Mark Pope to become KENTUCKY'S NEXT HEAD COACH | CBS Sports

247 Sports' Travis Branham and Adam Finklestein join CBS Sports HQ to discuss Kentucky planning to hire Mark Pope as its next head coach.
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#Kentucky #MarkPope #Collegebasketball

[@michaelhubbard1711]

It ain't easy being at Kentucky says : John Calipari and he's right .. Yep , it's going to be interesting ..... But I'm a Kentucky Fan from the 60's ready to watch them this fall Go Blue and best of luck

[@jamesburgin8168]

If true, this is a solid selection. Admittedly, as a big Kentucky fan, I would have preferred Billy Donovan, Dan Hurley or Rick Pitino--but I'm okay with this.

[@mike7419]

Solid selection? This is the worst coaching search you will ever see at a big time program.

[@ryanfauth3790]

No its not it's not even close to a good selection this is pure desperation and embarrassment

[@jamesburgin8168]

@@ryanfauth3790 Say what? Not sure who you've been listening to but most of the knowledgeable people I know have all stated that Mark Pope was one of the names on the "short list" for the position from the start. That being said, we got a good coach, and he knows it's now up to him to produce the results we demand. Not complicated really.

[@kingjohn455]

The almighty Brigham Young beat Kansas something Kentucky didn’t do. The also beat ranked teams Baylor, Iowa St and San Diego St and damn near beat Houston. Dan Hurley didn’t go from a blue blood program over to Uconn. He came from Rhode Island. Great hire and better than what we had.

[@nickperkins8477]

Probably Dan Hurley would have been my TOP wildly optimistic/unrealistic choice. 😂. I would love Rick. Absolutely love him, but is that a case of You Can’t Go Home Again?

[@jonathonhibbard]

If he can get Reed Sheppard to stay he’s got my vote.

[@hotelalphawhiskeykilogrunt7925]

Reed is gone

[@corrob]

@@hotelalphawhiskeykilogrunt7925 Reed's dad was room mates with Pope, may have been a big part of the hire, Reed may come back because of this.

[@mike7419]

​@@corrobReed is going to come back because his dad's buddy is the coach? GTFO with that nonsense. Reed will be a lottery pick and won't risk his draft stock playing for a mediocre UK team so he can be coached by his dad's friend.

[@popcornjoe3752]

He was Jeff Sheppard's roommate at UK

[@joireland]

@@corrob Reed Sheppard on these mock NBA draft sites is projected to get picked 3rd (best case) to 8th (worst case). His NBA "stock" is not going to get any better if he returns (your salary depends on which spot in the draft you get picked). Also if Reed returns he risks getting injured (which would lower his NBA draft position and therefore his salary). It also is 1 year of development in the NBA by the team who picks him he's missing out on if he returns to the NCAA. Being young when drafted to the NBA is important for these teams AND also for your salary. With all this said, it's very unlikely that Reed Sheppard would risk his career like this just to return and play with a coach who's never won an NCAA March Madness game EVER.

[@scottmacdonald5170]

Welcome coach Pope! Very excited to see you back in UK blue.

[@Keith405]

Mark pope is super smart great at coaching, players love him , if he gets the recruits he needs,uk will be hard to handle.

[@mike7419]

9 years and 0 NCAA tournament wins is the record of a guy "super great at coaching"?

[@ryanfauth3790]

Key word in there IF and he won't get.the recruits this is gonna be an absolute disaster

[@Keith405]

Byu beat Baylor nc state Iowa state this year. Gave Gonzaga and Houston all they could handle. He took over teams that were sorry and built them into better ball teams. I really believe at kentucky he will get the recruits he needs just because of kentucky. And I don't want all the one and dones.

[@Keith405]

@@SilverSergeant Let's talk this time next year. If I'm wrong I'll admit it but I think Mark pope is going to surprise alot of people

[@kendonwalden1101]

Yeah he's got 1 top 100 recruit...in a decade....this is.beyomd embarrassing

[@zackclark2265]

My god this is disgrace of our fans. We had a high caliber coach look how he turned out a top class bull shiter! Hurley and oats came from high school and look how good they turned out. BYU didn't have the resources like Kentucky. The way i look at it i really believe hes going to give it his all to make BBN happy and people should stay behind him.

[@user-gb9gn8vn7w]

Take a breathe and calm down. Coach Cal wasn't getting the result BBN wanted either so let it play out. Mitch was never going to hire Pearl or Beard. Right or wrong, he wants a squeaky clean, no drama or allegations, guy to come in and build. After the last 5 years I'm willing to to give it a couple more. I'm not saying it's a good hire, I'm not saying it isn't. But here we are. We can either give up or we can support, either way, it doesn't change Mitch's decision. Coach Pope, if nothing else, will fully commit and put his heart and soul into this program. Just let it play out. What choice do we have. Give up? Nah, that's not what we do here at BBN. Think what you will about Mitch, but Coach Pope deserves our support. He's our guy now Go cats!!

[@zackclark2265]

@@user-gb9gn8vn7w yes sir that's what I'm saying. I absolutely am giving him full support.

[@Polygraph_test]

I think he will end up to be a good hire.

[@jdredwine7224]

Lmao, but I thought Kentucky could get anyone.

[@johnteague7869]

They barely even tried to get anyone outside of like 3 people lol.. This is a panic mode hiring

[@PrinceOfDorkness33]

Pathetic excuses

[@B-Eazy999]

They did jus that 😂

[@scottwhaley4585]

THE POPE IS IN Lexington

[@jamesburgin8168]

What are you talking about? Mark Pope was on the "short list" from the very start. So, we got who we wanted.

[@ClaytonBigsby89]

Uk fan here. I support the hire. The fans were all in on cals lifetime contract. The fans are wrong sometimes

[@indigomarine91]

You need to see it from the perspective of the uk fans who are losing thier minds because of this

[@beckypatrick7811]

Not me! I thought it was a dumb idea! It seems as though Cal stopped producing after that contract too!

[@curtistay8307]

I bet cal beats you every year till he retires

[@Spider58x]

The fans are wrong most of the time

[@ryanfauth3790]

We're not wrong this time

[@louisloother301]

What a lackluster hire 😂😂😂 Barnhart clearly wants someone to control 💯💯💯💯

[@scottwhaley4585]

I can hear Dick Vitale now saying here comes the pope baby

[@silentdeathtx4]

Please don’t hire this ex wildcat player, unbelievable, didn’t even try to get Billy Donavan. They should fire Mitch Barnhart.

[@honda2246]

its scum like you that made cal leave get over it bud

[@timcecil4579]

They couldn’t talk to him until after the nba season is over. The portal closes before potentially being able to talk. Can’t wait for him to

[@silentdeathtx4]

The fans don’t want this hire.

[@honda2246]

Get over it you joke give him a chance loser

[@Thatbul]

No this who they wanted. They said they want a coach that’s not going to recruit one and done players. Good luck to them.

[@gkniffen]

The "fans" were tired of losing to Oakland and Saint Peters with "five-star" recruiting classes...

[@mekolomae1155]

It ain’t about the fan tho😂

[@tomchrisfield7348]

This looks like a 5 year rebuild. Will the Kentucky faithful give him that much time ?

[@MrBojangles1971]

People are down on pope but he’s true blue he won a title here I think this is a great hire the man is Kentucky basketball he understands more than anyone what it means to be at Kentucky come on guys the man is a winner at Kentucky

[@ripwatts373]

Didn't Kenny Payne win a title at Louisville as a player?

[@Sweetvirginia0826]

Ever heard of Kenny Payne coaching at Louisville? This feels real familiar

[@kentuckyoutdoorslife]

That BS what a mistake by Mitch. Uk isnt making the ncaa. Uk basketball is over.

[@RobbieStacks90]

I called it a month and a half ago before Calipari even left. Mark Pope isn't even from the south; he just played at Kentucky. Based on how poorly he coached the BYU-Duquesne game, this is a bad mistake by UK.

[@floridasrealest2]

@@RobbieStacks90 none of the top candidates yall want nor Cal are from the south

[@honda2246]

@@RobbieStacks90 its scum like you that made cal leave get over it bud

[@honda2246]

its scum like you that made cal leave get over it bud

[@Vue_Mix]

Yeah it's over

[@chestermarcol3831]

Mark Pope will surprise some people.

[@josephschroer7594]

I will Write and Sing another College MBB Championship Song for UKMBB Fans within 7 yrs!!! #kyjoe

[@TheZoepound501]

lol yea right

[@ericschoonmaker7222]

He'll surprise those who think he will do well.

[@mike7419]

He will surprise people? He couldn't win one NCAA tournament game in 9 years as a head coach and now he is going to surprise people?

[@Ben-kc7to]

🤡

[@David-fe4ts]

A good hire. I’m in.

[@glendotson305]

I believe it's a good hire. They shoot, play hard. With better talent, you'll see he can coach...

[@oldgolfer9332]

They got a coach from Temu!!

[@iluvber247]

Not a fan of the hire, but he's our coach and I will support him 100%

[@StariYTube1]

GOOD hire Pitino Billy but Marks homegrown KY LETS GO 💙

[@ethanjones4375]

I’m not mad about it just don’t know a lot about him but at this point just needed someone other then cal someone new

[@darealmvp2437]

F- hire for Kentucky. I can't believe Kentucky would go this low in hiring a head coach. This is worse than Oakland!

[@Casn521]

I'm definitely not but BYU was 10-8 in the big 12 this year and a 6 seed

[@dominickmusilli1051]

Yankee fans were super upset when the Yankees hired Joe Torre in the mid 90's. The rest of history. Give this guy a chance...I'm a UCONN alumnus...I'm very relieved!

[@hdnw7537]

Yeah. But you know hiring a former player isn't always a good thing. Just look at Kevin Ollie

[@mr.wildcat405]

@@hdnw7537he won a chip in 2014. Wtf are you talking about…

[@hdnw7537]

@@mr.wildcat405 with Calhoun's players. Wtf are you talking about? Why wasn't his tenure longer? It's because Ollie wasn't it

[@mr.wildcat405]

@@hdnw7537soooo…you could’ve coached them to a chip?

[@hdnw7537]

@@mr.wildcat405 sure, because that's not a false equivalency or anything.

[@CalledForDuty]

I love how Mitch never gets any of the responsibility of our awful past 15 years. I'm done with UK

[@scottwhaley4585]

Was he out their coaching on the floor I don't think so why should you get mad at him. Kentucky had a good basketball program. It's just the fans are so unrealistic one minute they hate their coach the next minute they love their coach until nil money has came along it's even out the playing field on kentuckys cheating. Kentucky always pay for players that's no secret. They just made it legal for everybody else

[@user-gb9gn8vn7w]

Take a breathe and calm down. Coach Cal wasn't getting the result BBN wanted either so let it play out. Mitch was never going to hire Pearl or Beard. Right or wrong, he wants a squeaky clean, no drama or allegations, guy to come in and build. After the last 5 years I'm willing to to give it a couple more. I'm not saying it's a good hire, I'm not saying it isn't. But here we are. We can either give up or we can support, either way, it doesn't change Mitch's decision. Coach Pope, if nothing else, will fully commit and put his heart and soul into this program. Just let it play out. What choice do we have. Give up? Nah, that's not what we do here at BBN. Think what you will about Mitch, but Coach Pope deserves our support. He's our guy now Go cats!!

[@phillipgullett9792]

Duke hired a former player that had NEVER been a head coach. He’s done quite well. North Carolina hired a former player that had NEVER been a head basketball coach. He’s done quite well. But, Kentucky hires a former player that has head coaching experience. Has done well at colleges without the facilities and resources available at Uk. He has taken his team to the NCAA tournament the last two years. No, he didn’t win. But, a lot of top programs didn’t win in those two tournaments either. Cal/UK didn’t either. Yet, he’s a not a “good hire” and “fire Mitch”. He may be a great hire or a mediocre hire or a bust hire. But, we do not know. I’m fine with the hire, give him a chance. Support him. Duke fans did. UNC fans did. All successful coaches had to be given the chance and the support to be successful. How is all this negativity going to help him and UK be successful? How?

[@WilliamBeamon-dm2tv]

I love this comment / statement! I’m beginning to think all these negative comments aren’t coming from Big Blue Nation, but trolls just stirring up crap. This is a great hire!

[@kendonwalden1101]

See if u can find the difference in those.situations and this....the fact that a small majority of our fanbase is stupid enough to let themselves be sold on this makes me almost as mad as I am at MB....we're a 14-22 win team with a 2nd round tournament exit on a good year with this guy.....I truly think we're gonna struggle.to get to 15 wins a year, best thing is to just hope we win like 6 games next year and he gets fired immediately

[@DemarcusCousinsSr]

Great fit…dude has tons of experience losing in the first round of the tournament 😅

[@honda2246]

its scum like you that made cal leave get over it bud

[@davidkarcher6215]

Just like a hall of fame coach we know

[@lukewagenaar757]

LMAO 🤣

[@bobbyclark9187]

Mitch Barnhart needs to be fired. Mark Pope is not a recruiter. This will be worse than Billy G.

[@jakepadgett5569]

Mitch went after Hurley, oats, drew, jay wright, Donovan, pearl and beard and they all said no thanks. They gotta hire someone. It’s not his fault nobody wants the job.

[@dazzypeters6793]

​@@jakepadgett5569 He should've had Calipari's back then. They will regret this

[@Vaughndaleoulaw]

@@SomebodyBanThatGuyIf he didn't put feelers out to those other names then he is failing the program.

[@scottwhaley4585]

How do you know this and why does he need to be fired? Because you didn't approve. Who are you you fire somebody you do not like the hirer The guy recruits just fine. Plus you don't pay Mitch barnhart's salary

[@jamesburgin8168]

Kentucky will get good recruits. It's one of the perks of being the premier college basketball program in the country.

[@Forestgump12able]

MARK POPE HAS POSITIONED HIMSELF AS A CONTENDER. MARK POPE IS A YOUNG ENERGETIC COACHMARK POPE IS AN INSIDER. MARK POPE WAS THE TEAM CAPTAIN ON THE KENTUCKY CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. HE IS LIKED BY HIS. PLAYERS. GO MARK POPE. YOUR A SAFE, BEST SUITED COACH. 😅

[@JusBellAndAri]

Best suited are you an idiot

[@lawrenceterrell8471]

Billy Donovan or Rick P would have been better candidates for the job, no one including me expected it to be Mark Pope.

[@JO-vj5lq]

And thus it begins….lifetime UK fan , was sad to see Cal go , but I understand the majority of UK fans judge success strictly by what happens it March….so it was inevitable… I also knew Cal was probably gonna be the only party involved happier , BBN doesn’t like this hire , but realistically they aren’t gonna be happy with any hire until said hire has a championship.

[@lexwaldez]

Something of a surprise? This is brutal.

[@martinnorton7713]

FIRE MITCH

[@Mothman3]

Billy Donavan turned us down 3 times

[@phenom15]

fire Mitch

[@naeemakhtar6915]

A great hire and a great coach for a team that wants to be great for the future. All these so called fans are the reason why no one wants to coach at Kentucky. Y’all need to be happy that someone actually wants to be here, I don’t blame the others for avoiding this toxic fanbase. Y’all are literally Ohio state fans of basketball fr. I love this program and I believe Pope is the perfect guy to really bring out the potential again

[@ComesoonJesus]

Don't call Mark Pope an embarrassment. The last 4 years Kentucky has been the embarrassment with super John Calipari. You can't spell suck without UK!

[@jimlamb3195]

Wrong hire, Now Mitch isn’t doing his job he needs to wait and try harder to get the best coach for Ky he has messed up before ( Gillespie) doesn’t deserve to get to do it again, This looks like a lame quick decision!😓

[@beckypatrick7811]

I remember Mark Pope at UK. He was a very good player and was coached by the best in Rick Pitino! I think it might be a good match! I did however see where someone posted that they should hire Rick Pitino with Mark Pope as a study coach under Pitino for five years then to replace Pitino when Pitino is ready to retire.

[@TiggerLyOne]

Have great respect for Pope but afraid he wont be the long term solution. Good luck, Mark!

[@matthewearlywine5535]

People forget Mark Pope was a transfer from Washington. Pitino heavily utilized transfers before it was cool. I have a feeling he's gonna kill it in the TP with him being a successful transfer and having a stacked warchest

[@WindyCitySteam]

I wish him well, but I’m just done for a while. I’ve let UK basketball disappoint me too much these last few years.

[@sethstine4698]

Yep. Get back to me when they make an Elite 8.

[@scottwhaley4585]

THE POPE IS IN THE HOUSE!!!!!

[@michaellewis7898]

Mitch Barnhart set back and saw What happened to Louisville in the Past 2 Years, Then he is going to hire a Kenny Payne 2.0 REALLY !!

[@armathis2647]

I can’t believe this. Man Kentucky is messed up. Mitch Barnhart panic and just chose anyone. I’m shaking my head

[@indigomarine91]

OJ and Kentucky Basketball died on the same day. Very disappointed fans out there.

[@thecliffold5879]

What has this guy done to become coach of KY?! NOTHING!! Come one?!! Get Rick Pitino back, and he can get Jeff Shepard as assistant and bring his son back!

[@StariYTube1]

GOOD hire Pitino Billy but Marks homegrown KY LETS GO 💙

[@Plumbob_3]

Y'all need to stop being so negative. He is one of our own, a damn good coach, and loves the University of Kentucky. Give him a chance, he may be great! I'm on board!

[@brianragle7753]

Fully confident with this hire. He can handle the X's and O's and had success with BYU with extremely limited support.

[@natnaelberhanu-i8w]

I sense a disappointment for Kentucky. Who on calipari’s team from last year is coming back? I betcha it’s not one.

[@codyrockarano5220]

Who cares man. Let this man build his own team. Cals own players don't even come back to Cal

[@jaredlynch8020]

That would have been the case whether he stayed or not. Literally why everyone was mad

[@Swellington_]

now cmon,how many wouldve stayed even if Calipari stayed? Seriously,thats why we couldnt go deep in the tournament,one and dones dont win championships ,Arkansas fans are gonna find out but hes (Pope) not got a single W in the tournament and idk about it,I loved him back in the day but that was then,he is very unqualified it seems unless Mithch Barnhart knows something we dont

[@Swellington_]

@@jaredlynch8020 exactly

[@MGnKntkY]

This is a terrible hire. You go from winning 1 tournament game in 4 years to A MAN WHO HASN'T WON A SINGLE TOURNAMENT GAME IN HIS CAREER! What an embarrassment.

[@MGnKntkY]

WTF? What is Mitch Barnhart DOING!!?? Who cares if he played at KY!? He's been to the tournament TWICE and hasn't won a game! This is a disaster for UK. What an embarrassment.

[@honda2246]

its scum like you that made cal leave get over it bud

[@indigomarine91]

We are becoming louisville with this hire. Fans are going to go crazy over this one. He's like 3rd tier. The only thing I can think about is not having to pay this guy 10 mil makes NIL to the point where they pay players the most money to come here over any other school

[@honda2246]

@@indigomarine91 your a joke of a human you have no clue if he will fit with kentucky it's worthless losers like you that ran cal out of kentucky now get tf over it and shut up

[@nealmccoy5727]

@@indigomarine91 That's called confirmation bias. You choose what you want to believe. UNC and Duke also hired former players with no experience and have done great.

[@indigomarine91]

@@nealmccoy5727 uk basically dodged 34 million in a buyout and 11.5 million on one of those other coaches. Uk MUST be the highest NIL school to go to if they want to hit those heights..

[@JPBinTN]

Time will tell

[@Sweetvirginia0826]

Liked Pope as a player but can’t say I’ve heard much about him in the last 25 years. Hate to be Debbie Downer, but it’s not very exciting news. What’s up with Mitch?

[@TheGlaabFather]

They didn’t even really go after the two main people we would’ve been happy with… didn’t even APPROACH the main hire everyone wanted which was Pitino! Getting real f*cking tired of Kentucky lately. Can we get rid of Mitch Barnhart too?

[@user-gb9gn8vn7w]

Take a breathe and calm down. Coach Cal wasn't getting the result BBN wanted either so let it play out. Mitch was never going to hire Pearl or Beard. Right or wrong, he wants a squeaky clean, no drama or allegations, guy to come in and build. After the last 5 years I'm willing to to give it a couple more. I'm not saying it's a good hire, I'm not saying it isn't. But here we are. We can either give up or we can support, either way, it doesn't change Mitch's decision. Coach Pope, if nothing else, will fully commit and put his heart and soul into this program. Just let it play out. What choice do we have. Give up? Nah, that's not what we do here at BBN. Think what you will about Mitch, but Coach Pope deserves our support. He's our guy now Go cats!!

[@TheGlaabFather]

@@user-gb9gn8vn7w honestly… idc about that “squeaky clean” sh*t. We just had Calipari as coach… one of the most notorious “unclean”coaches so it doesn’t really add up. Mitch is not doing what’s best for Kentucky… he’s doing whatever he wants. Which is just picking guys he likes or has relationships with exclusively. A little confrontation now and then wouldn’t hurt Mitch… and that’s why he didn’t even do his due diligence and approach coaches like Pitino or Bruce Pearl

[@TheGlaabFather]

@@user-gb9gn8vn7w just found article that even substantiates my reply. Barnhart literally made this decision on his own… no one else from UK had any input on the decision. His choice alone

[@wildmouse5888]

If you wanted Pitino you wanted filth. Guess he could bring in ringers and that would be okay too! Get DeMarcus Cousins and Rondo some fake ID and 4 years of eligibility. They might be too old for the NBA but they would still completely dominate college basketball.

[@wildmouse5888]

@@TheGlaabFather Has Cal ever been recorded talking to a shoe company guy about buying players? Pitino shouldn't be allowed to coach anywhere in college basketball. Also, Mama doesn't want to send her boy to a place where she knows strippers and hookers are being provided. Finally, even if Pitino was clean as a whistle he is way too old to be considered.

[@jp-nd3vd]

Hello NIT

[@scottwhaley4585]

Oh are you guys entering the preseason NIT Tournament

[@keith62970]

Whoa! That's a wild choice. It's not looking great for UK anymore.

[@levithomas8093]

Nobody thought Tubby Smith was a good hire. I'm a Kentucky fan, and I can't wait to see what a former player can do. Who cares about those other coaches. If u are a true fan, u will get behind and support this man. I believe he will lead us back to the promise land sooner rather than later. I'm all on board.

[@banjohero8352]

He will get Reed to stay him and Reeds dad Jeff played together

[@Thatbul]

Reed is not staying, Kentucky fans are so delusional. He’s litteraly a projected top 10 pick. That won’t happen again next year.

[@banjohero8352]

@@Thatbul He is already making bank at Uk.

[@Thatbul]

@@banjohero8352 that small nil is nothing compared to the $7 mill he will make each year for four years before his second contract.

[@andywilliams4942]

Hey KY, several years ago, your big brother TN was set to hire a football coach. The fans didnt want this coach and they protested. The coach didnt get hired. Although the coach that did get hired, didnt work out but still, if the fans are loud enough in not wanting this hire, the university will listen.

[@ericschoonmaker7222]

There are surely high school coaches who would've been a better hire.

[@scottwhaley4585]

Name some. See you're saying I'm sure means there isn't and it's just you're mad because you didn't get Drew. And thanks to nil money you're back to Earth

[@ericschoonmaker7222]

@@scottwhaley4585 I am quite aware of the syntax I used. While I don't know exactly who these coaches are, I do not believe Pope to be anything beyond an average coach. If I were to be completely honest, I was hoping for Billy Donovan, or Bruce Pearl. I'm not sure exactly how I offended you, but it obviously didn't take much.

[@scottwhaley4585]

@ericschoonmaker7222 I am not offended. You just never k ow about the pope. I thought the same thing Josh Heupel. I turned out to be wrong

[@ericschoonmaker7222]

@@scottwhaley4585 I am often wrong, and truly want this to be one of those times.

[@BS-dq1kz]

I’m so pumped! I wasn’t against Cal like some others. I do not like the One and Done at all but I liked Cal. However, he’s gone and I’m pumped to have Pope! I think he’ll do well. I’ve read he will travel and fight for whoever he wants concerning recruiting, per what some BYU fans have said. Now that he’s at Ky he will be more likely to he those players. BYU is a hard school to recruit for. I’m excited for next season! Glad the other 2 coaches declined actually.

[@bellat8448]

If he gets past the first game in the tournament he has my vote.

[@rawdoggrankins6194]

Mark Pope over achieved at BYU…Dude can coach. If you give him 1/2 the talent that Calapari had we will be fine. Everything the fans hated about Cal, this guy is the exact opposite.

[@Jamesdean999]

This is the equivalent to my old high school calling me up and offering me the head coaching position. "Yeah, i played basketball before, sure I'll take the job"

[@jacobb1650]

lol not even close comparison 😂

[@indigomarine91]

NIL better be INSANE!!!

[@damonh3671]

They go from tier 1 coachs to hiring a 0 tier coach this is just so stupid.

[@Casn521]

Most sec teams wouldn't hire pope.but UK did we have to try to stop this

[@Wikdclwn4]

We traded Cal for Pope? That's like trading $1 for 5 pennies.

[@gkniffen]

Nobody in the history of basketball accomplished less with more talent than John Calipari. A literal BILLION DOLLARS WORTH of NBA talent walked through Rupp Arena in Cal's 15 years and he has the same number of national championships at UK as Tubby Smith does. Tubby won his in less time and a fraction of the talent Cal has squandered. Let's go Mark. Go Cats!

[@mattjtx93]

@@gkniffen so you trade the guy who brings in talent with a 50/50 chance of it working out for someone who doesnt bring in the level of talent and has yet to win a tournament game. Give me a break!

[@scottwhaley4585]

Actually you ran off Calipari for Pope. There was no trade involved

[@juicetone9024]

*FIRE MITCH* .

[@Itsjustlikemagic]

Haha karma is in full effect for that spoiled and ungrateful fanbase that forced coach Calipari out! Get ready for the worst era of Kentucky basketball!

[@bookertee3057]

Mark brings, college, overseas, and NBA experience. Travis Ford and Rondo as assistants.

[@kalanhitchens8782]

Y'all, we're so happy about losing your Hall of Fame coach. Look at you now. Thanks for the coach that got you to the tournament, cuz now you probably won't be there. Thanks for the players too

[@kennethfulk8312]

UK was one of the premier programs in CB but in the last few years the program has fallen from that level and this hire will NOT help, the fan base won't tolerate this and this falls on their AD.

[@wildmouse5888]

There is no doubt that this is risky. Mark Pope is a very smart guy and nearly impossible to dislike; but he doesn't have the kind of track record you would expect. Very high-quality as a person; let's hope that translates to his coaching.

[@andychinn7674]

YEAH A MAJOR AVENT IS THE WHOLE FANBASE RUN MITCH OUT OF TOWN!!! FIRE MITCH HE IS A BUM!!!

[@jeffreybeshears8211]

Coach Boeheim type of hire. Excellent choice. Go Cats

[@gregoryroland8152]

I also saw somewhere that shaun miller was in the mix .i think thst would have been a good signing.

[@Golflegend410]

This is an interesting hire because Kentucky have all of that NIL money, they could give him a cheap contract now, and they saved a bunch by not firing Calipari. He took a tough job trying to replace long-term Dave Rose over at BYU. This will either be a slam dunk hire or a dud

[@josephschroer7594]

Mark Pope will be a Great UKMBB Coach: #kyjoe Supports Him!!! #kyjoe

[@kysplashgod837]

He’s what we wanted 🤷🏻‍♂️ … a COACH ! #ShowUpCal 🔵⚪️🔵⚪️🔵⚪️🔵

[@rocketsurgeon1746]

kentucky is done for a while. ugh

[@Nellosphere]

If Kentucky doesn't want him we'll hang on to him here at BYU.

[@jacobwatson1406]

Haha Kentucky should’ve just kept John Calipari 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@tystarnes]

More first round exits to lesser seeds. Calipari does less with more. Pope has done more with less.

[@RedMissileGaming]

This is hilarious. Woo, Pig Sooie! Go Hogs!!!

[@vanillaicecream2569]

Good luck with cal. Trust me you will need it.

[@RedMissileGaming]

@@vanillaicecream2569 and what do you think you’ll need with Mark Freakin Pope? He has zero tournament wins. Kentucky fans are delusional if you think he’s better than Cal. Kentucky fans will run Pope out of town within 2-3 years. There’s no way he makes it past 3 years.

[@whitewiskerz2577]

Were good not winning tournament games now i guess.

[@Wikdclwn4]

Mark Pope coaching UK is like Kenny Payne coaching UL. NIT bound for the next 5 years. I hope they got a low buyout on Pope's contract. Need to continue the coaching search the whole time Pope is the HC.

[@bigpapa.B]

Get on the phone and beg for Cal to come back. Beg for mercy!

[@bobbyclark9187]

This sets the basketball program back 10 years.

[@donknock-offs]

UK Fans: We want a COACH WHO WINS IN MARCH UK AD: I got y’all BBN

[@VOTEFORHSHADOWS]

Just think tho if this pans out tho he is young

[@Ryan-ld6od]

Watch Mark Pope win a national title at Kentucky, and all those crazy Kentucky basketball fans will kiss his ass

[@Sweetvirginia0826]

Well I guess I better stand in line because I don’t see it happening

[@michaele9351]

Well, at least I can see there being a rivalry between UK and UofL again.

[@user-uf3ni8jx5k]

I will not watch another game at Kentucky

[@TheKingdomofiZrael]

Bring Rick back to save Kentucky basketball

[@MetaHughJorgen]

BBN thinks they will get top recruits and win titles because of the name on the front of the jersey. Well, if that name meant what they think it does, they would've been able to land a top-50 coach. UK isn't the only team paying players anymore.

[@mikec2502]

As a Uconn fan I would like to say you are not the number one program anymore so get over it. When you hired Calipari you bought the conmans pitch. That guy is not an elite coach. If you take a long look at his career you will find he goes to places where they give him everything he wants, underachieves, screws up the program, and moves on to the next. In Pope at least you got a guy that cares about Kentucky. He will put the team ahead of himself. Hurley came thru Wagner and Rhode Island. Good Luck and im sure you will be singing Popes praises in a year.

[@mikec2502]

Another angry Kentucky fan! Sorry you guys fell for the conmans pitch

[@MrGunner945]

this is insanity. The Kentucky program must be in a complete mess in order to come to this, probably why Cal bailed.

[@WilliamBeamon-dm2tv]

Cal bailed because the fans…the same fans that are ripping on Coach Pope, already, and he hasn’t even had his introductory presser yet! Geez! Give Mark a chance, he will be great!

[@MrGunner945]

@@WilliamBeamon-dm2tv I’ll will continue to support the program regardless of who they end up hiring but I have to admit, I don’t think Pope is the guy for the job.

[@kennethfulk8312]

UK DEFINITELY downgraded with this hire and BBN and their program will continue looking up to Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee as the best programs in the SEC unfortunately.

[@lisanewton3108]

Stop with the negativity BBN you put us in this situation now shut up and give Mark Pope the chance to prove everyone wrong and get us back where we belong the GOLD standard

[@scottwhaley4585]

I'm not going to give you the name of the city coach at a power conference that they talked to because his name is not being revealed. Come on man:-)

[@nealmccoy5727]

I guess I just don't get the fatalism on behalf on UK fans. Hiring former players has worked good for blue bloods such as Duke and UNC. And those guys were not even head coaches before. Not sure why people don't think it can work at UK.

[@Vaughndaleoulaw]

Both those coaches spent years in the program learning the ropes from two of the best coaches in college basketball history. Other than playing there, Mark Pope has no connections to Kentucky. He never even coached there.

[@nealmccoy5727]

@@Vaughndaleoulaw That’s the problem. UK has a program reliant on flash. Gotta have the flashiest and sexiest coach, gotta have lottery pick players. This whole thing is a result of the model the UK program has become.

[@popcornjoe3752]

I feel sorry for Pope. He doesn't even realize he's not ready for this hire. The money and the fame have overtaken him

[@DarthPicarat]

Are you really a Blue Blood if you have to settle for a coach ?