BYU's Mark Pope is being targeted as 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 there, including a 23-11 record with smooth transition to the Big 12 this year. He has gone 110-52 in five seasons at BYU and was the head coach at Utah Valley before that, going 77-56 in four seasons.Pope would replace 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 turning down interest in the job before it even opened, as Alabama's Nate Oats, UConn's Dan Hurley and Villanova's Jay Wright all said publicly they didn't have interest in the job. Billy Donovan also said he's committed to coaching the Chicago Bulls.
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