Kentucky men’s basketball is reportedly set to hire one of its alums as its new head coach.
According to multiple reports Thursday night, Kentucky is focusing its coaching search on BYU’s Mark Pope. Pope played two seasons for the Wildcats from 1994-96, winning a national title as a fifth-year senior before embarking on an NBA career.
Pope, 51, has been head coach of the Cougars since 2019. In five seasons at BYU, he posted a 110-52 record and led the program to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as a trip to the NIT quarterfinals in 2022.
Known for his prowess as an offensive coach, Pope reportedly came highly recommended by Rick Pitino, who coached the former big man during his two seasons in Lexington.
Kentucky, which had been searching for a new head coach following John Calipari’s decision to leave for the University of Arkansas, first offered the job to Baylor’s Scott Drew, but the 2021 national champion turned it down on Thursday to remain in Waco.
According to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander, the Wildcats did not pursue Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls. UConn’s Dan Hurley piqued Kentucky’s interest but resisted its overtures, instead staying in Storrs, where he’s won back-to-back national championships.
That left UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart needing to pivot, and he turned to Pope, who transferred in to play for Pitino after spending his first two collegiate seasons at the University of Washington.
Pope was a team captain on the 1995-96 championship squad, widely-regarded as one of the greatest teams in modern college basketball history.
We’ll see if he can come close to matching that excellence on the sideline in Lexington.