gets a lot of credit for our success, that’s for sure.
SEAN WOODS: And he had the best sergeant-at-arms in the world too, that was Ray Rock Oliver.
RICHIE FARMER: I would like to say something to that one. You know, I can tell you that as a kid, laying in the bed and dreaming of playing here and you know, I think you dream about a lot of things. You dream about having great games and you dream about maybe scoring a lot of points in the game and hit a game-winner. You never dare dream that your jersey might be hanging in the rafters, especially at a place like UK. I can tell you for me when they told us that night to look up to the rafters as they retired our jerseys, I had no idea it was happening and it’s, I said it’s the greatest accomplishment that a basketball player can have that plays here. You know, growing up and dreaming of all the dreams that you dream about, you never dream that your jersey would be retired. That’s just very, very special, especially for a Kentucky kid.
Q This is for any of you. What are you all thankful for this Thanksgiving?
SEAN WOODS: Well, we’ve got a lot to be thankful for. We are still here and we still have our health. This year in 2025, this is the first time all four of us are together since 1992. That day when we got our jerseys retired, that’s the last day we were in this building together. We have that to be thankful for. Not only that. We are all thankful, being able to put this jersey on. That’s what we are thankful for. And not only that, your family and friends and things like that. But Richie and Deron, they grew up here. I grew up in Indiana but my mom was born and raised here in Lexington, Kentucky. The whole side of my mom’s family was from here. They grew up in the horse industry and Jimmy Winkfield was my great-great uncle, the first black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby twice. My grandmother watched, and my family watched how the University of Kentucky evolved from what it used to be to now and to have her see her grandson come back after her daughter moved away to have a successful career here and to get his jersey hung up in Rupp Arena was something that you don’t dream of. But, I came back to make my family proud and that was one of the biggest accomplishments of my life knowing that my family was an African-American family living here in Lexington, Kentucky and their grandson and relative came back to a place where they grew up watching. To have a legendary career means a lot to me and my family here in the state of Kentucky.
KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
KENTUCKY VS. TENNESSEE TECH
RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY.
NOVEMBER 26, 2025
UK Student-Athletes
#9 Trent Noah, F
On interaction with John Pelphrey …
“Yeah, it was cool getting to compete with him. He was a heck of a player. He’s got his name in the rafters and stuff like that.”
On Malachi Moreno …
“Yeah, he’s playing great. He’s an excellent player but what makes it even more special is that he’s a great person. So it’s always fun to do it with guys that are about the right things.”
On team defense …
“I feel like we’ve grown a lot in terms of being connected. I feel like these past couple of games, we been playing one on five instead of one on one. So, having each other’s backs, our rotations are more crisp and we’ve just got to continue to carry that to the next game.”
#24 Malachi Moreno, C
On how it feels having all of the former Wildcats back…
“It’s great because these guys set the standard. They are called the Unforgettables for a reason. I think, having that come back and having them witness that was everything.”
On the difference between the first 14 minutes and the rest of the game…
“We got to the second half and started making shots and started playing for our teammates.”
On the feeling when they are losing and are looking for a way out…
“Well, when we are not making shots, we are looking to turn whatever is wrong right. And keep making sure we are working together.”
On Waker Horn and Zach Tow scoring points tonight…
“I mean if you didn’t see our reactions, you should go look. It was great to actually see. Walker and Zach mean a lot to our team. Walker is almost like a leader on the team because he’s been here. He is just a voice, he understands what he has to do and then he comes in with a great mindset and works every day. Zach is the same deal. He’s a senior and he is always ready to work. He is ready to hoop. They both just come in and make us better. Seeing them out there and getting those buckets makes me very proud.”
#1 Denzel Aberdeen, G
On what changed in the first 14 minutes of the game in the game to the remainder of the second half…
“I think our approach and attitude was that we wanted to get stops defensively. Tennessee Tech is a very good team, and they were on a roll early in the game and just coming out at halftime, we wanted to make sure we guarded our yard defending the person in front of us. We just took a defensive mindset in the second half I think that’s how we came out.”
On getting the team feeding off each other…
“Most definitely, that just speaks to the character of our teammates. We find each other in the right spots, shoutout to everybody. Everybody was getting the ball today spreading around and that’s just our team chemistry. Every day in practice we stress make good teammates, and I think that’s what we did today.”
On describing what it felt like when Walker (Horn) hit his shot…
“That was an amazing feeling. Walker really does that to us every day in practice. He has some big-time shots, first on the scout team, but he’s an amazing person (he) comes in each and every day with a smile on his face. He’s doing what he can for us to help us win.”
Tennessee Tech Head Coach John Pelphrey
Opening Statemen …
“They are good. Rupp Arena is great. That is a beautiful jersey. Very, very humbled to have the chance to experience the things I have experienced here. It is emotional, it really is. I wanted to get these guys up here early so that we wouldn’t lose to the building – this cathedral, this shrine of college basketball. I thought it worked. I thought our guys came out very comfortable and confident. We played the best 15-16 minutes we have played all year on both ends of the floor. It came a point in time there where the ball just would not go in the basket. It was just flying around and we were getting some great looks and it just didn’t go in and we flinched just like we did the other night on the road. We were able to recover the other night, but we were dealing with a totally different opponent. I didn’t think the second half that we played very well, so give Kentucky credit for that. So these games are evaluations and they always show what you can do well and they show where you need to get better. I really love my team and enjoy them. This was a learning lesson tonight and we will look at this and evaluate and have a workout tomorrow. We will have Thanksgiving dinner together. We will try to do a great job with nutrition, hydration, rest and recovery. Then we will get on a bus and go to Athens, Georgia and try it again.”
On Kentucky and how they will do the rest of the season …
“Yeah, I think we are super proud of Mark and I cannot tell you how it feels to have one of our own here. That is certainly – I love our past and appreciative that it is respected and revered – but to have a national championship guy in that seat, somebody that understands the respect that this place deserves. This is a place that respects its past so much so that it hopefully it inspires the future. I was one of those guys. I watched guys do it so well that I wanted to do it someday. I am so happy that he is here. The team is deep. The team is skilled. I think they have a tremendous upside. They will not be the same team 30 days from now, 60 days from now. They are going to continue to get better and better and better. I think they can play different ways. Clearly they are still trying to find themselves. Tonight they didn’t have one of their toughest guys out there. The Cats are going to have a good year.”
