Pope answers about GM in today’s questions

gonefishin

All-Conference
Jul 7, 2025
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Not trying to be a di**.
But the program is an embarrassment right now. His job is on the line, I don’t want his short update to include girl dad info. Just another way to chew up time with irrelevant info.
Why does he emphasize so many words in his answers.
 

Kantucke_rivals

All-Conference
Mar 9, 2015
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☝️ agree, a GM now really don't matter. Little too late now to make a difference in the roster. It's make or break year for Pope, so let him do things his way and if Pope is fired I definitely don't want his GM in place.
 

CatPatrick13

All-Conference
Sep 17, 2015
3,219
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JMI is the GM. They are ingrained in the UK Athletic Dept. No one can complain about them, since they are part of the team. And it will make the person who helped with that contract, Mitch, look even worse than he already looks. I can’t see how any new AD, can avoid playing ball with JMI, or not bend to the demands they may have. Pope will end up being the fall guy, and possibly Mitch, but JMI will live on in the UK athletic universe.
 
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ftp000

All-American
Mar 26, 2009
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The nerd squad isn’t connecting with players or agents.

Pope looking out for his buddies.

Freeman‘s agent and Stokes played this so called team. As many more, I’m sure.
Speculation

Speculation

Speculation
 

Blue Jesus

Senior
Aug 24, 2013
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Kentucky has become marked in the portal as the team who will help you get the amount of money you want from the school you actually intend to go to. For UK, retention of talented players on the roster will be very important. I would say we did a decent job of it this offseason. I would have preferred to keep Dioubate but only for the right price. I'm assuming Aberdeen doesn't get another season.
 

ftp000

All-American
Mar 26, 2009
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I mean, at this point, who cares? We needed a GM a month ago and whoever they choose for the next AD (excluding Marc Hil) will bring in a new coach after this year. All of this staff will hopefully be replaced.
Brown spent five seasons with Pope at BYU where he advanced from video coordinator to director of player personnel. In that role, he was involved in scouting coordination, roster construction planning, NIL strategy and allocation, and integrating analytics into personnel decision-making.

Tell me how this is not the job description of a GM?
You people are hung up on a title.
 

JustBlue

Senior
Mar 29, 2009
241
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Brown spent five seasons with Pope at BYU where he advanced from video coordinator to director of player personnel. In that role, he was involved in scouting coordination, roster construction planning, NIL strategy and allocation, and integrating analytics into personnel decision-making.

Tell me how this is not the job description of a GM?

You people are hung up on a title.

We get it. Mark Pope good - he had the Unforgetables on his post game show and doesn't curse. John Calapari bad - he said the 2010 draft was the best day in UK history and kneeled during the National Anthem.

But you can't just blindly accept everything the man does is perfect. Yes, this is a textbook definition of a manager. No, this is not the type of manager that is needed for roster negotiations in this era of college basketball.
 

BlueSince92

All-Conference
Jul 2, 2025
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Most people aren't using a GM. So your point is moot.
Apples to oranges and inappropriate you’re interpreting the wider statistics to mean that. Most top-tier p5 men’s basketball coaching staffs (i.e. our peers in this endeavor) are indeed using either a GM or someone with typical GM role and responsibilities albeit with a slightly different title in some cases. My point stands. Your point is actually moot because if it means anything at all it means the University of Kentucky should ignore what most top-tier p5 men’s basketball programs are doing to excellent effect and instead continue to fail by using a model more in line with what places like Alcorn State are doing simply because there are more of those and that’s crazy as a bag of cats thank you.
 

ftp000

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Mar 26, 2009
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We get it. Mark Pope good - he had the Unforgetables on his post game show and doesn't curse. John Calapari bad - he said the 2010 draft was the best day in UK history and kneeled during the National Anthem.

But you can't just blindly accept everything the man does is perfect. Yes, this is a textbook definition of a manager. No, this is not the type of manager that is needed for roster negotiations in this era of college basketball.
I didn't say anyone was good. I didn't say anyone was bad. I'm not blindly following anyone. Especially the crazy chicken little hive that has declared the season over and lost before our roster is even completed.
You don't know why we missed on players, it's pure speculation. You don't know the constraints the staff might be dealing with.
But you all demand constant agreement with you based solely on the group panic you've all created through your speculation.
Hilarious
 
Nov 18, 2025
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Well at least Pope is out “proactively communicating” with people who pay his salary, the UK fan and the Kentucky taxpayer.

Maybe someone can help me here. When has BYU ever been a basketball powerhouse and won a NCAA or Conference Championship/s? Since Pope left BYU (and NIL) I notice their recruiting improved materially.

Why build a leadership team with leaders who have not demonstrated the ability to win at NCAA and NBA levels (coaches or administrators) as Pope is being enabled to do now?

So the brain trust at UK (President and Trustees) have given the keys to the UK program to a coach (Pope) and enabled him to hire staff coaches (Two BYU hires) and control organization design who have accomplished NOTHING in the NCAA or NBA level as coaches. Even Mo has losing record as a college coach……What have any of them won?

Oh, then ask the fan and taxpayer to listen to this interview tripe and questions including how to “raise a family/daughters?”.

Pope and the UK administration take the UK fan base for granted, Rubes and ******* idiots.

Infuriating.
 
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JPFisher

Heisman
Jul 24, 2013
6,804
13,167
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I agree with the committee approach, but IMO, there needs to be a head honcho of a GM who is the liaison between that committee and the athlete/family.

What's in place now seems weak. If I had to guess, it's because there's no one guy that the family and athlete know and who's built rapport with them. Easier to accept something from another team when Johnny GM comes knocking with a big fat offer and you have to go through three accountants at UK to get the counteroffer.
 

ftp000

All-American
Mar 26, 2009
6,453
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Well at least Pope is out “proactively communicating” with people who pay his salary, the UK fan and the Kentucky taxpayer.

Maybe someone can help me here. When has BYU ever been a basketball powerhouse and won a NCAA or Conference Championship/s? Since Pope left BYU (and NIL) I notice their recruiting improved materially.

Why build a leadership team with Leaders who have not demonstrated the ability to win at NCAA and NBA levels as Pope is being enabled to doing now?

So the brain trust at UK (President and Trustees) have given the keys to the UK program to a coach (Pope) and enabled him to hire staff coaches (Two BYU hires) and control organization design who have accomplished NOTHING in the NCAA or NBA level as coaches. Even Mo has losing record as a college coach……What have any of them won?

Oh, then ask the fan and taxpayer to listen to this interview tripe and questions including how to “raise a family/daughters?”.

Pope and the UK administration take the UK fan base for granted, Rubes and ******* idiots.

Infuriating.
Cool. But the Athletics department at UK is self sufficient. It is not state funded.
 

ftp000

All-American
Mar 26, 2009
6,453
6,273
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Apples to oranges and inappropriate you’re interpreting the wider statistics to mean that. Most top-tier p5 men’s basketball coaching staffs (i.e. our peers in this endeavor) are indeed using either a GM or someone with typical GM role and responsibilities albeit with a slightly different title in some cases. My point stands. Your point is actually moot because if it means anything at all it means the University of Kentucky should ignore what most top-tier p5 men’s basketball programs are doing to excellent effect and instead continue to fail by using a model more in line with what places like Alcorn State are doing simply because there are more of those and that’s crazy as a bag of cats thank you.
Do you believe for a second that any top tier coaches have given up control of their rosters to a GM?
Keegan Brown's job description at BYU was exactly what a college GM does. I seriously doubt it's any different now.
 

TheApostleSaulSmith

All-Conference
Mar 30, 2026
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But you all demand constant agreement with you based solely on the group panic you've all created through your speculation.
Hilarious
Isn't this a bit like shooting the messenger though? No one on this board created the "panic" around the program right now. It is a logical reaction to Pope's many public recruiting failings in the past couple months. I think your anger is misdirected.
 
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