Mark Pope deserves a massive "atta boy." Well done, coach.

[Son_Of_Saul]

Pope worked his butt off to get Moreno back, bring in Milan, and finally add Mitchell.

I'm all for giving credit where credit is due. Pope landed two top 5 portal players and brought back a potential first rounder in Moreno. He worked really hard to make it happen, and his hard work should be acknowledged.

This Kentucky team has a legit chance to compete for a Final Four.

Let's get behind Pope and the Cats this year and see what happens.

Go Kentucky! Let's hang #9!

 

[Im The Village Idiot]

I used to say Pope is a B+ recruiter. After the bad start to the off-season, I reneged my claim. I think Pope not only deserves the “attaboy” but also some respect for another top portal class. In the new era of college basketball where portal is so important, he has produced the best of his three classes. All three were top 10 according to 247Sports IIRC. Respect to Pope and I was wrong for doubting his recruiting this offseason.

 

[ORCAT]

I give him his due. I've been behind him since he was hired but admit I was starting to doubt. The team he has now is his best, on paper. Now he just has to get them playing together and the sky is the limit. So, yep, Atta Boy, Coach Pope!

 

[darkshadesofblue]

No excuses now. The pieces are in place, it’s time to dial in. Nothing like last season

 

[Dr.LutherSan]

I used to say Pope is a B+ recruiter. After the bad start to the off-season, I reneged my claim. I think Pope not only deserves the “attaboy” but also some respect for another top portal class. In the new era of college basketball where portal is so important, he has produced the best of his three classes. All three were top 10 according to 247Sports IIRC. Respect to Pope and I was wrong for doubting his recruiting this offseason.

I think B+ is still being very friendly for him as a recruiter. He still hasn't shown an ability to land top high school talent.

 

[Cats4321]

He definitely made a few adjustments and put together a very good roster. I have no doubt he works harder than anyone because he loves Kentucky. It would be great for everyone if this works out. He HAS to win this year though! A injury or whatever won't be a valid excuse..you can only use that excuse so many times. I feel good about this season and he has 100% of my support going into this season. Let's do this. Can't wait for the season to get started.
.

 

[BookofMormon]

I used to say Pope is a B+ recruiter. After the bad start to the off-season, I reneged my claim. I think Pope not only deserves the “attaboy” but also some respect for another top portal class. In the new era of college basketball where portal is so important, he has produced the best of his three classes. All three were top 10 according to 247Sports IIRC. Respect to Pope and I was wrong for doubting his recruiting this offseason.

I'm not ready to grace him with an atta boy. Still not clear how intentional this class was as much as he backed into a lot of it, with lot's of cash. It doesn't feel as intentional as I'd like. Now I need to see him coach it to a top 3 SEC finish and an Elite 8. Solid bag of groceries, now needs to cook.

 

[DudahUK]

Pope worked his butt off to get Moreno back, bring in Milan, and finally add Mitchell.

I'm all for giving credit where credit is due. Pope landed two top 5 portal players and brought back a potential first rounder in Moreno. He worked really hard to make it happen, and his hard work should be acknowledged.

This Kentucky team has a legit chance to compete for a Final Four.

Let's get behind Pope and the Cats this year and see what happens.

Go Kentucky! Let's hang #9!

Yup. For a second I thought you said massive raise and I was gonna say hold your horses homie lol. You and I have been very critical of Pope but as you said, he deserves major props. No excuses now. Hopefully he’s learned to coach and substitute.

 

[DudahUK]

I think B+ is still being very friendly for him as a recruiter. He still hasn't shown an ability to land top high school talent.

B+ is extremely friendly. I’d say maybe a C minus if we’re being honest and that might be too friendly. People have a short term memory, how many of his first wants did we whiff on(every single one)? He got lucky with this class but who cares if he wins.

 

[Runt#1969]

What we need now is for this team to deliver great results. Coach pope can coach his *** off now !

Atta Boy Coach.

There was wisdom in hanging with Coach Pope to see how this years roster would turn out. There is wisdom in quiet confidence and patience until the season starts.

Proof will be the results. I think it's gonna be a much more enjoyable ride in Year 3 for Coach Pope and BBN.

 

[OliverSimmonsTwinBrother]

Not a Pope guy but give a feller his due. If he can keep this roster healthy I expect no less than 12 losses this year

 

[Im The Village Idiot]

I think B+ is still being very friendly for him as a recruiter. He still hasn't shown an ability to land top high school talent.

I'm not ready to grace him with an atta boy. Still not clear how intentional this class was as much as he backed into a lot of it, with lot's of cash. It doesn't feel as intentional as I'd like. Now I need to see him coach it to a top 3 SEC finish and an Elite 8. Solid bag of groceries, now needs to cook.

B+ is extremely friendly. I’d say maybe a C minus if we’re being honest and that might be too friendly. People have a short term memory, how many of his first wants did we whiff on(every single one)? He got lucky with this class but who cares if he wins.

He had the #1 recruiting class in the portal this year. If you want to say that's all due to money --- fine. But I'd argue that only proves recruiting doesn't matter as much as it used to. Personally, I don't see the reason for the distinction: twenty years ago, Kentucky would swing a big bat other ways in recruiting than we do it now but we've always operated at an advantage in some ways.

If we can land the #1 portal class with a "C-" recruiter, that tells me our focus should likely be somewhere other than recruiting/paying or whatever else we want to call it. Pope has struggled in some ways that many attribute to recruiting, but I see them more from a scouting or roster construction standpoint. This roster could suffer issues there, as I've covered before, but I'm hopeful that the spacing takes care of itself and the parts are complimentary.

Whatever rating anyone wants to give --- cool with me. To me, I can't say recruiting is the issue. There's no excuses with a roster this talented. I expect results.

 

[DudahUK]

He had the #1 recruiting class in the portal this year. If you want to say that's all due to money --- fine. But I'd argue that only proves recruiting doesn't matter as much as it used to. Personally, I don't see the reason for the distinction: twenty years ago, Kentucky would swing a big bat other ways in recruiting than we do it now but we've always operated at an advantage in some ways.

If we can land the #1 portal class with a "C-" recruiter, that tells me our focus should likely be somewhere other than recruiting/paying or whatever else we want to call it. Pope has struggled in some ways that many attribute to recruiting, but I see them more from a scouting or roster construction standpoint. This roster could suffer issues there, as I've covered before, but I'm hopeful that the spacing takes care of itself and the parts are complimentary.

Whatever rating anyone wants to give --- cool with me. To me, I can't say recruiting is the issue. There's no excuses with a roster this talented. I expect results.

I get that but how many of his number 1 options did he get? I’ll answer it for you, a big fat zero.

Also, his HS recruiting is suspect as hell.

 

[ukfan042]

Big time finish after a rough start! Love our team!

 

[DudahUK]

What we need now is for this team to deliver great results. Coach pope can coach his *** off now !

Atta Boy Coach.

There was wisdom in hanging with Coach Pope to see how this years roster would turn out. There is wisdom in quiet confidence and patience until the season starts.

Proof will be the results. I think it's gonna be a much more enjoyable ride in Year 3 for Coach Pope and BBN.

Way too early to say any of that. How many beat downs have we suffered under Pope? He will have to prove he can coach. I can think of one game(Duke) that impressed me and that’s it.

 

[BookofMormon]

He had the #1 recruiting class in the portal this year. If you want to say that's all due to money --- fine. But I'd argue that only proves recruiting doesn't matter as much as it used to. Personally, I don't see the reason for the distinction: twenty years ago, Kentucky would swing a big bat other ways in recruiting than we do it now but we've always operated at an advantage in some ways.

If we can land the #1 portal class with a "C-" recruiter, that tells me our focus should likely be somewhere other than recruiting/paying or whatever else we want to call it. Pope has struggled in some ways that many attribute to recruiting, but I see them more from a scouting or roster construction standpoint. This roster could suffer issues there, as I've covered before, but I'm hopeful that the spacing takes care of itself and the parts are complimentary.

Whatever rating anyone wants to give --- cool with me. To me, I can't say recruiting is the issue. There's no excuses with a roster this talented. I expect results.

His two big gets were on the back end of the process. There was no guarantee Milan or Mitchell were even going to be available. There is 100% an element of luck in this one. All the big time programs locked up their rosters before those two re-entered the portal. There was zero competition.

 

[Im The Village Idiot]

I get that but how many of his number 1 options did he get? I’ll answer it for you, a big fat zero.

Also, his HS recruiting is suspect as hell.

His two big gets were on the back end of the process. There was no guarantee Milan or Mitchell were even going to be available. There is 100% an element of luck in this one. All the big time programs locked up their rosters before those two re-entered the portal. There was zero competition.

First, regarding the “whiffs” or misses….every recruiter is going to do that time to time. You may argue Pope does it more frequently, to which I’d say “sure”. He also swings for the highest level of prospects and outside of Calipari, Kevin Young or Jon Scheyer, who is getting all their top targets? No one else, really. How do I know that? Because Mark Pope still ended up with the top portal class and I’d say it’s becoming a trend at this point. Pope has killed it year to year in the portal, purely by ranking. Again, are there issues? Sure. Am I arguing he’s an elite recruiter? No. I’m saying B+. I think that’s fair.

Second, the luck. This one has a ring of truth. Certainly, there was luck, but all three years he had a top portal class. It’s a pattern. If this were a one-off, I could absolutely accept the luck factor, but it’s year after year at this point. It’s also worth noting that there’s a huge element of luck in recruiting for almost everyone not name Scheyer, Young or Calipari. Why? Because every class is different. Some years the luck works in your favor with high rated players in your own state. Other times, it could be a weak class with poor depth. This year, we were fortunate about the 5 for 5 rule. No denying that! But last I checked, Mark Mitchell wasn’t contractually bound to Kentucky. He could have went somewhere else and wanted to be here. Choose a path: either Kentucky and the money recruit itself or Pope is doing it. No matter which you choose, we are fine in recruiting under Pope.

 

[Runt#1969]

Way too early to say any of that. How many beat downs have we suffered under Pope? He will have to prove he can coach. I can think of one game(Duke) that impressed me and that’s it.

Valid points.

Pope is definitely going to have to prove he can coach better. We suffered far too many beatdowns vs. good performances under him.

I still believe he can and will do much better. If he can't, then we need to make that change. Results matter, especially for Pope THIS YEAR. A sweet sixteen loss is excruciating to think about now as a possibility, if he gets that far and loses again, his contract gives him another year, right?ugh That's unsustainable and a failure in year 3. I don't see how a result like that leads to a year 4 for him.

That's a fail in year 3 with this roster against this schedule, in my book. I can't support keeping him beyond that if it turns out to be so. He has absolutely got to come under ten losses and reach an elite eight with this group. That's a high bar for anywhere else. But that's what we expect at Kentucky. It's cold hard truth. This year it legit should be doable for him and this team. I gotta believe in, at least, that.

So yeah, for me, at the very least, I support coach and want to be optimistic, but he has got to prove a lot of things. For himself as well as the team he now has. Don't see anything wrong with that.

Go Big Blue !

 

[Kingslayer07]

Things with Mitchell just happened to work out almost miraculously. Which is awesome! I'm a hell of a lot excited now for this season. ZERO excuses Mark, let's go get to a final 4.

 

[Artlaibesghost]

As the announcer in Cinderella Man said, " The table been set its time for the main course! "

 

[Ash Williams]

I'm not ready to grace him with an atta boy. Still not clear how intentional this class was as much as he backed into a lot of it, with lot's of cash. It doesn't feel as intentional as I'd like. Now I need to see him coach it to a top 3 SEC finish and an Elite 8. Solid bag of groceries, now needs to cook.

I have been as critical of Pope as anyone here but get real. Who cares how much money our roster costs, this is Kentucky, we are the standard. Let the sports world whine about how we bought #9, doesn’t matter!

 

[Ash Williams]

His two big gets were on the back end of the process. There was no guarantee Milan or Mitchell were even going to be available. There is 100% an element of luck in this one. All the big time programs locked up their rosters before those two re-entered the portal. There was zero competition.

Would you also agree, using the same logic, that our injuries the last two seasons have been luck as well? You can’t have it both ways.

 

[chroix]

Would you also agree, using the same logic, that our injuries the last two seasons have been luck as well? You can’t have it both ways.

No backup PG was not luck bro. JQ was hoping for luck. I like the dude but keep it real man.

 

[Mdnerd]

This thread started and commented on by some of the whiniest anti Pope babies we've had on this board. You guys are still pathetic.

 

[bigblueinsanity (the real)]

The part im most impressed with is how he convinced the money people to keep giving him more money after last year to use on these runaway basketball payments.

Adding Mitchell means everyone thought we were done spending, then he had to convince someone to give him enough to outbid everyone on one final sought after player.

 

[AustinTXCat]

3 pages, =/- 1

 

[Dr.LutherSan]

This thread started and commented on by some of the whiniest anti Pope babies we've had on this board. You guys are still pathetic.

When someone says that Mark Pope is one of the best recruiters, there's nothing pathetic about disagreeing with that remark.

 

[Ash Williams]

No backup PG was not luck bro. JQ was hoping for luck. I like the dude but keep it real man.

Keeping it real, we had more than one injury in the last two years.

 

[keiths]

I think B+ is still being very friendly for him as a recruiter. He still hasn't shown an ability to land top high school talent.

No one cares about HS talent. Pitino said he isn't even going to recruit HS players anymore.

 

[Mdnerd]

When someone says that Mark Pope is one of the best recruiters, there's nothing pathetic about disagreeing with that remark.

Was not responding to that post directly. Don't recognize your name honestly. SoS and some others on here have been insufferable with their hatred of Pope and seeing this kind of thread is a joke. Most of you made your bed and now need to sleep in it.

As far as recruiting, that's debatable. He's not a high level high school recruiter. However he is absolutely a top notch portal recruiter.

 

[Dr.LutherSan]

This thread started and commented on by some of the whiniest anti Pope babies we've had on this board. You guys are still pathetic.

When someone says that Mark Pope is one of the best recruiters, I feel it's not crazy to disagree with that remark. I'm thrilled with the roster that he has put together, but one of his biggest weaknesses is high school recruiting. That's an issue that needs fixing in order for him to be a top recruiter.

 

[Ash Williams]

Was not responding to that post directly. Don't recognize your name honestly. SoS and some others on here have been insufferable with their hatred of Pope and seeing this kind of thread is a joke. Most of you made your bed and now need to sleep in it.

As far as recruiting, that's debatable. He's not a high level high school recruiter. However he is absolutely a top notch portal recruiter.

That’s a pretty intolerant take considering the company you’re in. No room for fans to walk it back when Pope suddenly shows signs? He was on a respirator until just a couple of months ago. Your hate is at the galactic level, are you related to Pope?

 

[Buckwheat Otay Is Dead]

No one cares about HS talent. Pitino said he isn't even going to recruit HS players anymore.

Bingo, HS recruits are a thing of the past

 

[Dr.LutherSan]

No one cares about HS talent. Pitino said he isn't even going to recruit HS players anymore.

Do you really believe everything that Pitino says? He already has offers for juniors and seniors in high school right now. Also, Mark Pope DEFINITELY cares about high school recruiting. He just hasn't been very successful at it yet.

 

[SenseMaker_Cats]

The part im most impressed with is how he convinced the money people to keep giving him more money after last year to use on these runaway basketball payments.

Adding Mitchell means everyone thought we were done spending, then he had to convince someone to give him enough to outbid everyone on one final sought after player.

Just curious. How do you “know” that’s what it means?

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Some good points n the thread all around. A but fluky but who cares as long as we have an elite roster, which we do.

To that point, gonna have to obtain said roster more traditionally n future off seasons. We can worry about that after next season though.

 

[TFCat11]

Excellent post by a TRUE fan OP!

I’ll say this… Pope just did his best impression of Neo in that final scene in The Matrix, where he was all but dead, but found that final spark to stand back up and defeat his detractors!

Pope is mad as hell, and he ain’t gonna take it anymore!!!

Damn proud of my coach! Most in his shoes, and in the spotlight that is UK MBB would have folded like a cheap suit, but he did it… The SOB did it!

 

[Im The Village Idiot]

Was not responding to that post directly. Don't recognize your name honestly. SoS and some others on here have been insufferable with their hatred of Pope and seeing this kind of thread is a joke. Most of you made your bed and now need to sleep in it.

As far as recruiting, that's debatable. He's not a high level high school recruiter. However he is absolutely a top notch portal recruiter.

There’s only two options really:

- Be glad when someone changes their mind upon new information.

- Antagonize people for now agreeing with your view of the coach, which subtly encourages them to reanimate their “hatred of Pope.”

As for me, I don’t care where someone lands on this, as I see fan satisfaction being very fluid anyway and it changes day by day, situation to situation. Pope garnering some respect from people you feel opposed him in the past is a good thing, not a bad thing.

Failure to see that is why I kind of hate the fictional combat teams. We are fans of a basketball team and we have so many gatekeepers who say you can’t be one unless you wholeheartedly adopt my perspective. That’s silly.

 

[SenseMaker_Cats]

There’s only two options really:

- Be glad when someone changes their mind upon new information.

- Antagonize people for now agreeing with your view of the coach, which subtly encourages them to reanimate their “hatred of Pope.”

As for me, I don’t care where someone lands on this, as I see fan satisfaction being very fluid anyway and it changes day by day, situation to situation. Pope garnering some respect from people you feel opposed him in the past is a good thing, not a bad thing.

Failure to see that is why I kind of hate the fictional combat teams. We are fans of a basketball team and we have so many gatekeepers who say you can’t be one unless you wholeheartedly adopt my perspective. That’s silly.

“- Antagonize people for now agreeing with your view of the coach, which subtly encourages them to reanimate their “hatred of Pope.”

Very good point. See the “for the whiners” thread.

 

[Im The Village Idiot]

“- Antagonize people for now agreeing with your view of the coach, which subtly encourages them to reanimate their “hatred of Pope.”

Very good point. See the “for the whiners” thread.

Hate that stuff so bad bro. Some of those people literally help cause the most “anti-Pope” stuff with all that imo