Kentucky could turn to an alum in its search for a new men’s basketball head coach.
According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, BYU’s Mark Pope is a candidate to replace John Calipari. Pope played on Kentucky’s national championship squad in 1996.
After transferring from Washington, Pope averaged 7.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in two seasons at Kentucky. He played 36 games as a senior before playing 153 career NBA games for the Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, and Denver Nuggets.
Pope spent four seasons as Utah Valley’s head coach before taking BYU’s position in 2019. He’s led the Cougars to a 110-52 record and two NCAA tournament appearances.
Following a 23-10 season, BYU suffered a first-round loss to Duquesne as a No. 6 seed. Pope’s team averaged 81.4 points per game during the 2023-24 season.
Kentucky stood by Calipari after its own first-round tournament upset, but he left Lexington after 15 years for Arkansas’ head coaching job. The Wildcats will hire just their fifth head coach since 1990.
Some potential options are already off the board.
Nate Oats confirmed his commitment to Alabama after taking the Crimson Tide to their first Final Four. Jay Wright said he’s not coming out of retirement, and Scott Drew turned down an offer to stay at Baylor.
Billy Donovan is another popular candidate on the rumor mill, but the Chicago Bulls head coach said he’s had no discussions about returning to Kentucky.
Pope could thus emerge as a more feasible choice to lead the SEC program.