I agree he can spend money in the portal.
He is a terrible high school recruiter.
He is terrible at developing talent.
He is a terrible coach.
We are Kentucky and they are Tennessee. We should be winning more in March than them and we aren’t by a wide margin. Are you saying the regular season matters more than the tournament?
Every team has injuries. Speaking of Iowa State, they spanked Pope without their best player. Some coaches are able to overcome injuries better than others. Our guy isn’t very good in general so naturally when we get hurt it affects us more.
I’d hate to be on the pro Pope side with my main argument being injuries. He had healthy teams at BYU that had just as little success.
I have a serious question that nobody has ever answered. Why did Cal basically collapse at UK? 2021 he was 9-16. I blamed that on Covid. He lost to St. Peters the next year. I figured that St Peters just got hot because they also beat Purdue. A year later he loses to KState and then a year after that he loses to Oakland!!!
How does "one of the top coaches to ever coach the game" suddenly drop to that level? 4 years with ONE tournament win with the players we had is beyond incredulous. I have zero doubt that Tubby, Pope, even Billy G would have won more than that with those players. What is your theory?
Ahh I predicted this. So rather than say he was a pretty decent recruiter, you’ve opted instead to play semantics games. You figured that “reframing” was your best decision to slither out. Now, the goalposts moved to he can spend money in the portal (even though he had a top 7 high school class).
You’ve told on yourself. Might as well have just posted “I don’t care about being consistent whatsoever, as long as I get to take the dunk on the coach I don’t like.”
I agree mostly with this but he’s still better than pope. 38-1 season though
outside Wisconsin game. He had a great chance the Covid year with maxey
But aren’t four seeded teams below your expectations as a fan? The 2020 team would be far below your expectations I’d have assumed.I agree mostly with this but he’s still better than pope. 38-1 season though
38-1 team was no1 overall and covid team was projected 2seed. Kentucky just beat Florida in Gainesville ranked in the top 10 before they canceled the sec tournament. Kentucky was ranked 6th and sec regular season champs in 19-20. Quickly was sec player of the year. Maxey was 2nd team all sec
Last edited:
I was simply implying those that like to see Kentucky fail would have no problem with Pope staying longer. I don’t think it’s wise to run anything based on reviews from your rivals. But those aren’t the same things.Yeah, we (including myself) believed that Davis didn't have what it takes. It is a good example that sometimes this board can be right. However, Billy G had strong support when he was hired and we (not including myself) were wrong, wrong, wrong. We (including myself) thought Miller would do well at IU. We were wrong. We (not including myself) thought Tubby would be a S16 coach at Minnesota and make it to the FF before UK would but we were wrong.
Over the years, I have read on this board that "if you know basketball, you will know Jared Carter will be great," and "Ramon Harris will lead Kentucky in scoring." I have read that college basketball has changed and there is so much parity that the blue bloods no longer have an advantage (before NIL and the Portal). I could go on and on.
The point being that we are wrong more than we are right. So, why would I care what a rival fan or a Kentucky fan thinks when I can make up my own mind?
Serious question: Do you vote for the person you believe is best or do you have to know what other people are thinking and let that influence your decision? If you do, just email me and I can tell you whom to vote for and why.
No they weren’t.
bracketmatrix.com/matrix_2020.html
Yes, an Unranked Florida team by one point.
2019-20 Kentucky Wildcats Men's Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Check out the detailed 2019-20 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results for College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
www.sports-reference.com
That Florida team was ranked 32nd in KenPom, about equivalent to Georgia this year. (Georgia was 35th.)
The literal game right before that? Lost at home to an Unranked Tennessee team by 8. Yes, a 68th best KenPom team at home. They finished the year 17-14 and were NIT bound.
That’s true. They had a high AP poll ranking. Doesn’t mean much if you’re playing a weak schedule and racking up wins.
my .02 cents. He lost interest after 2015. Yea, he had some good teams after that but it was all momentum from his first 7 years. The combination of the national championship in 2012 and his lifetime contract meant he changed his focus from winning to legacy. I've said this multipled times but what Cal really, really wants is a lifetime achievement award, on a big stage, surrounded by his former players , where everyone just gives speech after speech, not about his coaching achievements but how he prioritized putting his players first, making them wealthy and getting them into whatever was next after college ball. They'll even laugh at how he prioritized it over winning at the biggest basketball school in the world and how thankful they are that Cal gave them the opportunity for generational wealth at the expense of the Kentucky program.
None of that has to do with deep tourney runs, winning the SEC or leading the nation in wins, and Cal honestly expected the fans, the donors and the administration to allow him to build that legacy at UK because of what he did from 2009 - 2015.
Now he is at Arkansas and suddenly its all about not letting players transfer and not getting into bidding wars for players with a mercenary mentality - because at Arkansas, they are going to hold him accountable for his job - winning basketball games. He's the "voice of reason" for saving college basketball but before he had to get into a bidding war to keep kids, he was head of mercenary U., Kentucky.
Had he prioritized winning at UK instead of thinking he was the emperor of the commonwealth who they couldn't afford to lose, everyone would be in a better place right now.
2019-2020 definitely had a chance to win it all that yearNo they weren’t.
bracketmatrix.com/matrix_2020.html
Yes, an Unranked Florida team by one point.
2019-20 Kentucky Wildcats Men's Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Check out the detailed 2019-20 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results for College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
That Florida team was ranked 32nd in KenPom, about equivalent to Georgia this year. (Georgia was 35th.)
The literal game right before that? Lost at home to an Unranked Tennessee team by 8. Yes, a 68th best KenPom team at home. They finished the year 17-14 and were NIT bound.
That’s true. They had a high AP poll ranking. Doesn’t mean much if you’re playing a weak schedule and racking up wins.
Sure, 4 seeds have a chance. Just a very small one. 76% of national champions are 1 or 2 seeds.
They would’ve been a 2seed after winning the sec tournament. Already sec regular season champs. Plus maxey quickly and Richard’s came on late. They were playing great basketball
Funny thing is, UT fans want Barns fired because he keeps losing to UK and he can’t get them to a FF.
What's also funny is, if Pope went to the E8 the last 2 years and UT didn’t, you would say "but Tennessee has had better regular seasons and has finished higher in the SEC both years".
You see, Pope can't win with you guys. Even if he wins big next year, you guys will still focus on the 25/26 season and his winning percentage at UVS and BYU.
The only way Pope can win with you, is if he wins the title. Just merely getting to a FF won't be enough, especially if he gets blown out like Arizona just did.
The difference here is, you guys are solely focusing on the negative things and refusing to believe Pope can right the ship, but then, you don't just stop there, you attack those of us that are simply hoping Pope succeeds. That's all we're doing. We know it doesn’t look good for Pope, but I refuse, after just 2 seasons, to run around yelling and screaming like the world is on fire.
My bad! Your right…Then I don’t want no sissies or wussies as a coach!
The 1995-2017 version of Cal, was a killer and was absolutely a better coach than Pope.I agree mostly with this but he’s still better than pope. 38-1 season though
The Cal we had from 2018-2024, was a C- level coach.
His best coaching was done in 1995/96, but if you notice, he always has to have supreme talent and even then, he falls on his face too often.
I don’t think they would have been a four. Without the Evansville debacle, I think they are for sure a 2. With a good showing in the sec tournament, they probably would have been anyway.
Wasn’t a “great” team but they had the pieces. Would have loved to see those guards in the tournament.
I'm amazed at the mental gymnastics you throw out there when you WANT to defend a losing position, but you don't apply those same thoughts to Pope, which is actually easier to do.
I mean, you just defended the 9-16 season by saying "they were projected as a 2 seed". WTF?
You know what’s funny? We were projected as a 2 seed in October, before this season started, so according to you, Mark Pope should be in the HOF. Am I doing that right?
Covid year I’m talking about is 2019-2020 it was canceled and Kentucky was sec regular season champs.quickly was sec player of the year. 9-16 team the year after Covid canceled season Baylor won the year your talking bout. I’m talking about the Covid canceled season
I just sent you the Bracket Matrix for that team. The SEC was weak. They may have gotten a 3 seed, they were a strong 4 or weak 3 but whatever lol
I literally posted the Bracket Matrix from 2020. I didn’t make it up. They were a 4/3 seed.
That’s obviously not talking about being sec tournament champions. It was cancelled and at the time Kentucky was top 10. They definitely had a shot at a 2 seed. sec regular champion and 1seed in sec tournament.
I haven’t attacked anyone or called anyone names. It’s also very silly to think UK fans would be sad if Pope won next year. Won’t even entertain that.
Tell me, Jeff. Can you give me any substantial reason or evidence Pope will have success next year other than “he’s a good guy and deserves a third year”? I have yet to see any. My frustration with the pro Pope crowd is they are operating entirely on feelings instead of numbers.
They also had a shot to lose to another 68th ranked KenPom team. That team’s full body of work was not a 2 seed. It just wasn’t.
Nobody’s talking about 2020-2021 team. The Covid canceled year 2019-2020 Kentucky sec regular season champs
Regardless, you said outside of four seed, I think it’s obvious that that team was not outside of a 4. I think 2, you think 3 or 4. So be it. That Kentucky team in 19-20 was great and coming on strong
44K views · 413 reactions | Calipari’s final 6 years at UK… the real version! | Chris Adams
Calipari’s final 6 years at UK… the real version!
www.facebook.com
Who cares what either of us think? It isn’t an opinion related question. Bracketologists’ consensus was it was a 4 seeded team. Yet, that’s up to standards for the same people who go absolutely ape over someone saying last year was pretty good. It’s inconsistent as all hell.
Do you remember how that Kentucky team was playing? Remember hagan didn’t make the trip to Gainesville. Maxey and quickly were at the time the best guards in college basketball
Probably hoping we'll have a healthy team and that'll give Pope his best chance at success. But I'd be skeptical. More players means more ways for Pope to kill our momentum with his awful substitutions. Thats probably his worst trait as a coach
If Kentucky beat Georgia by 1 on the road this past season, would you be celebrating it as a massive win? I’d imagine not. That’s the equivalent…
No starting point guard? Fine.
Try no starting point guard. No projected starting center. No rotation wing.
I’m assuming no Hagans is permissible in the court of law but not catastrophic injuries.
You’re actually proving MY point. You all use one measure for the teams/coaches you don’t like and a separate one for the ones you do like.
Wasn’t celebrating. I was pointing out the last game. Quickly and maxey up the level during that time
That’s kinda true. However, on the flip side of that, nobody knew who was gonna take over at duke (general public). Maybe duke did internally, maybe not. Several former players could’ve taken over that program. I understand your sentiment, though.