I wanted him to succeed because he played here and obviously loves the place.
But I just don’t think this job is for him.
I was incensed by the hire the night it was announced, but bought in after “the endorsement” and “the Big Blue revival.” There was no other option.
Last year gave me hope. This year reality set in. The blowouts, substitution patterns and lack of recruiting have led me to sour on Mark Pope.
Today’s game was lost when he brought in Johnson, who played 2 minutes of the worst basketball I’ve seen and didn’t call timeout until ISU had erased the entire lead.
He will always be a 60-65% coach whether it’s here or in C-USA. That’s not good enough for Kentucky.
Pope will get a year 3. I don’t see a school with an outgoing AD making that move, therefore, Pope is facing is a likely lame duck season in 2026-27.
That said, I am going to support Pope and next year’s team with all I got and hope they make me eat this post with a FF run. It just doesn’t seem likely.