Kentucky was turned down by Scott Drew and Dan Hurley and reportedly did not seriously pursue Billy Donovan.
Enter Mark Pope. The BYU head coach and former Kentucky big man is being targeted to take over at his alma mater, according to multiple reports.
Pope, 51, went 110-52 in five seasons at BYU after going 77-56 in four years at Utah Valley. He took BYU to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and the NIT quarterfinals and led Utah Valley to three CBI appearances.
However, because Pope’s resume and cache do not compare to that of the men who were named as UK’s original preferred options, tonight’s news has been met with less than enthused reactions from Wildcat fans.
“Mark Pope. We hired Mark Pope. I want Mitch gone. The news made me sit on the floor and question everything I know,” said Barstool Sports college basketball blogger Bobby Reagan, a Kentucky fan.
“Best case scenario for UK, Mark Pope makes me and everyone eat their words and stays for 40 years never even thinking about leaving,” said Cats Illustrated publisher Justin Rowland.
“I’m only focusing on @taylorswift13 TTPD album drop and @UKBaseball for the foreseeable future. #bbn #baseballschool,” one UK fan said.
“It sucks that this got real so fast but I can’t help that it’s true—it isn’t fair to Mark Pope. This hire will be met with enormous disappointment from the fanbase. #BBN,” another fan added.
“Mark Pope is not the guy. You are a disgrace @UKMitchBarnhart,” a third fan said.
“My head is spinning. I’m not sure this is fair to Mark Pope. #bbn,” chimed in a fourth Kentucky fan.
That last comment is probably true. It’s not fair to Pope to come into this situation at a place he clearly loves after his hiring generated such a negative reaction.
However, that looks like what is going to happen. Hopefully Pope will be able to prove people wrong in the long run.