LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — After a whirlwind of a week, Kentucky fans finally have their new coach.
Enter Mark Pope.
Thursday night, the University of Kentucky announced that former BYU head coach Mark Pope would take the job at UK, his alma mater.
Pope was the captain of Kentucky’s 1996 National Championship team.
Loyal BBN fans will remember the ‘96 team fondly. Then, the team was considered “untouchable,” the fanbase borderline crazy, and the outcome a dream.
Former LEX 18 sports anchor Ryan Lemond will never forget the team or its captain, Pope.
“When I got to Channel 18 in 1996, he was a senior and of course that was a rockstar year, everybody on that team was a rockstar, and he was the captain and I got to know him as a player,” recalled Lemond.
Before long, Lemond and the rest of LEX 18 would get to know Pope much better.
Pope was selected by the Pacers in the second round of the NBA draft, but with his NBA dreams temporarily on hold, the following March, Pope returned to Lexington as a fan reporter for LEX 18 covering the ‘97 Cats on their tournament run.
“He joined our Channel 18 crew to cover the Cats during March Madness and we got to know him as a person,” said Lemond. “Charismatic, likable guy, funny, and smart.”
Archived footage from Indianapolis during the final games of the tourney show Pope behind the anchor desk, reporting with Alan Cutler and Sean Woods. Other clips show the 6’ 10” athlete leaning over to interview fans and joke with other reporters.
“One of the greatest things about this deal for me is getting to spend so much time with fans. You don't get to do that as a player,” said Pope in the footage.
Lemond recalled one Mark Pope moment in particular when the Cats opened tournament play in Salt Lake City.
“My lasting impression of him during that run was on the ski slopes in Salt Lake City and he took his shirt off and was running around in the snow in Salt Lake,” laughed Lemond. “So he fit right in with exactly what we were trying to do with channel 18 in those days.”
With the Kentucky job secured, Pope isn’t looking for a reference, but as a former colleague of the new coach, Lemond emphasized that he’s the right guy for the job.
“On that ‘96 team, they had rockstars, NBA guys, and Mark was the leveling force that kept everyone together – the glue guy, but he was also the leader, they looked up to him, and I think that’s why he’s a great coach. He’s a leader, he’s a hard worker, he loves this place and he’s gonna work his butt off at this place and that’s why we need to rally around him because he loves this place as much as we do,” said Lemond. “He’s one of us and he’s gonna work as hard at this job as anybody. He loves it, he wants to be here.”
BBN can hear from Mark Pope on Sunday during an introductory press conference at Rupp Arena. The event is open to the public and begins at 4:30 p.m.
