Mark Pope has a genius idea for his last assistant coaching position

Over the last few months, we've heard a lot about Kentucky's pursuit with the last assistant coaching position. Mark Pope got himself a home-run get in Mo Williams to replace one of Jason Hart and Alvin Brooks lll. What direction is Pope heading with the last spot with Jamal Crawford now officially out of the picture?

Pope said a few weeks ago that he is in no rush to make a hire, adding that the current staff has been functioning at a 'really high level.' When he does, though, it's going to be the right fit alongside Mo Williams, Cody Fueger, Mark Fox, and Nick Robinson, who has taken over some on-court roles through the summer. On Tuesday, Pope made an appearance on The Alan Cutler Show and was asked about the open assistant coach spot and his approach to the hire is genius.

First off, it all hinges on a new oversight by the NCAA that prohibits certain international athletes to be eligible to play college basketball. It will have a huge impact in recruiting, but the NCAA is still trying to figure all of it out, which is part of why Pope is playing it slow with the hire. What approach is Pope taking as he continues to search for an assistant? With the growing influx of international talent in college basketball, the Kentucky head coach is eying someone with international ties, including one in particular who he recently interviewed with.

"If the NCAA pulls back and says, ‘No, that’s not the way that it’s running,’ and it’s more status quo, then the pressure to do that would be less," Pope told Cutler. "I’ve been interviewing coaches for the last two months and I’ve gone through a list of international guys that I really liked, that are really talented. I just actually had an interview last week. I’m not going to give you the name, but a big-time, high-profile international coach. So we’re kind of dancing right now, trying to see which way the NCAA is going to go and how our staff is going to fill out."

Pope then discussed more about his stance of finding someone with more international expertise. With the NCAA continuing to discuss eligibility rules regarding international prospects, programs like LSU and Illinois are really testing them, given how many guys on their rosters are from overseas.

“I’ll be 100 percent frank with you. I think what LSU has done is going to be really interesting," Pope said. “They’ve really pushed the envelope with the NCAA right now and they’re in a position where I think they’re gonna end up having to challenge a lot of existing rules with the NCAA. That’s going to be very telling. It’s going to be very telling with us, whether you feel like you absolutely have to have an international coach or you don’t. If this turns into a thing where a 28-year-old, six-year Euro League veteran can find their way back to college, and that’s the rules that we’re playing by, then it’s going to be ever more important that you have a heavy international influence on your staff."

That ruling, when and however it ends up going into effect, will have a huge impact on the sport. Whatever happens, Pope seems to have some tricks up his sleeve.

Add us as a preferred source on Google