Another take on Pope after consideration

[@Rockhill2025]

I don't want to be a sunshine pumper. Let's face it, the notable deficiencies of Kentucky Basketball are obvious: substitution patterns, weak recruitment, injury -riddled roster, etc

However, I am willing to play it out for another year for the following reasons:

1. Injuries: Kentucky probably wins a few of these losses with a full roster.
2. SEC Schedule: Either the SEC is awful or really, really good. Outside of Florida, whom I actually think Kentucky can beat, there isn't much separation.
3. NIL and Transfer Portal: Let's be honest, the NIL is a dangerous slope. Kids can opt out, demand things we don't see, etc.
4. Sample Size: Two years isn't enough to put coach on the hot seat. Year three I think he should be.

What I think will need to happen for me to believe that Pope will be ok

1. He has to upgrade his roster. He needs two legit players. Not projects or niches
2. Subbing players has to make sense
3. I want to see complete domination of some games from start to finish against a legit opponent.

My opinon, thoughts?

 

[Anon412784ffff.]

I don't want to be a sunshine pumper. Let's face it, the notable deficiencies of Kentucky Basketball are obvious: substitution patterns, weak recruitment, injury -riddled roster, etc

However, I am willing to play it out for another year for the following reasons:

1. Injuries: Kentucky probably wins a few of these losses with a full roster.
2. SEC Schedule: Either the SEC is awful or really, really good. Outside of Florida, whom I actually think Kentucky can beat, there isn't much separation.
3. NIL and Transfer Portal: Let's be honest, the NIL is a dangerous slope. Kids can opt out, demand things we don't see, etc.
4. Sample Size: Two years isn't enough to put coach on the hot seat. Year three I think he should be.

What I think will need to happen for me to believe that Pope will be ok

1. He has to upgrade his roster. He needs two legit players. Not projects or niches
2. Subbing players has to make sense
3. I want to see complete domination of some games from start to finish against a legit opponent.

My opinon, thoughts?

It’s over for pope imho, it will be a quick out in the SEC tournament and then another quick trip out in the NCAA Tournament
Is that what Kentucky is about ?
losing to Georgia and losing Two 5* players
Due to incompetence is pretty much the last straw for serious Fans

 

[JHBr]

I can't wrap my mind around the substitutions in the Georgia game. We were on a roll especially Oweh and he subbed for him. Can't discount the injuries, particularly Kam who was starting to contribute. Either way, Pope will be the coach next year and I'm hoping for a better season, with portal upgrades and perhaps a freshman contributor.

 

[TFCat11]

I don't want to be a sunshine pumper. Let's face it, the notable deficiencies of Kentucky Basketball are obvious: substitution patterns, weak recruitment, injury -riddled roster, etc

However, I am willing to play it out for another year for the following reasons:

1. Injuries: Kentucky probably wins a few of these losses with a full roster.
2. SEC Schedule: Either the SEC is awful or really, really good. Outside of Florida, whom I actually think Kentucky can beat, there isn't much separation.
3. NIL and Transfer Portal: Let's be honest, the NIL is a dangerous slope. Kids can opt out, demand things we don't see, etc.
4. Sample Size: Two years isn't enough to put coach on the hot seat. Year three I think he should be.

What I think will need to happen for me to believe that Pope will be ok

1. He has to upgrade his roster. He needs two legit players. Not projects or niches
2. Subbing players has to make sense
3. I want to see complete domination of some games from start to finish against a legit opponent.

My opinon, thoughts?

1. Completely false… Lowe is a ball hog, and JQuit is a pretender. Williams has some potential, hope he returns.
2. Non factor. Equal playing field.
3. Deal with it! Every team has the same circumstances, it’s up to the head coach to play them to their team’s benefit.
4. It’s not 2 years, it’s 11, and Pope had ZERO qualifying resume results to hire him as UK’s HC.

5. He’s the worst recruiter in the history of P5/ P6 men’s CBB… He was at this previous jobs, and he is at UK, both pre-NIL, and during the NIL era.

Pope can get 15 years as far as I’m concerned, because the current administration has basically given up on competing in the new era of CBB, and there’s nothing us fans can do about it.

 

[AJG-15]

In simple terms that are coaches that teach plays and coaches that teaches basketball…

what category best describes Pope?

I can tell in what category , his Coach and mentor , Rick Pitino is….. how about Pope?

I am not saying he can’t change … he is in his 50s….

He is leaning on the job. How much he will learn or BBN will allow him to learn is to be seen.

 

[Phil_The_Music2]

Yeah. It's not looking good for Pope unfortunately. But he's getting a 3rd year so it's up to him to prove himself next year. Short of a final four this season, it's been a bust.

 

[Cats_2010]

It is also possible that some of wins are turned into losses with a full roster. We have played 3 games with a full roster this year and are 1-2 in those 3 games.

 

[@Rockhill2025]

1. Completely false… Lowe is a ball hog, and JQuit is a pretender. Williams has some potential, hope he returns.
2. Non factor. Equal playing field.
3. Deal with it! Every team has the same circumstances, it’s up to the head coach to play them to their team’s benefit.
4. It’s not 2 years, it’s 11, and Pope had ZERO qualifying resume results to hire him as UK’s HC.

5. He’s the worst recruiter in the history of P5/ P6 men’s CBB… He was at this previous jobs, and he is at UK, both pre-NIL, and during the NIL era.

Pope can get 15 years as far as I’m concerned, because the current administration has basically given up on competing in the new era of CBB, and there’s nothing us fans can do about it.

I see your points on all of them except for 1, Although I agree with how you assess the players, they would still be an upgrade on the court which should translate to wins.

 

[Farsight Clone]

I can't wrap my mind around the substitutions in the Georgia game.

Without saying it, he basically said analytics are telling him to sub, because they get "tired." Well maybe if he stopped relying on analytics and conditioned them more, they wouldn't get tired.

The fact that Pope is dead set on allowing analytics to coach for him is beyond absurd and is one reason why he should be gone after this year.

 

[Cats_2010]

It’s over for pope imho, it will be a quick out in the SEC tournament and then another quick trip out in the NCAA Tournament
Is that what Kentucky is about ?
losing to Georgia and losing Two 5* players
Due to incompetence is pretty much the last straw for serious Fans

Making the NCAAT is anything but a sure thing at the moment. If we drop 4 of the last 5 (which is very possible) and drop the first game of the SECT we are out. That would be 7 losses in 8 games and a 18-14 record. Even winning one game in the SECT would not do much for a resume, would likely have to get to the championship game. I could see us sneaking in with 12 or 13 losses but 14 is a stretch.

 

[gbl97]

I'll wait to see who he gets in the portal. With a third of all players entering the portal, and (supposedly) a huge budget, we should be able to hand-pick a killer starting five. But if we miss on our top targets like last year, he's a dead man walking.

The substitution patterns will always haunt us no matter who's on the team, I'm afraid.

 

[gbl97]

Without saying it, he basically said analytics are telling him to sub, because they get "tired." Well maybe if he stopped relying on analytics and conditioned them more, they wouldn't get tired.

The fact that Pope is dead set on allowing analytics to coach for him is beyond absurd and is one reason why he should be gone after this year.

Don't we have TV timeouts every 4 minutes? The number of timeouts, not to mention stoppages for review, should make any of these guys capable of playing nearly 40 minutes.

 

[BlueBomb]

Making the NCAAT is anything but a sure thing at the moment. If we drop 4 of the last 5 (which is very possible) and drop the first game of the SECT we are out. That would be 7 losses in 8 games and a 18-14 record. Even winning one game in the SECT would not do much for a resume, would likely have to get to the championship game. I could see us sneaking in with 12 or 13 losses but 14 is a stretch.

What scares me is NEXT season. If MB keeps Pope, and I believe he will, next year could be a complete disaster.

Current players will likely leave. We have no recruits. And given Pope's lack of on-court success, the recruits we might get out of the transfer portal will likely not be the level we need.

I hate to say the sky is falling, but I definitely see the cracks.

 

[1UKCatFan]

I still remember 10 loss Tubby and how frustrating those years were. I'm not sure Pope will ever be capable of a season where we don't have double digit losses. There have been too many examples, already, where the team doesn't show up ready to play, his substitution patterns kill the flow of the game, our first half game plan is utter crap, etc. Factor in the fact that we will not get elite level talent here, and we're left with what we're experiencing now- a mid team with a mid coach. That is not what UK basketball should be.

 

[WallMash]

ten plus loss season, ten plus loss season, ten plus loss season, ten plus loss season

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

ten plus loss season, ten plus loss season, ten plus loss season, ten plus loss season

Equals 40

 

[WeWant9]

Pope isn’t facing anything that any other coach in college bball is facing, these problems are not unique to UK.

My two cents. Year 1 was acceptable for a new coach. Year 2 has been a disaster overall. Year 3 needs to show he can put together a team that competes in the ooc, SEC, and is capable of a deep NCAAT run. If not, need to cut bait. He should not get any extra legroom for being a former player.

 

[CutNets]

It’s over for pope imho, it will be a quick out in the SEC tournament and then another quick trip out in the NCAA Tournament
Is that what Kentucky is about ?
losing to Georgia and losing Two 5* players
Due to incompetence is pretty much the last straw for serious Fans

I think "serious Fans" is an important line. Rupp Arena has often been accused of being quiet, dead, uninterested unless there's a big dunk, three, etc. I believe it's been quoted that Rupp Arena is quiet because it's fans aren't wowed by simple plays because they are more knowledgeable of the game than that. Instead of cheering a quick basket, serious fans that attend games are busy making sure players are getting back, finding their man in transition, seeing what the coach is saying, watching officials, etc. It's something that I'm rather proud of about our fan base.


Apply that same knowledge/mentality to the length of the leash that coaches get, and performances like what Pope is turning in (though it's been up and down) create little confidence for Cats fans looking to the future. Kentucky fans know trends when they see them. Pope's trend is big wins followed with inexplicable losses. Fans don't like that, they don't think its a championship-type of recipe.


Add in the fact that a stone-cold killer like Pearl is out there floating in the ether just ripe for the taking with enough skill and bravado to more than handle the job, and it makes for little patience for the current regime, regardless of him being "one of us".

 

[AJG-15]

Don't we have TV timeouts every 4 minutes? The number of timeouts, not to mention stoppages for review, should make any of these guys capable of playing nearly 40 minutes.

. Guys like Moreno are gassed after 3 min……not sure what pope is doing for conditioning but when you play players 3-4 minutes then sub them you are not helping …

 

[CatBlueBlood]

I don't want to be a sunshine pumper. Let's face it, the notable deficiencies of Kentucky Basketball are obvious: substitution patterns, weak recruitment, injury -riddled roster, etc

However, I am willing to play it out for another year for the following reasons:

1. Injuries: Kentucky probably wins a few of these losses with a full roster.
2. SEC Schedule: Either the SEC is awful or really, really good. Outside of Florida, whom I actually think Kentucky can beat, there isn't much separation.
3. NIL and Transfer Portal: Let's be honest, the NIL is a dangerous slope. Kids can opt out, demand things we don't see, etc.
4. Sample Size: Two years isn't enough to put coach on the hot seat. Year three I think he should be.

What I think will need to happen for me to believe that Pope will be ok

1. He has to upgrade his roster. He needs two legit players. Not projects or niches
2. Subbing players has to make sense
3. I want to see complete domination of some games from start to finish against a legit opponent.

My opinon, thoughts?

I appreciate your optimism, but it's not well placed. If you look at this from a macro point of view, Pope did not have the credentials to coach at a high major program. He averaged 12 losses a year at middling schools and never won a NCAA game. Pope has done nothing to show that he is an elite coach. On the contrary, his prior experience and his time at UK indicates that he is an average coach. There are red flags aplenty. Will he get better with experience? Moot question because Kentucky is not the right venue for on-the-job training. I like Pope. Very much. It's not his fault that Mitch demonstrated atrocious judgment and put him in a position to fail. We will have to suffer through the next year or two or three, until Mitch is out of the picture and a new AD can begin the rebuilding process. Our focus should be to hire the best, most dynamic AD to lead us back to glory road

 

[BlueVoodoux]

In simple terms that are coaches that teach plays and coaches that teaches basketball…

what category best describes Pope?

I can tell in what category , his Coach and mentor , Rick Pitino is….. how about Pope?

I am not saying he can’t change … he is in his 50s….

He is leaning on the job. How much he will learn or BBN will allow him to learn is to be seen.

Mark Fox is Pope’s mentor.

 

[katwest]

I still remember 10 loss Tubby and how frustrating those years were. I'm not sure Pope will ever be capable of a season where we don't have double digit losses. There have been too many examples, already, where the team doesn't show up ready to play, his substitution patterns kill the flow of the game, our first half game plan is utter crap, etc. Factor in the fact that we will not get elite level talent here, and we're left with what we're experiencing now- a mid team with a mid coach. That is not what UK basketball should be.

Do you still remember 10 loss Calipari and how frustrating that was, when he DID have elite level talent here? nobody is happy with the way things are right now. Not sure why you would bring Tubby's name into this. Pope will get one more year, last year one of his best shooters never got a full year because of injuries along with his point guard. This year two potential starters have been out most of the years along with one of the top subs. Take away three players from each of the other teams in the SEC of their caliber and you would get the same thing. He will be given another year at least to have a full healthy roster to compete in a very good SEC. I'm as pissed off as anybody about losing to Georgia at home, it shouldn't happen ever. He has had some bad luck as far as being able to field his best team on the floor. He knows he will have to turn it around or he's most likely gone after next year if he don't.

 

[OliverSimmonsTwinBrother]

I don't want to be a sunshine pumper. Let's face it, the notable deficiencies of Kentucky Basketball are obvious: substitution patterns, weak recruitment, injury -riddled roster, etc

However, I am willing to play it out for another year for the following reasons:

1. Injuries: Kentucky probably wins a few of these losses with a full roster.
2. SEC Schedule: Either the SEC is awful or really, really good. Outside of Florida, whom I actually think Kentucky can beat, there isn't much separation.
3. NIL and Transfer Portal: Let's be honest, the NIL is a dangerous slope. Kids can opt out, demand things we don't see, etc.
4. Sample Size: Two years isn't enough to put coach on the hot seat. Year three I think he should be.

What I think will need to happen for me to believe that Pope will be ok

1. He has to upgrade his roster. He needs two legit players. Not projects or niches
2. Subbing players has to make sense
3. I want to see complete domination of some games from start to finish against a legit opponent.

My opinon, thoughts?

This would basically require Pope to totally change what hes been doing as a coach for 10+ years. I don't see it happening.

 

[Seth_C]

I'll wait to see who he gets in the portal. With a third of all players entering the portal, and (supposedly) a huge budget, we should be able to hand-pick a killer starting five. But if we miss on our top targets like last year, he's a dead man walking.

The substitution patterns will always haunt us no matter who's on the team, I'm afraid.

I don’t really care how he gets there (recruiting, portal, whatever) but we absolutely must spend all of next season somewhere in the top 15 and finish the season in the top 10-12.

That and we shouldn’t be losing by 30 to anyone, ever, if coach wants to keep his job. This is college basketball and good/great teams don’t get blown out like that.

 

[Seth_C]

Don't we have TV timeouts every 4 minutes? The number of timeouts, not to mention stoppages for review, should make any of these guys capable of playing nearly 40 minutes.

We do. Unfortunately Pope views every stoppage as an opportunity to change the lineup. Players come in for 30 seconds and if there is a stoppage of play there will be a lineup change. Opposing coaches have caught on. If momentum is going our way they KNOW calling a timeout will stop it because they know Mark Pope will change whatever lineup he has in, no matter how well things are going.

 

[Crestcat]

Pope's a smart guy, what he does is not working. We have no consistency a big win followed by a blowout loss. He needs to analyze every aspect of his coaching and change what is not working..

 

[kyhankypanky]

It’s over for pope imho, it will be a quick out in the SEC tournament and then another quick trip out in the NCAA Tournament
Is that what Kentucky is about ?
losing to Georgia and losing Two 5* players
Due to incompetence is pretty much the last straw for serious Fans

Yep, I would prefer not to postpone the inevitable.

 

[Tri-Countycat]

Ok, let’s give Pope another year. Let’s say he loses 9-11 games (likely) and let’s say he makes the weekend of the SEC tournament. He probably won’t win the conference with the players we have, he would have to kill recruiting, which he hasn’t, he hasn’t even closed his top portal targets. Also let’s say he makes the sweet 16. Does he get an extension? I feel like this is gonna be our ceiling no matter what. That is Indiana basketball or even UCLA. Settling for mid results.

 

[Catfan in Tn.]

Yep, I would prefer not to postpone the inevitable.

Going to be here for a 3rd year.

 

[@Rockhill2025]

Ok, let’s give Pope another year. Let’s say he loses 9-11 games (likely) and let’s say he makes the weekend of the SEC tournament. He probably won’t win the conference with the players we have, he would have to kill recruiting, which he hasn’t, he hasn’t even closed his top portal targets. Also let’s say he makes the sweet 16. Does he get an extension? I feel like this is gonna be our ceiling no matter what. That is Indiana basketball or even UCLA. Settling for mid results.

I think he needs one year of full roster.

 

[fisherscatfan]

I'll wait to see who he gets in the portal. With a third of all players entering the portal, and (supposedly) a huge budget, we should be able to hand-pick a killer starting five. But if we miss on our top targets like last year, he's a dead man walking.

The substitution patterns will always haunt us no matter who's on the team, I'm afraid.

Pope is living on a reputation of being a Rhodes Scholar and analytical guru. He gets questioned about substitutions and he defaults to analytics to justify resting. Yet Pope continues to coach teams into large deficits in the 1st half in his two years here. It is insanity the way Pope single handily kills UK momentum with subs time and time again.

Somebody needs to follow up and ask “what do the analytics say about falling behind 15 points and the related impact on winning percentage?”

 

[kyhankypanky]

I think he needs one year of full roster.

Ok. Fine. But that year is one less basketball year of our lives. He actually did better his 1st year with less time and opportunity. That’s why I know year 3 is going to be more of the same. He ain’t it.

 

[Anony Moose]

I think he needs one year of full roster.

He's had full rosters in his 10 years of coaching.

*****Spoiler alert*****

His teams still sucked!

 

[GoCATSGo77]

Complaining about NIL/the new era of college basketball is ridiculous. The game has never been better, I believe this is the most efficient offensive season ever in D1 college basketball. There have been some AMAZING games, this might be the best freshman class ever (wish we had some of the studs). The overall talent level may be the highest it's ever been, or at least since the 90's when stars stayed 4 years.

College basketball needs to clean up the GLeague/NBA guys trying to come back....get outta here with that.
But NIL has kept guys in school who used to leave to be 2nd round picks and undraftees.

College basketball isn't in a crisis, it's actually booming, there's 4 or 5 teams this year that are some of the best teams over the past 20 years. Michigan/Duke and Arizona/Houston is an INSANE slate of games on Saturday.
Kentucky is in a crisis because due to Mitch, JMI, and Pope failing to adjust to the modern game.

 

[NociHTTP]

 

[Stenchymouse]

The saddest part for me is that I just don't care that much anymore.

I think I've accepted that we're a mediocre program at this point.

Beating Kentucky, even in Rupp just isn't a big deal.

 

[mash_24]

Popes gonna be here next year. But he has some tough decisions to make or it will be his last. About himself, his staff, and the type of players he wants to coach. Time to step up and be a serious basketball coach.

 

[ZaytovenCat]

I don't want to be a sunshine pumper. Let's face it, the notable deficiencies of Kentucky Basketball are obvious: substitution patterns, weak recruitment, injury -riddled roster, etc

However, I am willing to play it out for another year for the following reasons:

1. Injuries: Kentucky probably wins a few of these losses with a full roster.
2. SEC Schedule: Either the SEC is awful or really, really good. Outside of Florida, whom I actually think Kentucky can beat, there isn't much separation.
3. NIL and Transfer Portal: Let's be honest, the NIL is a dangerous slope. Kids can opt out, demand things we don't see, etc.
4. Sample Size: Two years isn't enough to put coach on the hot seat. Year three I think he should be.

What I think will need to happen for me to believe that Pope will be ok

1. He has to upgrade his roster. He needs two legit players. Not projects or niches
2. Subbing players has to make sense
3. I want to see complete domination of some games from start to finish against a legit opponent.

My opinon, thoughts?

This is delusional talk because you don’t want to see what’s right in front of you. Pope is done. He’s not the coach for UK and NEVER should have even been considered, let alone hired.

1.) Injuries changed last year more than it did this year. Butler and Robinson were great players who were missed. Lowe is a shoot first pg who can’t shoot and makes bad decisions. JQ is limited offensively who just relied on size and athleticism to do anything. He clearly didn’t have that athleticism when he came back, wasn’t effective, got worried about his stock and quit. Kam is the most important player out but even he’s still a role player.

2.) The SEC is bad this year. There’s only one team who has a chance to make a final four (UF) and I don’t even think they have a great shot to do so. I’ll be shocked if more than one sec team makes the Elite 8.

3.) True but that’s Popes job to see any potential problems before they happen. Even most of our fans were skeptical on JQ playing this year. Pope was advised by multiple people not to take the risk and sign JQ but he did it anyway. Just one of many examples of his poor decision making in recruiting.

4.) I completely disagree. It was enough of a sample size to fire Billy. Even without the drinking it was clear he had absolutely no chance to work here. I don’t know the numbers now but as of about 6 weeks ago Pope and Gillespie had identical records through their first 52 games or whatever the number was. Pope is just is bad and he’s not even drinking plus he’s able to actually pay players to come here and yet Billy still out recruited him.

1.) This made me laugh. This clearly won’t happen. He has missed on every single top guy or first option he’s went after since he got here. He’s also missed on the vast majority of plan b’s as well. His recruiting is ultimately why he will be fired.

2.) I wouldn’t hold my breath. His sub patterns have always been this way.

3.) Again, wouldn’t hold my breath.

 

[KyCPA2000]

It’s over for pope imho, it will be a quick out in the SEC tournament and then another quick trip out in the NCAA Tournament
Is that what Kentucky is about ?
losing to Georgia and losing Two 5* players
Due to incompetence is pretty much the last straw for serious Fans

There will be a year 3, whether i want that or not.

 

[KyRick9]

I don't want to be a sunshine pumper. Let's face it, the notable deficiencies of Kentucky Basketball are obvious: substitution patterns, weak recruitment, injury -riddled roster, etc

However, I am willing to play it out for another year for the following reasons:

1. Injuries: Kentucky probably wins a few of these losses with a full roster.
2. SEC Schedule: Either the SEC is awful or really, really good. Outside of Florida, whom I actually think Kentucky can beat, there isn't much separation.
3. NIL and Transfer Portal: Let's be honest, the NIL is a dangerous slope. Kids can opt out, demand things we don't see, etc.
4. Sample Size: Two years isn't enough to put coach on the hot seat. Year three I think he should be.

What I think will need to happen for me to believe that Pope will be ok

1. He has to upgrade his roster. He needs two legit players. Not projects or niches
2. Subbing players has to make sense
3. I want to see complete domination of some games from start to finish against a legit opponent.

My opinon, thoughts?

Good observation! I tend to agree. I want him to do WELL, but I want W's even more. Give him one season without injuries and lets see.