Mitchell Not Coming to UK

[FilsonCat]

The speculation on my part is that Mitchell's attorneys negotiated a compromise. The SEC was going to redline it with Mitchell ever trying to suit up here, and fight it as long as it took. They were not going to concede, his attorneys reached back out to Mizzou and they magically found a spot for him. The SEC isn't going to ask any questions or look too hard at what happened.

 

[ComebackCats98]

What people should be mad at is a coach that’s lost 26 games in 2 seasons and put UK in a desperate position to need Milan and Mitchell (got one at least thankfully) because he signed a whopping 2 high schoolers and missed on several others. The two he signed had 0 interest from any other major conference school and are here because their dad and brother are. You can’t bring recruits like that in and be serious about contending in the same conversation. The season is going to hinge on a PG from Washington that couldn’t even go .500

 

[0r1c]

What people should be mad at is a coach that’s lost 26 games in 2 seasons and put UK in a desperate position to need Milan and Mitchell (got one at least thankfully) because he signed a whopping 2 high schoolers and missed on several others. The two he signed had 0 interest from any other major conference school and are here because their dad and brother are. You can’t bring recruits like that in and be serious about contending in the same conversation. The season is going to hinge on a PG from Washington that couldn’t even go .500

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Im not gonna be critical of Pope for this.

However, we had the money and didnt sign a starting caliber player n the spring during the real transfer portal season. That question of why needs to be answered.

The fluke of a mitchell being available isnt gonna be an every off season occurrence.

And yes, this probably puts UKs ceiling at a sweet 16 this coming season.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

The whole Pope experiment has been one massive sh*t show.

I'm tired of this ride and I want it to end.

Get the guy out of Lexington sooner than later.

It's over now.

 

[darkshadesofblue]

I had a bad feeling about this one holding up since he committed

 

[ala_kat2]

Man it’s really amazing how no matter what he tries to do, mark pope fails

I mean this one isn’t exactly his fault but it’s just another time he got the fanbase’s hopes up for no reason. The guy cannot catch a break and he straight up doesn’t have enough talent to keep his job at UK after this year

I respectfully disagree

Death knell for the Mark Pope era.

Nah, we’ll be fine.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Not even slightly. I'm curious to how Mizzou is going to play Tiller and Mitchell together as they're both clearly 4's.

Out will come the children of BBN now whining about Pope because they got what they thought was the taste of a F4 roster, and now it's his fault that the roster is not.

Clearly none of this is Pope's fault. Year three and he hasn't been responsible for putting together what will be a top 15-25 team.

Good call, man. You sure did nail it. It wasn't like Pope was adding desperate last-second pieces in order to have that shot of a Final Four.

 

[BBNinSCar]

Losing out on Mitchell like this after he was already signed and enrolled is a gut punch.
This is not a negative that should be contributed to the coaching staff. Mitchell is a very good college player and any coach in America would make the same moves to get him.
I’m still optimistic about this roster. The fire Pope BS is a bit premature.

 

[AJBlue]

Id say worse than that lousy season coming up

You guys have the emotional swings of a 14 year old girl . Time after time after time . . .

 

[hypocrithatr]

Just think about the fact that Sankey is the person most responsible for NORTH CAROLINA getting away with 25+ years of Academic Fraud that should have cost them 2 or 3 Natti's. If this was Duke or Carolina no question he gets to play, Sankey needs to be dealt with!!!!

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Losing out on Mitchell like this after he was already signed and enrolled is a gut punch.
This is not a negative that should be contributed to the coaching staff. Mitchell is a very good college player and any coach in America would make the same moves to get him.
I’m still optimistic about this roster. The fire Pope BS is a bit premature.

The issue will play out predictably though. Pope will win 22 to 25 games this season and get bounced before the Elite Eight. He'll finish 4th or 5th in the SEC, win a few games that give us the illusion that he can get it done. The excuse makers will have a field day with the SEC situation just like they did the injury situation. At all costs, Pope must be shielded from any and all blame.

For parts of our fan base, that will be fine. For the majority of the fan base, it won't be. The only question that matters is what the AD thinks about adding year 4 of what will be another 22-25 win season.

 

[HalHR2500]

I think Robbie Avila would be an absolutely great fit; he added his name to Thursday lawsuit today per reports out of St. Louis.

I would suspect Kentucky could outbid St. Louis U. for his services but SLU has their best team in years and will fight to keep him.

He would be ideal player for Pope and this team.

Great passer, shoots 3s, rebounds, defends without fouling, big body. Super High B-ball IQ offsets lack of athleticism.

 

[loublue22_rivals308424]

The issue will play out predictably though. Pope will win 22 to 25 games this season and get bounced before the Elite Eight. He'll finish 4th or 5th in the SEC, win a few games that give us the illusion that he can get it done. The excuse makers will have a field day with the SEC situation just like they did the injury situation. At all costs, Pope must be shielded from any and all blame.

For parts of our fan base, that will be fine. For the majority of the fan base, it won't be. The only question that matters is what the AD thinks about adding year 4 of what will be another 22-25 win season.

I dont think we're getting anywhere near 4th place.

 

[BookofMormon]

You guys have the emotional swings of a 14 year old girl . Time after time after time . . .

During that time of the month - the analogy would account for 75% of posters. When the flow is steady, all they know to do is blame Pope.

 

[NociHTTP]

I think Robbie Avila would be an absolutely great fit; he added his name to Thursday lawsuit today per reports out of St. Louis.

I would suspect Kentucky could outbid St. Louis U. for his services but SLU has their best team in years and will fight to keep him.

He would be ideal player for Pope and this team.

Great passer, shoots 3s, rebounds, defends without fouling, big body. Super High B-ball IQ offsets lack of athleticism.

He's a really cerebral player, IMO, and a hoot to watch.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Yeah, don't really blame Mitchell for not wanting to go through with this whole song and dance.

Also, blaming this on Pope is just stupid.

I agree.

We shouldn't blame Pope for this, but we can and most certainly will blame him for whatever this team fails to accomplish in year three with a roster he put together.

If he goes somethign like 23-11 this year and fails to reach the Elite Eight, that's 100% on him.

He's the architect of this current roster. 100%.

No excuses.

 

[BlueRocker777]

I really like Coach Pope and really wanted him to succeed here but unless McBride and/or N'Diaye take a huge step, I can't see him winning enough games to keep his job after the season.

 

[yoshukai]

I really don’t think even sneaking into the sweet 16 would save his job

I mean …..it’s in his contract that a sweet 16 triggers an automatic extension so……..thanks Mitch.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Maybe people will stop the whole cheering on the SEC in non UK games BS. I’ve never understood it and certainly can’t fathom it now.

The conference will always actively screw Kentucky basketball and has for years. Kentucky was the sole reason the SEC was not considered the laughingstock of power conferences in the sport for decades. We were the only respectable name and power program.

You know what’s more lucrative for the conference from a money perspective? Having 4-5 powerful basketball programs instead of 1. And they will gladly cut Kentucky down to prop up the others because we are established and never going away.

I notice @NociHTTP laughs at every sensible post. Weird stuff.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

70% everyone else’s fault
30% popes fault

Say whatever you want but pope has had by far the most unlucky head coaching career so far.

players get crazy injuries, HS commits uncommitting stupidly, SEC and NCAA rules messing with him.

I hope pope is absolutely pissed, I hope he’s yelling right now, we still have the opportunity to get a good 15th player but at the same time I’m sure pope is and was confident of the guys he already had, even more now

Pope was so confident in N'Diaye and McBride at the 4 that he actively recruited a 33 minute/game guy over them up until he couldn't.

That doesn't really add up to any level of actual confidence.

We have a 22-25 win team again. Pope grinding his teeth and yelling out at the horses on the horse farm isn't going to change that. He missed on Stokes. He missed on Collins. He missed on Holt. He missed on Kusturica. He missed on Wright. He missed on Mitchell.

Pope misses on the big fish 90% of the time. He had to give Milan over market value to land him.

It is what it is.

One more year and then the misery ends.

 

[Randy Bob]

So he committed to Ky and the court had a fit, now he is committing back to Missouri, where is the courts at now looks the same to me.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

I agree.

We shouldn't blame Pope for this, but we can and most certainly will blame him for whatever this team fails to accomplish in year three with a roster he put together.

If he goes somethign like 23-11 this year and fails to reach the Elite Eight, that's 100% on him.

He's the architect of this current roster. 100%.

No excuses.

Yeah the issue is this is Kentucky and we shouldnt have had to hope for a miracle n August. We should have already had a player similar to Mitchell on the roster by may or early june.

 

[yoshukai]

When Cal first arrived all we had was smooth sailing for the first several years. Recruits lined up in droves to play here, we won a lot and were consistently on the top of the college basketball board and in the conversation. Things went South with Cal and a change was rightfully made.

But it really has been just the opposite with Pope after assembling his first team which did come together nicely especially under the circumstances. But multiple injuries derailed our season and it has been downhill since then. His fault or not, things have been a total **** show with him in charge and the buck stops at the top. He will get a 3rd season but anything less than a stellar season should lead to a coaching change. UK basketball was not built to be a circus but that is exactly what we have become under Pope.

That first paragraph……..was very much due to WWW. It’s no coincidence that Cal hasn’t been to a final four since WWW shifted his interest to the nba instead of influencing kids on their college decisions.

 

[electricat2]

But

The whole Pope experiment has been one massive sh*t show.

I'm tired of this ride and I want it to end.

Get the guy out of Lexington sooner than later.

It's over now.

But He's a really nice guy

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Hopefully McBride is all-world

He's a bit better than Almonor. He'll be good for 7 points/game off the bench.

There was a reason Pope blatantly recruited Mitchell over N'Diaye and McBride. Both of those guys are role players at best.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Classic RR....

Before adding Mitchell.."We have a Top 15 team "

Lose Mitchell.."We are the worst team in tge SEC and likely miss the Big Dance"

You love your silly strawmans, don't you. How many fans in this thread said UK would miss the dance?

I've been seeing 4th to 7th place SEC finishes, Sweet Sixteen ceiling, top 20-30 team.

Stick with the actual arguments. You've always been horrible at this.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Hyperbole much?

No one has said anything close to the latter.

He's a crappy poster. I agree with Ron Mehico's assessment that it's mystifying that UKCowboy gets so many responses. I think he just intentionally posts silly strawman drivel so as to drive up engagement.

 

[UKCowboys]

You love your silly strawmans, don't you. How many fans in this thread said UK would miss the dance?

I've been seeing 4th to 7th place SEC finishes, Sweet Sixteen ceiling, top 20-30 team.

Stick with the actual arguments. You've always been horrible at this.

You hate the coach, hate the program...you and Richie go watch Bobby Hurley highlights and read Coach K's book to each other

 

[MonsterMash79]

Major blow. It will be the excuse Pope needs to get a 4th year

Not happening. He sucks it up this year and he’s gone. Period…

 

[RoyKent]

I think Robbie Avila would be an absolutely great fit; he added his name to Thursday lawsuit today per reports out of St. Louis.

I would suspect Kentucky could outbid St. Louis U. for his services but SLU has their best team in years and will fight to keep him.

He would be ideal player for Pope and this team.

Great passer, shoots 3s, rebounds, defends without fouling, big body. Super High B-ball IQ offsets lack of athleticism.

He has no interest in playing anywhere other than St. Louis. He is not an option for UK.

 

[Catlogic1552]

Pope‘s lifetime 63% win percentage is secure!!

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Mitchell is like crazy good you go for him when he’s available even if your already confident

There was absolutely no one who had UK in the top 10 or as a legit Final Four contender before Mitchell. Not even Pope.

So if that's being "confident", that's not saying much.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

You look like a Blue Devil

Ad hominem
Non sequitur
Strawman

Ad hominem
Non sequitur
Strawman

Rinse and repeat.

You have no real arguments.

 

[ThreeDogNight2]

You love your silly strawmans, don't you. How many fans in this thread said UK would miss the dance?

I've been seeing 4th to 7th place SEC finishes, Sweet Sixteen ceiling, top 20-30 team.

Stick with the actual arguments. You've always been horrible at this.

Your blind and stupid if you think that’s an straw man.

the whole thread is people saying that lil dummy

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Do everyone a favor and sit this season out. Come back with your Nancy approach after the season. Thanks.

All these Nancys that are sick of 13 and 14 loss seasons, losing by an average score of 16 points in tournament games in the last two years, finishing 5th and 9th place in the SEC, and missing on every top 10 recruit we've pursued in the Pope era.

I think we should just show them clips of Indiana basketball and show them how real fans handle adversity in trying times.

 

[ThreeDogNight2]

There was absolutely no one who had UK in the top 10 or as a legit Final Four contender before Mitchell. Not even Pope.

So if that's being "confident", that's not saying much.

Your major stupid. You think pope didn’t think his team was Legit Final Four contender than you got a thing or two to learn about coaching and coaches confidence in their teams lil dummy

 

[ThreeDogNight2]

View attachment 1414570

Wow AI slop so funny!!!

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Your blind and stupid if you think that’s an straw man.

the whole thread is people saying that lil dummy

Where are the quotes? Who said we would miss the tourney. There's 7 pages of posts here. There should be a "whole thread" of people writing that.

 

[ThreeDogNight2]

Where are the quotes? Who said we would miss the tourney. There's 7 pages of posts here. There should be a "whole thread" of people writing that.

You find it broski. It’s on the shoulders of the one saying I’m wrong to prove me wrong. Lil dummy