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PROVO — There’s no denying that BYU basketball coach Mark Pope had a special season in his first year back in the Marriott Center.
Even without an NCAA Tournament berth due to the novel coronavirus, or even a conference championship, the Cougars went 24-8 with a 13-3 mark in West Coast Conference play and finished ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2011.
That’s why CBS Sports named Pope not just one of the best hires, but the No. 1 most-rewarding hire from college basketball’s crop of first-year coaches.
"Unlike a couple of other coaches listed below, Pope didn't win a regular-season or postseason conference championship (Gonzaga and all), but his Cougar team's 24-8 record helped its No. 13 KenPom ranking to be best among all teams with a first-year coach," CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander wrote. "BYU as high as a 5-seed at the time of the season's halt. Pope, 47, was helped by having the best 3-point-shooting team. BYU's 41.9% clip from beyond the arc aided the Cougars to their best conference finish since 2010-11, when Jimmer Fredette was on the roster and the team landed a No. 3 seed."
Pope, for his part, took none of the credit. He deferred it all to the senior class, many of whom were recruited to BYU by him as an assistant under former coach Dave Rose. The list includes star forward Yoeli Childs, a national Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year semifinalist, four-year starting point guard TJ Haws, and graduate transfer wing Jake Toolson, who returned to BYU after following Pope to Utah Valley three years earlier and winning WAC Player of the Year honors in 2019 for the Wolverines.
"They were so hungry, and willing to set it all aside," Pope told the Titus & Tate podcast. "Nobody really sets aside their personal agenda, but what our guys were willing to do was try as hard as they could to trust the game. If they gave themselves to the game, then the game was going to pay them back double than their own agenda.
"We had a locker room where our guys really competed for each other," Pope added. "It’s a big reason why we were the best shooting team in America and one of the most efficient offenses in the country. It really was quite the ride."
Did Pope experience the best first year of any head coach in BYU athletics history? His 24-8 record alone ranks No. 14 all-time in men’s basketball program history, but he joins a lengthy (and elite) company of Cougar coaches who experienced success in their first year.
Here are the top five.
LaVell Edwards, football (1972-2000)
The first example of a BYU first-year coach's prompt and abrupt rise is the late legend LaVell Edwards. The College Football Hall of Famer is best remembered for his 257-101-3 record in 29 seasons, including 22 bowl appearances, nine consensus All-Americans, and the 1984 national championship during a 13-0 season.
But Edwards stepped into a pretty good role. In his first season in charge of the program in 1972, the Cougars finished 7-4 under a pair of quarterbacks in Bill August and Dave Terry, and the NCAA’s rushing leader in Pete Van Valkenburg, who ran for 1,386 yards and 12 touchdowns.
After a 5-6 sophomore slump, BYU football ended the season with a bowl appearance in 19 of the next 21 years beginning with the 1974 Fiesta Bowl.
Dave Rose, men’s basketball (2005-2019)
Pope isn’t the first basketball coach to open his BYU career with a hot hand. His predecessor Dave Rose went 20-9 with a 12-4 record in the Mountain West as a first-year head coach in 2005-06, when he was promoted from the bench to replace Steve Cleveland.
That season’s Cougar squad finished third in the Mountain West, led by breakout freshman Trent Plaisted (13.6 points, 6.9 rebounds per game) and double-digit scorers Brock Reichner, Keena Young and Jimmy Balderson, an emerging Rashaun Broadus, and two freshmen in Lee Cummard and Jackson Emery who went on to have pretty good careers themselves.
But a one-and-done 74-70 loss to Utah in the Mountain West tournament, as well as a 77-67 loss to Houston in the NIT ended the season on a less-than-thrilling note.
Gary Crowton, football (2001)
Immediately following Edwards’ retirement, the Cougars didn’t take a step back under new coach Gary Crowton.
At least, not immediately.
The Cougars were armed with a generational talent like Luke Staley, who ran for 1,596 yards and 24 touchdowns with another four receiving scores, as well as quarterback Brandon Doman, wide receiver/returner Reno Mahe, and a defense led by current cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford and a bevy of future NFL pros like Aaron Francisco, and kicker Matt Payne.
It all added up to a 12-2 season, a 6-0 mark in Mountain West play, and a ranking as high as No. 8 in the AP poll. The Cougars took an undefeated record into the regular season finale at Hawaii, a 72-45 loss, and ended with a 28-10 loss to No. 23 Louisville in the Liberty Bowl, perhaps foreshadowing a three-year postseason drought before Crowton left following the 2004 season.
Roger Reid, men’s basketball (1989-90)
Following the celebrated career of the late Ladell Andersen, who led the Cougars to three NCAA berths in six years, Roger Reid kept the train steaming along in 1989.
Led by more than 18 points per game from seniors Marty Haws and Andy Toolson, the Cougars finished 21-9 overall with an 11-5 record in WAC play, a regular-season co-championship with Colorado State, and a spot in the NCAA Tournament’s East Regional before falling to Clemson 49-47 in Hartford, Connecticut.
Stan Watts, men’s basketball (1949-50)
The great Stan Watts had a pretty good first season, as well.
Watts inherited a lineup that included future NBA player Mel "The Big Elf" Hutchins and Roland "the Cat" Minson in what is among the most lethal post tandems in BYU basketball history.
The Cougars finished with a 22-12 overall record while playing their home games at nearby Springville High School. That includes a 14-6 mark in the Mountain States Athletic Conference, a game better than second-place Wyoming and Denver, and advanced to the 1950 NCAA Tournament.
After a 56-55 loss to Baylor, the Cougars ended the West Regional with an 83-62 win over seventh-seeded UCLA.
Also considered
Heather Olmstead, women's volleyball (2015): Promoted to head coach prior to leading the Cougars to a 28-4 season, including 16-2 in the West Coast Conference, and a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16 — her first of four-straight regional finals, including a Final Four appearance in 2018.
Shawn Olmstead, men's volleyball (2016): At the same time, Olmstead's brother Shawn moved from the women's program to the men's team, and led BYU to back-to-back NCAA championship matches in his first two seasons, and three-straight Final Four appearances for the first time in the perennial power program's history.
