John Calipari leaving the Wildcats after 15 successful years sent shockwaves around the league. However, with that exit, everyone expected Kentucky to bring a more experienced and successful face to their MBB program, who have not reached the Final Four round for almost a decade. Seems like that is not going to be the case. Mark Pope is reportedly their choice. With really big shoes to fill as a successor to Calipari and fulfilling the expectations of the Wildcats fanbase, Pope is in for one hell of a ride.

Next year’s basketball is filled with so many new faces. With the coaches, it all began with the SMU Mustangs. USC’s head coach of over a decade, Andy Enfield, left for the Mustangs. To fill in for the Trojans, Eric Musselman transferred from Arkansas after 5 seasons. Hence, to complete the circle, John Calipari became the new head coach for the Razorbacks. However, his vacant seat did not get many suitors.

In fact, despite reaching out to many legendary coaches, including UConn’s back-to-back champion coach Dan Hurley, Kentucky gave up on getting in a more experienced figure. With one choice remaining in the form of their 1996 NCAA champion, Mark Pope, they made their choice.

While the deal is not signed yet, many sources believe this to be the last resort for Kentucky. It is only natural to ask the question about the elephant in the room– Who is Mark Pope? And can his 9-year-long coaching career and motivation to win be enough to go over Calipari?

Mark Pope and his coaching career so far

Pope has a good experience of what being in Lexington can be like. However, it may not be the same experience for the 1996 NCAA champion. After trying his hands at the professional leagues, including the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks, Pope took a break. In 2009, he joined the Bulldogs as an assistant, followed by Wake Forest and BYU. Once done with his assistant coaching for 6 years, he joined the Wolverines as a head coach.

As the coach for Utah Valley, Mark Pope changed the landscape quite a bit. The Wolverines improved their numbers by almost double as they went from 12 wins to 25 in just 3 seasons. He also led the team to three CBI appearances where they reached the 2017 semifinals and 2018 and 2019 quarterfinals. With not much to give to that school, Pope returned to Provo in hopes of gaining some recognition.

As the head coach for BYU, Pope became the only first-year coach to grab the most wins in the school’s history, with 24. With the head coach, the Cougars also ranked as high as 14th in the AP poll. With wins over teams like Gonzaga, Pope proved that he could make changes to BYU. He also displayed his ability to turn the tides in his favor and make a win out of a loss. The team had many successful runs in the following seasons.

BYU was a No. 6 seed this year in the March Madness bracket. Although they could not go far, Mark Pope’s squad gave their opponents in Duquesne a run for their money. However, looks like it is the end of an era for the Cougars as Pope is potentially going to sign a deal of his dreams with Kentucky.

While this deal has the potential to blow up in everyone’s face, there is always a soft spot for a former star returning to take care of things. Nonetheless, Pope will have to work extremely hard to win over the Kentucky fanbase, seeing that he is the one chosen to replace an icon like Calipari.

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