Kentucky's Mark Pope gives hilarious reply to not becoming a doctor

Kentucky's head basketball coach has had a wild journey in life, starting his college basketball playing days at the University of Washington, not far from his high school in Bellevue, Washington. He then transferred to Kentucky where he would go on to win a national championship as a player under head coach Rick Pitino. After his time in college, he went on to the NBA, where he was drafted in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers.

Pope would play for six seasons in the NBA during two different periods and became a bit of a journeyman as he played for four different teams. He played for the CBA and even in Turkey between his NBA stints. When he decided that his NBA career was over or, in some ways, it was decided for him, he chose to become a doctor. He enrolled at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2006. A viral picture of his college ID continues to be shared around social media.

He would go on to spend three years studying for this path in life. Then, a former assistant coach turned head coach from his time at UW, Mark Fox, would call him and ask if he wanted to come be on his basketball coaching staff in Georgia.

This is the beginning of the coaching story that ultimately led him through Utah Valley, BYU, and now to Kentucky. He's in the right career as he's quickly brought Kentucky to an amazing place, and Big Blue Nation is ecstatic about it.

On his weekly call-in radio show, a caller told Pope that he's been thinking a lot about what he's thankful for, and the top of the list is, "I'm thankful you didn't become a doctor." Pope laughed and quipped back with, "There's a lot of patients around America that are saying the same exact thing as you, my friend." This hilarious response is good fun but also shows that Pope knows he was meant to be a coach, and he's thankful for that too.