Mark Pope played his junior and senior seasons at Kentucky (1994-96). He helped Kentucky to an SEC title and Elite Eight run while earning Academic All-SEC honors in 1995. He is perhaps most remembered for helping Kentucky to an NCAA National Championship as a team captain in 1996.
On April 10, 2019, Pope was hired as BYU‘s 19th head men’s basketball coach. His team received an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years under his leadership.
Now, Sports Illustrated lists him as one of ten coaches on the rise:
“Just nine teams have finished in the top 20 of KenPom each of the last two years. The fact that one of those nine is BYU, in Pope’s first two years as coach, speaks volumes about how elite at the job he is. That stat becomes even more impressive when you consider that BYU lost its top three scorers from the 2019–20 team heading into 2020–21. Pope is a skilled tactician (especially on offense) and a savvy recruiter who has brought in some highly regarded talent to Provo. After getting a look for the Arizona job this spring, expect some of the bigger brands in the sport to have Pope on their wish list should their jobs open … though Pope’s Mormon faith might keep him in Provo for the long haul.”
