Busting Brackets has put together their annual ranking of all 364 head coaches in Division I college basketball.
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope is up to No. 52 this season (he was No. 78 last season at BYU).
Bill Self is No. 1 on the list followed by UConn head coach Dan Hurley. Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Arkansas’ John Calipari and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo round out the top five.
Rick Pitino comes in at No. 13.
Here is an excerpt about Pope:
52. Mark Pope (Kentucky) (Last year: 78)
Overall record: 187-108
Pope capped off his collegiate playing career by winning a national title at Kentucky in 1996 and now the Wildcats are in his hands. A former NBA forward, Pope won plenty of games as head coach at Utah Valley before landing at BYU back in 2019. The results were mixed over the next five years, but he’s coming off a prosperous final season with the Cougars, leading them back to the NCAA Tournament in their first season in the Big 12. Pope now takes a much bigger challenge at his alma mater, where the expectations will certainly be immense in the months and years ahead.
