Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
PROVO — Former BYU basketball player Travis Hansen met Mark Pope years ago when they were playing in the National Basketball Association.
Hansen was with the Atlanta Hawks, whose coach at that time was Terry Stotts, a longtime George Karl assistant. Pope was with the Denver Nuggets and he had played under both Karl and Stotts.
“So we have similar connections and similar personalities,” Hansen said.
Pope and Hansen became friends and their relationship grew stronger when Pope became a BYU assistant coach and then head coach at Utah Valley University.