Unfortunately Kentucky basketball is....

Catphright23

Senior
Dec 6, 2023
239
498
63
That's your opinion. We have been kentucky basketball, look at most watched games. We have a had down season, real fans though stay after bad seasons. Don't care for bandwagon fans
 

Bugs092056

All-Conference
Sep 20, 2022
893
1,658
93
That's your opinion. We have been kentucky basketball, look at most watched games. We have a had down season, real fans though stay after bad seasons. Don't care for bandwagon fans
I'm pretty sure you dont even know what you're saying when you say bandwagon fans
 
Mar 30, 2026
160
440
53
That's your opinion. We have been kentucky basketball, look at most watched games. We have a had down season, real fans though stay after bad seasons. Don't care for bandwagon fans
Pope got booed three times by his own audience this season. THREE. Has any prior UK coach been booed even once??

Must be a loooooot of bandwagon fans out there.
 
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Jazzycat

All-Conference
May 23, 2002
16,087
4,682
113
Get the right coach at UK and things can change quickly. Pope is a nice guy but, not the best fit at Kentucky. It requires a person with a grittier personality who has a track record of winning at a much higher level. Those guys are few and far between but out there.

Tommy Lloyd would kill it here, imo…
 
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Anon1774630942

Redshirt
Mar 27, 2026
30
22
3
The lack of bring in great HS talent is really worrying. It says something about Pope and where he has the state of the program if he can't get any of these kids to come. It brands the look and feel for any other recruits, who's then primary driver is $$. Once that is primary, you're never getting kids coming for the right reasons and it's all uphill.
 
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Mike-D

Heisman
Jul 14, 2001
49,975
73,995
113
No longer elite

And it's going to take a totally different approach by the administration to get it back on track....even then it might be impossible to get back cuz we've fallen so far behind

And the problem is there's no indication that anything is going to change administratively....even if MB is out

Sad times for sure...

This program ain't doing **** until Mitch leaves. And by leave, I mean completely disconnected from UK athletics.
 
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SicemSmokey33

Redshirt
Jun 29, 2022
2
2
3
Kentucky will be back where yall want them to be. Kind of a victim of their own success, the bar is set high. With the way NIL has changed the game, its a learning curve for everybody. Every year now your starting with basically a new team. I think the days of anybody going back to back are done. Look at Michigan, losing record 2 years ago, now on Final 4. It's different era now, long sustained success will be harder to maintain. Is Pope the guy? Highly questionable but if he isn't, go get the guy now. One good hire a few recruits is all it takes. The wrong guy or guys will kill a program fast ask Vol football fans like me.
 
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SicemSmokey33

Redshirt
Jun 29, 2022
2
2
3
And before you kill me as a Vol fan, my son is huge Cats Bball fan and I have much respect for the program. College Bball is better when Kentucky is Kentucky.
 
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HeismanWinner

All-Conference
Sep 12, 2025
1,360
3,313
113
Florida has as many titles the last 20 years as we have the last 48. If you're 40 or below, you have watched UConn and Duke be the most successful programs in college basketball.

Just in the last 14 years since our last title, we have watched UConn win three, UNC win one, Duke win one, Villanova win two, Kansas win one, and Florida win one.

Houston has more Final Fours than us since 2015. So does Gonzaga.

We are right there with being what Indiana is to basketball and Nebraska is to football.
 

sk73

All-Conference
Feb 16, 2013
3,183
3,234
113
Every single organization and program in history has ups and downs. There is no way to sustain being the best every single season or every single decade. We own the majority of “team of the decade” handed out. We own the most NCAA categories in the #1 spot, we’ve top two in most of the rest, no worse than top 5 in any really. And we were not awesome in every single year in between that.

I don’t care about cherry picked dates. I care about the full body of work. I can make an F here and there and still come out with an A. I don’t care that the F was the last test taken if the result is an A for the class.

Kentucky will never die it’s not possible. Eventually we will set the table as we always do. People said the same things when Gillispie was here “Kentucky is the Notre Dame of college basketball”. I can’t imagine what people were saying in 1977. People do not realize you’re repeating history over and over every single time you do this. It’s all been said before and it was wrong every single time.

If what Kentucky does and the way we do it is not elite, NOBODY IS.
I get the comparison and I get what you are saying. I mostly agree with it but, If, in fact, we are the Notre Dame of college basketball, that means we go to at least 2050 before our 9th championship. Notre Dames last football championship was in 1988.
 

Jgrass34

Junior
Mar 3, 2024
105
296
63
Unfortunately Kentucky Basketball is......

Right now, we are embarrassingly the laughing stock. Even in the SEC. We threw too much money at players who didnt deserve what they received. What do you think SEC coaches are telling players?

1.) Go to UK if you just want to make money, they have endless bank there.
2.) Pope is doing less with more.
3.) Florida, Alabama, Auburn, and Tennesse have all built better programs than what's current at UK.

The only reason Stokes is even in with UK is because we are the highest bidder, along with Kansas. Pope says hes looking for players who want to be here and be a part of something special, but then turns around and flashes top $$ to get players here. And even then, he under delivers. I really wanted Pope to do well here. Ive always liked him. Hes a good dude. But im starting to believe the talk about him being in over his head. Last year was for all intents and purposes a disaster. Terribly inconsistent team, a lengthy string of bad/slow starts, head scratching substitution patterns, mishandling the press numerous times, reports of him being stubborn, the huge gamble that he lost in the JQ game. So much negative, that its hard to be positive. I want him to turn it around, I really do. But man...I dont know. With the pressure increasing this coming season, I can see himself folding even worse. Hope im wrong though.
Right now its like....which was the worst gamble? Bringing an unproven coach like him to UK, or rolling the dice with JQs injury?
 
Last edited:
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UKGrad24

All-American
Apr 2, 2024
2,807
6,777
100
I get the comparison and I get what you are saying. I mostly agree with it but, If, in fact, we are the Notre Dame of college basketball, that means we go to at least 2050 before our 9th championship. Notre Dames last football championship was in 1988.
How does 1988 title and 2012 title and nearly an undefeated season and final four in 2015 compare? We’ve also got an elite 8 in 17 and 19. Im not saying we haven’t had a lul for 5 years but how does that equal notre dame? lol. We’ve won 3 national titles since they’ve won 1.
 

UKGrad24

All-American
Apr 2, 2024
2,807
6,777
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Some aren’t getting this. You add it all up because you can’t determine when you’re founder walked in. Our host founder came early, Dukes came late, in 40 years they’ll have down periods too, did coach K not really exit?

It’s all recency bias. It’s not real. Add up the totals. That’s your program, rank’m, done.
 

sk73

All-Conference
Feb 16, 2013
3,183
3,234
113
How does 1988 title and 2012 title and nearly an undefeated season and final four in 2015 compare? We’ve also got an elite 8 in 17 and 19. Im not saying we haven’t had a lul for 5 years but how does that equal notre dame? lol. We’ve won 3 national titles since they’ve won 1.
I was responding to another post. I do not compare the two at all. I loved the 2010 thru 2020 UK teams, well, except for 2013.
 
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wildcat111

All-Conference
Dec 9, 2020
1,533
1,727
113
No longer elite

And it's going to take a totally different approach by the administration to get it back on track....even then it might be impossible to get back cuz we've fallen so far behind

And the problem is there's no indication that anything is going to change administratively....even if MB is out

Sad times for sure...

No longer elite

And it's going to take a totally different approach by the administration to get it back on track....even then it might be impossible to get back cuz we've fallen so far behind

And the problem is there's no indication that anything is going to change administratively....even if MB is out

Sad times for sure...
Been saying the same thing for years. And , yeah it is going to get worse.
 

Loucatfan30

Senior
Apr 11, 2024
796
902
87
Its not just the coaching or lack there of in our program. They quality of players that play for us isnt f4 or title type players and hasn't been since Fox left. Good players sometimes but stud point guards haven't been here in a while. Hell our last 8 guards have either been hurt or wanted to leave. Im not a gloomy person but op is right we are 5 years away from this **** being fixed.
Not really. We are a great coach away from this getting fixed.
 

bbnkat02

Heisman
Nov 14, 2017
47,610
70,816
113
Fan following in numbers does not equal relevancy in terms of competitive success
That's completely different. People will watch our games just because they hate us. That's very much relevancy.

For comparison, NOBODY watches IU games, hate watching or otherwise.
 

bbnkat02

Heisman
Nov 14, 2017
47,610
70,816
113
We're definitely not elite at the moment at least in terms of the product being put on the floor and into play. We'll be back at some point, I don't know when though.

I want college basketball to have an "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve" moment, and soon.
You and me both. It needs to happen.
 

bbnkat02

Heisman
Nov 14, 2017
47,610
70,816
113
Pope got booed three times by his own audience this season. THREE. Has any prior UK coach been booed even once??

Must be a loooooot of bandwagon fans out there.
Cal absolutely got booed. At Rupp. It wasn't as loud as it was for Pope, but it did happen.

Before that? Couldn't tell you. I don't remember Tubby or Rick getting booed by BBN.
 

bbnkat02

Heisman
Nov 14, 2017
47,610
70,816
113
And before you kill me as a Vol fan, my son is huge Cats Bball fan and I have much respect for the program. College Bball is better when Kentucky is Kentucky.
Dang....TWO posts in 4 years and they're both right here. lol.

Nah, we welcome other fan bases here that like to talk ball as long as they're respectful. Course we're gonna give them a good rivalry rubbing, but we've got Auburn, Vandy, Gators, and even a Hawg or two floating around and they're long time chill guys.

Now...with that out of the way....when y'all ever gonna get to the FF? lol
 

UKGrad24

All-American
Apr 2, 2024
2,807
6,777
100
I was responding to another post. I do not compare the two at all. I loved the 2010 thru 2020 UK teams, well, except for 2013.
Ah okay. I was about to say we’ve been in 5 championship games and won 3 titles since Notre Dame won a ship lol. Decades apart. I was curious to see the comparison.