Who is Mark Pope? Kentucky targets BYU coach, former Wildcats player as John Calipari successor

Mark Pope is a college basketball coach who currently leads the Brigham Young University (BYU) men's basketball team. He was born on October 13, 1980, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pope played college basketball at the University of Kentucky (UK) from 1999 to 2003, where he was a teammate of current NBA stars Tayshaun Prince and Ron Mercer.

After his playing career ended, Pope began his coaching journey at his alma mater, UK, where he served as a student assistant coach under then-head coach Tubby Smith from 2003 to 2005. He then moved on to be an assistant coach at the University of Missouri from 2005 to 2007 under Quin Snyder.

Pope returned to his alma mater in 2007 to serve as an assistant coach under Billy Gillispie for two seasons. He then spent two years at Texas A&M under Billy Gillispie and Billy Kennedy before joining his mentor Tubby Smith at Texas Tech in 2010.

In 2014, Pope was hired by his former teammate and friend Tayshaun Prince to be an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA. He spent two seasons with the Pistons before returning to college basketball to become the head coach at Utah Valley University in 2016.

Pope spent four seasons at Utah Valley before accepting the head coaching position at BYU in 2020. In his first season at BYU, he led the team to a 24-9 record and a berth in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

Recently, there have been reports that Kentucky is interested in hiring Pope to replace John Calipari as the head coach of the Wildcats men's basketball team. The details of the potential deal are not yet known, but it would mark a return to his alma mater for Pope if he were to accept the offer.

Pope has a career record of 102-68 as a college head coach and has been known for his ability to develop players and build successful programs. He has also been praised for his strong relationships with his players and his commitment to academic excellence.

If hired by Kentucky, Pope would inherit a program with a rich tradition and high expectations. The Wildcats have made it to the NCAA Tournament in each of Calipari's 14 seasons at the helm and have won one national championship and six SEC regular-season titles during that time.

In summary, Mark Pope is a college basketball coach who played at Kentucky from 1999 to 2003 and has since worked his way up to become the head coach at BYU. He has a strong background in coaching at both the college and professional levels and has been linked to the vacant head coaching position at his alma mater, the University of Kentucky.