When Kentucky hired Mark Pope, fans celebrated his blend of analytics and innovation. His play designs were fresh, purposeful, and, most importantly, effective. He explained the why behind his choices, not just the what, a refreshing change in a sport filled with coach-speak.
Yet, according to a recent CBS Sports poll of 100 coaches, his peers don’t see him among the game’s elite tacticians.
The poll results
When asked “Who is the best X’s and O’s coach in college basketball?” here were the top responses:
- Matt Painter (Purdue) – 19%
- Dan Hurley (UConn) – 18%
- Greg McDermott (Creighton) – 16%
- Kelvin Sampson (Houston) – 7%
- Ben McCollum (Iowa State) – 5%
- Randy Bennett (Saint Mary’s) – 4%
- Tom Izzo (Michigan State) – 4%
- Dusty May (Michigan) – 4%
- Bill Self (Kansas) – 4%
- Others– 7%
That means Pope landed in the “Other” category, under 2% recognition, if he got any votes at all.