Kentucky replaces John Calipari with former Wildcats player

Shockwaves were sent around the college basketball world when Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari departed for the University of Arkansas soon after it was reported that Kentucky was keeping the legendary coach around after another early NCAA Tournament exit.

Calipari leaving opened a gaping hole in their program as the coach who had won over 400 regular season games and a National Championship unexpectedly left.

The Wildcats opted to replace Calipari with a familiar face, Mark Pope, a man who played in two of his four seasons in Kentucky before Calipari had taken over as the team's head coach.

Kentucky replaces John Calipari with former Wildcat Mark Pope

Pope was a key piece on the 1995-96 Wildcats team that won the NCAA Tournament. He'd get drafted in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft and play for three different teams in six seasons before getting back in the college world as a coach.

Pope was the Utah Valley head coach from 2015 to 2019 before getting the BYU Cougars job ahead of the 2019-20 campaign. At BYU he posted an impressive 110-52 record and made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances over his five years there.

Fittingly, BYU lost twice as a No. 6 seed in the first round including a loss this time around to No. 11 Duquesne. It's fitting, because Kentucky has suffered many early exits in recent years. This past season they lost as a No. 3 seed to No. 14 seeded Oakland, and in 2021-22 they lost as a No. 2 seed to No. 15 seeded St. Peter's.

Wildcats fans were fed up with Coach Cal because of the early exits, but the Wildcats hired a coach who has lost as a favorite in his only NCAA Tournament appearances as a coach. Perhaps fans will give Pope a bit of a grace period since he did help them win as a player, but it's an interesting hire to make for sure.