Reasons to have hope in new Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope and areas of concern

We are here to provide a public service for those who are still processing Kentucky’s unexpected appointment of former Wildcats center Mark Pope as the new UK men’s basketball coach. Here are three aspects of Pope’s coaching career that the Big Blue Nation should be encouraged about going forward, along with two issues that warrant further attention.

THREE REASONS TO HOPE IN POPE

1. A modern offense

Pope is the answer for Kentucky supporters who are itching for a “modern,” metrics-based offensive strategy. Keegan Brown, an analytics expert that Pope hired at BYU, contributed to the development of the team’s offensive strategy. This offensive strategy, which prioritizes layups and 3-pointers, is comparable to what Nate Oats has been using to turn Alabama into the most successful SEC team in recent years.

Pope was a “five out” player at Brigham Young. Aly Khalifa, a 6-foot-11 center, was the focal point of most of the Cougars’ offense last season. With 115 assists, the Egyptian big man finished second on the BYU squad. (You are correct if, as you read this, a metaphorical light bulb goes off in your head and you decide, “A Mark Pope offense would be excellent for Zvonimir Ivisic. You just worry if anyone can get that information across to Kentucky’s incumbent big man, who is an offensive threat.

With an average of 32 3-point attempts per game, BYU finished second in all of NCAA Division I for the just concluded season. With 18.5 assists per game on average, the Cougars ranked third in the nation. BYU ranked 22nd in scoring with 81.4 points per game and 31st in effective field goal percentage at 54.8%. These results show that the coach has carefully considered how his team will get the ball through the hoop.

2. KenPom’s verdict

Despite having a well-known hoops history, BYU remains a difficult place for basketball players to be recruited. The pool of prospects accessible to a BYU coach is restricted by the school’s association with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and an extremely stringent code of conduct for students.

Despite this, BYU outperformed Kentucky in the final Pomeroy Ratings in three of Pope’s five seasons as Cougars coach. This is an incredible accomplishment, especially when one considers the natural advantages UK has over BYU in basketball.

In the Pomeroy Ratings for 2019–20, Kentucky ranked No. 29 and BYU ranked No. 13. It was BYU No. 20, UK No. 49 the next season. BYU finished No. 18 in the final Pomeroy Ratings of the previous season, while Kentucky came in at No. 23.

3. Pope as a coach for rivalry.

Pope went 3-2 against BYU’s bitter rival and intrastate rival Utah, winning three of his final four games against the Utes. Pope will need to beat the teams that the Big Blue Nation detests the most at UK: Duke, Kansas, Indiana, Louisville, North Carolina, Tennessee, and a recent addition, Arkansas.

AREAS FOR CONCERN

1. A “meh” defense: BYU’s defensive statistics are not great, as is sometimes the case for teams whose coaches are renowned for their offensive prowess. Brigham Young just once placed in the top 50 in adjusted defensive efficiency according to the Pomeroy Ratings during Pope’s five seasons. The Cougars placed a lackluster No. 108 in NCAA Division I scoring defense (allowing 69.9 points per game) and No. 60 in adjusted defensive efficiency for the 2023–24 season.

2. Pope as a coach for tournaments: 

Pope brings his 0–2 career record into Kentucky for the NCAA Tournament. Since UK elevated assistant Joe B. Hall to replace Adolph Rupp in 1972, Pope is the first coach UK has hired who did not start the Kentucky position with multiple NCAA Division I Tournament victories on his resume.

In both the 2021 and 2024 NCAA tournaments, BYU lost to a No. 11 seed after starting as the sixth seed. The Cougars lost 73-62 to a UCLA team that was more talented than BYU but had underperformed in the regular season in the 2021 tournament. Pope and the Cougars suffered a genuine upset this past season when they fell to Duquesne 71-67.

Both times BYU lost in the NCAA Tournament, their outside shooting was inaccurate. During the loss to Duquesne, the Cougars only made 8 of 24 three-pointers. In the loss to UCLA, BYU shot a dismal 3-for-17 from outside the 3-point arc. Pope’s finest BYU club, which finished 24-8 in the 2019–20 season, was arguably left out of the probable NCAA tournament berth when the tournament was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Pope is 14–15 overall as a “postseason tournament coach.” Pope finished 3-4 in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament and 4-3 in the College Basketball Invitational while serving as Utah Valley’s head coach from 2015 to 2019. Pope finished 4-4 in the West Coast Conference tournament and 1-1 in the Big 12 Tournament while attending BYU. Pope finished 2-1 in the NCAA Tournament in addition to being 0-2 in the NIT with the Cougars.

It is evident that it would be better if Pope had a stronger head coaching record in the NCAA Tournament when he took the job in the UK. But the sample size is too tiny to be concerning.