BYU Will Name Mark Pope As Head Basketball Coach
Apr 10, 2019, 10:23 AM | Updated: 2:44 pm
tah Valley coach Mark Pope yells instructions to his team during game against Cal State Bakersfield in the Western Athletic Conference basketball tournament in Las Vegas on Thursday, March 8, 2018. Pope is expected to be named BYU's new head coach this week. (Ravell Call, Deseret News)
(Ravell Call, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – According to the Deseret News and confirmed by KSL Sports’ Jeremiah Jensen, BYU will name Mark Pope as their next basketball head coach.
Pope was the front-runner for the job since the opening became available, following the retirement of longtime head coach Dave Rose.
According to Harmon, the announcement is expected to come as early as Wednesday or as late as Friday.
Pope was Rose’s assistant from 2011-15 before taking the Utah Valley job. He played his college basketball at Kentucky for Rick Pitino, winning a National Championship in 1996.
He was a second round pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, playing seven seasons in the league for the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets.
Pope has been the focal point of the turnaround for Utah Valley, taking the team to a 12-18 record in his first season. In the last three seasons, Pope led the Wolverines to the CBI. His tallied a 77-56 record in his four seasons in Orem, Utah.
His experience in the NBA and the success with Utah Valley has made Pope the top candidate to take over BYU basketball. He has done a tremendous job with developing big men at BYU and UVU and is a great recruiter.
BYU expected to name Mark Pope as head basketball coach
Story by @Harmonwrites https://t.co/dYG4qksAiQ pic.twitter.com/uBi6uwcMjP— Deseret News Sports (@desnewssports) April 10, 2019
