:Mark Pope
{{short description|American basketball player and coach (born 1972)}}
{{distinguish|Pope Mark}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Mark Pope
| image = Coach Mark Pope (cropped).jpg|Coach_Mark_Pope
| caption = Pope with Kentucky in 2024
| league = Southeastern Conference
| team = Kentucky Wildcats
| position = Head coach
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 10
| weight_lbs = 235
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|9|11}}
| birth_place = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
| highschool = Newport (Bellevue, Washington)
| college = *Washington (1991–1993)
- Kentucky (1994–1996)
| draft_year = 1996
| draft_round = 2
| draft_pick = 52
| draft_team = Indiana Pacers
| career_start = 1997
| career_end = 2005
| career_number = 43, 41
| career_position = Power forward / small forward
| coach_start = 2009
| years1 = 1996–1997
| team1 = Anadolu Efes S.K.
| years2 = {{nbay|1997|start}}–{{nbay|1998|end}}
| team2 = Indiana Pacers
| years3 = 1999
| team3 = La Crosse Bobcats
| years4 = 1999–2000
| team4 = Ülkerspor
| years5 = {{nbay|2000|start}}–{{nbay|2001|end}}
| team5 = Milwaukee Bucks
| years6 = {{nbay|2003|start}}–{{nbay|2004|end}}
| team6 = Denver Nuggets
| cyears1 = 2009–2010
| cteam1 = Georgia (assistant)
| cyears2 = 2010–2011
| cteam2 = Wake Forest (assistant)
| cyears3 = 2011–2015
| cteam3 = BYU (assistant)
| cyears4 = 2015–2019
| cteam4 = Utah Valley
| cyears5 = 2019–2024
| cteam5 = BYU
| cyears6 = 2024–present
| cteam6 = Kentucky
| highlights = *NCAA national champion (1996)
- Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (1992)
| stat1label = Points
| stat1value = 285 (1.9 ppg)
| stat2label = Assists
| stat2value = 63 (0.4 apg)
| stat3label = Rebound
| stat3value = 261 (1.7 rpg)
}}
Mark Edward Pope (born September 11, 1972) is an American collegiate basketball coach and former player who is head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team.
As a player, Pope played power forward and small forward. He was Pac-10 Freshman of the Year with the Washington Huskies and then transferred to Kentucky, where he served as a team captain of its 1996 NCAA national championship team. After college, Pope spent almost a decade playing professionally in the U.S. and internationally.
Pope has held various coaching roles at the collegiate level. Immediately prior to taking the helm at his alma mater, he was head coach of the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars of the Big 12 Conference.
Playing career
Pope played at Newport High School in Bellevue, Washington. In college, he played two years for the Washington Huskies and earned Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors in 1992 after setting a freshman single-season school record with 8.1 rebounds per game. After two seasons with the Huskies, Pope transferred to the Kentucky Wildcats. After sitting out the 1993–94 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Pope appeared in every game for the Wildcats over the next two seasons, winning two SEC championships. Pope was also a team captain on the 1995–96 Wildcats team that won an NCAA national championship, averaging 7.6 points in 20.3 minutes per game.
Following his college career, Pope was a second-round pick for the Indiana Pacers in the 1996 NBA draft. Pope played six seasons in the NBA for the Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets. His playing career ended in 2005.
Coaching career
= Early coaching jobs =
In 2006, Pope enrolled in medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. In 2009, he left medical school and joined Mark Fox's coaching staff at the University of Georgia as director of basketball operations for the 2009–10 season. Fox was an assistant coach when both were at Washington. The following season (2010–11), Pope moved to Wake Forest to serve as an assistant under Jeff Bzdelik.{{cite web |access-date=June 1, 2011 |url=http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2010/04/17/ugas-pope-headed-to-wake-forest-as-assistant-coach-and-other-notes/?cxntfid=blogs_uga_sports_blog |title=UGA's Pope Headed to Wake Forest as Assistant Coach |work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=April 17, 2010 |author=Tucker, Tim |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527204242/http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2010/04/17/ugas-pope-headed-to-wake-forest-as-assistant-coach-and-other-notes/?cxntfid=blogs_uga_sports_blog |archive-date=May 27, 2010 }}
From 2011 to 2015, Pope was an assistant under Dave Rose at BYU.{{cite web |access-date=June 1, 2011 |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700136488/BYU-basketball-Dave-Rose-hires-Mark-Pope-to-replace-Dave-Rice.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519202131/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700136488/BYU-basketball-Dave-Rose-hires-Mark-Pope-to-replace-Dave-Rice.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 19, 2011 |title=Dave Rose hires Mark Pope to replace Dave Rice |work=Deseret News |date=April 17, 2010 |author=Call, Jeff}} In four years, Pope helped the Cougars to four straight 20-win seasons and four straight postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournament bids and a trip to the semifinals of the 2013 NIT.
In 2015, Pope was hired as head coach of the men's basketball team at Utah Valley University (UVU). In four years at UVU (2015–19), Pope's teams made improvements each season, going from 12 wins in 2015–16 to 25 in 2018–19. He also led the Wolverines to three-straight postseason appearances (2017, 2018, 2019) and back-to-back 20-win seasons (2017–18, 2018–19).{{Cite web|title=Mark Pope: Head Men's Basketball Coach|url=https://byucougars.com/staff/m-basketball/80934/Mark-Pope|access-date=2020-11-16|website=byucougars.com}}
= BYU =
On April 10, 2019, Pope was hired to replace Dave Rose as BYU's 19th men's basketball head coach, after Rose's retirement.{{cite web|url=https://www.sltrib.com/sports/byu-cougars/2019/04/10/utah-valleys-mark-pope/|title=Mark Pope Hired as Next BYU Basketball Coach|publisher=Salt Lake Tribune|access-date=April 10, 2019}} In his first season, Pope led the Cougars to a 24–8 record, the most wins for a first-year coach in program history. He became just the second first-year BYU coach to lead his team into the top 25 and the first to end his debut season ranked. The Cougars entered the top 25 as No. 23 in the AP Poll on Feb. 17 and jumped to as high as No. 14. In league play, Pope guided the Cougars to a record of 13–3, second in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The 13 wins – which included a 91–78 victory over No. 2 Gonzaga in the Marriott Center – were tied for the most by BYU during their time in the WCC. Gonzaga was the highest-ranked team BYU has defeated in the history of the Marriott Center. The Cougars finished the regular season on a nine-game win streak, the team's longest win streak in WCC play. BYU boasted one of the most efficient offenses in the nation in 2019–20, evidenced by top 5 national rankings in several statistical categories. The team was projected to be a lock for an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament, which would have been their first berth since 2015. However, the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the tournament and prematurely ended the successful season. BYU ended the season at No. 18 in the AP Poll and No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Pope's early success with the Cougars continued in 2020–21. BYU finished 10–3 in WCC play. The team reached the finals of the WCC Tournament, losing to Gonzaga, 88–78, in the championship. The team received an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015. They were defeated in the first round by UCLA, 73–62. On January 20, 2022, BYU defeated San Diego 79–71, which marked Pope's 60th career win at BYU and made him the fastest BYU head coach ever to reach that benchmark. The win also gave the Cougars a 16–4 record for the season, which was Pope's best start through 20 games as head coach.{{Cite web|url=https://kslsports.com/477336/tiktok-mark-pope-byu-basketball-pushin-p-gunna/|title = BYU's Mark Pope Makes Hilarious Reference to Viral TikTok Phrase|date = January 21, 2022}} Pope and the Cougars went 24–11 in 2021–22 and ended their season in the quarterfinals of the NIT. During 2022–23, BYU failed to reach 20 wins for the first time in Pope's tenure as head coach, going 19–15 overall and 7–9 in-conference for the Cougars' final season as a member of the WCC. The Cougars failed to reach the postseason for the first time since 2019.
On July 1, 2023, BYU became a member of the Big 12 Conference, with Pope coaching the Cougars in their first-ever season as part of a major conference in 2023–24. BYU posted a 22–9 regular season record and a 10–8 record in Big 12 play during the 2023–24 season. The Cougars advanced to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament, where they were defeated by Texas Tech. They received a bid to the NCAA Tournament as a 6-seed and lost to Duquesne in the Round of 64.
= Kentucky =
On April 12, 2024, Pope was hired to become the 23rd men's basketball head coach at Kentucky.{{Cite web|url=https://ukathletics.com/news/2024/04/12/mark-pope-named-head-coach-of-kentucky-mens-basketball/|title = Mark Pope Named Head Coach of Kentucky Men's Basketball|date = April 12, 2024}}
Pope's coaching debut at Kentucky was a 103–62 win against Wright State University. The score received some media attention for being a 41-point win, as #41 was the number of Pope when he was a player at Kentucky.{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game/_/gameId/401714908/wright-st-kentucky|title=ESPN score}}{{Cite web|url= https://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/john-clay/article294997969.html|title= Here are the vibes we got from Mark Pope's debut as Kentucky men's basketball coach|date=November 5, 2024}}
In Pope's third game as coach, ranked #19, he faced Kentucky's long-time rival #6 Duke University in the Champions Classic in Atlanta, Georgia. He won 77–72 in his first win against a ranked team as head coach of UK, giving the Wildcats their first win over Duke since 2015.{{Cite web|url= https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/duke-vs-kentucky-score-wildcats-beat-blue-devils-for-first-time-since-2015-with-upset-at-champions-classic/live/|title = Wildcats beat Blue Devils for first time since 2015 with upset at Champions Classic|date = November 13, 2024}}
Personal life
Pope and his wife, Lee Anne, a former assistant to talk show host David Letterman, have four daughters. Lee Anne is the daughter of the late Lynn Archibald, who was the head basketball coach at the University of Utah from 1983 to 1989 and was an assistant at BYU in the 1990s.{{cite web |access-date=June 1, 2011 |url=https://www.deseret.com/2011/5/27/20194630/byu-basketball-mark-pope-brings-different-type-of-hoops-experience/ |title=Mark Pope brings different type of hoops experience |work=DeseretNews.com |date=May 27, 2011 |author=Call, Jeff}} Pope is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.{{cite web | last=Story | first=Mark | title=The tie of faith that binds Mark Pope to a Kentucky men's basketball legend | website=Lexington Herald Leader | date=2024-04-28 | url=https://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mark-story/article288053640.html | access-date=2024-12-24}}
Career statistics
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
=NBA=
==Regular season==
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1997}}
| style="text-align:left;"|Indiana
| 28 || 0 || 6.9 || .341 || .333 || .588 || .9 || .3 || .1 || .2 || 1.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1998}}
| style="text-align:left;"|Indiana
| 4 || 0 || 6.5 || .143 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|2000}}
| style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee
| 63 || 45 || 15.0 || .437 || .208 || .629 || 2.3 || .6 || .3 || .4 || 2.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|2001}}
| style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee
| 45 || 12 || 9.5 || .396 || .160 || .524 || 1.6 || .4 || .2 || .2 || 1.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|2003}}
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver
| 4 || 0 || 5.0 || .500 || – || .000 || .8 || .0 || .1 || .0 || .5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|2004}}
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver
| 9 || 0 || 3.0 || .333 || – || – || .9 || .1 || .1 || .2 || .4
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 153 || 57 || 10.7 || .401 || .179 || .573 || 1.7 || .4 || .2 || .3 || 1.9
{{s-end}}
==Playoffs==
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|1998
| style="text-align:left;"|Indiana
| 7 || 0 || 6.0 || .667 || .000 || 1.000 || .7 || .1 || .1 || .0 || 1.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2001
| style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee
| 6 || 3 || 7.7 || .500 || .000 || – || 2.0 || .3 || .3 || .0 || 1.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 13 || 3 || 6.8 || .563 || .000 || 1.000 || 1.3 || .2 || .2 || .0 || 1.5
{{s-end}}
Head coaching record
{{CBB Yearly Record Start|type=coach|conference =|postseason=|poll=both}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Utah Valley Wolverines
| conference= Western Athletic Conference
| startyear = 2015
| endyear = 2019
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2015–16
| name = Utah Valley
| overall = 12–18
| conference = 6–8
| confstanding = 5th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2016–17
| name = Utah Valley
| overall = 17–17
| conference = 6–8
| confstanding = 5th
| postseason = CBI Semifinal
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2017–18
| name = Utah Valley
| overall = 23–11
| conference = 10–4
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason = CBI Quarterfinal
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2018–19
| name = Utah Valley
| overall = 25–10
| conference = 12–4
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason = CBI Quarterfinal
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Utah Valley
| overall = {{winpct|77|56|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{winpct|34|24|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = BYU Cougars
| conference = West Coast Conference
| startyear = 2019
| endyear = 2023
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2019–20
| name = BYU
| overall = 24–8
| conference = 13–3
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason = No Postseason (COVID-19)
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2020–21
| name = BYU
| overall = 20–7
| conference = 10–3
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason = NCAA Division I Round of 64
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2021–22
| name = BYU
| overall = 24–11
| conference = 9–6
| confstanding = 5th
| postseason = NIT Quarterfinal
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2022–23
| name = BYU
| overall = 19–15
| conference = 7–9
| confstanding = T–5th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = BYU Cougars
| conference = Big 12 Conference
| startyear = 2023
| endyear = 2024
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2023–24
| name = BYU
| overall = 23–11
| conference = 10–8
| confstanding = T–5th
| postseason = NCAA Division I Round of 64
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = BYU
| overall = {{winpct|110|52|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{winpct|49|29|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Kentucky Wildcats
| conference = Southeastern Conference
| startyear = 2024
| endyear =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2024–25
| name = Kentucky
| overall = 24–12
| conference = 10–8
| confstanding = T–6th
| postseason = NCAA Division I Sweet 16
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Kentucky
| overall = {{winpct|24|12|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{winpct|10|8|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
| overall = {{winpct|211|120|record=y}}
| legend = no
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{Cite news |last=Quinn |first=Brendan |date=2024-11-12 |title=Kentucky's keys are in the hands of a coach unlike any other |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5914785/2024/11/12/kentucky-basketball-coach-mark-pope/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |work=The Athletic}}
External links
- [https://ukathletics.com/sports/mbball/roster/coach/mark-pope/ Mark Pope Official UK Bio]
- {{Basketballstats|bbr=p/popema01}}
{{Southeastern Conference men's basketball coach navbox}}
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{{1996 NBA draft}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Mark}}
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