LEXINGTON, Ky. — Initially off Kentucky's radar as a target to become the next head coach for its men's basketball program, Mark Pope is now entrusted with maintaining the gold standard of the blue-blood Wildcats.
He already did that as a player.
Kentucky hired the 51-year-old Pope away from Brigham Young University, bringing home a captain of the Wildcats' 1996 national championship team to succeed John Calipari, who stepped down Tuesday and was introduced as the head coach at Arkansas — a fellow Southeastern Conference program — the very next day.
The Wildcats announced their hire in a release Friday morning but did not provide any contract details. Pope's formal introduction as the program's 23rd head coach is set for Sunday afternoon in a news conference at Rupp Arena.
Calipari is the active wins leader in NCAA Division I men's basketball and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. During his 15 years in Lexington, he led the Wildcats to their eighth NCAA tournament title in 2012 among a quartet of Final Four appearances in his tenure, but Kentucky hasn't reached the national semifinals since going 38-1 in 2015.
Pope was 110-52 in five seasons leading BYU, with the Cougars going 23-11 this past season — their first in the Big 12 Conference — and making their second NCAA tourney appearance in four years. His first year in charge yielded a 24-8 record and a run to the West Coast Conference semifinals with the Cougars ranked in the AP Top 25, but the season came to a sudden stop when the NCAA tournament was canceled a week before it was set to tip off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was 77-56 before that in four seasons at Utah Valley and guided the Wolverines to consecutive runner-up finishes in the Western Athletic Conference his final two years. They reached the College Basketball Invitational quarterfinals both times.
Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart cited Pope's impressive 187-108 career record as a head coach and keen knowledge of the program's meaning to the state. Barnhart also praised Pope's "dynamic" up-tempo offense and tough defense and called him an innovator.
"He is a strong recruiter with international ties and a person of integrity," the AD said in the release. "He fully embraces our high expectations and standards and I know that as our fans get reacquainted with Mark, they will be eager to join him on what promises to be an exciting ride."
Pope said he understands the expectations of taking over college basketball's winningest program and the high expectations that come with it.
"It's the definition of blueblood program where hanging a banner is the expectation ever year," Pope said in the release. "Equally as important, UK changed my life forever as a human being. The love and passion I have for this program, this University and the people of the Commonwealth goes to the depth of my soul."
Pope's hiring is highly surprising considering the higher-profile coaches mentioned as Kentucky's top candidates.
Turning down offers on Thursday, though, were Baylor University's Scott Drew, who led the Bears to the program's lone NCAA title in 2021, and the University of Connecticut's Dan Hurley, whose Huskies just won their second straight national championship and the program's sixth overall. And before that, Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan — a Kentucky assistant in the early 1990s, he led Florida to consecutive NCAA titles in 2006-07 as head coach of the Gators — restated his commitment to the NBA club.
Pope now faces his biggest basketball challenge yet: returning his alma mater to national title contention after two first-round exits at the NCAA tourney the past three seasons under Calipari, with the 2022 trip going just one round further. Kentucky's most recent deep run came in 2019, when the team lost to SEC rival Auburn in the Elite Eight.
Saint John's coach Rick Pitino, a Hall of Famer who led Kentucky back from NCAA sanctions to that 1996 title, believes the school found the right candidate, saying Pope "will go on to greatness."
"You have one of the premier young coaches in the game. Relish it because he will do you proud," Pitino said in a video posted to social media. "I know I sit here today in Saint John's and I couldn't be any more proud than to see Mark Pope lead the Kentucky Wildcats to another championship. He'll get it done. He's got the right stock."
Pope's initial mission is rebuilding a roster that has already lost guard Rob Dillingham and 7-foot-1 Aaron Bradshaw to the NBA draft pool and Adou Thiero to the NCAA transfer portal. Several other players appear likely to follow Calipari to Arkansas, while several prep All-America signees have reopened their commitments.
However it settles for Kentucky, Pope's offensive philosophy mirrors the high-octane approach that helped the Wildcats rank second nationally at 89 points per game this past season.
BYU wasn't far behind, averaging 81.4 to lead the Big 12 and rank 22nd nationally. The Cougars were third with 11.1 made 3-pointers and 18.5 assists per game, and their 1.73 assist-to-turnover ratio was sixth. They went as high as 12th in the AP Top 25 on Jan. 1 after going 12-1 in nonconference play and winning the Vegas Showdown.
Defensively, BYU tied for 104th of 351 Division I teams at nearly 70 points allowed per game and ranked 26th with 39.5 rebounds per game.
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe thanked Pope in a social media post and said he "left the program in a position of strength moving forward."
As a player, Pope led Kentucky with 6.3 rebounds per game during the 1994-95 season and was named to the SEC's all-tournament team along with MVP Antoine Walker. Pope played in the NBA from 1998 to 2005 with the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets.