Kentucky coach Mark Pope might be under even more pressure following Billy Donovan's Bulls decision

Pope's first two seasons as Kentucky coach have been underwhelming, with the former Wildcats center going 46-26. After reaching last year's Sweet 16, Kentucky fell in the Round of 32 to the Iowa State Hawkeyes in March after entering the NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 seed, its lowest since 2014.

The program is off to a slow start in the transfer portal, according to On3, which ranks Kentucky last among 77 teams, losing seven four-star players and adding two. It's also 12th in 247Sports' overall SEC team rankings.

As long as Donovan, who began his coaching career as an assistant at Kentucky under Rick Pitino from 1989-93, is available, Pope will be under immense pressure to lead a Big Blue Nation revival, as if he wasn't under enough already.

Donovan has SEC experience after coaching the Florida Gators from 1996-2015, winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 2006 and 2007. He's coached in the NBA the past 11 seasons, first with the Oklahoma City Thunder before joining the Bulls, going 469-413 overall.

Pope is likely safe this offseason, but if he underwhelms again in Year 3, the Wildcats could be forced to move on from him. Donovan's continued availability would make that call much easier.

Winning cures all, and Pope may have to do a lot of it — more than he's done over his first two seasons at Kentucky — to keep Wildcats faithful from clamoring for Donovan as his replacement until it becomes a reality.