After being turned down by multiple top candidates, Kentucky is targeting its own candidate, BYU’s Mark Pope, to be the school’s next men’s basketball coach, officials told ESPN Thursday. .
According to sources, an agreement is expected to be finalized in the near future.
Pope, who graduated from Kentucky in 1996 and played two seasons and won a national title, led BYU to two NCAA tournaments in five years, including a 23-11 record, and last season. has made a smooth transition to the Big 12. He had a 110-52 record at BYU and before that was the head coach at Utah Valley, where he compiled a 77-56 record in four seasons.
Pope replaces Hall of Fame coach John Calipari, who left for Arkansas after compiling a 410-123 record with the Wildcats. That includes a national title and four Final Four appearances.
Pope has an overall record of 187 wins and 108 losses in his nine years as head coach, and is highly regarded in coaching circles. He also completed his two years of medical school at Columbia University and transitioned to Georgia State’s director of basketball operations in 2009.
Kentucky turned to Mr. Pope after several prominent candidates either declined the job or declared they were not interested. Late Thursday morning, Baylor University’s Scott Drew turned down interest in the job after the school flew several families to Lexington on a private plane to tour the area.
“I truly believe that God has called my family and me to continue our work here at Baylor,” Drew said in a statement.
Drew’s decision comes after three high-profile candidates expressed interest in the job before recruiting began: Alabama’s Nate Oats, UW’s Dan Hurley and former Villanova coach Jay Wright. This was issued in response to the request. Billy Donovan also said he would be committed to coaching the Chicago Bulls.
Pope will come to Kentucky with a light resume for a job generally considered the best in the sport. He has no NCAA Tournament wins, with No. 11 BYU losing to No. 6 Duquesne 71-67 in the first round this year. In the 2021 tournament, 6th place BYU lost to 11th place UCLA in the first round.
By comparison, Calipari coached the University of Massachusetts and the University of Memphis to a combined 11 NCAA tournaments and two Final Fours before taking the job at Kentucky. Tubby Smith coached in three Sweet 16s before arriving at Kentucky, twice at Tulsa and once at Georgia. Rick Pitino led Providence to the Final Four and was the coach of the New York Knicks before his appointment. Even Billy Gillispie reached the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament, where he coached three times, before being hired by the Wildcats.
