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Please, without being nasty, explain to me why our recruiting efforts are almost beyond belief ?

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UncleAdolph

Junior
Aug 9, 2019
172
383
63
I really like MP as a human being. But that is not what he was hired to be.
He was hired to win BB games.
And if you can't bring in talent you can't win
Tradition-check
Facilities-check
Brand-check (although I am afraid that is falling)
Fan interest and support-check
I fear things are going to end ugly and that is a shame
But let's be honest, if his name was Joe Smith and not a well liked Cap of our Naty team in 96 he would not have been hired just on the merits
What was his record at Utah Valley State and BYU, 65% winning perc or something like that ?
What hurts me the most is how much of the college BB world does not respect us. That kills me
Two top ten players from in state go to Kansas.
Sorry for the rant.
 
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mdluk1

mdluk1

All-Conference
Oct 28, 2007
1,061
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I can’t explain it. We have the money and I’m not buying that it’s because pope is weird. He’s no worse than kelsey at u6.

But pope has to be part of the problem, I just don’t know what it is. But…

0-14 on commits from top targets.

Loses rancik because pope wanted to wait and see what freeman did. So we lost both. Come on coach.

Travels to Israel to see a backup and all he got was a maybe but probably no?

Something is wrong and must be changed. Hopefully the new AD will have a plan.
 
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Farsight Clone

All-American
Aug 30, 2025
2,842
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Anon1774274437 said:
Pope is a Mormon and a lot of people find some of their beliefs strange. Nice guy, maybe, but..... he does not relate to high level athletes and has a gooberness to him that he can't wipe off.
Click to expand...
While I disagree with the mormon doctrine, that has no bearing on who Pope is or ability to do his job. That is simply an ignorant assessment. Look at Kevin Young who took on after Pope. He got Dybasnta. Retained Rob Wright and took Chandler from us. And he's a mormon.

Some of you people I swear.
 
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UncleAdolph

Junior
Aug 9, 2019
172
383
63
mdluk1 said:
I can’t explain it. We have the money and I’m not buying that it’s because pope is weird. He’s no worse than kelsey at u6.

But pope has to be part of the problem, I just don’t know what it is. But…

0-14 on commits from top targets.

Loses rancik because pope wanted to wait and see what freeman did. So we lost both. Come on coach.

Travels to Israel to see a backup and all he got was a maybe but probably no?

Something is wrong and must be changed. Hopefully the new AD will have a plan.
Click to expand...
I do agree that telling recruits you are our second choice and would you care to wait is about the worst strategy I have ever heard of.
 
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LarryLegend9

LarryLegend9

Senior
Apr 24, 2026
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mdluk1 said:
I can’t explain it. We have the money and I’m not buying that it’s because pope is weird. He’s no worse than kelsey at u6.

But pope has to be part of the problem, I just don’t know what it is. But…

0-14 on commits from top targets.

Loses rancik because pope wanted to wait and see what freeman did. So we lost both. Come on coach.

Travels to Israel to see a backup and all he got was a maybe but probably no?

Something is wrong and must be changed. Hopefully the new AD will have a plan.
Click to expand...
New AD will be looking for a basketball coach next year. Hopefully they do a better job than Barnhart
 
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Captain Coy

Captain Coy

All-Conference
Apr 16, 2024
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It’s dollars and cents man. Duke is paying a High School student two years away from college more than we were willing to pay Collin Chandler next year. The amount of money we have is overrated. I don’t think people will be able to compete with the richest schools from now on.
 
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DudahUK

DudahUK

Heisman
Jul 23, 2020
7,072
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113
Dang. I like it nasty so I guess I’ll check out on this one. Bummer.
 
NociHTTP

NociHTTP

Heisman
Mar 8, 2023
12,634
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You're just repeating the same stuff over and over. Stop. Let the season play out. If he turns things around, fantastic. If not, then start new threads beating a dead horse. Hope that wasn't too nasty.
 
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A

Anon1751335390

Senior
Jun 30, 2025
517
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We are poorly organized.

It has been obvious the last couple years but goes back to the 2010’s under Cal. The program has been surviving merely on momentum/rep built from the early 2010 revival. We went from brief stay at the top to being surpassed by up and comers like Gonzaga, Virginia, and Nova by the mid-late 2010’s. The 2015 pinnacle was over ten years ago. The embers are burnt out.

Our player pipeline was actually Cal’s and the relationships he made. Cal cozying up to WWW opened up opportunities. He wasn’t some recruiting whizz before that. He fizzled out in the NBA because his team didn’t respect him. Getting the “in” and then delivering a quality experience on the other end is often all ya need to get in a positive feedback loop. Pope, conversely, doesn’t seem to have any such button to press. Pope’s “big” program to run was BYU with its own idiosyncratic constraints and obligations. To succeed there, especially pre-NIL necessitated a wildly different approach than at UK.

Understanding and then forecasting what it would take to run a successful basketball program is the responsibility of the administration who brought Pope here in the first place. They were basically blindsided by what the NIL era has become.
 
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BigBlue1992

BigBlue1992

All-Conference
Apr 17, 2011
1,992
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As everybody else has said… Pope.

He had no basketball connections with anybody who actually matters outside of Utah.

Has never been successful as a coach therefore the media never talked about him which makes him an unknown.

Has never coached any big time freshmen or even decorated upperclassmen for that matter.

He is a very very strange dude. Almost Tom Crean strange.

NOTE: I was never on the Pope bandwagon. Matter of fact, I left the board for over a year due to constantly getting bashed because I was never fooled by Pope himself, MJ, or Barnhart. With that being said, I feel like he’s probably a very arrogant dude. That whole ceremony they had for him when he was hired was all about him. Everything was about him being the captain and winning the ‘96 title as if a 17 year old in 2024 really cared about that. His departure can’t come soon enough.
 
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UncleAdolph

Junior
Aug 9, 2019
172
383
63
NociHTTP said:
You're just repeating the same stuff over and over. Stop. Let the season play out. If he turns things around, fantastic. If not, then start new threads beating a dead horse. Hope that wasn't too nasty.
Click to expand...
Brother I know there is truth in what you are saying but I am as discouraged as I have ever been about our program.
Just needed to vent
If Pope turns it around this season nobody will be happier than me
I will gladly eat crow.
 
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E

Eagles_Ball_69

All-American
Dec 19, 2003
4,247
5,808
82
UncleAdolph said:
I really like MP as a human being. But that is not what he was hired to be.
He was hired to win BB games.
And if you can't bring in talent you can't win
Tradition-check
Facilities-check
Brand-check (although I am afraid that is falling)
Fan interest and support-check
I fear things are going to end ugly and that is a shame
But let's be honest, if his name was Joe Smith and not a well liked Cap of our Naty team in 96 he would not have been hired just on the merits
What was his record at Utah Valley State and BYU, 65% winning perc or something like that ?
What hurts me the most is how much of the college BB world does not respect us. That kills me
Two top ten players from in state go to Kansas.
Sorry for the rant.
Click to expand...
Because Mark Pope isn’t a very good coach AND he’s an awkward dork that can’t relate to today’s players AND his staff sucks. If that’s nasty, whatever. It’s the truth.
 
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Eagles_Ball_69

All-American
Dec 19, 2003
4,247
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BigBlue1992 said:
As everybody else has said… Pope.

He had no basketball connections with anybody who actually matters outside of Utah.

Has never been successful as a coach therefore the media never talked about him which makes him an unknown.

Has never coached any big time freshmen or even decorated upperclassmen for that matter.

He is a very very strange dude. Almost Tom Crean strange.

NOTE: I was never on the Pope bandwagon. Matter of fact, I left the board for over a year due to constantly getting bashed because I was never fooled by Pope himself, MJ, or Barnhart. With that being said, I feel like he’s probably a very arrogant dude. That whole ceremony they had for him when he was hired was all about him. Everything was about him being the captain and winning the ‘96 title as if a 17 year old in 2024 really cared about that. His departure can’t come soon enough.
Click to expand...
ALMOST Tom Crean strange? I think you’re underestimating him.
 
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wildcat111

All-Conference
Dec 9, 2020
1,570
1,775
113
UncleAdolph said:
I really like MP as a human being. But that is not what he was hired to be.
He was hired to win BB games.
And if you can't bring in talent you can't win
Tradition-check
Facilities-check
Brand-check (although I am afraid that is falling)
Fan interest and support-check
I fear things are going to end ugly and that is a shame
But let's be honest, if his name was Joe Smith and not a well liked Cap of our Naty team in 96 he would not have been hired just on the merits
What was his record at Utah Valley State and BYU, 65% winning perc or something like that ?
What hurts me the most is how much of the college BB world does not respect us. That kills me
Two top ten players from in state go to Kansas.
Sorry for the rant.
Click to expand...
If you think things are BAD now....just wait until the season starts.
 
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B

BellyBall

Junior
Jul 18, 2020
152
358
63
It's obviously Pope. We don't know why it's Pope, just that it is. We can speculate but no one truly knows. Maybe we get answers one day, probably not though. Just have to get through this season then figure it out.
 
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A

Anon1751335390

Senior
Jun 30, 2025
517
778
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Eagles_Ball_69 said:
Because Mark Pope isn’t a very good coach AND he’s an awkward dork that can’t relate to today’s players AND his staff sucks. If that’s nasty, whatever. It’s the truth.
Click to expand...
Pat Kelsey is “relatable?” Coach K at 80 was “relatable.” What is that even supposed to mean?

Pope, like all these kids, dreamt of playing in the NBA and did, albeit briefly. How’s that any less relatable than any other coach? What do other coaches do? Do they laugh at the same Tik Tok videos? If anything, trying to be relatable as a coach can be cringe.
 
A

Anon200440

Senior
Mar 28, 2026
193
440
63
Anon1751335390 said:
Pat Kelsey is “relatable?” Coach K at 80 was “relatable.” What is that even supposed to mean?

Pope, like all these kids, dreamt of playing in the NBA and did, albeit briefly. How’s that any less relatable than any other coach? What do other coaches do? Do they laugh at the same Tik Tok videos? If anything, trying to be relatable as a coach can be cringe.
Click to expand...
They don't relate with pope bc he and the fanbase is anti nba
 
HeismanWinner

HeismanWinner

All-Conference
Sep 12, 2025
1,430
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Anon1751335390 said:
Pat Kelsey is “relatable?” Coach K at 80 was “relatable.” What is that even supposed to mean?

Pope, like all these kids, dreamt of playing in the NBA and did, albeit briefly. How’s that any less relatable than any other coach? What do other coaches do? Do they laugh at the same Tik Tok videos? If anything, trying to be relatable as a coach can be cringe.
Click to expand...
There’s different levels to this. Personality is a big factor. Reputation is a big factor.

People get jobs based off of how they vibe with you. Good personality can make you great at sales and recruiting is sales. When you’re Coach K, you can live off of your reputation.

It doesn’t require you to watch TikTok videos.
 
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LarryLegend9

LarryLegend9

Senior
Apr 24, 2026
229
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jrpross_rivals said:
To

To be fair, Pope is doing his best. He’s a decent coach got a school like BYU.

Mitch was the one who turned us into a joke of a program.
Click to expand...
I don’t understand Mitch. When he hired BCG, he took a chance on a man that was single and liked to drink back then. That’s not a good combination. LOL Now he’s hired an unproven coach that’s never won anything as a basketball coach. Makes no sense and was a gamble that’s not going to work out.

These guys pumping out sunshine and rainbows with this recruiting class better lower their expectations. The ones that think we have a great class are going to be disappointed just like last year.
 
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Anon1751335390

Senior
Jun 30, 2025
517
778
93
jrpross_rivals said:
To

To be fair, Pope is doing his best. He’s a decent coach got a school like BYU.

Mitch was the one who turned us into a joke of a program.
Click to expand...
Mitch and crew have been here since the program started declining post 2015. Common denominator is them.

The last two seasons haven’t been appreciably different than the 2018 season and later collectively. The only difference is the false hope of a brighter tomorrow that a highly rated recruiting class carried with it.
 
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UKBB4Ever

All-Conference
Jul 3, 2025
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It’s a very simple answer. Pope cannot coach.

He does nothing well as coach. He has no mitigating factors to cover his weakest flaws.

It’s not about his religion. It’s not about his weirdness. It’s not about JMI.

Pope simply does not coach guys up. He doesn’t prepare guys for the next level.

And thats important to these top level guys. They can get paid anywhere. What does that coach offer them above the money?

The answer in Pope’s case is nothing. He had his breakthrough player to change that perception in JQ. Then JQ’s dad went public that Pope wasn’t using him correctly.

Doesn’t matter if it was true. The bell can’t be unrung.

Then you have the fact that Pope’s teams just don’t compete. And even quit.

Almost every game the announcers say that we are being outworked. Even in wins.

Pope has embarrassed the brand.

It still comes back to his reputation of not helping players improve. And that’s the book on Pope.

He does nothing to dispel that reputation.
 
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NociHTTP

NociHTTP

Heisman
Mar 8, 2023
12,634
19,840
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UncleAdolph said:
Brother I know there is truth in what you are saying but I am as discouraged as I have ever been about our program.
Just needed to vent
If Pope turns it around this season nobody will be happier than me
I will gladly eat crow.
Click to expand...
Not a brother, but keep at it.
 
B

Big BlueBeard

All-Conference
Dec 23, 2018
2,498
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To put it in simplest terms, Pope simply isn’t good enough to be the coach here. Recruits, handlers, parents, fans, etc all know this as well. He struggles in every area that he needs to excel in, and he’s performed exactly how he has during his career. To expect anything different was asinine.
 
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T

TeamAmerica

All-Conference
Jul 3, 2025
1,360
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Captain Coy said:
It’s dollars and cents man. Duke is paying a High School student two years away from college more than we were willing to pay Collin Chandler next year. The amount of money we have is overrated. I don’t think people will be able to compete with the richest schools from now on.
Click to expand...
That wasn't the reason Stokes and Freeman didn't come to UK. Pope threw bags of 💰 at them
 
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