Mitch Barnhart on timeline of coaching search: ‘You can’t wait long’
Thousands of Kentucky fans woke up to the surprise of a lifetime on Friday morning. Late on Thursday evening, reports surfaced claiming BYU’s Mark Pope was set to be UK’s next head coach. The reports were correct.
On Friday, Kentucky officially announced Pope as the program’s next head man. During an appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio, UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart revealed why he felt the decision was urgent.
“You can’t wait long in this process because a lot of things happen,” Barnhart said. “You got people making decisions in the transfer world and that kind of stuff that are critical to rosters. [You can say], ‘Just give us time.’ Nobody is gonna give you time. They don’t care who you are in that deal. It’s moving quickly.”
The Kentucky faithful felt the decision’s speed on an intimate level. 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.
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, Big Blue Nation 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. Instead, Barnhart took matters into his own hands by handing over the reins to Pope.
“Every single person I talked to was shocked,” KSR host Matt 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.”
Mark Pope is ready for the challenge
Pope couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity.
“The University of Kentucky is the pinnacle of coaching in college basketball. It’s the definition of blueblood program where hanging a banner is the expectation ever year,” Pope said. “Equally as important, UK changed my life forever as a human being. The love and passion I have for this program, this University and the people of the Commonwealth goes to the depth of my soul.
“I’m thankful to Dr. (Eli) Capilouto and Mitch Barnhart for this opportunity. I’m proud to be your next head coach and I can’t wait to do this together!”