'I love them in my soul': New Kentucky head coach Mark Pope is passionate about his alma mater

The Big Blue Nation and the college basketball world at large were thrown quite a curveball late on Thursday night. Somewhere around 12 hours after Baylor head coach Scott Drew officially turned down the Kentucky job, another Big 12 coach jumped at the opportunity. Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart zeroed in on BYU head coach Mark Pope after Hurley and Dan Hurley were off the table.

I’m not sure anyone saw this coming.

The 1996 national champion is heading home after spending the last decade-plus in Utah. There are some big question marks regarding the fit for Pope at Kentucky and whether the new head coach will be able to recruit and assemble a top-flight staff in Lexington, but there is no denying his passion for the University of Kentucky.

Mitch Barnhart is giving the Big Blue Nation someone who is truly “one of us”.

“I love Kentucky. You don’t understand, I love Kentucky. In my soul. I love Coach P and I love Kentucky,” Pope told the Field of 68 one week ago in Phoenix at the Final Four. “And I’m trying to get a game with St. John’s so we can beat ’em, and I would love to play Kentucky because we could beat ’em.”

During the 2017-18 season, Mark Pope brought his third Utah Valley team into Rupp Arena on Nov. 10 for the first game of the season. The Wolverines gave the Wildcats a big challenge and held a 37-25 lead in the second half before a furious Kentucky comeback led the home team to the victory.

In his postgame press conference following the 73-63 loss, Pope shared with the media just how special Kentucky is to him.

“I love this place,” Pope said in 2017. “This is, in all sincerity, for me and my little slice of life, this is hallowed ground here. It’s an incredibly extraordinary place and had a huge impact on my life, and I love the people here.”

After spending nearly three decades away from the Bluegrass, Mark Pope is now returning home where he will coach at a place that is very special to him.