Mark Pope Emerges as Potential New Coach at UK

BYU Athletics Photo

MOAB, Utah — I left to visit Arches National Park and then Canyonlands National Park Thursday thinking there was a good chance Kentucky might hire a new men’s basketball coach Thursday.

Then came word that Baylor coach Scott Drew said no to UK and so did UConn coach Dan Hurley.

However, a few hours later when I got back to where I had access to cell and internet service, I learned Kentucky might be ready to hire a new coach after all. It’s just that seemingly out of nowhere the hire could be BYU coach Mark Pope, a member of Rick Pitino’s 1996 national championship team at Kentucky after transferring from Washington.

Pope averaged 7.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 69 games during his two seasons playing for Pitino.

CBS Sports reported it was all but a done deal and others confirmed the same things Thursday night.

Pope started his coaching career at Utah Valley after his professional playing career ended and went 77-56, including 48-21 his last two seasons. He has been the BY head coach for five years and has 110–52 record. However, he’s 0-2 in NCAA Tournament play, including an upset loss to 11 seed Duquesne this season.

However, hiring Pope seems like a move UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart would make for several reasons.

— His contract would be $5.5 million annually for five years according to various reports. That’s about $4 million per year less than John Calipari as making about maybe half of what Drew or Hurley would have received if they had said yes to Barnhart.

— Pope is the type of person off the court who fits the mold Barnhart likes. He’s not a shaggy coach. He’s never been in trouble with the NCAA. He likes to keep a low profile and Barnhart would not run the risk of off-court problems like former coach Billy Gillispie had when he was Barnhart’s first basketball coaching hire at Kentucky.

— One of Pope’s best friends is former UK teammate Jeff Sheppard, the father of UK star freshman Reed Sheppard. If there is a coach who might get the Sheppard family blessing to get a second year from Reed rather than sending him to the NBA, it would be Pope. But even if Reed still left, Pope would have the support of Sheppard and other former teammates who always liked and respected him.

— Barnhart wants a coach who can unify the fan base and understands the fan base. Many fans might see Pope as a “consolation” hire for Barnhart but he’ll say and do the right things to unite with UK fans. He also runs an energetic system and had a top 15 offense nationally last season when BYU had 23 wins. BYU won at Kansas and beat Baylor last season. It lost by only five points to national champion UConn two years ago

— At age 51, Pope could be someone who stays at UK for 10 or more years if he has success. He’s made no secret that he would like to have a chance to coach at Kentucky.

Timing is important here with the Kentucky roster depleted after Calipari’s departure and the new coach not only has to bring in high school recruits but also hit the transfer portal to build a roster.

So maybe Pope was not UK’s first, second or even third choice but don’t be shocked to learn today that Mark Pope is indeed the new UK coach.