Kentucky Hires Mark Pope | If Pope Didn’t Play at Kentucky Would He Be Their Head Coach?

BYU’s Mark Pope has officially been hired by Kentucky to replace John Calipari. After being turned down or declared not interested by a variety of candidates (Nate Oats, Dan Hurley, Scott Drew…), the Wildcats locked in Pope for a 5-year contract. Kentucky fans and sports fans alike are pointing out that the resume of Pope isn’t exactly Kentucky basketball level, except for the fact he was captain of the 1996 team. It’s a new era for Kentucky basketball, one including coaches rapping and welcome videos.

#kentucky #gocats #basketball #ncaa #collegebasketball #sports #sec #byu #coaching

fingerlicking good Kentucky basketball
fans they’ve got a coach this is awful
no idea where you were going there mark
Pope is the guy there’s a picture of
Mark Pope best thing he has going for
him a former Kentucky
player um his paycheck just your initial
5.5 million they’re saving a bundle I
mean it’s fun style but the guy’s never
done anything at all and and at best he
was Choice number six and that doesn’t
always mean something but I am just
baffled like this is how you lose a job
if you’re MIT Barnard I’m looking at his
resume LT he has zero regular season
titles zero Conference titles and zero
NCAA tournament wins are those any of
those things important well there’s Z
Ros Brown that’s never good unless
you’re stacking on the back end of a
paycheck true is now fourth and
three-point attempts this year in
college basketball they shoot over 50%
it’ll be a fun style look he’s going to
be able to recruit there but I just if
you’re Kentucky and Kentucky it’s not
like the basketball program was in bad
shape it’s not like Calipari just
completely although you know the last
couple of tournaments have been terrible
under Calipari this is still one of the
best programs in all of basketball and
have to settle for Choice number six and
it’s Mark Pope and as brown always ask
if Mark Pope graduated from Florida is
he the Kentucky coach today I think we
know the answer to that question zero I
think we know the answer to that
question don’t I mean you would agree
with that right if Mark Pope never
played two seconds of basketball at the
University of Kentucky we are not
discussing mark Jason I thought the same
thing when I I heard the hire was pretty
much official this is Mike schules
because it was starting to build up
nationally that Kentucky can’t can’t
hire an elite coach so they go to one of
their guys who wore the uniform they
could have they could have instead of
this embarrassment I don’t know how you
guys feel about it if you’re Mitch
barnhard all you got to do is say look
we’ve had communication with different
people we are going to bring the right
guy in this is not going to be something
we’ve got to do overnight and they could
have continued to throw money at people
until they got the right guy I I I just
think you could hire Mark Pope at any
point at any point I mean if if you keep
swinging and missing and you get down to
Choice 78910 Mark Pop’s still there mark
Pope says I’ll take it to heartbeat you
just let me know when I need to show up
you guys keep saying six choice for
those scoring at home count along with
them according to reports Nate oats
first to say no Jay Wright was second to
say no then Dan Hurley’s first no and he
backed it up with another 0% chance
yesterday Scott drew said no Billy
Donovan said basically I’m busy right
now get off my
phone Bulls ain’t winning the
championship he wanted that job he could
have had that job this is choice at best
number six and and I’m sure you and
Scott have got this uh video set up oh
we got a ton of it no just I mean if
people don’t know who Mark Pope is if
you didn’t watch a lot of BYU basketball
you don’t remember him playing back for
patino in the day well let’s have some
fun with Mark Pope here uh since we
don’t ever have to interview him um Mark
pope did win a National Championship
been 1996 um we’ll start with number
seven
Rockstar um Mark Pope uh bring
forester’s mic up too uh do you know
when this came because he has BYU behind
him I think in this
one yeah I want to say it’s about 11
years old about 11 years old wow that’s
a long time ago I I mean is that
possible on the timeline yeah because I
think it’s BYU that’s on the uh the wall
behind him yeah but anyway take a look
at this uh ukathletics.com who put this
up a while back uh but Mark Pope even
out at BYU or wherever he was was always
pledging his love to Big Blue Nation
listen in it’s impossible for me to
describe how much I love this University
my teammates and you fans but I’m going
to
try St a t s cats cats cats
I love you guys okay all I’m doing super
if I’m Bruce Pearl if I’m NATO I’m Rick
Barnes and it comes down to us or
Kentucky I’m saying do you really want
to play for this dude super cringy right
there I mean I appreciate anybody that
just does not give a r up what people
think about them and they’re going to do
what they want to do but Bo that is and
I’ll tell you if a old beat up white van
pulls up and that guy jumps out of the
back I’m scared
to you’re saying in Civil War last night
he could have played character we do
have to get to that yeah I wanted a
movie review on that can we do that
today you The Show Goes sometime I do I
bring it up and then we go to can we do
it later can we do it later do it later
but I think the majority of people up
here saw it we actually ran into the
Lunsford okay well we can bring and
Mikey went with us last night we got
confused on the different theater we
were going to go to but yes we will have
a full review whenever you guys want
every jump in everybody jump in um much
more Mark Pope video he sends his love
back to Kentucky as the at BYU with the
cats ripping the suit off he also uh you
know he won a national championship in
1996 so like a lot of people I’m
included in this I think LT 90s was a
great year to fall in love with the 90s
were a great time to fall in love with
rap Mark Pope also RS oh no here’s Mark
Pope you hav seen it yet you know he
could be amazing he could be Eminem
here’s he could be the best white rapper
ever I don’t see it Mark Pope while
coach at BYU this is from BYU Sports
Nation uh likes a little Broadway too
let’s mix a little wrap with Hamilton
here we go do I have a hidden talent
just in the hopes that Lyn Manuel that
you’re watching I’mma get a scholarship
to King’s College I probably shouldn’t
brag but dag I amaz and astonished the
problem is I got a lot of brains with no
polish I got a holler just to be heard
with every word I drop knowledge I’m a
diamond in a rough a shy piece of Cal
everybody okay I mean the guy doesn’t
take himself too seriously which I
appreciate cuz I don’t I you know most
of us don’t take ourselves too seriously
up here um you just backed off that you
don’t take yourself too serious I don’t
I don’t want to speak for the rest of
you guys but I try not to take myself
too seriously what we do is nothing
serious um so I mean but I don’t know
that that blends in with being the coach
of katake when you don’t take yourself
too seriously like I don’t you think Cal
probably took himself pretty seriously
oh yeah patino don’t you think he took
himself pretty seriously give me
anything this guy has done to earn this
job Kentucky I’m telling you play at
Kentucky I mean that this is the
textbook example Alabama hiring Mike
schula and Kentucky hiring Mark Pope is
the textbook example of what I rail on
when these coaching searches come open
and a name gets thrown in there simply
because they played at that school I’m
going to do a clean read here all right
here we go Friday April 12th 908 9:09
now within two years we will be talking
about another hire not only for kuy’s
head basketball coach but for their
Athletics director you think this one
costes I think it cost him his job
mitchard job he is the kind of guy that
will get you fired and I just don’t
understand if you’re Mitch Barnard it’s
not your money it’s your career that
you’re playing with but it ain’t your
money and Kentucky boosters would have
paid whatever for the right guy I am
shocked they okayed this yeah but I will
go ahead and tell you the crafts have
already stepped up or at least one
booster I believe it’s one of the crafts
who are the crafts is that the main
family the big main his in-laws yeah mar
mar their daughter uh the crafts uh or
at least one booster has already stepped
up today and pledged of his own money $4
million for the nil another $4 million
check for the did he take it out of
otani’s bank
account does Otani know but I mean I
mean what would that number have been
with a Dan Hurley or somebody like that
I mean uh one more from Mark Pope um
this one cut nine Rockstar uh this one
is back during the season when Texas and
BYU played each other in the Big 12 and
if you guys
remember uh BYU had some students that
were that t-shirts on it spelled out
horns down in the front row of the
student section and BYU’s Administration
here’s a picture of them horns down um
you see it if you’re watching us on the
video platform and BYU’s administration
had them take those shirts off and
changed the Wardrobe before the game
started and Mark Pope says this
afterwards and some of you are
questioning whether or not you really
need that kind of attitude in the SEC
moving forward a little soft maybe for
the SEC and the Kentucky job here’s Mark
po
hey um if I can Ty’s going to be mad at
me here but uh I don’t know you guys
reporting on this horns down t-shirt are
you guys hearing this
yeah uh and just know from our student
from our you know they were taken off
before the game started right and and
from our from The Rock and from our
players and from our student body uh
that’s just not us that’s that’s not how
we roll I I I still don’t understand why
I mean I saw enough for the first video
and I know it was years ago yeah he was
an assistant then I think Accord to
lford this is yeah I saw that 2011 to
2014 this is an embarrassing higher and
and I I I don’t know if I’ve been in
this situation as a fan because you know
as a fan of pro professional sports you
can get some hires wrong at the coaching
position and you still be okay um but
you guys just helped me out some other
hires for massive fan bases that haven’t
worked out Mike chiler was one of those
that was desperate times Des desperate
situation when the talk about the timing
of the whole m price situation but this
isn’t for Kentucky you were hiring in
May uh not a not a normal coaching cycle
when you’re hiring in May and with NCAA
sanctions hanging over the program it a
tough hire but it was still a super
super safe you know guy that loves the
program type hire I mean it will get
remembered years down the road Scott
Frost but people that remember it that
way will not remember that Scott Frost
was probably the hottest assistant name
in America when Nebraska hired him like
there were other jobs where people are
like he really shouldn’t go to Nebraska
he should take this job if offer so I
mean Nebraska though Scott FR played for
them hired one of the hottest assistant
in America it was not this well look and
sometimes you hire the hot assistant and
that doesn’t work out and look this
could work out Mark Pope could end up
being the next Dan Hurley I don’t see it
and I wonder uh forcer I just learned
this just looking at Wikipedia it says
Pope’s wife Leanne as a former assistant
to talk show host David Letterman who’s
coming up in four downs do you know his
wife cuz I know you work for
Letterman uh no I don’t I don’t think I
know her uh Leanne archeal I think is
her maiden name okay all right check uh
somebody says Matt
dhy that was a bad hire well he had been
I gotta go look at his record he came
from Notre Dame others are saying Mike
dubo is promoting up Jean Stallings from
Jean Stallings a good yeah dhy was 22
and 15 at Notre Dame 8 and8 in the Big
East and he was the runner up in the NIT
and North Carolina gave him their job
again if Matt dhy had played at Western
Kentucky he never gets a North Carolina
job that’s right that’s right so uh
textbook example I tell what let’s do
this next segment rockar if you can an
old frame we used to do have on
radio can you call well don’t say his
name but can you call and see if he can
join us I I would love an embedded
reporter who could give us an update on
how Kentucky fans are feeling today we
used to have him on in radio days I
think I know who you’re talking about I
think I can get him I you get him next
seg I think I think dunway has forgotten
his
name no setting up a bit oh I know the
bit I think we all know the bit I think
our
listen no i’ I’ve already texted him
last night name I have not forgotten
anything my age fools you again