Pete Thamel lays out how Kentucky job is being perceived after reported Mark Pope hire

Mark Pope is expected to be hired as the next head coach of the Kentucky men’s basketball program.

Many members of the Big Blue Nation were not keen on the idea initally when the news broke on social media. Kentucky was reportedly contacting some of the biggest names in the sport — but was turned down by all.

As high-profile names continued to remove themselves from athletic director Mitch Barnhart’s search, the question of why no one wanted the Kentucky job began to rise. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel — Kentucky is still viewed as a “desitination job,” although, times have changed in college basketball to make the playing field a bit more even.

“I still think Kentucky is viewed as a destination job,” Thamel said during an appearance on SportsCenter on Thursday night. “I just think the landscape has really changed to where how much NIL money you have is really the main factor that recruits look for. It isn’t the practice facilities anymore, it isn’t the size of your weight room. It isn’t the number of seats in your arena like it was 20 years ago. So with the distribution coming to these major conferences from the TV contracts, the world is a little flatter and coaches have to ask themselves — is it worth a million more dollars a year to live in a fishbowl like Kentucky?

“Take Nate Oats at Alabama for example. If he makes the Sweet 16 or the Final Four, they’ll build a statue. If you’re in Kentucky, they’re asking why he didn’t win the title. It’s just a significant difference.”

Thamel noted that Oats still makes around $7 million per year and instead of living under a microscope in Lexington — he’s able to have a more “livable life,” as Thamel puts it, while experiencing the same, if not more success in Tuscaloosa.

In Scott Drew’s case, his whole family was flown from Waco, Texas to Lexington on a donor’s private jet. They were able to experience what the city was like and instead, opted for a “simpler” life. While Kentucky didn’t go through the same lengths they did with Drew, Dan Hurley’s situation is similar, not to mention it was a long shot getting him to leave a program that he’s led to two-straight national titles.

Now, however, Kentucky has reportedly made its decision for who its leader will be and must make the most out of its new era under Mark Pope.