{"id":33187,"date":"2024-07-27T04:59:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-27T08:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tuttopavimenti.com\/?p=33187"},"modified":"2024-07-27T04:59:02","modified_gmt":"2024-07-27T08:59:02","slug":"lexington-ky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tuttopavimenti.com\/es\/lexington-ky\/","title":{"rendered":"LEXINGTON, Ky"},"content":{"rendered":"

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – Initially off the radar among Kentucky’s coaching targets, Mark Pope is now entrusted with maintaining the program’s gold standard.<\/p>\n

Makes sense, since he helped do so as a player.<\/b><\/u><\/p>\n

Kentucky hired the BYU coach to guide its men\u00b4s basketball program, bringing home a captain of the Wildcats\u00b4 1996 national championship team to succeed John Calipari.<\/p>\n

The school announced the 51-year-old Pope\u00b4s hiring in a release Friday morning but did not mention any contract details. He will be introduced<\/a> at a Sunday afternoon news conference at Rupp Arena.<\/p>\n

Pope replaces Calipari, a Hall of Famer who took Kentucky to its eighth NCAA title in 2012 among four Final Four appearances in 15 years. Kentucky hasn\u00b4t returned there since going 38-1 in 2015. Calipari stepped down on Tuesday and was introduced as Arkansas coach the next day.<\/p>\n

Pope was 110-52 in five seasons with the Cougars and went 23-11 in their first season in the Big 12 Conference. BYU is also coming off a second NCAA Tournament appearance in four years under Pope.<\/p>\n

He was 77-56 before that in four seasons at Utah Valley and guided the Wolverines to consecutive runner-up finishes in the Western Athletic Conference his final two years. They reached the CBI quarterfinals both times.<\/p>\n

Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart cited Pope\u00b4s impressive 187-108 career record as a head coach and keen knowledge of the program\u00b4s meaning to the state. The AD also praised Pope’s “dynamic” up-tempo offense and tough defense and called him an innovator.<\/p>\n

“He is a strong recruiter with international ties and a person of integrity,” Barnhart said. “He fully embraces our high expectations and standards and I know that as our fans get reacquainted with Mark, they will be eager to join him on what promises to be an exciting ride.”<\/p>\n

Pope said he understands the expectations of taking over college basketball’s winningest program and the high expectations that come with it.<\/p>\n

“It\u00b4s 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.”<\/p>\n

Pope\u00b4s hiring is highly surprising considering the higher-profile coaches mentioned as Kentucky\u00b4s top candidates. But Baylor\u00b4s Scott Drew and https:\/\/nhanlambangcap24h.com\/<\/a> UConn\u00b4s Dan Hurley, both of whom have led schools to NCAA titles, turned down offers on Thursday. Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan, a Kentucky assistant on that championship team before guiding Florida to consecutive NCAA titles, restated his commitment to the NBA club.<\/p>\n

Pope faces his biggest task in returning his alma mater to national title contention after two first-round exits the past three seasons under Calipari. Kentucky’s last deep NCAA Tournament came in 2019, when the team lost to SEC rival Auburn in the Elite Eight.<\/p>\n

Saint John’s coach Rick Pitino, a Hall of Famer who led Kentucky back from NCAA sanctions to that 1996 title, believes the school found the right candidate, saying Pope “will go on to greatness.”<\/p>\n

“You have one of the premier young coaches in the game. Relish it because he will do you proud,” Pitino said in a video posted to social media. “I know I sit here today in Saint John\u00b4s and I couldn\u00b4t be any more proud than to see Mark Pope lead the Kentucky Wildcats to another championship. He\u00b4ll get it done. He\u00b4s got the right stock.”<\/p>\n

Pope’s initial mission is rebuilding a roster that has already lost guard Rob Dillingham and 7-foot-1 Aaron Bradshaw to the NBA draft and Adou Thiero to the transfer portal. Several other players appear likely to follow Calipari to Arkansas, while several All-American signees have re-opened their commitments.<\/p>\n

However it settles for Kentucky, Pope’s offensive philosophy mirrors the high-octane approach that helped the Wildcats rank second nationally at 89 points per game last season.<\/p>\n

BYU wasn’t far behind, averaging 81.4 points to lead the Big 12 and rank 22nd nationally. The Cougars were third with 11.1 made 3-pointers and 18.5 assists, and sixth with a 1.73 assist-to-turnover ratio. They ranked as high as 12th in the AP Top 25 on Jan. 1 after going 12-1 in nonconference action and winning the Vegas Showdown.<\/p>\n

Defensively, BYU tied for 104th of 351 Division I teams at nearly 70 points allowed per game and ranked 26th with 39.5 rebounds.<\/p>\n

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe thanked Pope in a post on X and said he “left the program in a position of strength moving forward.”<\/p>\n

As a player, Pope led Kentucky with 6.3 rebounds per game during the 1994-95 season and was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Tournament team along with MVP Antoine Walker.<\/p>\n

Pope played in the NBA from 1998-2005 with the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets.<\/b><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP college basketball: website and website hires BYU’s Mark Pope as men’s basketball coach to replace…<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – Initially off the radar among Kentucky’s coaching targets, Mark Pope is now entrusted with maintaining the program’s gold standard. Makes sense, since he helped do so as a player. Kentucky hired the BYU coach to guide its men\u00b4s basketball program, bringing home a captain of the Wildcats\u00b4 1996 national championship team […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19787,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[499],"tags":[4836],"class_list":["post-33187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-nhanlambangcap"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t