Analysis: Mark Pope wasn’t perfect at BYU, but his departure could leave program hurting for awhile

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BYU coach Mark Pope speaks with Jaxson Robinson during game against Baylor, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in Provo, Utah. On Thursday, news broke that the BYU coach is taking the head coach job at Kentucky. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

A year ago at this time, Mark Pope’s seat was beginning to warm a little bit at BYU after the Cougars finished their final season in the West Coast Conference in a fifth-place tie with San Francisco and Pacific and failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year.

Now, he’s the head coach at Kentucky.

In the space of 12 months, the hyperbolic and ever-enthusiastic Pope went from having a mild case of the blues — by his standards — to one of the true blue bloods of college basketball.

So where does that leave BYU?

Could Pope’s departure be a blessing in disguise for the Cougars? Yeah, probably not. Cal coach Mark Madsen’s Friday morning statement that he is staying in Berkeley ended that pipe dream.

When Pope’s name started to surface as a possible candidate for the Kentucky job when John Calipari bolted for Arkansas, my immediate thought was that BYU would be in a world of hurt if big-name candidates such as UConn’s Dan Hurley, Alabama’s Nate Oats and Baylor’s Scott Drew turned down the Wildcats and UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart pursued Pope.

Well, the unthinkable has happened.

Everyone in Utah has always known that there were only a handful of jobs for which Pope would leave BYU, and Kentucky, his alma mater, was at the top of the list. BYU was a good fit for Pope; Kentucky will be an excellent one — at least that’s what Rick Pitino thinks.

That BYU has perhaps the most shallow coaching candidate pool in the country adds to the problem in Provo, especially if the school adheres to a long-standing practice that its head coaches be members of the faith that sponsors and supports the institution, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The next John Wooden, or even the next Mark Pope, isn’t walking…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/analysis-mark-pope-wasn-t-183436857.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-04-12 18:34:36

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