Mark Pope One Of 10 Semifinalists For Naismith Coach Of The Year Award

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – BYU head coach Mark Pope has done more with this year’s Cougar Basketball team than anyone would have projected heading into the season. That overachieving from Pope and his team are now being recognized as BYU’s first-year coach is one of 10 semifinalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

The Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year is given to the best college basketball coach in a given season and the semifinalists joining Pope are some of the best the sport has to offer right now.

.@NaismithTrophy Coach of the Year Semifinalists:

John Calipari
Patrick Chambers
Scott Drew
Brian Dutcher
Mark Few
Anthony Grant
Leonard Hamilton
Greg McDermott
Bruce Pearl
Mark Pope
👉 https://t.co/PwvP2LXk05 pic.twitter.com/xHxk3cqRKZ

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 6, 2020

The other nine semifinalists include John Calipari (Kentucky), Mark Few (Gonzaga), Patrick Chambers (Penn State), Scott Drew (Baylor), Brian Dutcher (San Diego State), Anthony Grant (Dayton), Leonard Hamilton (Florida State), Greg McDermott (Creighton), Bruce Pearl (Auburn).

What’s notable about Pope and Gonzaga’s Mark Few being semifinalists for this award is that neither won Coach of the Year in the WCC. That award was given to Pacific’s Damon Stoudamire instead of the coaches who finished one and two in the league standings.

Mark Pope has BYU playing its best basketball in nearly a decade

BYU closed out their first regular-season under Mark Pope last week with a win over Pepperdine giving the Cougars a 24-7 record and a No. 9 NET ranking entering the West Coast Conference Tournament this Monday in Las Vegas.

Pope named a semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Men's Coach of the Year

➡️ https://t.co/7QSNApDBib#BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/x1I6EsmPi5

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) March 6, 2020

“These coaches have shown their talent throughout the season, proving themselves as viable candidates to win this award,” said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “How their teams perform under pressure during their respective conference tournaments will have a great influence on our voting academy as they select the four finalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year.”

The last BYU head coach to be a semifinalist for the Naismith Award was Dave Rose during the 2010-11 season that saw the Cougars advance to the Sweet 16. BYU has never had a coach win the Naismith Coach of the Year award since it has been given out dating back to 1987.

If Pope’s views on individual coaching awards are anything like his views on awards given to individual players, he probably is not too worked up about being a Semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award.

“You know, I was really blessed to receive a lot of individual awards as a player and you know where those awards are, anybody knows where they are?… Neither do I,” said Pope. “You know what, because they just don’t matter. They might matter for a day but you guys ask me about what my teams were able to accomplish and I could probably tell you every single detail of every single game … it is just the truth. I think every athlete and every person can relate to that if you look back at the category of the successes and shortcomings you had in your life.”

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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