That's how big I think this recruitment is. I won't say one negative thing about Pope if he lands Stokes for six months. No promises after that.
I will forgive and support Pope if he lands Stokes.
- Thread starter Son_Of_Saul
- Start date
I’ll let up on him on recruiting 100% But I still gotta see the product on the floor to be fully back on board.
Six months?? Don’t believe it.
But yes I agree with the basic sentiment.
But also I kinda hope we aren’t riding too much hope on Stokes like with JQ last year.
You will still be able to air out your grievances once Kansas inexplicably beats "Top 5" UK in the Champ's classic fielding a team of D2 rejects.
Not if we get Stokes. He will go for 25 against Self if we land him. Surround him with Diallo, Moreno, Williams, and Wilkins, and I like my team.
I think fans should always feel free to air grievances. That’s part of the earnings we enjoy as fans that are so bought in. We may have differences in agreeing what that can look like productively, however.
And if we can get Stokes, I’ll not say one bad word about freshman-led teams for six months. No case studies about it or anything.
Get Freeman and Stokes and I won’t say anything negative about CMP until I see the on court results.
Obviously if he fails with a team of Zoom, Wilkins, Stokes, Freeman and Moreno, it’ll be extremely hard to defend him anyway.
Obviously if he fails with a team of Zoom, Wilkins, Stokes, Freeman and Moreno, it’ll be extremely hard to defend him anyway.
You guys are running out of usernames. You’ll be down to SaturdayNightVelocity before too long
If he loses on Stokes he’s getting Momcilovic. It’s all good
I can see it now:
At the under 16 minute timeout in the first half, cats are on a 10-2 run against the #1 gators with Stokes accounting for all 10 points with 4 buckets and 1 assist and here comes 5 fresh Cats to sub in and make sure they aren’t winded from such a Herculean run!”
That’d be past the 6 months hopefully
At the under 16 minute timeout in the first half, cats are on a 10-2 run against the #1 gators with Stokes accounting for all 10 points with 4 buckets and 1 assist and here comes 5 fresh Cats to sub in and make sure they aren’t winded from such a Herculean run!”
That’d be past the 6 months hopefully
I'd rather lose by 25 to Kansas with Stokes on our team than lose by 25 to Kansas with Stokes on their team.
I've been patient with Pope, but here’s the thing, I don't care who is on the roster, he has to win some serious hardware this year.
-if he doesn't get Stokes, I don't care, go get the next best dude for the sf spot, no excuses, Pope needs to win.
-if he gets Stokes, now there are great expectations. Pope needs to win. Everyone else has done their part, especially the donors and fans, it's time to win.
Pope proved in year 1 that he can take a hodgepodge of dudes and beat final 4/national title caliber teams. His style of play is hard to defend and he makes good in game adjustments as long as he's not subbing out the hot hand(s) like he did this year.
No excuses, win, or head out. I'm all in for a 3rd year, but that's all the patience I have. I won't hate him if he fails, because he's at least giving everything he has to win, but that only buys you so much in my book.
-if he doesn't get Stokes, I don't care, go get the next best dude for the sf spot, no excuses, Pope needs to win.
-if he gets Stokes, now there are great expectations. Pope needs to win. Everyone else has done their part, especially the donors and fans, it's time to win.
Pope proved in year 1 that he can take a hodgepodge of dudes and beat final 4/national title caliber teams. His style of play is hard to defend and he makes good in game adjustments as long as he's not subbing out the hot hand(s) like he did this year.
No excuses, win, or head out. I'm all in for a 3rd year, but that's all the patience I have. I won't hate him if he fails, because he's at least giving everything he has to win, but that only buys you so much in my book.
The good news is we will be back to the top soon one way or the other. Either Pope will do it or we find someone who will get us there. Can’t keep greatness down forever. I know I’m going to get hit with some pushback, but I genuinely believe this is gonna get fixed.
That’s the thing, the stakes are already high going into this season
With freeman and stokes, pope at least has a chance.
without…it will be very very tough
Couldn’t have said it any better. I agree 100%.
That has been my mentality for the last few months. If pope goes, he’ll be easy to replace. Make a slam dunk hire and we’re good.
But I have to admit the UNC / Malone situation has made me a little more wary. Has that changed your opinion at all? They struck out on some big names. And malone is a huge risk. I’m not a pope fan obviously but honestly idk if I’d even trade him for malone. If we made a hire like that after buying out Pope, people here would be going absolutely bonkers
My opinion was always that coaching changes are more difficult now, so I wasn’t surprised on Malone. Ultimately, though if it isn’t working with Pope, I actually think the UNC/Malone situation is a net positive for us to have witnessed. Fans who believe we can hire anyone at the snap of a finger would never have been satisfied reaching down further for a heavy swing type of hire. I think now fans would be more open to a high risk high reward type of hire if we don’t get our first names. It allows you to consider someone like a Jai Lucas who technically doesn’t have the resume. That’s just my opinion, so no I think UNC going through it first helps.
Hell yeah it's gonna be tough, but he had the chance to get Stokes. I know he's throwing everything at him to get him, but enough is enough. He can't keep missing and even if he does get Stokes, it's going to be extremely hard to accomplish any of the goals we as fans (and Pope) have.
Winning the SEC will mean the team will have won a lot of games against elite competition, some of which, will be on the road. But there can't be any of this crap where we dig a 20 point hole. That's coaching mistakes that lead to that.
Winning the SECT over teams like Florida, Ark and Bama, will be a great accomishment if he can do it. This ain't no cake league, it's a top 3 league at worst, but it needs to happen, or at least get damn close to happening.
I like our chances a heck of a lot more WITH Stokes on the roster, but if he doesn't get him, he has to get another stud sf. He just does.
There wouldn’t be a need for defense at that point. He would be done here and I think he knows it
at least I hope he knows it
I said it as soon as unc fired Hubert, "this is the wrong time for a blue blood to be looking for a coach".
The best candidates, aren't interested and places like Michigan, UConn, Texas Tech and Florida, can match the money and facilities the blue bloods are offering and their expectations are lower.
If we're looking for Pope's replacement next year, I'm definitely worried.
I think you put out feelers to confirm if the rumors about Golden were true (wanting to coach a blue blood). Then if he doesn’t take it, look at Lucas and Shertz. Those are probably your best bets to be successful here if you’re taking a chance with an up and comer.
Personally I like the upside of Lucas more because I think his recruiting would rival the Cal era. Plus he’s a hell of a lot hungrier than Cal was his last 5 years. And he’s familiar with the program since he’s coached under Cal here a few years ago.