Is Pope the worst high school recruiter in Kentucky history?

[Catastic5]

High-school recruiting has been terrible but im not gonna act like I wouldn't prefer a top five guy over the players we have now.

Popes first portal hall was impressive. He went and got a big thats in the NBA. A athlete in Oweh. A shooter in Brea. Brought Robinson with him. Carr who was a utility knife four. Butler who is a pg I would take on any team any year, a real dog with heart.

The only problem is that year is a one off and happened for unusual circumstances. It won't happen again. Pope whiffs on every top target no matter if its high-school or portal. That's unacceptable and he needs to go.

I don’t know why he strayed away from those
kinds of guys. Rancik was perfect for him and was apparently going to commit before we decided to wait on Freeman. That and guys like Zoom and Wilkins don’t really appear to be his kind of guys either.

Pope hasn’t really been true to himself recruiting these types of guys. That and going after these immediate impact high school players instead of borderline 4/5 star players who probably won’t relevant until their 2nd year. I know he’s going after Millogo now, but it’s kind of too late. If he lucks his way into a 4th year, he needs a player who can play immediately, not someone that probably won’t be relevant until his Sophomore or Junior year. He can’t afford that with his job on the line.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Moreno and our starting guards and backup in Williams are all slated to return next year along with freshman Hampton coming in. We won't miss these recruits.

We might miss them.. I'd take a Caleb Wilson or a Cam Boozer on my roster.

Decent returning talent is still just "decent" with an extra year. So yes, give me a top10 recruit who has a higher ceiling than almost every single player we've had under Pope.

 

[RunninRichie]

lol Billy G would like to have a word with you

Daniel Orton, Darrius Miller, Deandre Liggins, Patrick Patterson, 3 5 stars and a high 4 star in Miller.

 

[megablue]

Does Pope appearing to be on the "hot seat" affect recruiting ??

 

[rljohnson5769]

Daniel Orton, Darrius Miller, Deandre Liggins, Patrick Patterson, 3 5 stars and a high 4 star in Miller.

Michael Avery, Dakota Euton, Vinny Zollo, G.J. Vilarino, Matt Pilgrim, Donald Williams, Kevin Galloway, Bud Mackey, Dominique Ferguson, Jerrell Williams. Told Jeff Teague he wasnt good enough to play at Kentucky. There are 2 sides to every coin.

 

[Randy Bob]

Recruiting is different these days because of the portal.

 

[Ash Williams]

Michael Avery, Dakota Euton, Vinny Zollo, G.J. Vilarino, Matt Pilgrim, Donald Williams, Kevin Galloway, Bud Mackey, Dominique Ferguson, Jerrell Williams. Told Jeff Teague he wasnt good enough to play at Kentucky. There are 2 sides to every coin.

Galloway wasn’t bad though. I felt bad for him when Cal kicked him.

 

[RunninRichie]

Michael Avery, Dakota Euton, Vinny Zollo, G.J. Vilarino, Matt Pilgrim, Donald Williams, Kevin Galloway, Bud Mackey, Dominique Ferguson, Jerrell Williams. Told Jeff Teague he wasnt good enough to play at Kentucky. There are 2 sides to every coin.

I didn't realize we were including misses on the list, lol.

 

[bigblueinsanity (the real)]

Billy G had issues, but he could recruit. He had some head scratchers (the eight grader), but he also landed Patterson and Orton.

And did so in the midst of a major recruiting rules shift that closed a loophole hed been using - text messages.

Pope is the worst and it isnt close. To make matters worse, he struggles portal recruiting too and has to overpay for anyone we actually get.

It sucks because it seems like Pope is a great guy and I think a great bench/game coach. He just isn't made for running a major college program. He just isn't.

 

[RunninRichie]

And did so in the midst of a major recruiting rules shift that closed a loophole hed been using - text messages.

Pope is the worst and it isnt close. To make matters worse, he struggles portal recruiting too and has to overpay for anyone we actually get.

It sucks because it seems like Pope is a great guy and I think a great bench/game coach. He just isn't made for running a major college program. He just isn't.

He'd be a damn good assistant coach, like you said, he's not a headcoach. That's ok, some guys aren't. See Kenny Payne for a good example.

 

[0r1c]

There is an objective, non hyperbolic argument that Pope is one of the worst college basketball recruiters of all time. Which obviously makes everything seem even worse coming after the best recruiter of all time lol.

 

[0r1c]

What Pope has done, or failed to do, will NEVER be duplicated by any coach at a high major men’s CBB program, UK or otherwise, in the future of high school recruiting!

I could have landed at least a couple of those 5 stars myself, with UK’s prestige and resources! If I wasn’t alive and seen it for myself, I would have never believed it was ever a remote possibility.

If we were talking about Kelsey or Oats, or whoever, it would be the longest running joke on this forum, FAR surpassing U6 or UNCheat.

It's funny because the Arkansas trolls will say "see it was never about Kentucky" but the fact that Kentucky is still in the top 4 for pretty much every recruit, despite the fact Pope is a horrible recruiter, proves Kentucky is doing ALL of the heavy lifting. If Pope was at Arkansas they would have nothing but 2/3 stars.

 

[0r1c]

Absolutely not !

1. He got startled late in the cycle. It takes time to build these relationships.
2. Unlike Cal he is getting players that fit his system and want to wear this sacred cloth.
3. This is his first full class and already has one 5 star with another blue chipper ready to sign.

Stop saying sacred cloth you weirdo.

 

[Global Havok]

And did so in the midst of a major recruiting rules shift that closed a loophole hed been using - text messages.

Pope is the worst and it isnt close. To make matters worse, he struggles portal recruiting too and has to overpay for anyone we actually get.

It sucks because it seems like Pope is a great guy and I think a great bench/game coach. He just isn't made for running a major college program. He just isn't.

It does suck, but I think most folks could see it coming.