years are still ahead of him, and am pretty excited to see what he will do at Kentucky, and nervous about what we might have lost. But I’m not sure Pope, even if capable of achieving something special, will be given the time to make it happen.

When college athletics wasn’t so money driven, athletic departments could afford their coaches patience as they put all the pieces in place to bring a program to championship caliber. John Wooden was hired as the head coach of UCLA in 1948, and didn’t win his first NCAA championship until 1964. It took sixteen years before the greatest NCAA basketball coach of all time got to the point where he began his legendary run. Most people forget that.

At BYU, Pope would have been given that time. It could have developed into something awesome. Maybe not too. But at Kentucky where the expectations are sky high, who’s supporters will place extra scrutiny on a coach who has yet to achieve a single title at the Division 1 level, time is if of the essence for Coach Pope.