Pope better land Stokes and a KILLER portal class.
Bruce Branch Commits to BYU
- Thread starter TheAssignment9
- Start date
Or what? BYU just got Dybantsa, Rob Wright, Keita and a returning Richie Saunders and have the same projected seed as that awful recruiter Mark Pope this season. Pope is fine, needs to do what works best for him.
NCAA Bracketology: 2026 March Madness men's field predictions
NCAA Bracketology: 2026 March Madness men's field predictions
What do you mean, "Or What"?
Or the dude will get fired.
We have been at a major talent disadvantage all season long and our pending 2nd round exit will showcase that.
I'm glad to hear you are fine with the current direction of things but if you truly don't see the need for a massive talent upgrade, then idk what to tell you.
But Pope will not get a year 4 if things stay status quo.
If Pope doesn't get the on-court results, sure, he will be fired.
Championships can be built multiple different ways --- Bruce Branch, Tyran Stokes, etc are all just players. There's a lot of them out there and none of them are must-haves. None.
You posted Branch going to BYU and stated Pope better be getting somebody, ignoring the fact that BYU has the most talented team in the country and still is no better than Kentucky this season. That's all I'm saying...
Yeah I'm not super worried about Kevin Smith and his coaching abilities with top talent, couldn't care less in fact.
But after watching every game of the Mark Pope era (most multiple times), it's very clear he needs to upgrade his talent.
So yes, we better land Stokes and/or some killers in the portal. Watching Pope lead another scrappy bunch of role players to a 6-seed is not my standard of excellence.
My statement stands.
You're forgetting that BYU is BYU and Kentucky is Kentucky
You're defeating your own argument and you don't even see it. I'm fine with agreeing to disagree, but if you can't see how:
"BYU got a HS guy. Pope better get one"
isn't a self-defeating point considering they just signed a generational talent and can't out-perform Pope this season with a roster that you say isn't talented.
No I'm not. I didn't compare Kentucky to BYU --- OP did. It's literally right up there, the whole thread.
Is funny when I read “Pope needs to do what’s best for him” ATTENTION: Pope is not choosing to have a portal only class, he has offered tons of 5 stars the past two years and had no luck.
I read the same news and insiders you do. I'm well aware. My point still stands.
yep, mark pope with that roster goes to a final 4 easy
You cannot imagine how much I don't care who BYU recruits.
First of all, to the (self proclaimed village idiot), I never once said "BYU got a HS guy so Pope better get one". Literally never said that.
My point was that we were recruiting this guy and trying to get him on campus as recently as 2 weeks ago and we struck out again on another talented player.
Pope better upgrade his talent.
And exactly @Tri-Countycat - Pope is trying HARD to land these dudes and cannot do it. But Village Idiot thinks everything is okay so let's just keep on keeping on.
1.) There's no such thing as an easy final four -- no matter what your roster is.
2.) I reject the premise that the most "talent" wins to begin with, but the hypotheticals like that mean nothing. We have no idea how Pope would perform with imaginary rosters.
I can see myself leading this team to a championship. I like his confidence in him self, but Dybantsa is 1st or 2nd pick this coming draft, and BYU has seen how hard it is to win even with a star like Dybantsa. and losing Saunders hurt them bad.
We were literally recruiting this kid. We literally have been trying to get him on campus and we struck out. Since when do recruiting battles that Kentucky is directly involved in not matter anymore?
I can tell you, it's when we no longer expect to win them anymore.
I don't think everything is okay but I think your diagnosis for the issue is highly erroneous. And ive been pretty outspoken about A.) my dissatisfaction with the current results and B.) my diagnosis for it.
That NIL deal with Dybantsa coming off the payroll must've hit different. He's the only athlete in history outside the state of Utah to break down in tears while announcing for BYU.
So just to be clear, you DO NOT think we need to upgrade our talent? You think the level of talent on this team currently is good enough to win at the level that we expect?
It's a simple yes or no question.
If your answer is YES, there's no need to upgrade the talent, then we have nothing more to discuss because it's insane for anyone to think the level of talent we have now is good enough.
If your answer is NO, we definitely need an upgrade, then you agree with me, and your whole argument here looks pretty dumb.
Kentucky hasn't been Kentucky in a long time
I reject the premise that lack of talent is this team's issue. And also, i don't give a damn about looking dumb. I'd rather be honest and provide critical analysis than say what looks good on a computer screen. I believe i've put in the work for my opinion to be backed up with good rationale and methodology. Our issues are far more complex than lack of talent. That's why we have the ability to win at Arkansas, beat a top 15 team in Vanderbilt badly, win two games versus Tennessee etc and yet still have head-scratching losses. I've been pretty consistent from the beginning of the year until now.
Got it, so yes, we need a talent upgrade. Thank you, 99% of the fanbase agrees with that, so I'm glad you agree as well!
Having most likely 1 player who is All-SEC caliber on a $22 million roster is criminal.
well considering pope has done well with under talented teams, isnt it simple math to think hed to better with mo talent
Huh? I said literally the opposite in the most candid way. All good though man, and you're right 99% of people agree with you, that part is true. lol
Okay got it, so you DO NOT think we need to upgrade our talent?
Got it, I mean nothing more to discuss then. You are happy with the current level of talent.
No, it isn't. I have two examples from recent memory.
Remember how the 2025 team was the 25th ranked portal class and we got a 3 seed, S16. Then, the next year, we added a top 15 HS class and the 2nd ranked portal class and we got worse?
Or do you remember how much worse we played with a projected 1st Rd NBA player? Other factors matter, such as injuries, roster continuity, minutes continuity, chemistry, positional fit, defined roles, etc.
I see you aren't trying to have a legitimate conversation, sir. You win whatever game you think you're playing. My post was expressly clear.
the 25 team was made with diamonds in the rough, we hit on all of our transfers which doesnt happen much, also i dont put much stock in the s16 because all we did was win 2 tourney games in a mediocre regular season as well
this team had a way worse portal class, and we only had 2 difference making returners
AND STILL have an okay record, so yes i firmly believe with more talent wed be much better
Haha no it wasn't! You very intentionally just used a bunch of word-vomit to avoid answering my very clear question about whether or not you think our current level of talent is good enough or if you think we need to upgrade?
Literally everyone on Earth recognizes our need to upgrade talent at nearly every position, but you didn't want to answer the question because you knew you were boxed in.
I'm eager to move on as well at this point.
Him and AJ are so full of sh*t lol. "It just felt right" and "I want to win at a new program". Ooooook.
Bullsh*t, you got Tech bro money and probably more that we will never know. Which is fine. But BYUs best player over the last 30 years was a 3-star Mormon from Upstate NY. It's not a basketball program. Don't tell me these guys are going to a Mormon school because of the fit. Come out with it, dont lie lol. You got paid snd promised more than anyone else was offering.
Bullsh*t, you got Tech bro money and probably more that we will never know. Which is fine. But BYUs best player over the last 30 years was a 3-star Mormon from Upstate NY. It's not a basketball program. Don't tell me these guys are going to a Mormon school because of the fit. Come out with it, dont lie lol. You got paid snd promised more than anyone else was offering.
For the last decade, every single national champion had a top 10 high school recruiting class that year, right?
no one said that, + those programs rhat won have a different coach than ours so their formula doesnt have to be like ours
keep in mind out of our 10 losses this season, i cant attribute a single one of them to being outcoached, but being out talented
That's because we all know the answer. Zero champs in the last decade even had a top 10 high school recruiting class. Literally zero but its the most important thing on the planet and if you don't agree that it's literally the answer to every question, it must mean you don't know anything. At least that's how y'all talk to me.
RR: Hey, Idiot. You don't know high school players are the beginning and end of everything in basketball.
Me: Yeah, but for a full decade, none of the champions even had a top 10 high school class.
RR: Look at this idiot. He likes being a 6 seed.
What the hell kind of logic is this? ^^^ And why am I the unsensible one when it comes to this topic? lol its almost hilarious.
i mean scheyer hasnt won the whole thing but hes done excellent with young guys, maybe thats the approach pope needs to take, weve seen two years of older guys with no talent so why keep doing the same thing and hope for different results
If you ever want to be objective, pull your own team from the pool of data. Otherwise, you open yourself up to bias.
And yes, I think Scheyer is an outstanding coach. This year he has a roster that can win it all. But I gave you a full decade of championship teams. Why do none of them have a top 10 high school class and yet its the most important thing on the planet? That's 1+1=potato type of logic right there.
i mean theres a WHOLE video from sleepers media talking about how winning with mid players is one thing but NOT winning with mid players is something else, not to mention the fact we have 0 commits for next season
they talked about how the new AD might tweak some stuff about what pope has to do for next season