BYU's Mark Pope is finalizing a five-year deal to be the next head coach of the Kentucky men's basketball team, sources told ESPN.
Pope, a 1996 Kentucky graduate who played two seasons and won a national title there, has taken BYU to two NCAA tournaments in his five years, including a 23-11 record with a smooth transition to the Big 12 this past season. He has gone 110-52 at BYU and was the head coach at Utah Valley before that, going 77-56 in four campaigns.Pope replaces John Calipari, a Hall of Fame coach who left for Arkansas after posting a 410-123 record with the Wildcats.
Kentucky turned to Pope after several high-profile candidates either turned the job down or declared they didn't have interest. Late Thursday morning, Baylor's Scott Drew declined interest in the job after the school flew multiple family members to Lexington on a private plane to check out the area. That decision by Drew came in the wake of three high-profile candidates -- Alabama's Nate Oats, UConn's Dan Hurley and former Villanova coach Jay Wright -- turning down interest in the job before it even opened. Billy Donovan also said he's committed to coaching the Chicago Bulls.
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