Kentucky up to No. 4 in ESPN Power Rankings, Mark Pope named early Coach of the Year candidate
Mark Pope said last night it was ‘really important’ for Kentucky to stay in the ‘national conversation’ — because that’s what this program deserves. The NCAA Tournament field isn’t decided in December, but why can’t water cooler talk be enough for now as the Wildcats work their way toward their goals in March? Being viewed as one of the best teams in college basketball never hurts, no matter what point of the season we’re in.
“We would like to be the flagship program in every single category that we grade and rank and evaluate as a team. That’s our goal,” Pope said.
How about we add another couple to the list then? ESPN released its latest power rankings and moved Kentucky up four spots to No. 4 overall following the team’s wins over Gonzaga and Colgate.
Kentucky up to No. 4 in ESPN Power Rankings
4. Kentucky Wildcats (9-1)
Previous ranking: 8
“With Lamont Butler out because of an ankle injury and Kerr Kriisa sustaining a foot injury that will sideline him indefinitely, coach Mark Pope doesn’t have many point guards on his roster. But Jaxson Robinson took on much of the playmaking and ballhandling duties down the stretch against Gonzaga and started at the point against Colgate on Wednesday,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote. “There were some ups and downs, but he had help from the rest of the rotation; five Kentucky players had multiple assists and the team’s turnover rate was its lowest of the season.”
Check out his latest top 25:
- Tennessee (9-0)
- Auburn (8-1)
- Iowa State (7-1)
- Kentucky (9-1)
- Marquette (9-1)
- Duke (8-2)
- Alabama (7-2)
- Florida (9-0)
- Gonzaga (7-2)
- Oregon (9-1)
- Kansas (7-2)
- Purdue (8-2)
- Ole Miss (8-1)
- San Diego State (5-2)
- Houston (6-3)
- Clemson (9-1)
- Texas A&M (8-2)
- Oklahoma (9-0)
- UConn (7-3)
- Mississippi State (8-1)
- Michigan State (8-2)
- UCLA (8-1)
- Illinois (7-2)
- Baylor (7-3)
- Memphis (7-2)
Mark Pope named National Coach of the Year candidate
It isn’t just team love the Wildcats are getting at this stage, they’re getting some coaching love, as well — whether Pope is willing to accept it or not. CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish actually named the Kentucky head coach his early favorite for National Coach of the Year considering the circumstances with the timing of his hire and how quickly he scrambled to put together a portal-heavy roster.
Other coaches have done well, but those coaches retained talent or had longer runways to work with in terms of recruiting. Pope had neither and still has Kentucky trending toward title contender status.
“if I were asked to submit a ballot for National Coach of the Year right now, the name at the top would be UK’s Mark Pope, whose program improved to 9-1 on Wednesday with a 78-67 win over Colgate,” he wrote. “How could anybody argue against it? Oh, sure, there are other valid candidates — among them Tennessee’s Rick Barnes, Auburn’s Bruce Pearl, Iowa State’s TJ Otzelberger and Marquette’s Shaka Smart. … But each of those coaches entered this season with key returning pieces and higher expectations than Pope, who wasn’t as fortunate considering he inherited nothing from John Calipari and got the job at a time when most of the sport’s best incoming freshmen were already bought and paid for.
“Pope had to build a competent team in a matter of months almost entirely via the transfer portal. Recent history shows it’s not as easy as Danny Sprinkle made it look last season at Utah State. But Pope has clearly done it. And despite his Wildcats starting the season as low as 43rd at KenPom.com, they are now No. 5 in the Top 25 And 1 — and would likely be No. 1 if they had avoided last week’s 70-66 loss at Clemson that came in a game they actually led in the second half.”
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