Real Talk - Pope is Putting in the Work

philstat · 2026-04-21T06:28:36-0500

I have no doubt MP is probably pulling 18+ hour days right now, we‘ve seen him contact dozens of players, that’s just the ones we know of, he’s had multiple campus visits etc., this isn’t about the level of dedication and love that he has for the university. Anyone that doubts those aspects are blinded by their emotions, I have zero doubt that Mark is absolutely working his *** off, it truly comes down to results. I have no clue to what’s happening though when he dedicates a full day to host Robert Wright and is shown with his arm around him walking alongside and still loses him, then there’s an absolutely enormous issue with his pitch.

The same with DF, to my knowledge he didn’t even visit SJ. Some coaches have a charisma about them, reminds me of that time in CFB, we had Damien Harris who had been on campus over 200 times in the course of six years, Saban flew in and signed him in less than two hours. Pope is unfortunately never going to have that, it’s extraordinarily difficult to become an effective leader and to possess charisma, sadly he lacks both of those attributes. He’s one of our own, lets support him through this final gauntlet, I’m sure he’s taking this brutally hard as well. This comes down to a disastrous outcome put in place my MB, more so than anything. I will never donate a single cent to the university until they cease their proposal for paying him $950K per year for life, robbery.

BBNSZN914 · 2026-04-21T06:31:25-0500

philstat said:
I have no doubt MP is probably pulling 18+ hour days right now, we‘ve seen him contact dozens of players, that’s just the ones we know of, he’s had multiple campus visits etc., this isn’t about the level of dedication and love that he has for the university. Anyone that doubts those aspects are blinded by their emotions, I have zero doubt that Mark is absolutely working his *** off, it truly comes down to results. I have no clue to what’s happening though when he dedicates a full day to host Robert Wright and is shown with his arm around him walking alongside and still loses him, then there’s an absolutely enormous issue with his pitch.

The same with DF, to my knowledge he didn’t even visit SJ. Some coaches have a charisma about them, reminds me of that time in CFB, we had Damien Harris who had been on campus over 200 times in the course of six years, Saban flew in and signed him in less than two hours. Pope is unfortunately never going to have that, it’s extraordinarily difficult to become an effective leader and to possess charisma, sadly he lacks both of those attributes. He’s one of our own, lets support him through this final gauntlet, I’m sure he’s taking this brutally hard as well. This comes down to a disastrous outcome put in place my MB, more so than anything. I will never donate a single cent to the university until they cease their proposal for paying him $950K per year for life, robbery.

He needs support, guidance.

For instance, he needed someone to insist on the GM role and he has gone into recruiting battle this cycle without a full coaching staff.

We hired an up and coming coach with an up and coming network. We really could use that extra circle of networking right now.

PoopooPeePee · 2026-04-21T06:31:33-0500

philstat said:
I have no doubt MP is probably pulling 18+ hour days right now, we‘ve seen him contact dozens of players, that’s just the ones we know of, he’s had multiple campus visits etc., this isn’t about the level of dedication and love that he has for the university. Anyone that doubts those aspects are blinded by their emotions, I have zero doubt that Mark is absolutely working his *** off, it truly comes down to results. I have no clue to what’s happening though when he dedicates a full day to host Robert Wright and is shown with his arm around him walking alongside and still loses him, then there’s an absolutely enormous issue with his pitch.

The same with DF, to my knowledge he didn’t even visit SJ. Some coaches have a charisma about them, reminds me of that time in CFB, we had Damien Harris who had been on campus over 200 times in the course of six years, Saban flew in and signed him in less than two hours. Pope is unfortunately never going to have that, it’s extraordinarily difficult to become an effective leader and to possess charisma, sadly he lacks both of those attributes. He’s one of our own, lets support him through this final gauntlet, I’m sure he’s taking this brutally hard as well. This comes down to a disastrous outcome put in place my MB, more so than anything. I will never donate a single cent to the university until they cease their proposal for paying him $950K per year for life, robbery.

There has to be something he is saying to recruits that is turning them off. No way insiders can say they’re “locks” before visiting and then after visiting they want nothing to do with the program.

philstat · 2026-04-21T06:34:19-0500

I’m honestly not even convinced that he got rid of some of his assistants as much as they decided to leave on their own.

BigBlue_83 · 2026-04-21T06:35:39-0500

I agree with you. He wants UK to succeed more than anyone. And not because it’s his job. I wish he would have a better season this year. I like the guy but unfortunately I don’t think he’s the guy for UK

Cats_2010 · 2026-04-21T06:40:47-0500

If pope had half the brains people like to claim he has then he would know he is failing miserably. Gutting this out and dragging the BBN through a disastrous 3rd season with him deserves no empathy.

Coach777 · 2026-04-21T06:43:00-0500

It obvious in so many ways and so many levels he is WAY over his head. Just because somebody wants to do something doesn't mean they can. Coaching a blue blood is very difficult and few have the ability to do so and be successful. He's only here because he played here. Lets just hope the university finds the right guy after next year.

philstat · 2026-04-21T06:43:10-0500

Cats_2010 said:
If pope had half the brains people like to claim he has then he would know he is failing miserably. Gutting this out and dragging the BBN through a disastrous 3rd season with him deserves no empathy.

I disagree, his first season showed tremendous potential, this past year the wheels came off the bus and he went in with the notion of righting the ship, instead he sunk it.

CUJO_1970 · 2026-04-21T06:43:53-0500

So sorry you’re a millionaire Mark.

I hope you recover soon. None of us can even imagine the anguish you must be feeling.

dckala2_ · 2026-04-21T06:46:42-0500

3 years of our lives wasted giving mark pope a chance de dint deserve. Derek Anderson said it best, you need to be a dog to coach at Kentucky.

worst part is our top button AD brought in a Mormon to connect with young basketball players.

and the one Mormon we had on the roster transferred away, unreal.

dckala2_ · 2026-04-21T06:48:48-0500

If mark pope can make a sweet 16 in year one at Kentucky then a real coach should be able to as well.

there is zero momentum for a third year coach and I can’t wait it get down double digits in the first half of the champions classic. Program needs a factory reset.

philstat · 2026-04-21T06:50:53-0500

dckala2_ said:
3 years of our lives wasted giving mark pope a chance de dint deserve. Derek Anderson said it best, you need to be a dog to coach at Kentucky.

worst part is our top button AD brought in a Mormon to connect with young basketball players.

and the one Mormon we had on the roster transferred away, unreal.

The Mormon aspect is unfair, IMO, some of the nicest and most caring people I’ve met throughout my life have been Mormons, I don’t believe he pushed his beliefs on any of his players. Not once has that been said in any context.

Katscratch · 2026-04-21T06:56:55-0500

At this point it's likely not the 'pitch' that is primarily diminishing Pope. It may be that his reputation for development and team focus has made it through the ranks of players and (more importantly) player representatives.

When that happens it is a very difficult narrative to overcome, even if a player enjoys Pope on a personal level. And if that is the narrative, a program with lots of money can become mainly a financial bargaining chip when negotiating with other schools, but not much more.

dckala2_ · 2026-04-21T06:58:39-0500

Is it unfair? Sure. Is it true? Yes, and no amount of mental gymnastics will change the fact he’s a dork with a very interesting chosen religion that was created only a few hundred years ago.

The point is to win basketball games and dominant your opponent.

anot · 2026-04-21T07:09:23-0500

How can any top recruit trust Mark Pope? The whole program isnt being ran in a modern way. We are way behind the times imo. Recruits can't connect or trust anything going on at UK right now. Everything's so unknown. Coach is lost.

kyhankypanky · 2026-04-21T07:13:05-0500

philstat said:
The Mormon aspect is unfair, IMO, some of the nicest and most caring people I’ve met throughout my life have been Mormons, I don’t believe he pushed his beliefs on any of his players. Not once has that been said in any context.

It’s not an attack on Mormonism per se, but his religion was a major attraction for MB, when that should have nothing to do with it.

katwest · 2026-04-21T07:14:35-0500

The old saying “nice guys finish last” may be true. Kentucky has the brand, the money, all the support you need to remain on top and the championships. Also the all time winningest school in basketball, to many are visiting and leaving when you hear we are supposed to be leading in their recruitment. That leaves only one thing, the message or the coach, what else is there?

kfwa · 2026-04-21T07:24:17-0500

BigBlue_83 said:
I agree with you. He wants UK to succeed more than anyone. And not because it’s his job. I wish he would have a better season this year. I like the guy but unfortunately I don’t think he’s the guy for UK

I think alot of fans are arriving there, that's why I'm not a fan of the folks that are just attacking the guy like he's a carpet bagger hire like Gillespie. This guy has been UK his entire adult and professional life and no one wants this more than him, there are no other priorities in his life. By this time next year, its looking like that dream will end for him, and that is unfortunate for him and Kentucky, but between now and then I want the guy to turn it around and I'm not invested in trashing Pope for every twitter feed from a rando "insider"

UKBB4Ever · 2026-04-21T07:24:28-0500

philstat said:
I disagree, his first season showed tremendous potential, this past year the wheels came off the bus and he went in with the notion of righting the ship, instead he sunk it.

What potential did he show year one?

Getting run out of MSG by Ohio State?

Getting embarrassed by Clemson?

Getting run in Rupp by Cal?

6th place finish in the SEC?

Just refusing to show up against Alabama in the SEC tournament?

Getting blown out in the S16?

No defensive plan at all?

No rebounding?

He was fortunate to get a team of 4 and 5th year guys that had already been coached then got lucky early.

By the time teams realized his “system” was zoom and matador defense reality set in.

We almost lost in Rupp to a UL team we were 20 points better than.

Where was the potential?

No player improved!

Every game against Alabama the beat downs got worse.

The only hope was that team was thrown together in a week and with a full year to build his team it was going to be only upward from there.

He built the team he wanted. He compared it to ‘96 himself.

Again, no defensive scheme. Slightly improved rebounding. No offensive identity and this team quit more than his first team.

They stood in MSG and watched Mich St play.

Then they stood in Bridgestone and watched Gonzaga play.

They got boo’ed off the floor in Rupp at halftime of the IU game.

Tgen they did the walkthrough at Vandy.

It’s been a downward spiral since game 1 of his first season.

Pope has quit without officially quitting. No coach can be this bad at everything. He does absolutely nothing well as head coach.

He has to be trying to get fired and collect his buyout.

kfwa · 2026-04-21T07:25:58-0500

Cats_2010 said:
If pope had half the brains people like to claim he has then he would know he is failing miserably. Gutting this out and dragging the BBN through a disastrous 3rd season with him deserves no empathy.

I personally think he is fighting battles on multiple fronts, some of its self inflicted, some of its beyond his control. I will say he has learned the hard way that having Kentucky on the front of your jersey doesn't mean much in the NIL era and that probably has him frustrated given his affinity for the school and knowing what that meant to him., what it did for his life.

philstat · 2026-04-21T07:32:17-0500

anot said:
How can any top recruit trust Mark Pope? The whole program isnt being ran in a modern way. We are way behind the times imo. Recruits can't connect or trust anything going on at UK right now. Everything's so unknown. Coach is lost.

The fact that in 11 seasons he’s never produced a single bonafide NBA player works tremendously against him and I’m sure it’s constantly used against him by other coaches in recruitment.

yoshukai · 2026-04-21T07:34:24-0500

philstat said:
I’m honestly not even convinced that he got rid of some of his assistants as much as they decided to leave on their own.

Hart left on his own , Brooks was let go .

*Fox2Monk* · 2026-04-21T07:35:33-0500

dckala2_ said:
3 years of our lives wasted giving mark pope a chance de dint deserve. Derek Anderson said it best, you need to be a dog to coach at Kentucky.

worst part is our top button AD brought in a Mormon to connect with young basketball players.

and the one Mormon we had on the roster transferred away, unreal.

That is damming to me. Yeah he went to Mormon U but if he can’t keep Chandler, who can he keep?

philstat · 2026-04-21T07:35:46-0500

UKBB4Ever said:
What potential did he show year one?

Getting run out of MSG by Ohio State?

Getting embarrassed by Clemson?

Getting run in Rupp by Cal?

6th place finish in the SEC?

Just refusing to show up against Alabama in the SEC tournament?

Getting blown out in the S16?

No defensive plan at all?

No rebounding?

He was fortunate to get a team of 4 and 5th year guys that had already been coached then got lucky early.

By the time teams realized his “system” was zoom and matador defense reality set in.

We almost lost in Rupp to a UL team we were 20 points better than.

Where was the potential?

No player improved!

Every game against Alabama the beat downs got worse.

The only hope was that team was thrown together in a week and with a full year to build his team it was going to be only upward from there.

He built the team he wanted. He compared it to ‘96 himself.

Again, no defensive scheme. Slightly improved rebounding. No offensive identity and this team quit more than his first team.

They stood in MSG and watched Mich St play.

Then they stood in Bridgestone and watched Gonzaga play.

They got boo’ed off the floor in Rupp at halftime of the IU game.

Tgen they did the walkthrough at Vandy.

It’s been a downward spiral since game 1 of his first season.

Pope has quit without officially quitting. No coach can be this bad at everything. He does absolutely nothing well as head coach.

He has to be trying to get fired and collect his buyout.

Irrational take, he stepped and immediately built a competitive roster that beat Duke, Gonzaga, FL, UT, and a trip to the S16, many expected him to build from that, he didn’t.

kfwa · 2026-04-21T07:36:18-0500

philstat said:
The fact that in 11 seasons he’s never produced a single bonafide NBA player works tremendously against him and I’m sure it’s constantly used against him by other coaches in recruitment.

yea, that is probably an issue, but you now have kids delaying their post professional career to stay in college, so I'm wondering how many players show up talking NBA versus pay me above market rate. I have a feeing market rate will win in about 95% of the cases.

*Fox2Monk* · 2026-04-21T07:36:25-0500

philstat said:
The Mormon aspect is unfair, IMO, some of the nicest and most caring people I’ve met throughout my life have been Mormons, I don’t believe he pushed his beliefs on any of his players. Not once has that been said in any context.

Not that he’s pushing it on them and I know a lot of them are great people. More so, if he can’t relate to him and keep him, who is he going to relate to?

mash_24 · 2026-04-21T07:36:38-0500

UKBB4Ever said:
What potential did he show year one?

Getting run out of MSG by Ohio State?

Getting embarrassed by Clemson?

Getting run in Rupp by Cal?

6th place finish in the SEC?

Just refusing to show up against Alabama in the SEC tournament?

Getting blown out in the S16?

No defensive plan at all?

No rebounding?

He was fortunate to get a team of 4 and 5th year guys that had already been coached then got lucky early.

By the time teams realized his “system” was zoom and matador defense reality set in.

We almost lost in Rupp to a UL team we were 20 points better than.

Where was the potential?

No player improved!

Every game against Alabama the beat downs got worse.

The only hope was that team was thrown together in a week and with a full year to build his team it was going to be only upward from there.

He built the team he wanted. He compared it to ‘96 himself.

Again, no defensive scheme. Slightly improved rebounding. No offensive identity and this team quit more than his first team.

They stood in MSG and watched Mich St play.

Then they stood in Bridgestone and watched Gonzaga play.

They got boo’ed off the floor in Rupp at halftime of the IU game.

Tgen they did the walkthrough at Vandy.

It’s been a downward spiral since game 1 of his first season.

Pope has quit without officially quitting. No coach can be this bad at everything. He does absolutely nothing well as head coach.

He has to be trying to get fired and collect his buyout.

Pope has made many mistakes at UK and I think it’s clear he’s going to fail. But to say he’s quit? To somehow convince yourself he was lucky the first year when he had multiple key injuries? The ramblings about his religion? Feelings about a coach shouldn’t get personal unless that coach disrespects the fan base. He never has to my knowledge. He is headed toward being fired after next season. I wish he’d step down now for the good of himself, his family, and the program. But just guessing, I’d say he does consider that quitting and it’s not in his makeup. Sometimes there is no good option other than riding out the storm.

philstat · 2026-04-21T07:43:03-0500

mash_24 said:
Pope has made many mistakes at UK and I think it’s clear he’s going to fail. But to say he’s quit? To somehow convince yourself he was lucky the first year when he had multiple key injuries? The ramblings about his religion? Feelings about a coach shouldn’t get personal unless that coach disrespects the fan base. He never has to my knowledge. He is headed toward being fired after next season. I wish he’d step down now for the good of himself, his family, and the program. But just guessing, I’d say he does consider that quitting and it’s not in his makeup. Sometimes there is no good option other than riding out the storm.

Excellent contribution, no truer words.

Loucatfan30 · 2026-04-21T08:13:48-0500

philstat said:
I have no doubt MP is probably pulling 18+ hour days right now, we‘ve seen him contact dozens of players, that’s just the ones we know of, he’s had multiple campus visits etc., this isn’t about the level of dedication and love that he has for the university. Anyone that doubts those aspects are blinded by their emotions, I have zero doubt that Mark is absolutely working his *** off, it truly comes down to results. I have no clue to what’s happening though when he dedicates a full day to host Robert Wright and is shown with his arm around him walking alongside and still loses him, then there’s an absolutely enormous issue with his pitch.

The same with DF, to my knowledge he didn’t even visit SJ. Some coaches have a charisma about them, reminds me of that time in CFB, we had Damien Harris who had been on campus over 200 times in the course of six years, Saban flew in and signed him in less than two hours. Pope is unfortunately never going to have that, it’s extraordinarily difficult to become an effective leader and to possess charisma, sadly he lacks both of those attributes. He’s one of our own, lets support him through this final gauntlet, I’m sure he’s taking this brutally hard as well. This comes down to a disastrous outcome put in place my MB, more so than anything. I will never donate a single cent to the university until they cease their proposal for paying him $950K per year for life, robbery.

You can be mad at Mitch he is definitely to blame for all of this mess but Mark took the job. He knew full well the ramifications if it doesn't go well, He of all people should know working 18 hours a day does not matter. Only thing that matters is results. He time has expired here and he needs to resign now.

wildcat111 · 2026-04-21T08:17:42-0500

philstat said:
I have no doubt MP is probably pulling 18+ hour days right now, we‘ve seen him contact dozens of players, that’s just the ones we know of, he’s had multiple campus visits etc., this isn’t about the level of dedication and love that he has for the university. Anyone that doubts those aspects are blinded by their emotions, I have zero doubt that Mark is absolutely working his *** off, it truly comes down to results. I have no clue to what’s happening though when he dedicates a full day to host Robert Wright and is shown with his arm around him walking alongside and still loses him, then there’s an absolutely enormous issue with his pitch.

The same with DF, to my knowledge he didn’t even visit SJ. Some coaches have a charisma about them, reminds me of that time in CFB, we had Damien Harris who had been on campus over 200 times in the course of six years, Saban flew in and signed him in less than two hours. Pope is unfortunately never going to have that, it’s extraordinarily difficult to become an effective leader and to possess charisma, sadly he lacks both of those attributes. He’s one of our own, lets support him through this final gauntlet, I’m sure he’s taking this brutally hard as well. This comes down to a disastrous outcome put in place my MB, more so than anything. I will never donate a single cent to the university until they cease their proposal for paying him $950K per year for life, robbery.

It really don't matter how hard CMP works. It is all about the results!!!

wildcat111 · 2026-04-21T08:18:50-0500

BBNSZN914 said:
He needs support, guidance.

For instance, he needed someone to insist on the GM role and he has gone into recruiting battle this cycle without a full coaching staff.

We hired an up and coming coach with an up and coming network. We really could use that extra circle of networking right now.

And whose fault is that? (hint CMP).

FilsonCat · 2026-04-21T08:22:06-0500

Pope isn't an up and coming coach. He's in the back third of his career. This was just a bad fit all the way around, in retrospect.

BBNSZN914 · 2026-04-21T08:28:12-0500

wildcat111 said:
And whose fault is that? (hint CMP).

I’m not absolving CMP of fault. His shortcomings are piling up.

Adolph B. Calipari · 2026-04-21T08:32:37-0500

I honestly believe that, schematically speaking, Pope brings things to the table that other coaches wouldn't. Year one was fun to watch. Of course, we need to improve on the W/L record from that season, but you could see his vision, and the ball movement was enjoyable. Yes, injuries derailed this past season to an extent, but at the end of the day, roster construction falls on the staff. I, like many of you, want to see Pope succeed, but as I said in my thread the other day, currently, with no other major roster additions, this team wins 15–18 games next season.

Pope needs to land Stokes at this point and let the horses run next season if we hope to make some noise. Maybe there is a last-minute reclass who could come in and help as well. But overall, it’s clear that Pope’s teams perform best with mature players who give their all on the court and understand the system. Last season, we took a step back from that, but the defense did improve. Will he be able to put it all together next season? It's not looking likely, but we still have a chance.

My concern is that we fire Pope or he resigns, and honestly, who would come here and take this job? We just saw what happened at UNC. They missed on their first 4–5 targets and ended up with Malone, who could be a great hire, but was certainly not their first choice. Most P4 teams have money now, and coaches want to coach, not appease a fan base 24/7. We all know that we are a high maintenance fan base, for better or worse. It’s just who we are.

Eastkybball · 2026-04-21T08:43:03-0500

To be honest Donnie Freeman is a complete head case!
Not making any excuses for Pope. He doesn’t need to be the coach at Kentucky anymore unless he can pull out a miracle. We have to get Stokes and minvokvicyhanin or hope someone withdrawals from the draft.

ShakesTheClown564 · 2026-04-21T08:47:44-0500

At least when Billy Clyde was failing we knew he was out getting wasted and thrown out of every place that serves alcohol in Kentucky instead of working. I'm not sure what the hell Pope is doing to do such a poor job

kfwa · 2026-04-21T08:51:48-0500

Adolph B. Calipari said:
My concern is that we fire Pope or he resigns, and honestly, who would come here and take this job? We just saw what happened at UNC. They missed on their first 4–5 targets and ended up with Malone, who could be a great hire, but was certainly not their first choice. Most P4 teams have money now, and coaches want to coach, not appease a fan base 24/7. We all know that we are a high-maintenance fan base, for better or worse. It’s just who we are.

a good AD makes a huge difference. I think UNC made a mistake in rushing to hire someone, but at the same time, they had Malone as the fallback all along. They had to have reservations about Hubert Davis finishing the year by mid season, and they should have opened back channels on that from the moment they started having concerns.

Pope was Kentucky's Malone, but Kentucky didn't really explore availability before offering Pope. Drew said no and just like with Gillespie, Barnhart ran like his hair was on fire to hire someone.

JustBlue · 2026-04-21T08:51:57-0500

His refusal to incorporate a GM into his recruiting is just showing how far out or touch he is with modern basketball. As soon as a new AD is hired he needs to start putting out feelers.

Grevey1975 · 2026-04-21T08:55:33-0500

As we used to say He is a "Lost Ball in Tall Weeds"....Nice guy and loves Kentucky but that "Rah Rah" crap only goes so far and he's not getting it done recruiting or coaching..No proven track record and next year could be the worst here since the year after covid I'm afraid.

philstat · 2026-04-21T08:58:08-0500

JustBlue said:
His refusal to incorporate a GM into his recruiting is just showing how far out or touch he is with modern basketball. As soon as a new AD is hired he needs to start putting out feelers.

I mean he has a lot of people around him, the staff outside of the assistants is sizable, he probably thought it was unnecessary to a degree.

Real Talk - Pope is Putting in the Work

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