Kentucky basketball makes 2 major additions to bolster Mark Pope's inaugural season in 2024

Mark Pope continues to shape his first Kentucky basketball staff with key appointments to enhance the Wildcats' 2024 season. On Monday, Pope announced the addition of Nick Robinson as director of operations and Randy Towner as head strength coach.

Robinson and Pope share a productive history, having collaborated at BYU for five seasons. During their tenure, the Cougars amassed a 110-52 record and made two March Madness appearances. In their final season, BYU finished with a 23-10 record (10-8 in conference play) and earned a sixth seed in the tournament, though their postseason run was cut short.

"Nick Robinson has extensive experience in college basketball, having served in various roles from special assistant to head coach," Pope noted, via UK Athletics.

"He’s had incredible success, worked in every area of the country, has a great track record and an incredible future in front of him. Nick is meticulously organized and extremely passionate about building a high-level program. We’re happy to have him on staff."

Randy Towner joins from the Milwaukee Bucks, where he spent two seasons. His resume includes significant time with various college programs.

"Randy Towner is one of the elite strength and conditioning coaches in all of basketball," Pope remarked.

"He spent time in the college ranks before moving on to one of the best staffs in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks. Our guys are blessed to have him here. He has a ton of juice, a wealth of expertise and will embrace what Kentucky basketball is all about."

Pope, who was named Kentucky’s head coach on April 12 to succeed John Calipari, signed a five-year contract valued at $27.5 million. His arrival has already seen the hiring of four assistant coaches, with contract details for Alvin Brooks and Jason Hart still pending.

Mark Pope's dynamic start to build a championship roster at Kentucky

Since taking the reins as the Kentucky Wildcats' head coach 45 days ago, Mark Pope has been relentlessly constructing his first roster in Lexington, traveling nationwide to recruit top talent. On "The Paul Finebaum Show," Pope described his experience.

“We started essentially with zero players on the roster, which is terrifying at the University of Kentucky, where the only thing acceptable is winning a National Championship. It’s hard to do that with no players. It’s hard to do with great players,” Pope explained.

Mark Pope emphasized the unique opportunity to implement his distinctive, pro-style system from scratch:

“It’s a little bit of a unique style of play in college basketball. Getting to jump in the portal and go handpick guys that fit the way we play exactly and to do it from the very beginning has actually been really exhilarating,"

With a career-winning percentage of .634 over nine seasons, Mark Pope's coaching resume is impressive. At Utah Valley (2015 to 2019), he improved the team's record each year, achieving a 25-10 record and a second-place finish in the WAC in 2018-19.

At BYU (2019 to 2024), Pope's teams consistently excelled, winning over 20 games in six of his seven seasons and making two NCAA Tournament appearances. His 2019-20 BYU squad secured 24 wins, the highest for a first-year coach in the program’s history.

Overall, Mark Pope's teams have amassed 187 wins against 108 losses, with six postseason appearances. His teams have made four appearances in the NCAA Tournament, though he has yet to secure a tournament win as a head coach.