BYU basketball coaching search: Possible replacements for Dave Rose

Dave Rose announced Tuesday afternoon he has stepped down as head men’s basketball coach at Brigham Young University and will ride off into retirement.

Here’s a look at some candidates that fit the profile of being a BYU head coach who might be filling Rose’s shoes. As a reminder, BYU’s head coach needs to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and be an active temple recommend holder.

MARK POPE

The most well-known and maybe the most likely hire of the group, Pope has led UVU to its two best seasons in school history during his four years as head coach.

UVU’s season ended Monday with a loss to South Florida in the CBI, making the Wolverines 25-10 in the campaign.

Prior to UVU, Pope was an assistant coach at BYU from 2011-2015 and had stops as an assistant at Wake Forest and Georgia.

As a player, he was a member of Kentucky’s 1996 National Championship team and played six seasons in the NBA.

Pope has had success bringing in transfers at UVU, which is something he could try to replicate at BYU. He was the guy that brought Chase Fischer to BYU, so he has some experience bringing in transfers to Provo. BYU’s admission standards and honor code could make things tricky if Pope is to make transfers the foundation of his recruiting philosophy, but tapping into the transfer market would no doubt factor into bringing new talent into Provo.

Pope hasn’t exactly been a slouch in bringing high school kids either, as freshman Wyatt Lowell was a 4-star recruit coming out of high and was the 2018-19 WAC newcomer of the year.

MARK MADSEN

The “Mad Dog” is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, a role he’s held since 2013. After playing his college ball at Stanford, Madsen played 9 NBA seasons with the Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves and won two NBA titles with the Lakers.

He also earned his MBA from Stanford and was an assistant coach at his alma mater for a season before going to the Lakers.

The Lakers initially hired Madsen as a player development coach, an area which BYU has lacked in previous years. Madsen doesn’t have the amount of head coaching experience as other guys on this list, but he could make a great pitch on the recruiting trail. He’s won two NBA titles, played with Shaq, Kobe, Kevin Garnett, and has coached LeBron, Kobe, and developed many young Lakers players.

Madsen might be a risky hire due to his lack of experience at the college level, but his player development and NBA background give him as high of a ceiling as any candidate BYU could realistically hire.

BARRET PEERY

Peery, 47 and a native of Payson, Utah, is a two-year head coach at Portland State.

His other head-coaching experience includes College of Southern Idaho (2005-08) and Indian Hills Community College (2011-14). Other assistant stops include Utah, Arizona State, Santa Clara, Southern Utah, Snow College, Utah Valley and Portland State.

He played at Snow and SUU in the mid-90s. The 2018-19 season brought him to 25 years in the college coaching ranks.

Peery is 36-30 at PSU and led the Vikings to their first 20-win season in 9 years in 2017-18.

His PSU teams employ a high-pressure defense that includes full- and half-court traps with a focus on relentlessly attacking the offensive glass. This year’s PSU team was the best offensive rebounding team in the country and swept Big Sky champion Montana in the regular season before bowing out of the conference tournament in the quarterfinals.

His recruiting strategy in Portland would likely need some adjusting at a place like BYU as he currently relies on a heavy does of junior college and graduate transfers to fill his rosters.

Peery appears to be engaged in the community with fans and well-liked by his players.

ALEX JENSEN

The former Utah Ute has been a Utah Jazz assistant since 2013. After his college days at Utah, he played for 7 years overseas before joining the Saint Louis’ staff as an assistant under Rick Majerus from 2007-2011.

Jensen brings a lot of experience at the college, NBA and international level, but he seems like a candidate whose future is at the NBA or potentially his alma mater if/when that job opens up.

JEFF JUDKINS

A former NBA player in the late 1970’s and early 80’s, Judkins has been the BYU Women’s Head Coach since 2001. Judkins just finished a season that saw BYU win the WCC tournament and advance to the round of 32. During his time as head coach, Judkins has led BYU to the NCAA tournament 9 times, including 2 Sweet 16 appearances.

Judkins knows BYU and the unique challenges it presents, so he at the minimum should at least get an interview with Tom Holmoe.

Current Assistants

Tim Lacomb, Quincy Lewis and Lee Cummard are all BYU’s assistant coaches. Lewis is likely the only one that may get an interview due to his success at Lone Peak High School.