"How the mighty have fallen": College hoops fans react as BYU HC Mark Pope closes in on Kentucky job

Reports of BYU (Brigham Young University) coach Mark Pope closing in to become the next Kentucky coach have left the college basketball world stunned. Bigger-named coaches were expected to be in the hunt for the job vacated by one-time national champion John Calipari.

Citing a school source, CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein tweeted on X that Pope, who was a member of the 1996 Kentucky squad that won the national championship, is nearing a deal to become the next head coach of the Wildcats.

The news drew immediate reactions from college hoops fans, who seemed to be disappointed by Kentucky's preference after several reports linked big-time coaches such as Chicago Bulls' Billy Donovan, UConn's Dan Hurley, Baylor's Scott Drew, and Alabama's Nate Oats to the job.

"How the mighty have fallen," one fan commented.

"This is the worst hire in the history of College Basketball," another user wrote.

"There's no way in Kentucky fans are going to accept this this guy. will be out after one year. he would have to go to the final 4 his first year to take the heat off his back," a fan added.

"Going to see a Texas A&M revolt here. Zero NCAA tourney wins and hes getting the UK job because he is an alum. Juwan Howard and Mike Woodson territory. Absolute laughable decision," another user pointed out.

A fan understood the move and compared it to a quick fix as Kentucky was stunned by Calipari's immediate departure days after losing to Oakland in the NCAA Tournament.

"Not a surprising move after the big names turned Kentucky down. Kentucky needed to act quick, and Pope is a former player who knows the expectations at the program," the fan wrote.

Another fan tried to calm down the Kentucky faithful who seemed to have their blood boiling with the report.

"Mark Pope will be fine everyone needs to chill. But Kentucky fans taking Cal for granted is still wild to me. I don’t think they understand how many fanbases would kill for this level of success," the X user commented.

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Highly-regarded Mark Pope set to take Kentucky coaching helm

Mark Pope delivers instructions to his team in the huddle.

Despite the immediate backlash from college hoops fans about Mark Pope getting the slight edge as the next Kentucky coach, the 51-year-old is a highly-regarded mentor with a record of 187-108 in nine seasons of coaching Utah Valley and BYU.

Pope played two seasons with the Wildcats and was the team captain of the 1996 national championship squad. He averaged 7.6 points and 5.2 rebounds that season. He played for Indiana, Milwaukee, and Denver between 1997 and 2005 and had stints in Turkey.

Pope's former coach Rick Pitino has expressed his full support for Pope in getting the coaching vacancy in Lexington.

“I love Mark Pope and his family and he would be an unbelievable choice,” Pitino, who coached Kentucky between 1989 and 1997, said (via NJ Advance Media).

Pope is coming off a 23-11 record in BYU in the just concluded season. He helped the Cougars win 110 out of 162 games since he took over in 2019.

Is Mark Pope the right coach for Kentucky? Let us know in the comments.