Moments before game one of an NBA playoff series against the New York Knicks in 1998, the Indiana Pacers huddled in the tunnel as they prepared to take the court at a frenzied, sold-out crowd at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
Suddenly, the players’ eyes locked on Mark Pope, who jumped out of the huddle and returned moments later decked out in chef’s hat and apron, carrying a spatula and a giant bucket of baked beans.
“Let’s go cook these guys!” Pope exclaimed as his laughing teammates roared their approval.
It was a team that featured superstars like Reggie Miller and Mark Jackson and a living legend in coach Larry Bird. But the Pacers possessed a secret weapon—unsung forward Pope. Though he played sparingly, he took on the role of rallying the team with his pre-game pep talks, which usually involved an element of surprise. Guard Fred Hoiberg, now head coach at Nebraska, remembers Pope as “a great motivator.”
Those motivational skills were on full display in April 2019, when Pope was announced as BYU’s 19th head basketball coach. With a personality almost too big for his 6-foot-10-inch frame, the new coach charmed the audience with humor, charisma, and unbounded enthusiasm for BYU’s potential. It was jolt of energy into a program that had stagnated over the previous few seasons.
And it was more than big talk: in Pope’s inaugural season, his team produced a 24-8 record and finished with a No. 18 ranking. Had the NCAA Tournament not been canceled due to the pandemic, the Cougars would have been a single-digit seed.