So you don't think 9th place in the SEC, 14 losses with a $22 million NIL budget had anything to do with it?? Not to mention the lack of effort, no defense or rebounding and the blow-out losses.
I believe a lot of this anger and frustration towards Pope, is because of the last 4 years…
- Thread starter Vek96
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Not all fans are the same. Cal didn't do anything last 5 years. Pope has only been here two. Name any big team who has fired a coach after sweet 16 and round of 32. You can't. Our players didn't pan out this year and our PG was injured. Just because we aren't getting freshmen doesn't mean we can't have a good team. Uconn and Florida teams were pretty heavily transfer pool older players. We prioritized our older guys and I'm guessing could have been a turn off to freshmen. Jasper didn't play well, maybe because we didn't have a true pg.
Well yeah jq. It was a risk. It didn't help he was top 10 in portal. Didn't pan out and to me a version of cal's sharp.
I think the reason everyone is riled up is because we went through a downward spiral with Cal over the last 5 years and we recognize the program is spiraling downward again.
We also also recognized Cal was a HOF coach who won a natty here so he got a longer leash. Pope hasn't won a conference title, conference tournament or made a serious tourney run so he's on a very short leash.
We also also recognized Cal was a HOF coach who won a natty here so he got a longer leash. Pope hasn't won a conference title, conference tournament or made a serious tourney run so he's on a very short leash.
This is also a troll thread. OP hasnt responded. Wish jedwar would ban him.
The anger and frustration also comes from the fans reluctantly acknowledging that the UK brand is passé in the NIL era.
You have no chance of continued success at a program like ky if you can't recruit at the highest level. Recruiting and development is the lifeblood of a successful program even though money is the kingpin of it all.
You’ve lost your ever loving mind
pope won’t sniff either of the types of seasons Calipari had that ended his tenure here.
2 and 3 seed. Top 15 teams. Just choked in the tournament. Reed Sheppard couldn’t stay in front of a paraplegic that night much less Gulky.
You’ve gone full blown can you change back to kev69
pope won’t sniff either of the types of seasons Calipari had that ended his tenure here.
2 and 3 seed. Top 15 teams. Just choked in the tournament. Reed Sheppard couldn’t stay in front of a paraplegic that night much less Gulky.
You’ve gone full blown can you change back to kev69
It's a new era of college basketball. Either adapt or become irrelevant. A coach can completely revamp his roster using the portal. Lack of success is simply a failure to attract high level players while building a cohesive team.
Pope hasn't been attracting players even with an abundance of resources. Our talent level needs a significant bump. The next 40 days will decide his fate.
Hurley and Donovan are not comparable at all; both inherited sub-.500 programs and had to build/rebuild from the ground up.
And that Pope has the benefit of the portal that Hurley didn’t have. And the biggest
Trolls from other teams, get lost
We are upset because we finally got rid of Calipari and expected to hire someone who had at least some semblance of success in his career. Instead, Mitch tries to experiment with a guy who has never won anything at any level as a coach, and his first two years played out exactly like the rest of his career. He also clearly struggles recruiting even with our vast resources. The really frustrating part is that there is no end in sight to this stupid experiment.
I like Pope as a person and a former player, but I don't let that blind me to the fact that he is possibly one of the least qualified coaches to ever be hired to a blue blood program. In my opinion, two years is plenty to evaluate a coach in this NIL era at a blue blood program, especially when he has a long track record of mediocrity.
I like Pope as a person and a former player, but I don't let that blind me to the fact that he is possibly one of the least qualified coaches to ever be hired to a blue blood program. In my opinion, two years is plenty to evaluate a coach in this NIL era at a blue blood program, especially when he has a long track record of mediocrity.
Just stop.. Pope has been unremarkable his WHOLE coaching career.
We are supposed to have a party because Pope was able to beat Santa Clara in OT Only due to a ridiculous shot by Oweh? Holy hell. Forget firing, he needs a huge raise and a lifetime contract! Kentucky's back baby!
I agree that improvement has to be shown next season. However, I just went over for the 15th time or so that Hurley, Donovan and Golde all started much worse than Pope has.
Yeah his leash is shorter than it would've been if he had taken over, say, when Pitino left and we were on top.
That doesn't excuse the performance and results. They are unacceptable. Compare his 2 yr resume to Billy Clyde's.
Pope has next year to show he can get it done, or he's done. Simple.
Is anyone paying attention? I also went over the fact that Calipari sucked his last 4 seasons here, despite not having the injury bad luck that Pope has had.
Pope, despite ridiculous bad luck with injuries, has 3 tournament wins in his first two seasons here. Calipari had 1 tournament win his last 4 seasons here.
Donovan, Golden, Hurley, combined for 0 tournament wins their first two seasons at Florida, and UConn.
Be patient, and pay attention.
You are dumber than a box of rocks OP.
You’re forgetting the injuries. Also, the NIL was $20 million, not $22. Numerous teams spent more money. Not to mention, I don’t give a **** about the money. Duke probably spent $30 million on their roster. You think those numerous 5 stars are playing at a discount there? Wake up.
I will go over this again. Your hero Calipari won exactly 1 tournament game his last 4 seasons, with rosters that were loaded with 5 stars, and if NIL were a thing during those 4 seasons, his NIL would have been double what Pope’s two rosters cost. Pope, despite terrible injury luck, has won three tournament games in his two seasons.
Again, pay attention to facts.
That's the part that burns my biscuits. UK should NEVER have a coach who has to learn on the job. It's why I was never down with the Pope hire.
By the way, there’s a poster who said in this thread that I was Bi-Polar. I can totally understand why he thinks this. Pope drives me crazy with a lot of things he does, or doesn’t do.
He may or may not be the answer. Chances are, he isn’t the answer. However, the absolute hatred, and non-stop bashing, isn’t warranted.
He’s not the evil villain that a lot of our fans are portraying him to be.
I feel like someone needs to point out the facts with him, compared to Calipari, and the likes of Hurley, Golden, and Donovan.
Pope is going to be here at least another year. You can keep on bad mouthing him, hoping he fails, curse him, and be miserable, or, as I’m choosing to do, I’ll be positive and optimistic, and see what he can do.
He may or may not be the answer. Chances are, he isn’t the answer. However, the absolute hatred, and non-stop bashing, isn’t warranted.
He’s not the evil villain that a lot of our fans are portraying him to be.
I feel like someone needs to point out the facts with him, compared to Calipari, and the likes of Hurley, Golden, and Donovan.
Pope is going to be here at least another year. You can keep on bad mouthing him, hoping he fails, curse him, and be miserable, or, as I’m choosing to do, I’ll be positive and optimistic, and see what he can do.
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Wrong again. Hurley won a title in his 5th year. Nice try though. His first four years he was 73-47.
Look, I’m as frustrated as anyone. I really am. But, I just don’t think it does any good to just keep being negative. The season is over. My point with the Hurley and Golden stuff is that things can change quickly.
I’m 59. I’ve been a Kentucky fan since I remember being alive. I probably have 20-25 years max left on earth. I just don’t want to spend it being negative all of the time.
We are supposed to cry for a whole year about it, like you instead. The season is over, get over it. No injuries with a fresh roster, just don't repeat the same mistakes. Im not gonna whine to make our fan base look like cry babies. Id rather look forward not to the past
Uh, were you in a coma the last four years of Calipari? You know, those four years that UK won exactly 1 TOURNAMENT GAME?