A solid rebounder and shotblocker at Kentucky, 6-10 Mark Pope was drafted on the second round by the Indiana Pacers in 1996 and played briefly for Efes Pilsen in Turkey in 1996-97 before making the Pacers' roster in 1997-98... He spent most of his first two NBA seasons on the injured list, however, playing in just 32 games...
1998-99:
Placed on the injured list on 2/19 due to left Achilles tendinitis
1997-98:
Placed on the injured list on 12/26 due to a sprained left knee...Made his NBA debut, posting 2 points and 3 rebounds in 13 minutes, against the Charlotte Hornets on 11/8
COLLEGE:
Pope played two seasons of college ball at Washington, where he was voted Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 1991-92...He led the conference in free throw shooting (.862) and ranked fourth in rebounding (8.0 rpg) as a sophomore...After transferring to Kentucky and sitting out a year, Pope led the Wildcats in rebounding (6.3 rpg) in 1994-95...Pope earned Academic All-SEC honors his senior season at Kentucky, when he finished second on the team in blocked shots (44), sixth in scoring (275) and third in rebounding (187)...
PERSONAL
He and wife, LeeAnne, have one child
Achieved a 4.0 GPA in the fall semester of his junior year at Kentucky
His favorite book is John Milton's "Paradise Lost"
