6. Mark Pope (Kentucky)
In 1996, Rick Pitino led Kentucky to the national championship and he did so with a talented roster that included Pope as a team captain. This wasn’t the most recent success for the Wildcats, who’d add national titles twice more in the coming years, but it’s still a moment to remember. Every championship team is special and their story is worth remembering, and Pope’s return to Kentucky as head coach has given extra sentimentality to this program.
Pope played professional for nearly a decade after leaving Lexington, including time in the NBA. He worked as an assistant at a few colleges before his own head coaching journey started in Utah. Pope spent four years as head coach at Utah Valley before five more at BYU, averaging 22 wins a season with the Cougars and leading them successfully into the Big 12. In year one at Kentucky, his patchwork Wildcats squad dealt with injury issues but still competed well in a tough SEC and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
At this point Pope is just scratching the surface after just a single season. It wouldn’t be shocking to see a deep postseason run from the Wildcats, especially with the recruiting resources in Lexington. With just a decade of head coaching experience under his belt, Pope is really just getting started in this game and it be a surprise to see him ever willingly leave his alma mater’s head coaching job. Over the long haul, a national title under Pope’s leadership doesn’t seem at all like a longshot.
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