Jeremy Pope has joined the University of Portland men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach, first-year Pilots head coach Shantay Legans announced on Wednesday. Pope joins previously announced assistants Bobby Suarez and T.J. Lipold to comprise Legans’ coaching staff on The Bluff.
“Jeremy is a craftsman that has proven himself as an excellent talent evaluator and developer of young men,” Legans said. “He has built a great resume in a short amount of time working with high-level players and programs at the collegiate, club and prep levels. Jeremy’s energy and passion fits exactly with our program mentality and he will hit the ground sprinting.”
“I’m elated at the opportunity presented to me by Coach Legans, who I’ve known half my life, to help rebuild the University of Portland basketball program,” Pope said. “The university, community and city deserve a program that they can be proud of, and our mission is to do just that. It is an exciting time for everyone invested!
“We will work tirelessly to put a staff and roster together that will help bring our vision for the program to fruition. We have all come from winning programs and understand what steps need to be taken, as evidenced in what Coach Legans has done during his time at Eastern Washington.”
Pope most recently served this past season as an assistant coach at Arizona Compass Prep (AZCP), one of the elite basketball prep schools in the nation. Pope was an assistant coach for Ed Gipson on a team that graduated six players moving on to Division I basketball next season.
AZCP went undefeated in league play, won a Grind Session championship and qualified for the 2021 Geico High School Nationals as the overall No. 4 seed. The team dropped a 51-49 decision to No. 1 Montverde Academy in the semifinals to finish the year with a 30-2 record. The only two losses came against Montverde, with the first an overtime defeat on the road.
Prior to his stop in Arizona, Pope spent two seasons at Orangeville Prep in Ontario, Canada as an assistant coach under Tony McIntyre. Considered the top prep program in the country, Orangeville graduated seven kids that went on to play Division I basketball during Pope’s time on staff, went undefeated in all competitions and won the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association championship. Notable alumni from Orangeville include current NBA players Jamal Murray, Luguentz Dort and Thon Maker.
Pope also was an assistant coach for the NIKE Bounce Basketball Clubs U-17 and U-16 EYBL teams during his tenure in Canada.
A graduate manager at the University of Washington under head coach Mike Hopkins in 2017, Pope helped with numerous facets of the program including on-court skill development, scouting, film breakdown, scheduling and student-athlete management. The Huskies finished the 2017-18 season with 21 wins, qualified for the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) and two players from the team would go on to play in the NBA.
Pope’s coaching journey began as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater, Mayfair High School in Los Angeles in 2013. He also coached AAU for the Los Angeles Rockfish for two years following his collegiate basketball playing career.
After playing two seasons at Cerritos College, Pope had a brief stop at San Jose State and then concluded his playing career with one year at Biola University.
He earned his undergraduate degree from Cal State, Los Angeles in 2017 and then secured a Master of Education in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership and Coaching from the University of Washington in 2018.
Pope added to Portland Basketball Staff
