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Kiss Oats Goodbye. Thanks MITCH!

UKGrad24

UKGrad24

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Dward13 said:
A little bit yeah. I don’t think it’s a guarantee Donovan will be as successful in this era. His big thing his last 8 years at Florida was he needed to keep guys around and he hated what recruting had become.

Roster turnover seems inevitable now. After his back to back he lost his top 6 and went NIT, NIT, 1st round exit. He’ll have to adapt.
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Donovan isn’t coming back to the college game he’s coming back to a pro game. This isn’t college anymore, recruiting is basically done by your name and money now. Donovan doesn’t have to fly around to each recruit anymore, he’s Billy Donovan championship coach and former coach of the Chicago Bulls. He’s going to be parked with a blue blood name in UNC (if happens), and there just isn’t much more to talk about. He’ll have a machine it’s not like he’s Billy the Kid at Florida asking you to please take a visit.

One thing I’ve noticed is a lot of people aren’t transitioning to understanding what the college game is now. It’s not a minor league pretending to be about academics an going by rules anymore, it’s another NBA league. It’s just another pro.

Donovan will likely do very very well in this pro league. The fact that he is going about this the same as he did last time shows we probably could have lured him. The Mitch Barnhart special, and we’re sitting with a guy who has no business at a legitimate power 5, much less UK. It’s insane.
 
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kfwa

kfwa

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ZaytovenCat said:
So we are just supposed to keep Pope another 2-3 years, suck *** that whole time, all just because of perception? The next coach might not work but i KNOW Pope won’t work out.

Because he’s similar to Cal 20 years ago. Hes a youngish, hot shot coach, who has been knocking on the door but has kept coming up short. He’s ambitious and wants to be talked about in the same manner as his buddy Danny. It was easy for him to say he wasn’t interested last time when he wasn’t offered. He can say what he wants publicly but I’d bet money if UK made a serious play for him that he’d come. Hell hire Bama’s AD if that’s what it takes to get him here.

Unless I’m just totally wrong and misread him and he’s actually too scared of the UK job… but given his personality I don’t think he is. He can hope all he wants but he’s not winning a title at Bama. Non traditional basketball schools just don’t win titles in college basketball. The closest to that happening is Florida but they’ve been good for 25+ years. Plus, teams wearing red don’t win natties. It’s a proven fact. 😂
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IIRC, he discounted the UK job before UK really had a chance to offer, unless you believe that UK within 48 hours of Cal announcing his leaving was sending out feelers specifically to him. I know Barnhart was focused on Drew, but if you want the job, you don't pre-emptively say you don't.
 
kfwa

kfwa

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Oct 12, 2014
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Dward13 said:
A little bit yeah. I don’t think it’s a guarantee Donovan will be as successful in this era. His big thing his last 8 years at Florida was he needed to keep guys around and he hated what recruting had become.

Roster turnover seems inevitable now. After his back to back he lost his top 6 and went NIT, NIT, 1st round exit. He’ll have to adapt.
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I don't really have any positive or negative feelings about Donovan to UNC, but what I will tell them is they better lock him down now. He'll dance with him while they pass up other coaches and then he'll suddenly get cold feet. That's been his M.O. in the past.
 
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OGtruebluewildcat

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Aug 4, 2025
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Hurley is clearly the get of the modern era and only dude right now who has clearly proven he can win titles.

However nobody was on him when he was at Rhode Island. Imagine MB hiring the Rhode Island coach who struggled the first couple seasons.

Everyone else and what they could do is just theory.

Nate Oates is a really good coach…at Bama right now. Is he the next Billy Donovan, Jay Wright, Dan Hurley?

Or Is he Rick Barnes, Bruce Pearl, Ben Howland, Sean Miller, Shaka Smart?

All very good coaches who had a hot run.

Dusty May is hot now. He may win a title. Nobody was hollering for MB to hire the FAU coach. He had 1 great season. Every other one he didn’t hit 20 wins.

He could very well go on to be Michigan’s K…or he could be that guy who took Michigan on a couple runs with the Fab 5.

Pope could be Billy Gillespie…or he could be Joe B Hall, Rick Pitino…let’s at the very least give him his contract.

The last thing anyone wants is 5 years from now Mark Pope, former UK coach, and title winning player captain making runs somewhere else.
 
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Anon1774630942

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Mar 27, 2026
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MegaBlue05 said:
Some of y’all live in fantasy land.

It’s not 40 years ago, guys. We can’t just wave the Big Blue Wand and poach any coach we want. UNC is further illustrating this point.
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Ain't it hysterical to watch. Everyone here thinks it's a destination. UK needs to find a hungry coach on the up & up who wants UK as a next step, not find some top tier coach looking to make a lateral move. They need to have confidence and fit the culture. Look at what Iowa just did with McCollum. UK isn't getting any top P4 coach to come over into a stress bomb.
 
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kfwa

kfwa

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Kentucky is still a destination coaching job.

its the difference between your school prioritizing the program versus it being second tier to football, 5 different coaches have won national championships here, they leave with more money than they can spend, and say what you will about Barnhart but if they are writing articles about how Kentucky is the bleeding edge on funding for NIL, that's going to get a potential coach's attention. Just not having to beg donors for money has to be a big motivator.

The challenge for UK is, we don't win with a replacement coach, we win with a coach who is an innovator. Its not about hiring a guy that is up and coming or a veteran, its about hiring a coach who sees the landscape of college basketball, knows what needs to be done beyond X's and O's and understands that UK is going to give him the rope and the resources to accomplish that.

If you are wanting a coach to come here that is a niche coach or just coming off a couple of hot years, you're going to be wanting him gone in 3 years. That's how you end up with a Gillispie or a Sutton. Kentucky's championships were won with coaches who did things no other coach was doing - or at least benefitted from the previous coach who was so impactful it carried over.
 
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Anon1774630942

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kfwa said:
Kentucky is still a destination coaching job.

its the difference between your school prioritizing the program versus it being an second tier to football, 5 different coaches have won national championships here, they leave with more money than they can spend, and say what you will about Barnhart but if they are writing articles about how Kentucky is the bleeding edge on funding for NIL, that's going to get a potential coach's attention. Just not having to beg donors for money has to be a big motivator.

The challenge for UK is, we don't win with a replacement coach, we win with a coach who is an innovator. Its not about hiring a guy that is up and coming or a veteran, its about hiring a coach who sees the landscape of college basketball, knows what needs to be done beyond X's and O's and understands that UK is going to give him the rope and the resources to accomplish that.

If you are wanting a coach to come here that is a niche coach or just coming off a couple of hot years, you're going to be wanting him gone in 3 years. That's how you end up with a Gillispie or a Sutton. Kentucky's championships were won with coaches who did things no other coach was doing - or at least benefitted from the previous coach who was so impactful it carried over.
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Well put - I'd still look for a young up and coming guy that has shown that, someone who sees this as a UK giving them a chance. You need a culture builder, innovation, someone kids want to play for. Like I said, McCollum looks to be that for Iowa. The biggest concern right now to me is that top kids want nothing to do with Pope - that is a flag to me. That is agents advising against.

Wouldn't want someone moving into the role laterally - it's barely a destination job, as Pitino said there are no Blue Bloods anymore in the day of NIL. No kid is coming to you for just the name. They are looking for PT & $$ as top priorities.
 
UKGrad24

UKGrad24

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MegaBlue05 said:
Some of y’all live in fantasy land.

It’s not 40 years ago, guys. We can’t just wave the Big Blue Wand and poach any coach we want. UNC is further illustrating this point.
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Blue bloods never could, in the modern era, wave magic wands and get whoever they want. There have always been factors at play, such as family ties to the area (Hurley), family not wanting to move (Drew), coaches wanting to go pro instead (Donovan), coaches entrenched and can’t leave where they are (Olson) etc. the idea that a blue blood could just hire whoever they want has really never existed since everyone began to play on TV equally, and even then, they still had factors to consider. We’re sort of over blowing this in every direction.

Blue bloods give you more, today, than other programs for the most part. If you’re already at a program like Michigan, Arizona etc, then you might not leave which is the same it’s always been. For everyone else, blue blood draw is fierce. Always has been always will be.

Recogniztion, fame, history, resources, etc, blue bloods won’t ever be beat. Unless for family or other reasons similar, coaches are leaving most programs for blue bloods. The problem right now is that most of the ones worthy are at tier 2 programs like Arizona and UConn and Michigan and don’t have to go.
 
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LargeMarge

LargeMarge

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Feb 12, 2026
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UKGrad24 said:
They don’t listen. When I was at UM calipari had players arrested constantly. Invovled in serious crimes. Plus soliciting prostitution, inciting riots, constant club brawls. They were the city bullies. All sorts of big crime investigations going on, drugs you name it. WAY worse than Oats. But the guy you’re responding to defended Calipari to the 10th degree. Most of the Oats haters do. It’s comical how big of hypocrites people can be.
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So you played for Cal 🤔
 
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Eagles_Ball_69

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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.
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Just to be clear, what we are currently doing is the absolute definition of slumming it.
 
UKGrad24

UKGrad24

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LargeMarge said:
So you played for Cal 🤔
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I feel like, judging by your responses, I have to approach this in a different way.

I was in college at Memphis during Calipari’s run there. I’m from that area originally. Fathers side from Mayfield grew up UK in Mem/TN country. I’m also friends with a guy that played for calipari at Memphis while I was there. Calipari is nothing at all like this board has made up in their head. It’s why the Oats bashing is funny, nobody who plays like Calipari is some great guy needs to even discuss issues of Oats.

I could tell you about Harbortown too, you wouldn’t understand that either.
 
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LargeMarge

LargeMarge

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Feb 12, 2026
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UKGrad24 said:
I feel like, judging by your responses, I have to approach this in a different way.

I was in college at Memphis during Calipari’s run there. I’m from that area originally. Fathers side from Mayfield grew up UK in Mem/TN country. I’m also friends with a guy that played for calipari at Memphis while I was there. Calipari is nothing at all like this board has made up in their head. It’s why the Oats bashing is funny, nobody who plays like Calipari is some great guy needs to even discuss issues of Oats.

I could tell you about Harbortown too, you wouldn’t understand that either.
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I was just asking cause you said you played college basketball. Was asking if he was your coach
 
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