The Kentucky Wildcats hired a new head coach this offseason, as Mark Pope came over from BYU to lead the program.

Not every alumni has been able to express their feelings about Pope’s addition and long-time head coach John Calipari’s subtraction. However, we do now know how Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis feels.

Davis, who has had a terrific start to the season for the Lakers, is a huge fan of Pope, who was a former Wildcats big man as well.

Here’s how he phrased it after a recent performance for Los Angeles.

While the true test will be against the Duke Blue Devils in the Champions Classic on Tuesday, the Cats, behind Pope, have been off to a hot start through two games.

They beat Wright State 103-62 on Monday, then followed that up with another huge win over Bucknell, beating the Bison by 28 points at home on Saturday.

The Cats have a team that should find their identity on the defensive end, so seeing this type of offensive explosive out of the gate is a huge positive for Pope and his staff.

That said, while it isn’t a requirement for former Cats with big platforms to praise you as a head coach, it has to be reassuring that those players who mean so much to the program and have shaped it into what it is today are backing you.

For recruits, it likely means the world as well. Let’s just say Pope has had an encouraging early stint as the head man in Lexington.