LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The University of Kentucky is eyeing Brigham Young coach and former UK Basketball captain Mark Pope as its next men's basketball coach, according to sources.
Sources say it was athletic director Mitch Barnhart, not one or two British fans, who declared on social media that a huge error ball had been fired.
According to another source (OK, that's me), some Kentucky fans are excited about the idea of hiring someone other than Gregg Popovich, Tom Izzo, Steve Kerr, Matt Painter, or Danny Hurley. It is said that he would make fun of him.
And finally, a source I consider most knowledgeable about Big 12 basketball says that if Pope is indeed chosen to succeed John Calipari, Kentucky has a smart, thoroughly modern, and hilarious , I believe we will have a new basketball coach who is tenacious and competitive.
The source of that information is ESPN analyst Fran Frascilla. Unlike some social media analysts, he actually puts his name and thoughtful observations behind his opinions.
“The more I think about it, the more I think this is a great choice,” Frascilla said Thursday night, minutes after reports began circulating that Pope was his likely candidate.
“Mark has a great temperament and is a very positive, upbeat, energetic guy. He knows every ins and out of Kentucky basketball.・He served as the captain (and starting center) of the National Championship team under Pitino.
“Offensively, his team has a lot of freedom, a lot of flow, a lot of five (players), and they play basketball where they can freely hit 3-point shots. Once you prove it, he'll let you go. It's a structured but fun offense to watch.
“In terms that Kentucky fans can understand, I would compare it to the style of play that Nate Oats played at Alabama.”
I would like to take a short break here to discuss a question that is sure to provoke skeptics and even some supporters about the potential adoption of the Pope.
Mark Pope, 51, has never won an NCAA Tournament game.
Pope led two teams to the tournament in nine seasons as head coach (four at Utah Valley State University and five at Brigham Young University).
Neither of these programs recruits from the same groups that Kentucky typically visits.
This is not a sure thing.
Fair question, all.
Calipari comes to Kentucky after Final Four trips in Massachusetts and Memphis. Tubby Smith participated in his three Sweet Sixteens in Tulsa and Georgia. Rick Pitino led Providence to the Final Four and the New York Knicks to the NBA Playoffs.
The track record is not that rich.
Sixth-seeded Pope and BYU lost to 11th-seeded Duquesne by four points in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Pope and BYU, also No. 6 seeds, lost to No. 11 seed UCLA by 11 points in the Cougars' opening game of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
“I think hiring Mark is like winning the lottery in the NBA Draft,” Frascilla said. “He's shown great potential, but now he has to show he can do it at the Kentucky level.”
When Pope took over in 2015, Utah Valley had been a Division I program for just 11 years. After an initially losing season, his teams won 17, 23, and 25 games.
This earned Pope the job at BYU, where he won over 68% of his games and averaged 22 wins a season.
On Ken Pomeroy's analytics site, three of his teams rank in the top 25 in the nation in offensive efficiency, including a 2-point field goal percentage that ranks 14th at nearly 58 percent. Also includes the 2024 Cougars.
This season was also the season BYU advanced to the Big 12 Conference. The Big 12 Conference is an eight-team league that competes in the NCAA Tournament and has been ranked as the toughest in America by several analytical formulas.
BYU finished tied for fifth with Self and Kansas, just one game behind Baylor and Scott Drew, who reportedly turned down the Kentucky job on Thursday morning.
BYU won nonleague games against San Diego State, which reached the Final Four last season, and North Carolina State, which advanced to the Final Four last weekend.
In the Big 12, the Cougars won at Kansas and also defeated Baylor, Iowa State, Texas and TCU all in the NCAA Tournament.
BYU finished the season ranked 18th in KenPom, five spots ahead of Kentucky. The Cougars were 12th in NCAA Net Formula and 24th in Bart Torbic. Both of these rankings were better than Calipari's final UK team.
“He's a very talented up-and-coming coach,” Frascilla said. “He knows every ins and out of Kentucky basketball. He's confident in his philosophy and what he wants for his team.
“From what we saw at BYU, I think Kentucky fans will like his style of basketball.”
Now, we'll wait to see if Pope chooses to follow John Calipari at Kentucky.
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