Report: Kentucky closing in on Mark Pope as next head coach, John Calipari replacement

Kentucky is “targeting” BYU head coach Mark Pope as its next head coach, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported. The expectation is he will replace John Calipari after he left for Arkansas.

News of Pope’s candidacy broke Thursday afternoon when CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported he was in the running. However, there was a thought Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan could be next on Mitch Barnhart’s call list after two high-profile candidates – Scott Drew and Dan Hurley – turned down the job. CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander reported Kentucky “did not aggressively pursue Donovan at any point over the past four days,” and it’s worth noting the Bulls will play in the NBA Play-In Tournament next week.

Norlander also said UK didn’t have any contact with Rick Pitino.

He is no stranger to Kentucky fans, of course. After starting his playing career at Washington, he was on the 1996 team that won the national championship. He then became a second-round pick in the NBA Draft and played professionally for nine years, and he turned to coaching as an assistant at Georgia in 2006.

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.

How Kentucky’s head coach search unfolded

Last week at this time, a Kentucky coaching search didn’t sound like a possibility. After all, Barnhart threw a public voice of support behind Calipari after an early exit from the NCAA Tournament.

But as Final Four weekend went on, Arkansas got in the mix for his services and ultimately ended a 15-year run in Lexington. Things kept trending in that direction, and Calipari announced his departure earlier this week – meaning the search was officially on.

Drew and Hurley were two of the earliest names to come up as UK started to look for Calipari’s replacement. That was after former Villanova coach Jay Wright gave a “firm no” and Alabama’s Nate Oats announced he was staying in Tuscaloosa despite the rumors.

Thursday, things went to a new level. Drew announced he prayed on the decision and ultimately chose to stay at Baylor, where he’s called home since 2005. Shortly after that, news broke that Hurley was preparing to say no to UK no matter what the offer was.

According to KSR’s Matt Jones, Donovan appeared likely to be the next call. Less than an hour after the Bulls defeated the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, though, Norlander first reported Kentucky was planning to hire Pope rather than wait for Chicago’s season to end.