ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf have released their college basketball Coach of the Year rankings as of right now.
Amazingly, Borzello and Medcalf have Kentucky head coach Mark Pope at No. 10 on their list. It’s hard to imagine any list not having Pope in the top 5 at the very least.
ESPN top 5 right now are Bruce Pearl, Jon Scheyer, Darian DeVries, Todd Golden and Dennis Gates.
Here is an excerpt about Pope:
10. Mark Pope, Kentucky Wildcats
When he was announced as the new head coach, many Kentucky fans booed the hire. But Pope — a former captain on the school’s 1996 national title team — has quickly converted the fan base with a team-first approach and a collection of wins (Duke, Gonzaga, Louisville, Florida) that have positioned the Wildcats to secure a top-four seed on Selection Sunday.
This is Pope’s team now. He has six players — Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Otega Oweh, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams — who can all be the team’s biggest star on any given night. And he employs a video-game-like, free-flowing style that has produced at least 90 points in nine games.
With the spotlight on him and his program, Pope hasn’t flinched in his debut campaign. — Medcalf
