Great News: Mark Pope is the new head coach at Kentucky Wildcats today….
Kentucky might have gotten something better in lieu of the high-profile hire to succeed John Calipari. If they’re prepared to back Pope and drastically alter the course of the project.
When Scott Drew declared he would be returning to Baylor, his chances of unseating John Calipari as Kentucky’s coach began to wane. Rather than take a chance on a 51-year-old up-and-coming offensive genius, Kentucky is betting on a proven winner who was unwilling to leave their existing circumstances.
It is anticipated that Mark Pope will take over as Kentucky’s next head coach. Having played his whole career at BYU, he helped the Cougars make their Big 12 debut this season by guiding them to the NCAA Tournament for the second time under his direction and the thirty-second time overall. Pope’s Cougars finished with a 10-8 record in Big 12 play and a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, similar to Kentucky, they were eliminated in the first round by Atlantic 10 winner Duquesne.
Thirty years after transferring from Washington to play for the Wildcats, Pope will return to Lexington. Under head coach Rick Pitino, Pope captained Kentucky to a National Championship in 1996. Pitino was intrigued by a second term leading Kentucky as its coach.
As his time came to a close, Calipari’s style of play—which focused more on dribble-drive and conventional big men than on pursuing three-pointers like more analytically-driven programs do—drew criticism. Though he hasn’t yet shown much at the high major level, Pope is providing Kentucky with a philosophical shift that attracted Alabama’s Nate Oats as a candidate.
BYU made the most three-pointers of any team in the nation last season—32.0 per game—and accounted for 41% of the team’s total scoring. The main factor that allowed a team designed to compete in the West Coast Conference to finish fifth in the competitive Big 12, ahead of Kansas, was the Cougars’ season three-point shooting percentage of 35.0%.
This revelation is going to anger a lot of Kentucky supporters. Although he lacks a national championship and isn’t the big name Big Blue Nation was hoping for, he is the on-court transformation the program has been waiting for, and if he can attract top talent, his system will be able to develop talent.
Mitch Barnhart pursued the top head coach available for in-game situations. not the greatest recruiter, which might mean a significant change to the program moving forward. The duties of a head coach in collegiate basketball have evolved. It’s time for programs to hire a general manager to assist in creating the roster and overseeing the portal in this day of NIL and transfer portals. In order for this hire to be a huge success, Kentucky must provide Pope with the necessary support systems.
