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If we hire a GM…..

U

UKCowboys

All-American
Oct 14, 2019
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BigBlue_83 said:
Who would you want?

I honestly think Cal would have been great at this. Maybe Pitino? I also think a former player might be good. Rondo comes to mind.
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They aren't leaving Arkansas or SJU to be our GM. Neither guy would work well as a HC with whoever the HC is because they are 25 year HC's. Both giys know it al and know they know it all
 
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W

Wildcat_in_DC

All-Conference
Nov 25, 2025
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ask 10 different uk fans for a job description and you will get 10 different answers. no one knows what this role is, but everyone is convinced we need it and will massively turn things around.
 
AllBall

AllBall

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May 5, 2015
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BlueWorldOrder74 said:
Only two people with Kentucky ties that could be legit possibilities. Tayshaun and Nazr. That’s the list. Preferable someone uber connected to agents; someone like Dukes lady, the ex Nike employee who worked EYBL for years then a stint in the nba.
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Yeah that's the direction. Duke showed you how, but UK lags way behind. This is pathetic at this point.
Not hiring a GM says I don't trust anyone, and I can't delegate responsibility. No true leader does it alone. The UK coaching job is too demanding for one man.
 
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UKGrad24

UKGrad24

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Apr 2, 2024
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Pope is a clear example of what you’ve always heard as “book smart”. And that has nothing to do with business, coaching, or any other kind of smart.

The guy has basically said no GM. But rest assured, Mark Pope will handle that! It’s going to be great. Barnhart AD, Pope coach, Pope GM, and Mark Fox will handle ins and outs.

Do people not understand how bad this is?
 
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coalBucket

coalBucket

Senior
Sep 27, 2008
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UKGrad24 said:
Pope is a clear example of what you’ve always heard as “book smart”. And that has nothing to do with business, coaching, or any other kind of smart.

The guy has basically said no GM. But rest assured, Mark Pope will handle that! It’s going to be great. Barnhart AD, Pope coach, Pope GM, and Mark Fox will handle ins and outs.

Do people not understand how bad this is?
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Sad Rain GIF
 
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fisherscatfan

fisherscatfan

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Jan 17, 2010
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Wildcat_in_DC said:
ask 10 different uk fans for a job description and you will get 10 different answers. no one knows what this role is, but everyone is convinced we need it and will massively turn things around.
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I equate the position to a modernized World Wide Wes lije Cal had. Clearly they will operate very, very differently. When Cal was at his peak, WWW was involved with recruits and Cal worked it like a master to get recruits steered to UK.

The game has changed from just being in on the AAU circuit and coaches to having connections with agents, shoe companies etc. to entice them to steer recruits your way. I hate it but that appears to be the way of the world.
 
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Rainmaker

Rainmaker

All-Conference
May 13, 2015
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JwUKFan11 said:
Is WWW still around?
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He’s the VP of the Knicks, would be a great hire as GM. My pick would be Austin Ainge president of the Jazz, would fit with Pope the best because Ainge loves analytics but not sure we could pull that off.

Realistically we could probably get Landry Fields.
 
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C

CliffHawkinsFan606

Sophomore
Mar 23, 2020
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Most of the names that could do this kind of thing are gonna be people most of us have never heard of.

I'm of the mind that we probably at least need two hires. One person involved with roster management/player evaluation and one person involved with overseeing salary pool / NIL negotiation. These are two very different skillsets

Would even like to see them assign multiple GAs and student managers whose sole job duty is evaluating player film. Pope tried to establish something like this at BYU and it was pretty forward thinking at the time. While I do think he's gotten behind the 8 ball with this stuff for whatever reason, I do also think he plays coy publicly about their internal operation and who does what. He's got a 3 person video and analytics staff that do a lot of player evaluation work.

For the GM/Player Evaluation spot, one name I haven't seen mentioned yet is UK grad Chad Sanders. Was a manager and GA at UK under multiple coaches and is now the Director of Scouting for the Raptors. Was the G-League GM of the year at one point. I don't personally think everyone at UK needs to be a KY native/UK alum but just thought this name could be interesting among the Nazrs and Tayshauns being thrown out.
 
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Blue Jesus

Blue Jesus

Senior
Aug 24, 2013
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BlueWorldOrder74 said:
Only two people with Kentucky ties that could be legit possibilities. Tayshaun and Nazr. That’s the list. Preferable someone uber connected to agents; someone like Dukes lady, the ex Nike employee who worked EYBL for years then a stint in the nba.
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I always wonder why UK doesn’t try to work the Pat Riley/Heat connection more. I don’t think he’s technically the GM in Miami but he clearly has his fingerprints all over that organization and is arguably the best at what he does in the NBA. Surely he has an understudy who would be interested in the same position at UK. Or could at least point us in the right direction.
 
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BlueSince92

BlueSince92

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Jul 2, 2025
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JwUKFan11 said:
Is WWW still around?
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This is exactly what I came here to post. We probably want a guy with a name we’ve never heard because the guys who are really good at what we need make a name for themselves in specific circles, not in the culture at large. Most names we’ve heard would be a useless trophy in that role. Even Cal has a gift of getting kids to play for him, not a gift of getting kids to play for Pope. But if we simply must go with a name we know that name had better be Worldwide Wes.
 
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SamePooter

SamePooter

All-Conference
Feb 21, 2026
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BlueSince92 said:
This is exactly what I came here to post. We probably want a guy with a name we’ve never heard because the guys who are really good at what we need make a name for themselves in specific circles, not in the culture at large. Most names we’ve heard would be a useless trophy in that role. Even Cal has a gift of getting kids to play for him, not a gift of getting kids to play for Pope. But if we simply must go with a name we know that name had better be Worldwide Wes.
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All these years of hearing about this guy…..who is he? I’m serious. Like what’s his position today? What’s he attached to? Hes always seemed like a myth to me.
 
BlueSince92

BlueSince92

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Jul 2, 2025
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SamePooter said:
All these years of hearing about this guy…..who is he? I’m serious. Like what’s his position today? What’s he attached to? Hes always seemed like a myth to me.
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He’s a real guy and there have been a few Diamond-Leung-level articles covering what he did in a general sense so that much is well enough established. Influence peddler. The details of his relation to Cal are more a matter of rumor but rumor had it he was super tight with Cal when he got here. And sometime around late 2015 there were rumors of him and Cal having a falling out.
 
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SamePooter

SamePooter

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Feb 21, 2026
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BlueSince92 said:
He’s a real guy and there have been a few Diamond-Leung-level articles covering what he did in a general sense so that much is well enough established. Influence peddler. The details of his relation to Cal are more a matter of rumor but rumor had it he was super tight with Cal when he got here. And sometime around late 2015 there were rumors of him and Cal having a falling out.
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Thanks that was more of what I was asking I reckon. I looked him up and seen who he was but I never really understood his name being related to UK so much.
 
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