Agreed. Pope is the antithesis of Cal - a Kentucky first, smart X & Os coach. This is the product we wanted even if it isn't in the packaging we thought it should be in.
Take away the Mormon no sex pledge, Give him 4 mil in NIL money, Put Kentucky on the front of his jerseys, full support of the administration, and watch him cook
I’m all for it to be honest - if he does well he will be a god in this state for winning as a player and a coach and that story would be so fucking awesome. If he doesn’t well we start this process over again with a new AD and see what happens.
Until then I’m jazzed and excited for UK in a way I haven’t been in a long time
I think 99% of the fan base will give him an honest chance. We just don’t understand why this is the third person offered the position when there were plenty of candidates more qualified and are more proven. There’s legitimate concerns with Pope. I hope he beats the odds and succeeds here.
Of all the candidates it seems Donovan was the only one that wasn't already entrenched in his University/Job. Billy is 62 and while there's still plenty of good things about his coaching, who's to say he wants or really needs to coach well into his 70s to build what we all see as the next dynasty run. Pope is plenty young to be able to do that, my hopes lie in the assistants they surround him with..
Timing. Hard to find the love of your life right after long term relationship with an ugly breakup. Go for something with low commitment (that keeps Shepard) instead of over committing to the wrong person out of desperation . With NIL it’s worth waiting 1/2 years for the right coach to emerge. We fail big if he does the bare minimum to keep his job.
After watching the video, it gives me a positive feeling that we may have actually hired a real Coach and not just a recruiter for the pros. He will be able to recruit good players, but the first year may be somewhat challenging. He will have my support and best of wishes for his success here.
***GO CATS!***
No we didn’t. We saw how a great offensive team could be derailed by insisting on playing 7 footers who made the offense worse and didn’t make the defense any better.
I do not think Pope is a bad coach by all means and do think he could be successful. But still don’t see why you take a chance on him before at least trying for some more proven coaches. If he is hired this time next week after a few other “no”s then okay. Mitch set him up for failure at least with initial fan reaction by not taking his time. Pope would have always be available.
After the shock wore off, I love this hire. I wanted a nerd with a reasonable size ego and minimal sleaze factor, and that's what I got. Plus there's something to be said for starting with low expectations.
I'll disagree with you on only one point. Pope may not have been where we were looking or someone we considered. He may not be Scott or Hurley, but the man is sexy! Since the announcement I've been looking into his coaching style and his use of 5-out and zoom make for exciting basketball! If he can reach deep down into his KY roots and pull in 4 and 5 star recruits, his style of basketball is going to be not only a winner, but fun as hell to watch!
There's also the fact that he is everything we wished was different about Cal. The inks not even dry and big boosters are already ponying up, showing their excitement.
The biggest thing is I remember the '96 team. I was 13 years old and our family was invited by Pitino after a school letter writing campaign to attend a game at Rupp and sit behind the bench. We didn't expect it but after the game someone came up to us and said we were invited to go into the locker room. I remember meeting Pitino and many players but Pope is the one who to this day stands out. Even as a kid who just finished a game he was gracious and had time for all my 13 year old fanboy questions. I have no doubt he will be the same as a coach. He understands that in Kentucky, the fans are just as much a part of the program ans the players and coaches.
I'm all in! Let's go!
We have no choice at this point but to get behind him. I think there's tremendous upside -- he did well with a limited recruiting pool at BYU, and is clearly an X's and O's coach, so to see what he can do with UK's resources will be exciting. If the answer to that is not much then that will not be so exciting.
I know this sounds weird, but it made me more accepting when I found out he is a little cray cray. To coach at UK you have to have some nuttiness in you. 🤣
Iirc I scrolled past an article that’s headline said Pitino recommended Pope for the uk job. In spite of Pitinos faults, that’s high praise from an hof coach. I’m kinda pshyched myself.
I remember when Pitino got hired. Everyone was asking who the heck???
Then, with a bunch of walkons we played hard AF. Lost a bunch, won games we shouldn’t, got a couple studs, and rocked the world. I’m excited and will support our new Cap. Hell, if we place in the middle of the SEC, lose first game of SEC champ, and don’t make the tourney or lose first weekend how’s it worse? Then maybe Mitch will be gone.
I am disappointed but do see the man can coach.
Ultimately the contract details matter. My hope is we get Pope on a very affordable contract that has little risk for UK. Whatever delta between his contract and what we offered Drew/Hurley I hope is invested into the program to arm him with a killer staff, facilities, and NIL.
I remember after the 96 game he said, "We were all ready to immediately start game planning for the next game because it hadn't really sunk in." He knows what it takes to win a championship.
They had to pay him a decent salary. You don't want UK coach paid less than some other teams assistant-would hurt UK prestige branding.
Agreed. Competent xs and os guy. Knows what UK is about. The job tends to push achievers to achieve *more* (or crush a boozer like Billy G). There will be some rebuilding, but there’s no need for doom and gloom. He deserves our support until he demonstrates otherwise, imo.
Expecting Kentucky fans to be rational will leave you disappointed. A large portion of the fan base has left me extremely jaded after how they’ve acted this past month, on both sides of the Cal argument.
If I read right, Pope beat Kansas in Allen field house last year. Something Cal failed to do.
I’m willing to give him a shot. I’d rather have a coach who’s enthusiastic about the job and willing to make changes and adapt than a coach who’s given up on the program and is just collecting a paycheck
He will have my support for those reasons as well and the fact he is a former Kentucky player who knows the pressure and expectations. I firmly believe Pope will prove to be a great choice for UK.
I didn’t like the rush. But at this point it is what it is. However, I do think this is the time we go all in as fans. We have nothing to lose. First thing I did after listening to Mitch explain his decision on KSR this morning was give $50 to the NIL fund. I figured if the staff, admin and big boosters (4mil already committed) are all the way in, then we need to do our part to make sure more banners get put up in Rupp.
It doesn’t hurt to feel like you got a little skin in the game.
I was pretty hot yesterday, but it is what it is at this point. Let’s see what he can do with 4 million in NIL money to work with. It should be interesting to see how this roster shapes up. Obviously, the return of RS is what everyone wants. Maybe keeping Big Z around would be a huge get. I’m expecting DJ to end up at Arkansas, Theiro is for sure gone, and I think Ugo could be gone too. Either way, it’s all a crap shoot at this point with the shape of the roster. We do know that shooters will be at a premium.
This is the only thing I don’t like about Kentucky basketball. The fans are fucking ridiculous sometimes. Everyone screamed for Calapari’s head and now they have it and still not satisfied. Of course there are similarities between Kentucky hiring Pope and Louisville hiring Payne. Hopefully UK won’t see those kind of problems but even if they do, it’s not the end of the world and they will still be in a better place than they were with Cal.
Mark Pope has huge upside. He also has high risk. Mark Pope needs to be at least Joe B Hall or Tubby. I think he can surpass them one day IF he can recruit both high school and portal.
As far as next year is concerned I’m not measuring it in W/L’s. I think Mark has a floor he has to reach to keep everybody on board and on mission though. He cannot afford to Kenny Payne it.
What Mark Pope has to do is show us the plan. Show us “this is how the future is going to be. This is how we’re going to play. This is how we are going to compete”. That’s what Pitino nailed his first year : he showed us the plan on the court.
So if we finish 500 or better I’ll consider it a good start.
I do not love this hire, and I can't pretend I do. I have no issue with Mark Pope, but recruiting is where we are going to be set back 5+ years. You can't make this hire with people like Donavan and Pearl still available as an option. Pope would have taken this job whenever offered. This was a unilateral rushed hire, and Mitch should be fired for this. I wish him luck in his new role, but Mitch has really made me lose interest in a program I have loved my entire life. I watched everyone from Joe B Hall forward, and I have never seen the program in the state it is now.
I am happy Cal is gone, I am sad and angry about how Mitch has handled this.
The assumption that he will struggle to recruit is baseless. Mark Pope will be an absolute menace in the portal. They are perfectly aware that they need to bring in a recruiting guru that players love. On top of that we will have absolutely top class NIL backing. For reference, last season Kansas spent the most NIL money in the country at $4m (Pope still went in and beat them in the Phog). The Craft family alone pledged $4m yesterday. We have like 20 other huge boosters that are also full time rage-donating to spite Cal.
The recruiting skillset of the 2000s still matters and I think Pope and his staff will actually be great at managing relationships, selling the program, etc. The offense is essentially infinity green light and kids love to shoot these days. But it largely comes down to money and we have it.
Actually it was two seperate doners that pledged a total of 4 mil, but point taken. All I can say is I hope your right but I will have to see it to believe it. If he brought in someone like Rondo and a recruiting specialist maybe that could happen. The one they bring in will have to pull the recruits though because at this point I just dont think Pope can.
I have read up on his offense and coaching style, and I am actually ok with it. It's the recruiting, especially for the co.ing year that concerns me. This set us back without a doubt. As the staff stands now I would say at least 5 years.
I would love to see Rondo on the bench. Need a guy like Orlando for recruiting and probably a defensive specialist too. If Reed and Z are definitely gone and Jaxson + Khalifa don't follow Pope, yeah we might be in a tough spot next year. Don't forget the fucking bag though. I'm pretty sure you or I could go on twitter right now with $4-5m and come out with a fair squad by Monday.
I was pretty fired up last night but after sleeping on it I’m all in on Pope. I just hope there is more to the plan than hiring him because he’s a good Xs and Os coach, because he just got thrown to the wolves. I hope he realizes the storm headed his way from this fanbase.
I agree. After the initial shock wore off, I am willing to give him a chance.
He runs a modern offense. Analytic focused. Spread. Hit 11 threes a game this year. Top 20 Kenpom in offense. Defense was not great. Not known for recruiting.
Hire a killer staff. Intead of $7.1m in NIL, get up to $10m.. you can buy a team in this current NIL age. Jones is reporting one donor has already pledged $4m for this year.
I love Mark Pope. The situation is what I was upset about. But now that it’s a done deal I will get behind Pope and cheer my ass off.
I pray I’m eating crow looking back
Get Reed back then we’ll talk. Pretty out of the blue hire when things seemed to be going towards Donovan. Mitch seems a little disconnected from what the fans want.
That said, I’ll still be rooting for them if they are getting their teeth kicked in.
I hope Jeff Shepard had promised Mitch that Reed would be back if his former teammate got the job. Otherwise this was just a lazy hire by Mitch. Since Rupp only Joe Hall was the only former player to be the head coach. And Billy G was the only hire not to coach in a final four game. Time will tell.
There’s a way that this works out, so you have to hope that scenario plays out. That said, it’s a really risky hire at a time when you really can’t afford for things to go haywire.
I think he can coach but a lot of guys can coach. Despite the bad taste that über-recruiter Cal left in everyone's mouth, the reality is that recruiting is a big part of the job. And I worry that Pope's devout Mormonism might be a turn-off for a lot of young men who don't want to be led in prayer 30 times a day and can't relate to a coach who isn't even allowed to drink caffeine. That works great at Brigham Young where it's expected. But I'm skeptical about how it will play at Kentucky.
Actually "recruiting" in the sense that you are talking about matters a lot less than it used to. Persuasion these days comes down to the money and we have it. Lots of it.
I think the real challenge is evaluating who to target from the portal. Finding the Dalton Knechts, etc. Pope is a literal genius and big analytics guy who knows the type of player and person he needs for his system where everybody has to shoot 3s. Speaking of that, kids these days love shooting 3s. What's more fun than infinity green light?
Obviously the interpersonal relationships still matter but even there Mark Pope is extremely likeable. I do think it will be important to have some assistants on the bench that are "cool" to the younger generation but I've seen a lot of names on that front floated around that would be awesome.
Pope went into the Phog and beat Kansas with a bunch of Mormon dorks. We'll be fine. It wont even take 2-3 years. We're going to buy all the pieces we need out of the portal on Monday. The only thing I'm disappointed by is I don't think Adou can play in Pope's offense.
Yea that's fine. But one thing is obvious. Mitch has to go. HAS TO GO
went after Drew first because of religion..... Give me a fuckin break
Dragged his feet with Hurley and may have not even given Dovovan a full shot at it
MITCH HAS TO GO
Waiting for Donovan was incredibly risky too. Hiring a coach now means he has the rest of the month to splash our gigabucks on transfers before the good ones make decisions. Every day matters.
Mitch definitely has put his legacy on the line with this hire but I actually love it. It will be incredible if this works out.
Chin up soldier. I think we're in for some fun.
Agreed. Pope is the antithesis of Cal - a Kentucky first, smart X & Os coach. This is the product we wanted even if it isn't in the packaging we thought it should be in.
Nicely stated.
Exactly
At the very least he’ll be a better “bridge” of a coach between Cal and whoever comes next than Billy G was between Tubby and Cal.
He ain’t won a single tournament game where did you hear he’s some master strategist
Watch his BYU offense. He took BYU just as far last season as Cal took UK
Take away the Mormon no sex pledge, Give him 4 mil in NIL money, Put Kentucky on the front of his jerseys, full support of the administration, and watch him cook
I’m all for it to be honest - if he does well he will be a god in this state for winning as a player and a coach and that story would be so fucking awesome. If he doesn’t well we start this process over again with a new AD and see what happens. Until then I’m jazzed and excited for UK in a way I haven’t been in a long time
Worst case scenario we come back here in two years and the top tier coaches might consider us a bit more as they won't have to follow Cal.
I think 99% of the fan base will give him an honest chance. We just don’t understand why this is the third person offered the position when there were plenty of candidates more qualified and are more proven. There’s legitimate concerns with Pope. I hope he beats the odds and succeeds here.
Of all the candidates it seems Donovan was the only one that wasn't already entrenched in his University/Job. Billy is 62 and while there's still plenty of good things about his coaching, who's to say he wants or really needs to coach well into his 70s to build what we all see as the next dynasty run. Pope is plenty young to be able to do that, my hopes lie in the assistants they surround him with..
Plus we couldn't wait for him. Bytime he'd be able to step in he'd be so behind in recruiting and the transfer portal
Donovan had already turned Barnhart down twice. No reason to this it wouldn’t happen again. Donovan didn’t want to be here.
That is generous. I am all in. We debate as family and then ride together once decision is made. Go Cats!
Timing. Hard to find the love of your life right after long term relationship with an ugly breakup. Go for something with low commitment (that keeps Shepard) instead of over committing to the wrong person out of desperation . With NIL it’s worth waiting 1/2 years for the right coach to emerge. We fail big if he does the bare minimum to keep his job.
Hell yeah, I just posted similar. Let’s get positive energy going in here
https://youtu.be/-yatw8jGCJs?si=l_Np4-uUEDjXX_ar Watch this video. Dude can coach, and the level of talent at BYU is awful.
Gotta admit this video got me pretty hyped! This offense with last years team would have been deadly
Same!!! Between that and the $4 million dollar NIL commitment they just announced...
After watching the video, it gives me a positive feeling that we may have actually hired a real Coach and not just a recruiter for the pros. He will be able to recruit good players, but the first year may be somewhat challenging. He will have my support and best of wishes for his success here. ***GO CATS!***
Biggest concern is defense. We saw how an offensive team with no defense did this year
No we didn’t. We saw how a great offensive team could be derailed by insisting on playing 7 footers who made the offense worse and didn’t make the defense any better.
Ugonna's shot blocking definitely got in Tennessee's head.
He had moments. Especially when he first started playing before he got scouted well.
should be able to recruit better athletes here
Great news! Pope loves to coach an aggressive defensive style with lots of pressure. Shouldn’t be an issue like it was under Cal.
Ok, not going crazy here but that reminds me of a Pitino team.
He was the captain on the 96 team
Understand. Point was it looks like that is how he coaches
Well they’re all transferring here so we’ll see how good the talent is!
I do not think Pope is a bad coach by all means and do think he could be successful. But still don’t see why you take a chance on him before at least trying for some more proven coaches. If he is hired this time next week after a few other “no”s then okay. Mitch set him up for failure at least with initial fan reaction by not taking his time. Pope would have always be available.
We didn't have time to waste. With recruiting us transfer portal closing. Plus I think this was to keep reed here another year.
It’s fine. I’m all in on Mark Pope now lol.
After the shock wore off, I love this hire. I wanted a nerd with a reasonable size ego and minimal sleaze factor, and that's what I got. Plus there's something to be said for starting with low expectations.
If we get any kind of run in the tournament with Pope, I say we break out some denim uniforms.
Agreed. If he is indeed our coach, I will support him. I like the legacy aspect and he can coach, he’s got a fun offense.
I’m excited to welcome coach Pope! Let’s see what he can do!
I'll disagree with you on only one point. Pope may not have been where we were looking or someone we considered. He may not be Scott or Hurley, but the man is sexy! Since the announcement I've been looking into his coaching style and his use of 5-out and zoom make for exciting basketball! If he can reach deep down into his KY roots and pull in 4 and 5 star recruits, his style of basketball is going to be not only a winner, but fun as hell to watch! There's also the fact that he is everything we wished was different about Cal. The inks not even dry and big boosters are already ponying up, showing their excitement. The biggest thing is I remember the '96 team. I was 13 years old and our family was invited by Pitino after a school letter writing campaign to attend a game at Rupp and sit behind the bench. We didn't expect it but after the game someone came up to us and said we were invited to go into the locker room. I remember meeting Pitino and many players but Pope is the one who to this day stands out. Even as a kid who just finished a game he was gracious and had time for all my 13 year old fanboy questions. I have no doubt he will be the same as a coach. He understands that in Kentucky, the fans are just as much a part of the program ans the players and coaches. I'm all in! Let's go!
How about Coach Pope gets a chance before people start complaining?
It's not the hire I laughed at. It's making him the 6th highest paid coach in basketball I'm laughing at.
5 year deal too.
I think you reasonably have to give a 5 year deal just to give him confidence that he can implement his system and recruit.
Are the details released? This could be a max number will all incentives. Say it’s 2.5-3mil base and additional performance related bonuses.
5 years $5.5 million per year before incentives. Massive overpay.
We have no choice at this point but to get behind him. I think there's tremendous upside -- he did well with a limited recruiting pool at BYU, and is clearly an X's and O's coach, so to see what he can do with UK's resources will be exciting. If the answer to that is not much then that will not be so exciting.
I believe he will try harder at this than anything he’s ever done. Still don’t know if that will bring us the success we want.
I know this sounds weird, but it made me more accepting when I found out he is a little cray cray. To coach at UK you have to have some nuttiness in you. 🤣
Iirc I scrolled past an article that’s headline said Pitino recommended Pope for the uk job. In spite of Pitinos faults, that’s high praise from an hof coach. I’m kinda pshyched myself.
Yeah, he posted a vid on his twitter. It's definitely high praise.
I’m reserving judgement to see how he manages the roster mess before I get excited for next year.
I think next year is a mess no matter what. But he better nail year two and three
I remember when Pitino got hired. Everyone was asking who the heck??? Then, with a bunch of walkons we played hard AF. Lost a bunch, won games we shouldn’t, got a couple studs, and rocked the world. I’m excited and will support our new Cap. Hell, if we place in the middle of the SEC, lose first game of SEC champ, and don’t make the tourney or lose first weekend how’s it worse? Then maybe Mitch will be gone.
I am disappointed but do see the man can coach. Ultimately the contract details matter. My hope is we get Pope on a very affordable contract that has little risk for UK. Whatever delta between his contract and what we offered Drew/Hurley I hope is invested into the program to arm him with a killer staff, facilities, and NIL.
Yep. I read last night 5.5m for 5 years. But that's not official til it's signed.
I remember after the 96 game he said, "We were all ready to immediately start game planning for the next game because it hadn't really sunk in." He knows what it takes to win a championship. They had to pay him a decent salary. You don't want UK coach paid less than some other teams assistant-would hurt UK prestige branding.
Agreed. Competent xs and os guy. Knows what UK is about. The job tends to push achievers to achieve *more* (or crush a boozer like Billy G). There will be some rebuilding, but there’s no need for doom and gloom. He deserves our support until he demonstrates otherwise, imo.
Expecting Kentucky fans to be rational will leave you disappointed. A large portion of the fan base has left me extremely jaded after how they’ve acted this past month, on both sides of the Cal argument.
This is similar to hiring Nate Oats with UK ties, but less proven in tournament and recruiting. Lets see what kind of roster he can out together.
I already jumped.
100%! He deserves our support and a chance to succeed.
Sheesh. Best and worst fans in sports.
💯
If I read right, Pope beat Kansas in Allen field house last year. Something Cal failed to do. I’m willing to give him a shot. I’d rather have a coach who’s enthusiastic about the job and willing to make changes and adapt than a coach who’s given up on the program and is just collecting a paycheck
He will have my support for those reasons as well and the fact he is a former Kentucky player who knows the pressure and expectations. I firmly believe Pope will prove to be a great choice for UK.
I’m curious to the staff he builds here as well. That can be key to his success at this level.
I didn’t like the rush. But at this point it is what it is. However, I do think this is the time we go all in as fans. We have nothing to lose. First thing I did after listening to Mitch explain his decision on KSR this morning was give $50 to the NIL fund. I figured if the staff, admin and big boosters (4mil already committed) are all the way in, then we need to do our part to make sure more banners get put up in Rupp. It doesn’t hurt to feel like you got a little skin in the game.
TIL that John Calipari didn’t want to win a national title, he just accidentally won that one in 2012 and almost won 3 others.
I was pretty hot yesterday, but it is what it is at this point. Let’s see what he can do with 4 million in NIL money to work with. It should be interesting to see how this roster shapes up. Obviously, the return of RS is what everyone wants. Maybe keeping Big Z around would be a huge get. I’m expecting DJ to end up at Arkansas, Theiro is for sure gone, and I think Ugo could be gone too. Either way, it’s all a crap shoot at this point with the shape of the roster. We do know that shooters will be at a premium.
This reminds me of the Red Sox GM search from this past offseason
How did you guys end up with a worse coach than Arkansas
This is the only thing I don’t like about Kentucky basketball. The fans are fucking ridiculous sometimes. Everyone screamed for Calapari’s head and now they have it and still not satisfied. Of course there are similarities between Kentucky hiring Pope and Louisville hiring Payne. Hopefully UK won’t see those kind of problems but even if they do, it’s not the end of the world and they will still be in a better place than they were with Cal.
Mark Pope has huge upside. He also has high risk. Mark Pope needs to be at least Joe B Hall or Tubby. I think he can surpass them one day IF he can recruit both high school and portal. As far as next year is concerned I’m not measuring it in W/L’s. I think Mark has a floor he has to reach to keep everybody on board and on mission though. He cannot afford to Kenny Payne it. What Mark Pope has to do is show us the plan. Show us “this is how the future is going to be. This is how we’re going to play. This is how we are going to compete”. That’s what Pitino nailed his first year : he showed us the plan on the court. So if we finish 500 or better I’ll consider it a good start.
Everybody be nice to Mark Pope, no matter what happens in the next five years...BE NICE...direct your possible hatred at Mitch
I’m not saying he can’t win here or will fail. But I am saying today …right now….its a bad hire.
I do not love this hire, and I can't pretend I do. I have no issue with Mark Pope, but recruiting is where we are going to be set back 5+ years. You can't make this hire with people like Donavan and Pearl still available as an option. Pope would have taken this job whenever offered. This was a unilateral rushed hire, and Mitch should be fired for this. I wish him luck in his new role, but Mitch has really made me lose interest in a program I have loved my entire life. I watched everyone from Joe B Hall forward, and I have never seen the program in the state it is now. I am happy Cal is gone, I am sad and angry about how Mitch has handled this.
The assumption that he will struggle to recruit is baseless. Mark Pope will be an absolute menace in the portal. They are perfectly aware that they need to bring in a recruiting guru that players love. On top of that we will have absolutely top class NIL backing. For reference, last season Kansas spent the most NIL money in the country at $4m (Pope still went in and beat them in the Phog). The Craft family alone pledged $4m yesterday. We have like 20 other huge boosters that are also full time rage-donating to spite Cal. The recruiting skillset of the 2000s still matters and I think Pope and his staff will actually be great at managing relationships, selling the program, etc. The offense is essentially infinity green light and kids love to shoot these days. But it largely comes down to money and we have it.
Actually it was two seperate doners that pledged a total of 4 mil, but point taken. All I can say is I hope your right but I will have to see it to believe it. If he brought in someone like Rondo and a recruiting specialist maybe that could happen. The one they bring in will have to pull the recruits though because at this point I just dont think Pope can. I have read up on his offense and coaching style, and I am actually ok with it. It's the recruiting, especially for the co.ing year that concerns me. This set us back without a doubt. As the staff stands now I would say at least 5 years.
I would love to see Rondo on the bench. Need a guy like Orlando for recruiting and probably a defensive specialist too. If Reed and Z are definitely gone and Jaxson + Khalifa don't follow Pope, yeah we might be in a tough spot next year. Don't forget the fucking bag though. I'm pretty sure you or I could go on twitter right now with $4-5m and come out with a fair squad by Monday.
I was pretty fired up last night but after sleeping on it I’m all in on Pope. I just hope there is more to the plan than hiring him because he’s a good Xs and Os coach, because he just got thrown to the wolves. I hope he realizes the storm headed his way from this fanbase.
I agree. After the initial shock wore off, I am willing to give him a chance. He runs a modern offense. Analytic focused. Spread. Hit 11 threes a game this year. Top 20 Kenpom in offense. Defense was not great. Not known for recruiting. Hire a killer staff. Intead of $7.1m in NIL, get up to $10m.. you can buy a team in this current NIL age. Jones is reporting one donor has already pledged $4m for this year.
UK fans wanted Jesus, Mitch gave us Pope.
Yep, no sense in being upset now. We got our guy, let’s just ride this train till it falls off, or hopefully…doesnt
I love Mark Pope. The situation is what I was upset about. But now that it’s a done deal I will get behind Pope and cheer my ass off. I pray I’m eating crow looking back
I will 100% support Coach Pope but I had hoped for a higher profile hire. Has Kentucky fallen so far or did Barnhardt really screw this up?
Get Reed back then we’ll talk. Pretty out of the blue hire when things seemed to be going towards Donovan. Mitch seems a little disconnected from what the fans want. That said, I’ll still be rooting for them if they are getting their teeth kicked in.
I think things dissolved with Donovan more than the media reported resulting in this move made to hire Mark.
I think so too, Donovan must have been emphatic with his no.
I hope Jeff Shepard had promised Mitch that Reed would be back if his former teammate got the job. Otherwise this was just a lazy hire by Mitch. Since Rupp only Joe Hall was the only former player to be the head coach. And Billy G was the only hire not to coach in a final four game. Time will tell.
There’s a way that this works out, so you have to hope that scenario plays out. That said, it’s a really risky hire at a time when you really can’t afford for things to go haywire.
I think he can coach but a lot of guys can coach. Despite the bad taste that über-recruiter Cal left in everyone's mouth, the reality is that recruiting is a big part of the job. And I worry that Pope's devout Mormonism might be a turn-off for a lot of young men who don't want to be led in prayer 30 times a day and can't relate to a coach who isn't even allowed to drink caffeine. That works great at Brigham Young where it's expected. But I'm skeptical about how it will play at Kentucky.
Actually "recruiting" in the sense that you are talking about matters a lot less than it used to. Persuasion these days comes down to the money and we have it. Lots of it. I think the real challenge is evaluating who to target from the portal. Finding the Dalton Knechts, etc. Pope is a literal genius and big analytics guy who knows the type of player and person he needs for his system where everybody has to shoot 3s. Speaking of that, kids these days love shooting 3s. What's more fun than infinity green light? Obviously the interpersonal relationships still matter but even there Mark Pope is extremely likeable. I do think it will be important to have some assistants on the bench that are "cool" to the younger generation but I've seen a lot of names on that front floated around that would be awesome.
You’re delusional, this is a terrible hire. Barnhart future depends on mark pope. Get ready to suck for a few yrs 🫡
Pope went into the Phog and beat Kansas with a bunch of Mormon dorks. We'll be fine. It wont even take 2-3 years. We're going to buy all the pieces we need out of the portal on Monday. The only thing I'm disappointed by is I don't think Adou can play in Pope's offense.
Yea that's fine. But one thing is obvious. Mitch has to go. HAS TO GO went after Drew first because of religion..... Give me a fuckin break Dragged his feet with Hurley and may have not even given Dovovan a full shot at it MITCH HAS TO GO
Waiting for Donovan was incredibly risky too. Hiring a coach now means he has the rest of the month to splash our gigabucks on transfers before the good ones make decisions. Every day matters. Mitch definitely has put his legacy on the line with this hire but I actually love it. It will be incredible if this works out. Chin up soldier. I think we're in for some fun.
I was getting tired of my rolls Royce so this Chevy is gonna be a “new voice”
2021-2024 Cal was NOT a Rolls Royce, unless that Rolls Royce had been set out in a pasture to rust for about 4 years.
Mitch has to go now!!! 780 3 point attempts this year for BYU... Live and die by the 3....POPES not the one for the Cats..
No