BYU HC Mark Pope Listed As College Basketball’s Most ‘Immediately Rewarding’ Hire From 2019

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – CBS Sports listed BYU men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope as college basketball’s most “immediately rewarding” hire from the 2019 coaching carousel.

Pope topped the list off 12 coaches from Matt Norlanders’ ranking of the most “immediately rewarding hires from 2019.”

“We’ve got a crowded field of candidates — which is refreshing — but no one can say they had a better first season with their school than BYU’s Pope,” wrote Norlander. “He tops the list.”

#BYU head coach Mark Pope was emotional when asked about his takeaway from his first year on the job. 😢 🏀 #BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/56i1QDhh7h

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 13, 2020

Here is CBS Sports’ list of 2019’s most immediately successful hires:

1. Mark Pope (BYU)
2. Casey Alexander (Belmont)
3. Juwan Howard (Michigan)
4. John Brannen (Cincinnati)
5. Darrin Horn (N. Kentucky)
6. Mick Cronin (UCLA)
7. Eric Musselman (Arkansas)
8. Dane Fischer (William & Mary)
9. Carm Maciariello (Siena)
10. Eric Henderson (South Dakota State)
11. Todd Golden (San Francisco)
12. Steve Alford (Nevada)

After spending four seasons at Utah Valley’s head coach, Pope accepted the head coach position at BYU in April 2019. Pope took over for a legend in longtime BYU head coach Dave Rose.

Taking over for a legend is no easy task but Pope hit the ground running with a “24/7 mentality.”

Shortly after his hire, Pope convinced WAC Player of the Year, Jake Toolson, to grad transfer to BYU. Later in the summer, the new coach was able to retain Cougar forward Yoeli Childs.

“Unlike a couple of other coaches listed below, Pope didn’t win a regular season or postseason conference championship (Gonzaga and all), but his Cougar team’s 24-8 record helped its No. 13 KenPom ranking to be best among all teams with a first-year coach,” continued Norlander. “Pope, 47, was helped by having the best 3-point-shooting team. BYU’s 41.9% clip from beyond the arc aided the Cougars to their best conference finish since 2010-11, when Jimmer Fredette was on the roster and the team landed a No. 3 seed.”

BYU drops 91 on Gonzaga in Provo. Best Cougars team we've seen since Jimmer Fredette. Mark Pope doing yeoman's work in Year One.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 23, 2020

Prior to the cancellation of the NCAA tournament, Pope led BYU to a No. 18 ranking and his team was posed for a tourney berth with a 24-8 record.