After BYU knocked off Baylor this year, Pope stood in the back hallway of the Marriott Center and was almost at a loss for words talking about his old college coach Rick Pitino.
love that man. Like, he changed me as a person. I don’t know — he doesn’t hand out compliments all the time.”
All that is to say, Pope’s attachment to his alma mater runs deep — very deep.
The ex-Kentucky coach congratulated his former player on beating the Bears that night.
It makes sense. He won a national title there in 1996 and was a captain for Pitino’s Wildcats.
Throughout his coaching career, Pitino kept in touch. He visited Provo and stayed in Pope’s house. Pope publicly wanted to schedule Iona, when Pitino coached there, and St. John’s now that Pitino took over the Johnnies.
So, from Pope’s side, the Kentucky opening will be of interest.
The question is, how much would the Wildcats want Pope? That part is trickier.
While there are more high-profile candidates, Pope has some recent accolades to tout. He just rebuilt BYU’s entire program the last two years and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.
This would be, unequivocally, the most incredible result of an already incredible turn of events. But it’s also a scenario that has to be considered, even if it’s entirely unlikely. Pitino won more than 80 percent of his games in a legendary Kentucky tenure, including a 1996 national title, and is still perhaps the most loved and hated man in the state. Pitino would undoubtedly win if he returned to Lexington, but he’s 71 and it’s hard to seriously imagine this being a realistic option. That said, Pitino is still coaching and this job is open and how amazing would this reunion be? Pitino pumped life back into dormant St. John’s this past year and is an absolutely force of nature in fundraising for both the program and in name, image and license funding. He hasn’t exactly slowed down, despite his age, and all the times his career nearly went awry. Does Kentucky entertain the thought?
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