Rick Pitino’s return to Rupp Arena on Friday was exactly what Kentucky Wildcats fans needed.

When now-former head coach John Calipari saw his time at UK come to an end, the program looked to former player and national champion Mark Pope to lead the way.

Pope answered the call and has put together quite the team for his first season at UK.

Someone who has backed Pope since the day he took the UK coaching job is Pitino.

He took to social media to congratulate Pope on his dream job and joined Pope for Big Blue Madness in Rupp Arena on Friday night.

A vast majority of Kentucky fans were out of this world with applause for Pitino when he took the stage. Not only was he excited to be “home” but you could feel a lot of honesty and openness in his voice.

It was clear he was glad to be back in Lexington with the fanbase he still has a place in his heart for.

Also while in Lexington, Pitino joined Pope for practice and more time around the team.

We’ll leave working out the logistics to those who do that best, but a series with St. John’s would be a terrific idea for Pope and Kentucky. What say you?

Tweet of the Day

Can’t get enough of Friday night.

Headlines

Two Wildcats Finish in the Top 20, Kentucky Lands in Sixth Place out of 17 Teams – UK Athletics

Freshman Elin Pudas Remler finds her second top-10 performance of her rookie season

UK Football’s Highs Always Followed by the Lows – Vaught’s Views

They can never string anything together.

Women’s Soccer Falls to Vanderbilt – UK Athletics

The Wildcats are handed their second loss of the season.

Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson carted off with broken tibia – ESPN

Awful news.

The Kentucky Offense Dropped The Ball, Again – KSR

So much inconsistency.

Cowboys owner backs coach McCarthy – ESPN

But we know better.

Vanderbilt players stomp on Kentucky logo at midfield after win – KSR

Karma is very real.

Texas, Oregon, Penn State lead AP Top 25 – ESPN

OSU drops to No. 4.

Errors lead Kentucky Volleyball to shutout loss against No. 7 Texas – KSR

Sunday was tough for the Lady Wildcats.

Flaherty helps L.A. tie playoff scoreless innings run in G1 rout of Mets – ESPN

They’re red hot.