Kentucky insider: Mark Pope hire was made by Mitch Barnhart 'on his own'

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On Thursday evening, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Kentucky is nearing a deal to make BYU’s Mark Pope the Wildcats’ head coach next season. A decision that Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones claims was solely made by Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart.

“Every single person I talked to was shocked,” Jones said. “This was clearly a decision made by Mitch. So, it will succeed or fail with Mitch because I think he made this [decision] on his own. There were a lot of people who I think had conversations as a part of this with Barnhart, but everyone taken aback and surprised, including me.”

It’s been a busy day for ‘Cats fans. On Thursday morning, fans awoke to a message from Baylor head coach Scott Drew, claiming he felt called to stay at Baylor. Next, Kentucky set its sights on UConn head coach Dan Hurley.

From a source:

“This was a Barnhart decision. He believes in him and thinks he is the best of the guys they were talking to after Drew/Hurley. He is excited about it”
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) April 12, 2024

Jones reported Kentucky was likely to offer Hurley up to $12 million a year, which would make him the highest-paid coach in college sports. However, as quickly as fans got their hopes up, Hurley shot them down, reportedly turning down the offer.

With two their top options exhausted, Kentucky fans turned to Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan. Kentucky fans prepared to rest up, knowing the program could not put the full-court press on Donovan until the NBA season ended.

Only hours later, fans were left slack-jawed when notifications rang across social media, claiming Pope was next in line for the Kentucky crown.

More on the potential Mark Pope hire

Pope is no stranger to Kentucky fans. After starting his playing career at Washington, he transferred to Kentucky and played a pivotal role on Pitino’s 1996 team that won the national championship.

After becoming a second-round pick in the NBA Draft and playing professionally for nine years, he turned to coaching as an assistant at Georgia in 2006. After a string of multiple other jobs, Pope landed the head coaching position at BYU.

BYU is coming off a 23-11 overall record this past season, including a 10-8 mark in its first Big 12 season. All told, the Cougars have a 110-52 record since Pope took over the program in 2019.

Before the Pope news broke, NJ.com’s Adam Zagoria spoke with Pitino, who gave a ringing endorsement for his former star player to take over the program.

“I love Mark Pope and his family and he would be an unbelievable choice,” Pitino said.