- Arkansas acquired John Calipari and Kentucky was humbled. Britain hired Mark Pope. His greatest accomplishment as a coach? He was expelled in the first round of the NCAA.
- Kentucky fans wanted John Calipari gone. They got their wish. What they didn't get was Billy Donovan, Scott Drew, and Dan Hurley.
- Mark Pope's BYU Cougars lost to Duquesne in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
In the hours and days after the University of Kentucky lost to Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Big Blue Nation delivered an unrelenting rallying cry for athletic director Mitch Barnhart to fire John Calipari. Raised.
Barnhart evaluated the situation and decided to keep Calipari, a veteran coach who led UK to a national championship in 2012 but has underperformed in tournament play in recent years.
Calipari's $33 million buyout likely influenced Barnhart's decision, but regardless of his motives, Barnhart made the right call. Calipari remained Kentucky's best option.
This week it became even clearer.
It's a shame for Kentucky because Calipari gave fans what they wanted: a coaching search.
Calipari left for Arkansas, and while Razorbacks fans celebrated his hiring, Kentucky fans were confident that someone better than Calipari would take his place. Guys like Dan Hurley of UW, Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls and Scott Drew of Baylor.
The big fish stayed put.
Now the Wildcats are forced to slurp down a giant slice of a humble pie.
Arkansas poached a career winner from a conference rival, and Kentucky hired BYU's Mark Pope to replace Calipari.
Arkansas emerged from the carousel with a better coach.
The Hogs hired a talented collective virtuoso. Calipari will revitalize NIL investment in Arkansas. Although the peak of his career is behind him, Calipari had a down season, losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Pope has never advanced beyond the NCAA first round in nine seasons as a coach (including five at BYU). To be fair to Pope, the Cougars were probably his best team in 2019-20, but the NCAA canceled March Madness that season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
That should be some consolation for Kentucky fans.
What happened to this hire? Just tune in to social media Thursday night for the predictable meltdown. Or in the words of a Kentucky fan who emailed me. “I'm not feeling well.”
Pope will inherit the reconstruction, so it would be better to include a stomach line.
Calipari's tumultuous 2024 recruiting class was splintered by his defection to Pigland. The Popes will have to pick up the pieces of the program that hurt their pride and the roster that needs repair.
At least he knows the terrain. Pope played at the University of Kentucky. He was the team captain when the Wildcats won the national championship in 1996 under Rick Pitino.
What Kentucky Basketball Recruiting Says
This coaching search is a reminder that even blue bloods rarely produce talent that lives up to the expectations of a passionate fan base.
Kansas did better than other big cities when they plucked Bill Self from Illinois to replace Roy Williams. But even Self, until he became the best coach in the nation at KU, he never made it to the Final Four.
When legends retired at North Carolina and Duke, both schools promoted longtime assistants. Neither John Scheyer nor Hubert Davis had any head coaching experience when they replaced Mike Krzyzewski and Williams, respectively.
Fellow blueblood UCLA settled on acquiring Mick Cronin in a backup plan after Rick Barnes turned down the Bruins in 2019.
truth? Coaches who are making really good money with a good job don't necessarily want to leave to make even more money with a great job.
Drew cited God and his long-standing call to Baylor as the reason for his reluctance. Donovan has an NBA. Hurley already coaches the blue bloods that dominate the sport.
They didn't need Kentucky as much as Kentucky needed them.
opinion:Scott Drew chose comfort over challenge for Kentucky basketball – many of us would
Kentucky accepts Mark Pope over Bruce Pearl
I thought Kentucky had better options than Pope behind Hurley, Donovan, and Drew.
I recommended the job to Bruce Pearl of Auburn. I think he would have been very successful. The coach who led Auburn to the Final Four could win a national championship at Kentucky. Illinois coach Brad Underwood's career is going well. Would either Pearl or Underwood have left Kentucky with a good gig? It's not certain, but it was more likely that one of those two would bolt than Drew leave Baylor, where he has coached for more than 20 years.
The Pope's resume is not without a redemptive sentence. What impressed me most was how effectively he transitioned his BYU into his Big 12, the premier hoops conference. The Cougars' 23 wins this season at their new home rank among the top coaching accomplishments of Coach Pope. Still, they lost to Duquesne in the NCAA first round. Hours later, Calipari's Wildcats lost to Oakland.
That night, Kentucky fans demanded change. It took a few weeks, but it arrived safely. I don't know how this change will be for the better.
Arkansas got Calipari and Kentucky was kept humble.
Blake Topmeyer is the SEC columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow us on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
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