Toggle sidebar

Kiss Oats Goodbye. Thanks MITCH!

CrimsonCats_rivals

CrimsonCats_rivals

All-Conference
Mar 22, 2022
1,634
3,327
61
It’s amazing how high of a bar he’s set for himself over the past few years that a lot of you are acting like a year where he finished 2nd in the SEC and made the Sweet 16 was somehow a disastrous season that exposed him as a fraud. It’s a pretty short list of guys who can do better than that every single year.

Again, I doubt he was ever leaving anyway though. UNC is showing us right now that you can’t wait on a coach to be one of the established best in the country and then use your historic value to lure them away from the program they’ve already built to prove that. Next time we do a coaching search, we should try to identify the Buffalo version of Nate Oats instead of presume we can get the version who’s already taken Alabama to a Final Four.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ZaytovenCat and dynastydreamuk
Monday Nitro

Monday Nitro

All-American
Jul 3, 2025
4,033
6,877
112
KentuckyWildcats74 said:
The fact that some of you guys still think Oats was/would have come here is laughable. He was not leaving Bama and said so on multiple occasions. Had bama even thought he was sniffing this job they would have throawn bank at him just like they did here.
Click to expand...
He keeps announcing that he's not leaving because he knows nobody would take him and he's savihg himself the embarrassment of not being considered anywhere other than maybe Auburn, lol.
 
U

UKCowboys

All-American
Oct 14, 2019
3,322
5,589
113
seccats04 said:
Oats is at Bama, the biggest football brand. Pope is at UK, the biggest basketball brand. If you don’t understand the differences in resources, tradition, investment, money, NIL, fan following, etc then you don’t understand how this works. In the simplest terms, put Oats at UK and he would kill it. Put Pope at Alabama and they look like Ole Miss.
Click to expand...
If you don't understand that Oats has had enough talent to win it all more than once and has choked the chicken multiple times, thats on you
 
J

JohnRambo82

Senior
Mar 25, 2026
284
432
58
Whenever we need another coach, I wouldn’t want Oats. He takes to many players with character issues. Maybe that would change if he was at a school that prioritizes basketball? Idk but at this point I wouldn’t want him.
 
I’m The Village Idiot

I’m The Village Idiot

Heisman
Jul 30, 2024
5,746
10,869
113
  • Angry
Reactions: kywildcats4life
BigBluefoot

BigBluefoot

All-American
Jul 4, 2025
1,534
6,262
113
Johnnie Africa said:
I’m just not big into Oats like a lot of you guys are, but Mitch absolutely sucks
Click to expand...
Yeah, Oats runs a prolific perimeter oriented offense,.but he thinks he can simply out score everyone instead of playing defense. Not a recipe for ever winning a title. Good coach, but I dont think he would bebthe answer here. But Mitch does suck.
 
BigBluefoot

BigBluefoot

All-American
Jul 4, 2025
1,534
6,262
113
Monday Nitro said:
What a dumb post. UK doesn't want that lowlife here. He'd never get a sniff here unless Ron Jurich was the AD. The "win at any costs so I can beat my chest and moon the UT neighbor" clan can kick rocks. The University of Kentucky isn't going slumming just to please the clowns of the fanbase.
Click to expand...
Yes, we are above winning up here on our fake moral pedestal. All hail archbishop Barnhart!
Posts Pope GIF
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: DukeWinsLOL, dynastydreamuk and ZaytovenCat
B

Blue till I die

All-Conference
Dec 20, 2004
1,539
2,923
113
Which of the top 5 or 6 coaches do you think are leaving their current job?

Hurley - No
May - No
Lloyd - No
Cal - No thank you
Pitino - hard pass (Katina Powell, Syphers, FBI)
Scheyer - No
Self - No
Oats - No


Just look at how well the UNC search is going. The portal opens on 2 days and they don't even coach yet
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbnkat02 and CrimsonCats_rivals
BigBluefoot

BigBluefoot

All-American
Jul 4, 2025
1,534
6,262
113
Blue till I die said:
Which of the top 5 or 6 coaches do you think are leaving their current job?

Hurley - No
May - No
Lloyd - No
Cal - No thank you
Pitino - hard pass (Katina Powell, Syphers, FBI)
Scheyer - No
Self - No
Oats - No


Just look at how well the UNC search is going. The portal opens on 2 days and they don't even coach yet
Click to expand...
Good thing there are more than 6 coaches out there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dynastydreamuk
ZaytovenCat

ZaytovenCat

All-American
Apr 25, 2013
23,880
8,400
97
UKCowboys said:
If you don't understand that Oats has had enough talent to win it all more than once and has choked the chicken multiple times, thats on you
Click to expand...
That’s hilarious coming from a guy who backed Cal for many years. He had one of the biggest choke jobs in tournament history with the Rose team and then had ATLEAST 3 major ones here. Yet you and many others defended him right up until the last year or two.

The thing is, nobody other than Hurley is a sure fire better option than Oats. At UK you have to be able to prove that you can recruit at a high level, win at a high level and have the personality where you won’t let this job chew you up and spit you out. There maybe 4 guys who check all 3 boxes and Oats is one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JHannibalSmith, HeismanWinner, seccats04 and 1 other person
dynastydreamuk

dynastydreamuk

All-Conference
Nov 18, 2010
1,850
1,385
113
Blue till I die said:
Which of the top 5 or 6 coaches do you think are leaving their current job?

Hurley - No
May - No
Lloyd - No
Cal - No thank you
Pitino - hard pass (Katina Powell, Syphers, FBI)
Scheyer - No
Self - No
Oats - No


Just look at how well the UNC search is going. The portal opens on 2 days and they don't even coach yet
Click to expand...
Fred Hoiber
TJ Otzelberger
Sean Miller
Ben McCollum
Mark Byington
Bruce Pearl
Josh Scertz
Will Wade
Jai Lucas

I asked AI to list to 40 active coaches... Surprisingly it put Mark Pope 32nd
All possible coaches listed above ranked hired, except Jai Lucas which is your young risky risky pick gamble if you want to go that route.
 
dynastydreamuk

dynastydreamuk

All-Conference
Nov 18, 2010
1,850
1,385
113
ZaytovenCat said:
That’s hilarious coming from a guy who backed Cal for many years. He had one of the biggest choke jobs in tournament history with the Rose team and then had ATLEAST 3 major ones here. Yet you and many others defended him right up until the last year or two.

The thing is, nobody other than Hurley is a sure fire better option than Oats. At UK you have to be able to prove that you can recruit at a high level, win at a high level and have the personality where you won’t let this job chew you up and spit you out. There maybe 4 guys who check all 3 boxes and Oats is one.
Click to expand...
agreed, we also are not considering that becoming the coach at Kentucky usually gives you a bump and the coach does better than everywhere else they have been. He would have more money for NIL, better brand, better facilities.
 
BlueSince92

BlueSince92

All-Conference
Jul 2, 2025
10,456
2,794
230
Monday Nitro said:
What a dumb post. UK doesn't want that lowlife here. He'd never get a sniff here unless Ron Jurich was the AD. The "win at any costs so I can beat my chest and moon the UT neighbor" clan can kick rocks. The University of Kentucky isn't going slumming just to please the clowns of the fanbase.
Click to expand...
I don’t like Oats but I can almost guarantee I want Oats more than whoever this administration will hire even after Mitch leaves.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ZaytovenCat
U

UKCowboys

All-American
Oct 14, 2019
3,322
5,589
113
ZaytovenCat said:
That’s hilarious coming from a guy who backed Cal for many years. He had one of the biggest choke jobs in tournament history with the Rose team and then had ATLEAST 3 major ones here. Yet you and many others defended him right up until the last year or two.

The thing is, nobody other than Hurley is a sure fire better option than Oats. At UK you have to be able to prove that you can recruit at a high level, win at a high level and have the personality where you won’t let this job chew you up and spit you out. There maybe 4 guys who check all 3 boxes and Oats is one.
Click to expand...
LMAO to this entire post
 
B

bigblueinsanity (the real)

All-American
Jul 6, 2025
2,140
6,462
113
ToneTheBone said:
Tf are you even babbling about? Dude has made 4 straight Sweet 16s. His last 3 seasons were Final Four, Elite 8, and Sweet 16. Show me the programs outside of UConn that has done that. Oh, and he ran into buzz saw Michigan in the Sweet 16, and played them better than anyone else in the tourney. Sure as hell looked better than Tennessee and ‘Zona against them. Had he had UT’s path, he’d have been back to the Elite 8. And he did it without their second best player, who shoots over 43% from deep on high volume. You people people are dumb as fck.
Click to expand...

This year he didn't have a stud and fizzled. He is way better than what we have, but isnt the savior many make him out to be.

Also imp this year is potentially the death blow to the 3 point insanity. None of the top teams just launched 3s. It was always a flawed premise, but i think people are finally seeing through it.
 
seccats04

seccats04

Heisman
Dec 6, 2004
14,392
23,033
113
UKCowboys said:
If you don't understand that Oats has had enough talent to win it all more than once and has choked the chicken multiple times, thats on you
Click to expand...
There's only one champ a year. And Bama had never made a F4 before Oats. If you think they're not spending most of their NIL on football, that's on you. Bama doesn't care about basketball. And he's still getting 5 stars to the biggest football brand. Pope is at the biggest basketball brand and can't land an out of state 5 star to save his life, even with the most money.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ZaytovenCat and dynastydreamuk
U

UKCowboys

All-American
Oct 14, 2019
3,322
5,589
113
seccats04 said:
There's only one champ a year. And Bama had never made a F4 before Oats. If you think they're not spending most of their NIL on football, that's on you. Bama doesn't care about basketball. And he's still getting 5 stars to the biggest football brand. Pope is at the biggest basketball brand and can't land an out of state 5 star to save his life, even with the most money.
Click to expand...
Pope is not the conversation. The conversation is Oats and Oats alone. One FF in seven years would not be enough at UK fella, if you say it would be then youre a hypocrite
 
*Fox2Monk*

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
44,691
80,467
113
dynastydreamuk said:
To be fair, that just came out this month in a radio interview where he said he was engaged, to a former Alabama staffer of all things. They kept that divorce secret and on wraps for 3 years !!! that's why everybody said it was rumor because it couldn't be proven true and Nate himself never said anything about it.
Click to expand...
Must have cheated on her with his staffer, probably some young hottie.
 
HeismanWinner

HeismanWinner

All-Conference
Sep 12, 2025
1,360
3,313
113
JohnRambo82 said:
Whenever we need another coach, I wouldn’t want Oats. He takes to many players with character issues. Maybe that would change if he was at a school that prioritizes basketball? Idk but at this point I wouldn’t want him.
Click to expand...
I mean, I agree but this fan base would be total apologists for it if we did.


Blue till I die said:
Which of the top 5 or 6 coaches do you think are leaving their current job?

Hurley - No
May - No
Lloyd - No
Cal - No thank you
Pitino - hard pass (Katina Powell, Syphers, FBI)
Scheyer - No
Self - No
Oats - No


Just look at how well the UNC search is going. The portal opens on 2 days and they don't even coach yet
Click to expand...
None of these coaches are clean. This is a dirty sport. But yes, none of them are gonna come here. Would gladly take five years of Pitino. I know that's not realistic but I'd easily do it.

If I were a betting man now that Oats is no longer an option, that basically leaves Iowa State's TJ Otzelberger as the only decent one right now based on everything we know in basketball. Then you have the next tier where it would be guys like Vandy's coach, Fred Hoiberg, etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dynastydreamuk and *Fox2Monk*
seccats04

seccats04

Heisman
Dec 6, 2004
14,392
23,033
113
UKCowboys said:
Pope is not the conversation. The conversation is Oats and Oats alone. One FF in seven years would not be enough at UK fella, if you say it would be then youre a hypocrite
Click to expand...
Again, Oats is doing what he's doing at the biggest football school. Imagine what he could do at a school with more resources for basketball, like UK. No way of knowing but I'd be shocked if Bama spends half of what we do on basketball.
 
  • Like
Reactions: true-blue1
Madhuvan

Madhuvan

Junior
Aug 11, 2024
138
314
63
Wildcat_in_DC said:
llyod turned down a top 5 job to stay at a top 10-15 job. coaching for a blue blood doesnt mean anything any more. so its unlikely oats would ever come to uk.
Click to expand...
Oats has upgraded Alabama. But Alabama ain’t Arizona. Not an apples to apples comparison.
 
U

UKCowboys

All-American
Oct 14, 2019
3,322
5,589
113
seccats04 said:
Again, Oats is doing what he's doing at the biggest football school. Imagine what he could do at a school with more resources for basketball, like UK. No way of knowing but I'd be shocked if Bama spends half of what we do on basketball.
Click to expand...
Oats might do well, but he is certainly not the only good coach out there so why get your panties wadded up? When Pope is gone, if we have a serious coaching search, we will have a great coach
 
HeismanWinner

HeismanWinner

All-Conference
Sep 12, 2025
1,360
3,313
113
seccats04 said:
Again, Oats is doing what he's doing at the biggest football school. Imagine what he could do at a school with more resources for basketball, like UK. No way of knowing but I'd be shocked if Bama spends half of what we do on basketball.
Click to expand...
Alabama has more money than we do.
 
I’m The Village Idiot

I’m The Village Idiot

Heisman
Jul 30, 2024
5,746
10,869
113
UKCowboys said:
Oats might do well, but he is certainly not the only good coach out there so why get your panties wadded up? When Pope is gone, if we have a serious coaching search, we will have a great coach
Click to expand...
We don’t know that we will have a great coach. North Carolina has been rejected over and over in their coaching search. We almost hired Shaka Smart last time. We had essentially three guys we almost hired: Drew, Pope and Smart. We ended up with the best of those three over the two year span. Coaching searches are much harder for bluebloods in the current era. We blamed it on Mitch’s incompetence last time, but I don’t think Mitch is running the search in Chapel Hill.
 
HeismanWinner

HeismanWinner

All-Conference
Sep 12, 2025
1,360
3,313
113
Wildcat_in_DC said:
llyod turned down a top 5 job to stay at a top 10-15 job. coaching for a blue blood doesnt mean anything any more. so its unlikely oats would ever come to uk.
Click to expand...
He was at Gonzaga for over 20 years. He has the best program out west in Arizona. I wouldn't have left either.

But the perception of this place being special is vanishing under this new system.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ZaytovenCat
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom