John Calipari approves of his replacement at Kentucky.
After 15 seasons, Calipari left the Wildcats to take Arkansas’s head coaching job. Kentucky responded by hiring BYU coach Mark Pope, who won a national title at Kentucky as a player.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Calipari gave his seal of approval to his new SEC adversary.
“I thought it was a terrific hire,” Calipari said, via On3. “Mark and I have spent time together. He’s a good man. He and I talked on the Friday morning when I was at the Final Four. … Proud of what Kentucky was doing. Didn’t know he would be the coach at that point, but I think it’s a terrific hire.”
Calipari believes his former school faces a critical juncture after his final season ended in a first-round NCAA tournament upset.
“There are things they got to do that they know they got to do now,” he continued. “No options. You either do them or, you know. They’re doing them from what I understand.”
Pope went 110-52 during five seasons at BYU. Upon joining the Big 12 last season, he led the Cougars to the NCAA tournament with 23 wins.
Since the hiring, Calipari has made Pope’s job tougher. Earlier this week, guard D.J. Wagner became the sixth player to leave Kentucky for Arkansas. Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic also transferred, and three recruits (Boogie Fland, Karter Knox, and Billy Richmond) flipped their commitments.
Two of last year’s top performers, Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard, are also expected lottery picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. Pope has large shoes to fill following Coach Cal in Lexington.