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In hindsight it's crazy how bad Mitch botched the last coaching search

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kydmb99

Senior
Mar 8, 2009
80
485
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Regardless of what you think about Pope, look at the ineptitude of that search:

1) First target was Scott Drew who has been a total disaster the last 2 years. Rejection made UK look bad.
2) Then went to Danny Hurley coming off 2 national titles. Was obviously going to say no to anyone. Again, made UK look bad.
3) Couldn't wait a few extra days to speak to Donovan though there appeared to be some interest based on reports at the time.
3) Refusal to look at other, more qualified candidates such as Oats, Pearl, May, Lloyd, etc..
4) Hired Mark Pope THREE DAYS after Cal left.
5) Absolutely no creativity or imagination whatsoever in the candidate search.

Just complete and total ineptitude that has only become more clear over time.
 
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Gilead12

Redshirt
Oct 6, 2009
16
30
13
Yes. The media coverage of unc has made it clear that this was a shocking dereliction. No one is even entertaining the idea that UNC should look for an up and comer with little or no tournament wins/experience, and/or look to alumni to hire in the family. I have no idea exactly why we rushed it, but it was and is unacceptable. Swim team scandal, Pitino call, turned down a couple times, etc means nothing—unacceptable failure to do your most basic job duties.
 
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jedwar

jedwar

Heisman
Moderator
Dec 30, 2002
19,583
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Weakness starts at the top. If we had a stronger president then either the search would have been different or Mitch would have been shown the door for it or the other crazy things he did. UK needs a house cleaning.
 
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MegaBlue05

MegaBlue05

Heisman
Mar 8, 2014
10,740
21,047
66
He did what anyone on the way out at any job does - the bare minimum.

Mitch asked his good buddy. Got turned down.

Half-assed pursued the hottest name in the game. Got turned down.

Hired an unqualified candidate with ties to the program who was a definite yes.
 
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TFCat11

TFCat11

Heisman
Mar 25, 2019
5,745
10,070
108
I’ve been saying, and will continue to say, Mitch hiring Pope was a middle finger to BBN for criticizing his leadership and decision making over the years!

He was always going to put almost zero effort into replacing Calipari, and that’s exactly what happened. Now our direct Blue Blood rivals are about to set themselves up for years to come, while woke UK and its vocal minority, get their participation trophy wish, and bring back Pope for what’s setting up to be the most disastrous season since Sutton left, and I’m not counting the “Covid” season because of the historical outliers involved.
 
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Kantucke_rivals

Senior
Mar 9, 2015
587
945
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jedwar said:
Weakness starts at the top. If we had a stronger president then either the search would have been different or Mitch would have been shown the door for it or the other crazy things he did. UK needs a house cleaning.
Click to expand...
agree, I believe the entire administration is filled with Elis/Barnhardt's people. The fact that the Golden Parachute is still a thing seems to confirm this suspicion. Eli C should also step down, a clean state would go a long way.
 
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Z

Zuma75

All-Conference
Mar 19, 2017
863
1,193
93
jedwar said:
Weakness starts at the top. If we had a stronger president then either the search would have been different or Mitch would have been shown the door for it or the other crazy things he did. UK needs a house cleaningAbsoutely. It's systemic, at the highest levels.
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Absolutely - it's systemic neglect and not giving a ****, at the highest levels of UK.
 
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Smeegs

All-Conference
Nov 19, 2025
505
1,376
93
You don’t even need hindsight. It was pretty clear from the start that Mitch botched it.

What’s happening now is exactly what everyone thought would happen on the day the Pope hire was first announced two years ago. We later tried to convince ourselves that it was a good hire purely out of wishful thinking and false hope. But it turns out our first instincts were correct.
 
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P

peterpiper09

All-Conference
Mar 19, 2006
1,023
2,051
112
beating a dead horse wtf GIF

How many different ways and word salad combinations can people possibly come up with?
 
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OliverSimmonsTwinBrother

OliverSimmonsTwinBrother

All-Conference
Feb 3, 2025
1,367
4,494
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Pygmy Sasquatch said:
I was stunned when Pope was announced as the new coach. Stunned and dismayed. However, I bought the dog and pony show press conference and bought the entire bill of goods. Now I'm back to being dismayed. Mitch absolutely screwed the pooch.
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That presser was Mitch shaking his keys at us to get us to stop crying. The crazy thing is it worked, at least for a while
 
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UKBB4Ever

All-Conference
Jul 3, 2025
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There was no search

Maybe he checked to see if Lee Rose was still alive?

IYKYK
 
Dr.LutherSan

Dr.LutherSan

All-American
Sep 6, 2019
3,968
7,635
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TFCat11 said:
I’ve been saying, and will continue to say, Mitch hiring Pope was a middle finger to BBN for criticizing his leadership and decision making over the years!

He was always going to put almost zero effort into replacing Calipari, and that’s exactly what happened. Now our direct Blue Blood rivals are about to set themselves up for years to come, while woke UK and its vocal minority, get their participation trophy wish, and bring back Pope for what’s setting up to be the most disastrous season since Sutton left, and I’m not counting the “Covid” season because of the historical outliers involved.
Click to expand...
What was "woke" about it?
 
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ukalum1988

ukalum1988

Heisman
Dec 21, 2014
12,441
32,526
113
Pygmy Sasquatch said:
I was stunned when Pope was announced as the new coach. Stunned and dismayed. However, I bought the dog and pony show press conference and bought the entire bill of goods. Now I'm back to being dismayed. Mitch absolutely screwed the pooch.
Click to expand...
You certainly weren't the only one with that "WTF" reaction, and you weren't the only to be suckered in with 96 team getting off the bus inside Rupp Arena at the introductory press conference. I'm part of that club as well.
 
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T

tjhunter

Freshman
Feb 22, 2026
37
50
18
Kantucke_rivals said:
We're about to watch how a real blue blood coaching search goes down in the 21st century.
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I agree! The big thing is will guys like , Hurley, Dusty may,Tommy loyd, Golden,Oats, ect leave. Oats would make the most sense to me!

If not then you drop to the next level. And even then there were better more sure candidates then Pope.
Having said that I would ask people to be respectful toward our coach and players! You can voice frustration and needing change, without the absolute poison toxic hate filled rants I have witnessed in the past few months. Barnhart needs to get a lot of emails letters ect. And if those are nothing but nasty they will not matter! But if you respectfully give cause and reason along with a demand for change, you will make a much bigger impact then acting hateful and nasty ect!
 
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K

KyWideWes

Junior
Dec 11, 2025
105
202
43
Hiring coaches is also recruiting. Does anything think Mitch in his sweater vest and khakis and goober buzzword generation is going to sway alphas like Hurley? The guy is as easy to say no to as Pope is.
 
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K

Kantucke_rivals

Senior
Mar 9, 2015
587
945
93
tjhunter said:
I agree! The big thing is will guys like , Hurley, Dusty may,Tommy loyd, Golden,Oats, ect leave. Oats would make the most sense to me!

If not then you drop to the next level. And even then there were better more sure candidates then Pope.
Having said that I would ask people to be respectful toward our coach and players! You can voice frustration and needing change, without the absolute poison toxic hate filled rants I have witnessed in the past few months. Barnhart needs to get a lot of emails letters ect. And if those are nothing but nasty they will not matter! But if you respectfully give cause and reason along with a demand for change, you will make a much bigger impact then acting hateful and nasty ect!
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I have never been toxic towards players and never will. If players aren't performing that's on the coaching staff not the players. That's a red line that should never be crossed by anyone.
 
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*Fox2Monk*

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
44,693
80,468
113
kydmb99 said:
Regardless of what you think about Pope, look at the ineptitude of that search:

1) First target was Scott Drew who has been a total disaster the last 2 years. Rejection made UK look bad.
2) Then went to Danny Hurley coming off 2 national titles. Was obviously going to say no to anyone. Again, made UK look bad.
3) Couldn't wait a few extra days to speak to Donovan though there appeared to be some interest based on reports at the time.
3) Refusal to look at other, more qualified candidates such as Oats, Pearl, May, Lloyd, etc..
4) Hired Mark Pope THREE DAYS after Cal left.
5) Absolutely no creativity or imagination whatsoever in the candidate search.

Just complete and total ineptitude that has only become more clear over time.
Click to expand...
I just read that Billy D said no to UNC but wants to wait for other opportunities in college basketball so maybe we could get him.
 
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*Fox2Monk*

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
44,693
80,468
113
MarvinHagler89 said:
He’s botched almost every search he’s been directly involved in. Billy G, Joker, Stoops(not horrible but not the best), Pope. He was not involved with Cal and had very little influence on Stein. His contract extensions are even worse. Stoops and Cals contracts were the most BS thing he’s ever done.
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Besides the JMi deal lmfao. What BS.
 
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Bugs092056

Bugs092056

All-Conference
Sep 20, 2022
893
1,658
93
*Fox2Monk* said:
I just read that Billy D said no to UNC but wants to wait for other opportunities in college basketball so maybe we could get him.
Click to expand...
Lol how many times are we gonna pine for Billy D? It would have already happened by now if it was meant to be.
 
Bugs092056

Bugs092056

All-Conference
Sep 20, 2022
893
1,658
93
*Fox2Monk* said:
He’s a hell of a lot better than Pope. I know he can at least coach. Hire the right staff to show him the NIL ropes.
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Him being better than Pope isnt the matter at hand. We've went at him with no success. Whether thats a Barnhart thing I don't know
 
Pygmy Sasquatch

Pygmy Sasquatch

All-American
Mar 27, 2009
9,291
9,560
113
I never considered the swim team scandal playing a part in Pope's (or a quick in general) hiring. It just didn't occur to me.
 
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