Try going back and reading what you responded to. Hint: it had nothing to do with Pope or UK.
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We average one Final Four every 5.5 seasons but Pope needs to be fired if he can't do it in 3? He is not responsible for whatever Cal did before he arrived.
He may not be responsible, Paul, but he took/was given the job knowing the drought we were in. He knew the natives were restless and he would need to produce fairly quickly. Trouble is, there’s a difference between “understanding the assignment” and actually being able to complete it.
It was because that poster was criticizing those that don't want Pope here like it was irrational.
I get that he gets a third season. The Sweet Sixteen and likability won him a third year. However, the guy has been coaching for 11 years and has nothing to show for it. I would say that is far from a "rocky start." This is who Mark Pope is.
That is a very strange way of looking at things. It will have been 12 years at least if Pope is out for not achieving it when the next guy takes over. Should he know he only has a couple of years to get to the final four before he gets fired because of what occurred before he even arrived? I'm sure top coaches already in good situations and with other opportunities available will be lining up for that.
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The rocky start is the two seasons here which are not nearly as bad as you believe them to be when difficulty of schedule is considered. What he did before getting here is pretty irrelevant at this point. Nobody fires their coach based on what they did before their arrival.
You've probably seen me post these facts before and choose to ignore it but our average SRS (performance vs schedule rating) for his two seasons is actually better than 15 of the 25 seasons prior to his arrival.
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That would be his best season, FTR. As sad as that is.
They’re not nearly as great. UK has gone to plenty of Sweet Sixteens. A Sweet Sixteens is nothing special for the program.The rocky start is the two seasons here which are not nearly as bad as you believe them to be when difficulty of schedule is considered. What he did before getting here is pretty irrelevant at this point. Nobody fires their coach based on what they did before their arrival.
You've probably seen me post these facts before and choose to ignore it but our average SRS (performance vs schedule rating) for his two seasons is actually better than 15 of the 25 seasons prior to his arrival.
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A 5th place finish in the B12!
After they were predicted to finish 13th. Which, btw, Pope was the coach prior to those predictions too.
Recruiting rankings don’t matter? Got it. Preseason predictions DO matter? Got it.
Whatever the Pumpers need to justify 12-15 losses.
Remember when we got elite players and about the only unknown was if we’d make a FF or not? Yeah, that was fun.
Wait…he finished 5th in the conference?!?! How did he not win national COY?
You do realize it was his handiwork that earned the 13th place prediction?
True…anyone who knows the game knows that 3 games is an appropriate number to make a definitive statement on a dude jumping from a crappy SoCon team to the SEC.
Im just glad the 3 games you saw weren’t VMI, Chattanooga or any of the other 8-10 games he averaged like 9 points vs KenPom 250+ teams. Whew.
I’m not sure I buy that. I think if he repeats yr 1 in yr 3 he will be retained. The “just good enough” approach.
Mitch…the gift that keeps on giving. I’d love to rip his sweater vest off and beat him with it.
I think what he means, and I agree, that that is in fact enough to get him another year. Especially with the S16 contract escalator. Always been my worry with the guy. He’s our version of Clappy the Clown minus the spray tan, but even a stranger personality.
I would say that 2012 team didn’t have an elite scorer. Extremely well balanced team that had, arguably, two of the best defenders to ever play college basketball.
Hot take…the 2012 team, as assembled, was better than the 2015 team.
That’s your opinion. But at Kentucky, a school where 5 coaches have won NCAA titles, you are expected to win early and often. To act like Pope didn’t know the deal, especially after his predecessor had exceeded his own grace period, is just silly. Standards are lowered when mediocrity is accepted. Pope is paid handsomely, partly because this job ages you quickly if you’re not winning.
Now as to your argument about coaches not wanting to step into the role, I would say that’s a very beta mentality. Alpha coaches will always want jobs like Kentucky. Bruce Pearl would have taken this job in a heartbeat, but was not offered by Mitch, another beta male.
That's been because the SEC was a bit overrated the last 2 years.The rocky start is the two seasons here which are not nearly as bad as you believe them to be when difficulty of schedule is considered. What he did before getting here is pretty irrelevant at this point. Nobody fires their coach based on what they did before their arrival.
You've probably seen me post these facts before and choose to ignore it but our average SRS (performance vs schedule rating) for his two seasons is actually better than 15 of the 25 seasons prior to his arrival.
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Check out the Kentucky Wildcats College Basketball History, Stats, Records, Polls, Leaders and More College Basketball Stats at Sports-Reference.com
And we don't retain coaches just because they chose to coach UK who plays tough schedules..
You had to be raised by the biggest losers imaginable to have your mentality.
I don’t think he gets retained with a double digit loss 3 or worse seed, Sweet 16 season. That clause won’t matter if people want him out.
None of us truly KNOW but I base my opinion on the way Matt Jones talks about next season. Pope will have to prove it.
I don’t think this is a hot take, really. Somehow the 2012 team gets slightly under appreciated despite winning the natty and doing it in pretty dominant fashion.
You think a 14 loss season isn't all that bad? To me, you can't use a SoS argument when we lost at home to UGA, Mizzou and a UNC team that got Hubert fired. Add in the losses to Louisville, A&M and NIT champs Auburn...not to mention the monster losses (one of which was in historic fashion)...I just don't think the SoS argument stands up very well. We had some impressive wins, even with all of the issues. But still a couple of miracles away from 15-16 losses and an NIT bid.The rocky start is the two seasons here which are not nearly as bad as you believe them to be when difficulty of schedule is considered. What he did before getting here is pretty irrelevant at this point. Nobody fires their coach based on what they did before their arrival.
You've probably seen me post these facts before and choose to ignore it but our average SRS (performance vs schedule rating) for his two seasons is actually better than 15 of the 25 seasons prior to his arrival.
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I may agree with you that last year was bad…
That said, the idea that you can’t use a SoS argument because you lost a few games to teams you should have beaten is weak imo.
Lost at home to UGA
But beat Vandy handily
Lost at home to Missouri
But beat Tennessee on the road
Lost to UNC
But beat Arkansas on the road
It was the most AP ranked teams any Kentucky team has ever played on its schedule (regular season + conference tournament) as far back as I could track (14 games). I think I stopped at 1990, when I was reviewing this at one point.
You don’t have to choose between believing last year was bad and allowing for the caveat that it was a brutal schedule. Denying the obvious weakens arguments, as it shows that the interlocutor is not committed to good faith dialogue.
But yes, I’m with you last year was BAD despite the HISTORIC volume of ranked opponents.
I will concede that the schedule was absolutely no cake walk. I do tend to think some of the teams that were ranked were overrated...but thats not the argument.
The reason I don't put much, or any, stock in the SoS thing is because of the still lopsided amount of times that we lost when we were favored to win. And compound that with the fashion in which we lost to Gonzaga, Michigan St, Vandy, Louisville, Alabama and Iowa St specifically...I just don't really care to hear how hard the schedule was. We simply didn't play like we belonged out there at times.
SoS doesn't change the lack of effort and consistent execution displayed across the whole season.
Sounds like we largely agree.
Brutal schedule but the results were still far below expectation.
You're overlooking the fact that the SEC was vastly overrated all season, which is where we played 8 of those AP ranked teams. We beat 1 ranked team outside of the SEC, snd they were 22nd at the time.
Yes, we best Vandy handily, after they beat us in record fashion in Vandy.
Then the beat downs by UL, MSU, Zags, Iowa St. Bama.
I didn’t overlook anything. 14 ranked teams is 14 ranked teams. You can poke holes in that but it’s still 14 no matter how you slice it.
Now, the 2025 team played a tougher SoS than the 2026 team and that I can prove. But we can’t act like the 2026 team played anything other than a ridiculous schedule.
With no context, sure. But once someone points that out, it doesn't quite look the same.
What was so ridiculous about it?
We didn't play a single F4 team. We played 1 of the E8 teams. We did play 6 of the sw16 teams during the regular season, but only 1 of those 6 actually advanced.
The SEC had 4 teams make it to the sw16, only 1 made it past there and none made the F4. Similar results with the OOC ranked teams we played. We simply played a lot of overrated/over ranked teams.
It's not the losses per se. It's the quitting. It's the not being prepared. It's the terrible game management. Again, the quitting!! You can brag on beating Vandy when they couldn't throw it in the ocean and leave out the not showing up at Vandy. And Oweh just walking out of bounds with the ball down 25 and he and Pope just shrugging it off. But they did "touch money"!
Two seasons are far more than enough for anyone to see that Pope can't coach, motivate or lead!
The SEC is much better than it used to be, so the schedule rating is better. Should UK just make that the excuse for being mediocre from now on?The rocky start is the two seasons here which are not nearly as bad as you believe them to be when difficulty of schedule is considered. What he did before getting here is pretty irrelevant at this point. Nobody fires their coach based on what they did before their arrival.
You've probably seen me post these facts before and choose to ignore it but our average SRS (performance vs schedule rating) for his two seasons is actually better than 15 of the 25 seasons prior to his arrival.
Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball Index | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Check out the Kentucky Wildcats College Basketball History, Stats, Records, Polls, Leaders and More College Basketball Stats at Sports-Reference.com
What you’re doing is using postseason results to reinterpret the regular season. I just don’t agree with that position. I have no problem with you doing it that way but I don’t find that convincing at all.
I didn’t brag about beating Vandy, man. Do you see any bragging in my post?
Can you at least acknowledge that, with the portal and NIL, it’s much easier? That part of CBB has majorly changed. Rebuilds happen in a few weeks now, not years.
Btw…I’m not arguing your point on firing him or not. I think he should’ve never gotten his first year, so if I’m being completely honest every single year he performs in the same “meh” way he has his entire coaching career is an indictment. But I acknowledge my mind was made up before he ever coached his first game. Problem is, he’s never done anything to prove me wrong. And before you say it, he definitely could. He just hasn’t yet.