Mark Pope
Mark Edward Pope (born September 11, 1972) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the BYU Cougars. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, where he was part of a national championship team, and the Washington Huskies, where he was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. He later played professionally in the National Basketball Association for the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets.
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BYU Cougars | |
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Position | Head coach |
League | West Coast Conference |
Personal information | |
Born | Omaha, Nebraska | September 11, 1972
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
Listed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Newport (Bellevue, Washington) |
College |
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NBA draft | 1996 / Round: 2 / Pick: 52nd overall |
Selected by the Indiana Pacers | |
Playing career | 1997–2005 |
Position | Power forward |
Number | 41, 43 |
Coaching career | 2009–present |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1997–1999 | Indiana Pacers |
1999 | La Crosse Bobcats |
1999–2000 | Ülkerspor |
2000–2002 | Milwaukee Bucks |
2002–2003 | New York Knicks |
2003–2005 | Denver Nuggets |
As coach: | |
2009–2010 | Georgia (assistant) |
2010–2011 | Wake Forest (assistant) |
2011–2015 | BYU (assistant) |
2015–2019 | Utah Valley |
2019–present | BYU |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Career statistics | |
Points | 285 (1.9 ppg) |
Assists | 63 (0.4 apg) |
Rebound | 161 (1.7 rpg) |
Career
Pope was a high school star at Newport High School in Bellevue, Washington and played two years at the University of Washington (UW). He earned Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors in 1992 after setting a UW freshman single-season record with 8.1 rebounds per game. He transferred to the University of Kentucky, where he was a member of the 1996 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship team. Pope was a second round pick of the Indiana Pacers in the 1996 NBA Draft. The 2004-05 season was his last, as he was cut in training camp with the Denver Nuggets the following season.
In 2006, Pope enrolled in medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. In 2009, he left medical school and joined Mark Fox's coaching staff at the University of Georgia. Fox was an assistant coach when both were at UW. The following season (2010–11), Pope moved to Wake Forest University to serve as an assistant under Jeff Bzdelik.[1]
In May 2011, Pope was hired as an assistant to Dave Rose at Brigham Young University.[2] Pope replaced Dave Rice, who left the Cougars to assume the head coach position at UNLV.
In March 2015, Pope was hired as the new head basketball coach at Utah Valley University, replacing the retiring Dick Hunsaker.[3]
In April 2019, Pope replaced Rose as the new head basketball coach at BYU.[4]
Personal life
Pope and his wife, Lee Anne, a former assistant to talk show host David Letterman, have four daughters. Lee Anne is the daughter of the late Lynn Archibald, who was the head basketball coach at the University of Utah from 1983-1989 and was an assistant at BYU in the 1990s.[5] Pope is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Head coaching record
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Utah Valley (Western Athletic Conference) (2015–2019) | |||||||||
2015–16 | Utah Valley | 12–18 | 6–8 | 5th | |||||
2016–17 | Utah Valley | 17–17 | 6–8 | 5th | CBI Semifinals | ||||
2017–18 | Utah Valley | 23–11 | 10–4 | 2nd | CBI Quarterfinals | ||||
2018–19 | Utah Valley | 25–10 | 12–4 | 2nd | CBI Quarterfinals | ||||
Utah Valley: | 77–56 (.579) | 34–24 (.586) | |||||||
Brigham Young (West Coast Conference) (2019–present) | |||||||||
2019–20 | BYU | 24–8 | 13–3 | 2nd | Postseason not held | ||||
BYU: | 24–8 (.750) | 13–3 (.813) | |||||||
Total: | 101–64 (.612) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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References
- Tucker, Tim (April 17, 2010). "UGA's Pope Headed to Wake Forest as Assistant Coach". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- Call, Jeff (April 17, 2010). "Dave Rose hires Mark Pope to replace Dave Rice". Deseret News. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- "UVU hires BYU assistant Mark Pope as new basketball coach". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- "Mark Pope Hired as Next BYU Basketball Coach". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- Call, Jeff (May 27, 2011). "Mark Pope brings different type of hoops experience". DeseretNews.com. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
External links
- Mark Pope Official BYU Bio
- Career statistics and player information from Basketball-Reference.com