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Pope is not the guy to blame

21Goose

21Goose

Senior
Jan 7, 2003
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Pope took his dream job like most would but he was not even close to qualified. No way he would have been considered if he didn't play here but Mitch panicked after Drew turned him down. Your anger should be at Barnhart. He is the most overrated AD in college sports and I can't wait until his last day on the job.
 
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TTTblue24

All-Conference
Feb 1, 2004
3,851
2,691
113
Actually if you want to name anyone it’s cal, he basically quit the last 3-4 yrs here and made it to where a change was needed. Had he stayed hungry and actually coached to the best if his abilities, he’d still be here and be in the conversation with self, K, Izzo those type guys.
 
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Cats4321

All-Conference
Nov 18, 2025
808
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I can't blame Pope for taking his dream job. He clearly didn't have the resume for it, but Mitch hired him anyway. It doesn't mean he shouldn't be asked to resign after this year. He was given an opportunity to prove himself, but the program has trended in the wrong direction the past two years. He can take the millions that he made here and live comfortably, and we will still appreciate what he did as a player. And we can celebrate a new AD and coach this off-season.
 
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Zuma75

All-Conference
Mar 19, 2017
892
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TTTblue24 said:
Actually if you want to name anyone it’s cal, he basically quit the last 3-4 yrs here and made it to where a change was needed. Had he stayed hungry and actually coached to the best if his abilities, he’d still be here and be in the conversation with self, K, Izzo those type guys.
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Cal jumped the shark … no doubt about it.
 
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UKBB4Ever

All-Conference
Jul 3, 2025
1,807
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TTTblue24 said:
Actually if you want to name anyone it’s cal, he basically quit the last 3-4 yrs here and made it to where a change was needed. Had he stayed hungry and actually coached to the best if his abilities, he’d still be here and be in the conversation with self, K, Izzo those type guys.
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Sounds like bias confirmation. Cal had one bad season here. It was really bad and coincided with a worldwide pandemic. Cal's last 3 seasons were a 2,5 and 3 seed. He had reloaded for the 24-25 season.

The '22 season was great. Oscar POY. Just dominated teams. The '24 season was very good. Yes, we got upset in the tourney and that sucks. But if the seasons don't count why is anyone concerned about Pope?

Cal needed to go because of the players first thing. Not because matt jones said so. But there was no reason to hire a clown to take his place.

I didn't want Drew and thought Pope was a home run hire. One of ours!! Instead it's just a miserable failure. Drew would have been a better hire. There were also many better than Drew. No one besides him turned us down. When Drew backed out of their prearranged deal Mitch called only Pope.
 
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OliverSimmonsTwinBrother

OliverSimmonsTwinBrother

All-Conference
Feb 3, 2025
1,452
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I can surely blame Pope. Was he under qualified? Yes! Has he tried anything at all to improve? Doesn't seem like it. Surrounded himself was a lackluster staff and misused the greatest resources in college sports.

On top of all that, he's very stubborn on the court and refuses to deviate from something that obviously isn't working.
 
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wccat

All-American
Apr 8, 2009
5,343
8,127
66
Unfortunately Pope is getting paid and he said he understands the assignment. He should be held accountable. Now he will get a third year like it or not but after next year a decision will need to be made. Pope is not the new AD’s hire so he will have to make the call on Pope’s results and performance. Another season like this one and it will be an easy decision.
 
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Monday Nitro

Monday Nitro

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Jul 3, 2025
4,220
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21Goose said:
Pope took his dream job like most would but he was not even close to qualified. No way he would have been considered if he didn't play here but Mitch panicked after Drew turned him down. Your anger should be at Barnhart. He is the most overrated AD in college sports and I can't wait until his last day on the job.
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@MarvinHagler89 called Pope a “degenerate” last night. Can you imagine a sane, functioning human being with an IQ over 25 reading that disgusting stuff??
 
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UKCowboys

All-American
Oct 14, 2019
3,456
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MB retiring certainly changes the equation. If we bring in a legit AD, it would be normal for him to want "his own people" running the programs. Obviously the new football coach is safe, but he could let Pope go without the egg on his face MB would have since he was MB's choice to run the program after he was slapped in the face by his first choice Scott Drew, who is 15-14 at Baylor. If the new guy wants to make a name for himself and get BBN firmly in his corner, making a Homerun hire for Men's Basketball would do that instantly. If the new AD is one of MBs cronies and hires Scott Drew or the like, the program could be in serious danger of melting down completely
 
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Catlogic1552

All-Conference
Jul 3, 2025
490
1,147
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TTTblue24 said:
Actually if you want to name anyone it’s cal, he basically quit the last 3-4 yrs here and made it to where a change was needed. Had he stayed hungry and actually coached to the best if his abilities, he’d still be here and be in the conversation with self, K, Izzo those type guys.
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I still think Cal’s demise was linked to Barnhart. Their relationship really soured after Peavy left, who ran interference. And remember Cal wanted a new practice facility, even if he raised the money himself, and Barnhart said no. I think that lit the fuse.
 
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TheDude73

TheDude73

Heisman
Jan 7, 2006
24,091
23,462
113
Both can be at fault. Mitch for hiring someone not qualified, and Pope for thinking this is OK performance at UK. Honestly, if he has a healthy and decent team next year and they still suck, he should recognize he's in over his head and quit on his own. This year he does get a *slight* pass from me due to injuries to three key players. I will always wonder how he/we would have done had there been no injuries and JQ came back and stayed back.
 
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Eight_Banners

Eight_Banners

Junior
Feb 22, 2016
145
233
43
UKBB4Ever said:
Sounds like bias confirmation. Cal had one bad season here. It was really bad and coincided with a worldwide pandemic. Cal's last 3 seasons were a 2,5 and 3 seed. He had reloaded for the 24-25 season.

The '22 season was great. Oscar POY. Just dominated teams. The '24 season was very good. Yes, we got upset in the tourney and that sucks. But if the seasons don't count why is anyone concerned about Pope?

Cal needed to go because of the players first thing. Not because matt jones said so. But there was no reason to hire a clown to take his place.

I didn't want Drew and thought Pope was a home run hire. One of ours!! Instead it's just a miserable failure. Drew would have been a better hire. There were also many better than Drew. No one besides him turned us down. When Drew backed out of their prearranged deal Mitch called only Pope.
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Why do you think Drew would have been a better hire? He's 15-14 this year at Baylor. He was 20-15 last year. I can't imagine where we would be if he had taken the job.
 
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Seth_C

Seth_C

All-American
Mar 12, 2017
4,612
8,205
96
I don't blame Pope for taking the job, but his failure to accomplish the job to an acceptable level I obviously blame on him. I also won't feel any pity for him if he loses his job after a few months or a year.
 
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21Goose

21Goose

Senior
Jan 7, 2003
2,496
908
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UKBB4Ever said:
Sounds like bias confirmation. Cal had one bad season here. It was really bad and coincided with a worldwide pandemic. Cal's last 3 seasons were a 2,5 and 3 seed. He had reloaded for the 24-25 season.

The '22 season was great. Oscar POY. Just dominated teams. The '24 season was very good. Yes, we got upset in the tourney and that sucks. But if the seasons don't count why is anyone concerned about Pope?

Cal needed to go because of the players first thing. Not because matt jones said so. But there was no reason to hire a clown to take his place.

I didn't want Drew and thought Pope was a home run hire. One of ours!! Instead it's just a miserable failure. Drew would have been a better hire. There were also many better than Drew. No one besides him turned us down. When Drew backed out of their prearranged deal Mitch called only Pope.
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Just curious why did you think Pope was a home run hire? The only reason could be the nostalgic nature of him being a former player. I got caught up in that some too but hindsight tells me I was wrong. Go Cats
 
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MichaelGray

MichaelGray

All-Conference
Jan 13, 2026
808
1,149
93
21Goose said:
Pope took his dream job like most would but he was not even close to qualified. No way he would have been considered if he didn't play here but Mitch panicked after Drew turned him down. Your anger should be at Barnhart. He is the most overrated AD in college sports and I can't wait until his last day on the job.
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Overrated? I never realized he was ever good enough to be rated lol. 🤣🤣
 
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MichaelGray

MichaelGray

All-Conference
Jan 13, 2026
808
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UKCowboys said:
MB retiring certainly changes the equation. If we bring in a legit AD, it would be normal for him to want "his own people" running the programs. Obviously the new football coach is safe, but he could let Pope go without the egg on his face MB would have since he was MB's choice to run the program after he was slapped in the face by his first choice Scott Drew, who is 15-14 at Baylor. If the new guy wants to make a name for himself and get BBN firmly in his corner, making a Homerun hire for Men's Basketball would do that instantly. If the new AD is one of MBs cronies and hires Scott Drew or the like, the program could be in serious danger of melting down completely
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The sad reality is the fact that it probably will be one of his cronies, like the chick married to the JMI "Hill" guy i believe? The prominent boosters need to step in & have a say in all of this, I'm fairly certain they're as fed up with **** as we are, probably even worse since they're paying millions to watch this **** show.
 
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MichaelGray

MichaelGray

All-Conference
Jan 13, 2026
808
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gbl97 said:
@SugarRayLeonard would knock him out if he saw that.
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gbl97 said:
@SugarRayLeonard would knock him out if he saw that.
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Sugar Ray Leonard wouldn't knock him out but he would definitely hit him more times & get the win lol. Then Hagler would say he never hurt me 🤣🤣 I watched that fight, Sugar Ray Leonard was my favorite boxer.
 
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The_Answer1313_rivals

Heisman
May 27, 2007
31,901
25,000
113
Ultimately the coach is going to be blamed for any underperformance and credit for any over performance.

OF COURSE he is to blame here lol.

Mitch making a bad hire doesn't change the fact the head coach isn't getting the job done.
 
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The_Answer1313_rivals

Heisman
May 27, 2007
31,901
25,000
113
Another thing that I rarely see but needs to be ...........players need to be held accountable as well.

You can't just blame one person for this.

Mitch made this hire
Pope is the one coaching and recruiting the talent
The players are underperforming as well

There's plenty of blame to go around here.
 
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Zuma75

All-Conference
Mar 19, 2017
892
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Pope didn't create the mess that he stepped into.

It seemed like his first year, he was making some progress in cleaning it up. But Year 2 he ran bus into the ditch. That part is his responsibility. He better get it out of there and running right in a hurry, or he won't be driving it much longer.
 
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HogCoyote

All-Conference
Jan 20, 2013
1,053
1,387
113
Zuma75 said:
Pope didn't create the mess that he stepped into.

It seemed like his first year, he was making some progress in cleaning it up. But Year 2 he ran bus into the ditch. That part is his responsibility. He better get it out of there and running right in a hurry, or he won't be driving it much longer.
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I blame Pope for continuing to make the same mistakes over and over again, and make the same comments over and over again like its Groundhog Day. He's literally giving us the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.
 
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Skyguyb27

All-American
Feb 12, 2008
4,666
7,753
113
Monday Nitro said:
@MarvinHagler89 called Pope a “degenerate” last night. Can you imagine a sane, functioning human being with an IQ over 25 reading that disgusting stuff??
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I’d say described sane person would know there are all types in forums especially in a team’s board after another embarrassing performance from an unqualified coach again. So what was the point your were trying to make? You seem to like to put other posters down directly and indirectly that down agree with your nut hugging mentality
 
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UKGrad24

UKGrad24

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Apr 2, 2024
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It doesn’t matter. Fix the problem. When my kids give me the ole “it’s not my fault”, what do we as parents do? We tell them it doesn’t matter whose fault it is, we need to fix the problem. Listening to kids tell you it’s not their fault 30 times per day, what do we do? We say whose fault it is doesn’t matter, this is what YOURE doing, not stop doing it or there are consequences. Barnhart and Pope are the issue, regardless. And the players being at fault goes under the head coach. His players his responsibility. Especially when he takes out his best players during key moments.

Mark cannot coach at Kentucky because we’ve got a 12 year sample size and we’re expecting seasons that he cannot produce. It’s that simple. No sense in arguing over this stuff. If you want to give him more time then you not making sense. You’re wanting seasons that he’s NEVER produced. He’s not young, this is who he is. Even if he could produce a good season he’s not going to be consistent. It’s over.

And Barnhart didn’t make a panic hire. He was hiring a guy he could control on his way out. A guy that won’t have a lot of leverage and he could ride out the JMI debacle with a yes guy. Pearl was likely set up, he didn’t want it.
 
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Snarks

All-American
Jan 31, 2005
8,445
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Agreed, I’m also upset that Mitch gave pope the sweet 16 auto extension. Way more expensive to buy him out if he has a decent season.
 
CutNets

CutNets

Sophomore
Jan 13, 2026
67
157
33
UKGrad24 said:
It doesn’t matter. Fix the problem. When my kids give me the ole “it’s not my fault”, what do we as parents do? We tell them it doesn’t matter whose fault it is, we need to fix the problem. Listening to kids tell you it’s not their fault 30 times per day, what do we do? We say whose fault it is doesn’t matter, this is what YOURE doing, not stop doing it or there are consequences. Barnhart and Pope are the issue, regardless. And the players being at fault goes under the head coach. His players his responsibility. Especially when he takes out his best players during key moments.

Mark cannot coach at Kentucky because we’ve got a 12 year sample size and we’re expecting seasons that he cannot produce. It’s that simple. No sense in arguing over this stuff. If you want to give him more time then you not making sense. You’re wanting seasons that he’s NEVER produced. He’s not young, this is who he is. Even if he could produce a good season he’s not going to be consistent. It’s over.

And Barnhart didn’t make a panic hire. He was hiring a guy he could control on his way out. A guy that won’t have a lot of leverage and he could ride out the JMI debacle with a yes guy. Pearl was likely set up, he didn’t want it.
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As usual you nailed the true issue with Pope and that's precedent. He's doing here what he's done everywhere. Big wins followed by inexplicable losses. The only difference? Inexplicable losses at UK are far different than at BYU. They stand out more. BYU beats Kansas? Wow! Amazing! They take a "bad loss" against Duquesne? Who cares, we beat Kansas!


Doesn't work that way at UK, yet he's continued that trend in his move from BYU to here. Regular season matters here (more wins than anyone in history/highest winning percentage). Conference titles matter here (more than all schools combined). National Titles matter here (second most all time).


There's no such thing as "ups and downs" for Kentucky basketball. You have ups and downs? Hit the road, next man up.
 
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A

AJG-15

All-Conference
Apr 8, 2024
1,907
3,285
78
I agree with OP that the current situation is due to Mitch decisions.

I was not a fan of how he treated Cal either. We, Kentucky , could have used Cal after he was done coaching, as a basketball ambassador or GM. Imagine using Cal’s network, relationship to the benefit of the university And basketball program.


Pope does not know what he is doing. He could have reached out to Cal, to former assistants of Cal and even former players. However , he made his own team of assistants that cannot even count 6 players on the court. I feel bad for him not succeeding here. I know he does too.
however, he is getting paid a lot to learn on the job. I would adventure to say he is overpaid.


Mitch is not going anywhere. Just different title. listen to Uk President and Pope last press conference and see that Mitch will still have a great influence on our program and also get paid generously for it.


UK is overpaying for mediocrity and unfortunately it will continue…
 
R

rivercatinfl

All-Conference
Nov 21, 2012
2,026
1,925
97
21Goose said:
Just curious why did you think Pope was a home run hire? The only reason could be the nostalgic nature of him being a former player. I got caught up in that some too but hindsight tells me I was wrong. Go Cats
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I fell into the same trap. I loved Pope as a player. I watched some of his teams play on occasion. They were competitive and he seemed to be making the right moves.

He ran into a buzz saw with injuries and recruiting gaffs. He absolutely must get high end talent for next year with a couple players or we are going to rinse and repeat.

Man, I hate for him, but given the choice to see my Cats back towards the top in wins and keepin Pope with records like this, it's a no brainer. Find someone else but pick the right guy this time. IMO Scott Drew ain't it.
 
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