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Pope's Q/A From X (Twitter) Revealed

F

Farsight Clone

All-American
Aug 30, 2025
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Q: From @KyleSRobertson: Is Kentucky being used by players to leverage for more NIL?

A: Yes. We’re the biggest brand in basketball.

Q: From @HSTopRecruiting: What changes are being made to recruiting? You have to see a problem with 14 top-20 kids visiting and landing none. What’s the change?

A: The first change, I’d like to get all 20 kids to visit our campus. That’s a major win, and there’s no limit. Second, I’d like to land a few. Third, this year, we were chasing a generational talent, and we fell a little short, but we weren’t sitting on our hands. We put together a roster that we are going to love watching crush it in Rupp Arena.

Q: From @FeltnerKev32715: Another concern I have is that we are not addressing the five-spot. Also, [Malachi] Moreno is on the precipice of the first round.

A: Malachi Moreno was the number one priority for us going into this portal season. We think that he’s going to be the best center in all of college basketball next year here at Kentucky. He’s also going through the draft process. He had a great workout just last night for an NBA team. Next week, he’s heading to the combine, and we’re supporting him every step of the way. This is the place where basketball dreams come true, and Malachi has two dreams. He’s dreaming of hanging a banner at Kentucky, and he’s dreaming of playing in the NBA, and so we’re supporting him, chasing both of those.

At the same time. we’re working hard in the portal right now to shore up this five-spot. We’re going to have an unbelievable crew at the center position.


Q: From @Zakari.s47: Would you come to our wedding?

A: I don’t know if I can make the wedding, but I have had the opportunity to officiate at three of my former players’ weddings, which has been incredible. I do want to say best wishes to you and grace on this incredible day.


Q: From @TheKYGameday and @MattSakR2NG: What is your favorite aspect of Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins’ games?

A: One of the top priorities for us going into the portal was finding creators, and these are two of the elite creators in all of college basketball. They are going to form a dynamic duo for Kentucky basketball. They are both over 30% assist rate. There is only currently one other roster in the entire country with two players over a 30% assist rate. This is going to be awesome.


Q: From @StefBPalmer: Where have you been?

A: In the last few days, I was in Tel Aviv, Ljubljana, Milan, Cremona, as well as five or six cities in the States, but I am so happy to be back in Lexington. Let’s go, Cats.
 
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Son_Of_Saul

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,411
99,672
113
I credit him for tackling at least two really difficult questions.

At least he isn't hiding right now, and he owned the Stokes failure.

It's going to be an ugly finish for Pope, and I am sad about that. I had wished he would succeed here, but this is Kentucky, and 64% winning percentages aren't going to cut it here.
 
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C

Cats4321

All-Conference
Nov 18, 2025
913
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I give him credit for basically responding to criticism publicly, but it honestly gave me a very uneasy feeling watching that. I guess because I know he cares, and it has to be killing him that things have gone bad so far. I still like Pope, so it just made me uncomfortable. I have been very critical of him, so I think the criticism of his tenure is clearly justified. He just isn't qualified. Just wish it wasn't happening to a guy we loved as a player. Thanks Mitch!
 
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U

UKFootball78

All-Conference
Sep 1, 2013
975
1,497
56
mdluk1 said:
He didn’t answer WHY we missed on 14-20 recruits. That’s what I wanted to know.
Click to expand...
I think that is something we would all like to know. It he can publicly comment on a recruit . It's against NCAA rules. Talking about JMI and NIL funds and contracts and the difficulties each one presents would have been nice if explained, but he is most likely being directed not talk about those things either. 🤷
 
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G

Goingfor9

All-Conference
Jan 27, 2003
16,259
3,119
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Son_Of_Saul said:
I credit him for tackling at least two really difficult questions.

At least he isn't hiding right now, and he owned the Stokes failure.

It's going to be an ugly finish for Pope, and I am sad about that. I had wished he would succeed here, but this is Kentucky, and 64% winning percentages aren't going to cut it here.
Click to expand...
Guy sounds out of touch. He talks like we have tremendous success with him.., I mean he’s talking up his team saying we’re gonna have one of the best back courts. We’re gonna have the best center. I mean I hope Moreno is the best center, but I think he’s far from it. Honestly, he would probably be better at the four with a true center with somebody 7 foot with a lot of length. I think Moreno could be a threat from deep I don’t know just listening to that.

I agree he owned the stokes debacle, but labeled Stokes as a generational talent which he isn’t (this was a so so class) and then he put all of his eggs into that basket, a basket of which he’s landed no one from. No elites On top of that Stokes was trolling us for a month or two months. He already committed to Kansas and he was making Pope believe he’s had a chance and Pope believed it. There was nothing good about that answer session after the questions were sent. I read a lot of the questions they didn’t have the tone from the questions he read. It was much more harsh toward him as a coach, and he didn’t address that stuff. It was like some kind of propaganda video basically.

Pope is so far out of touch he sounds like he believes he’s headed in the right direction. I mean I liked pope as a person and I pulled for BYU when he was there. BUT pope is not a rational player. He didn’t sound like a guy who’s having to fight for his job. He’s laid-back there’s no sense of urgency.. it’s like oh well we miss Stokes. We’re still gonna compete for a title.. I like confidence, but I don’t like blind confidence. Pope has to go that Question answer session was proof positive..
 
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F

Farsight Clone

All-American
Aug 30, 2025
2,837
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Goingfor9 said:
Guy sounds out of touch. He talks like we have tremendous success with him.., I mean he’s talking up his team saying we’re gonna have one of the best back courts. We’re gonna have the best center. I mean I hope Moreno is the best center, but I think he’s far from it. Honestly, he would probably be better at the four with a true center with somebody 7 foot with a lot of length. I think Moreno could be a threat from deep I don’t know just listening to that.

I agree he owned the stokes debacle, but labeled Stokes as a generational talent which he isn’t (this was a so so class) and then he put all of his eggs into that basket, a basket of which he’s landed no one from. No elites On top of that Stokes was trolling us for a month or two months. He already committed to Kansas and he was making Pope believe he’s had a chance and Pope believed it. There was nothing good about that answer session after the questions were sent. I read a lot of the questions they didn’t have the tone from the questions he read. It was much more harsh toward him as a coach, and he didn’t address that stuff. It was like some kind of propaganda video basically.

Pope is so far out of touch he sounds like he believes he’s headed in the right direction. I mean I liked pope as a person and I pulled for BYU when he was there. BUT pope is not a rational player. He didn’t sound like a guy who’s having to fight for his job. He’s laid-back there’s no sense of urgency.. it’s like oh well we miss Stokes. We’re still gonna compete for a title.. I like confidence, but I don’t like blind confidence. Pope has to go that Question answer session was proof positive..
Click to expand...
Again. I'll say this. I thought we got rid of the snake oil cap with Cal. Yet we got a discount snake oil guy.
 
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LineSkiCat14

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
39,082
61,384
113
Talk about damage control. Those were some softball and cherry picked questions. Who the hell even needs to ask "is Kentucky used for NIL leverage?".. like who didnt know that?

Im not against Pope doing this, he had to make some form of statement or communication. But sadly this did nothing to make me feel any better about the upcoming season, where Kentucky basketball is in this NIL era, or Pope's future as a worthwhile coach.
 
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T

tjhunter

Sophomore
Feb 22, 2026
57
116
33
Son_Of_Saul said:
I credit him for tackling at least two really difficult questions.

At least he isn't hiding right now, and he owned the Stokes failure.

It's going to be an ugly finish for Pope, and I am sad about that. I had wished he would succeed here, but this is Kentucky, and 64% winning percentages aren't going to cut it here.
Click to expand...
I don't know if pope will make it or not! But I do know there are a lot of really good basketball players and parents who want no part of BBN.

NOT because of any coach, but because of YOU fans! You guys trash any player for what you think doesn't meet a standard. No parent wants to see there child develop and thrive for the NBA at a place that posts constantly on social media how they suck.

You hope it'll be a ugly finish for pope, whether you are right or not doesn't matter. But the fans that are going viral are being noticed and used against ky. And that will not change with a new coach!

So how about being respectful and be a Fan of these guys, and after the year's over pope is retained/fired on his performance .

But let the guys know, you love them and are cheering for them. Help make it a place where players and parents WANT to Be! You guys don't understand how sickening you make BBN look.
Talking about SAD!! BBN actually looks much worse the Pope!
 
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BookofMormon

BookofMormon

Senior
Mar 27, 2026
449
602
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tjhunter said:
I don't know if pope will make it or not! But I do know there are a lot of really good basketball players and parents who want no part of BBN.

NOT because of any coach, but because of YOU fans! You guys trash any player for what you think doesn't meet a standard. No parent wants to see there child develop and thrive for the NBA at a place that posts constantly on social media how they suck.

You hope it'll be a ugly finish for pope, whether you are right or not doesn't matter. But the fans that are going viral are being noticed and used against ky. And that will not change with a new coach!

So how about being respectful and be a Fan of these guys, and after the year's over pope is retained/fired on his performance .

But let the guys know, you love them and are cheering for them. Help make it a place where players and parents WANT to Be! You guys don't understand how sickening you make BBN look.
Talking about SAD!! BBN actually looks much worse the Pope!
Click to expand...
Halloween Cartoon GIF by Kokee Thornton
 
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F

Farsight Clone

All-American
Aug 30, 2025
2,837
5,621
103
tjhunter said:
I don't know if pope will make it or not! But I do know there are a lot of really good basketball players and parents who want no part of BBN.

NOT because of any coach, but because of YOU fans! You guys trash any player for what you think doesn't meet a standard. No parent wants to see there child develop and thrive for the NBA at a place that posts constantly on social media how they suck.

You hope it'll be a ugly finish for pope, whether you are right or not doesn't matter. But the fans that are going viral are being noticed and used against ky. And that will not change with a new coach!

So how about being respectful and be a Fan of these guys, and after the year's over pope is retained/fired on his performance .

But let the guys know, you love them and are cheering for them. Help make it a place where players and parents WANT to Be! You guys don't understand how sickening you make BBN look.
Talking about SAD!! BBN actually looks much worse the Pope!
Click to expand...
Classic. You ignore the Duke fans going after, trashing and threatening Cameron Boozer for the TO in the Uconn game.
 
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DudahUK

DudahUK

Heisman
Jul 23, 2020
6,998
11,105
113
tjhunter said:
I don't know if pope will make it or not! But I do know there are a lot of really good basketball players and parents who want no part of BBN.

NOT because of any coach, but because of YOU fans! You guys trash any player for what you think doesn't meet a standard. No parent wants to see there child develop and thrive for the NBA at a place that posts constantly on social media how they suck.

You hope it'll be a ugly finish for pope, whether you are right or not doesn't matter. But the fans that are going viral are being noticed and used against ky. And that will not change with a new coach!

So how about being respectful and be a Fan of these guys, and after the year's over pope is retained/fired on his performance .

But let the guys know, you love them and are cheering for them. Help make it a place where players and parents WANT to Be! You guys don't understand how sickening you make BBN look.
Talking about SAD!! BBN actually looks much worse the Pope!
Click to expand...
Wah wah wah. Someone get this dude an ambulance.
 
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UK4Life#9

UK4Life#9

All-Conference
Jul 3, 2025
651
1,218
93
tjhunter said:
I don't know if pope will make it or not! But I do know there are a lot of really good basketball players and parents who want no part of BBN.

NOT because of any coach, but because of YOU fans! You guys trash any player for what you think doesn't meet a standard. No parent wants to see there child develop and thrive for the NBA at a place that posts constantly on social media how they suck.

You hope it'll be a ugly finish for pope, whether you are right or not doesn't matter. But the fans that are going viral are being noticed and used against ky. And that will not change with a new coach!

So how about being respectful and be a Fan of these guys, and after the year's over pope is retained/fired on his performance .

But let the guys know, you love them and are cheering for them. Help make it a place where players and parents WANT to Be! You guys don't understand how sickening you make BBN look.
Talking about SAD!! BBN actually looks much worse the Pope!
Click to expand...

I have childhood friends who are fans of Louisville, Duke, UNC, Tennessee and a Florida fan and when you ask them why, they tell you because of how bad Kentucky fans are.

Kids do not come to Kentucky because it’s Kentucky anymore, why make the place even less inviting????
 
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A

Anon1776024529

Junior
Apr 12, 2026
185
265
63
I hate how he answered the first question. Lie. Don’t admit that players are using you to get more money from other schools because they do not want to play for you. If it were me I’d say, these recruits are not coming to visit for NIL leverage. These recruits are coming to visit because we have built a great relationship, they are seeing what we are trying to build and want to be a part of something special, and they want to play for the greatest program of all time, forcing other schools to offer them money, that they can’t refuse. Don’t admit you are being played by high schoolers.
 
S

Snarks

All-American
Jan 31, 2005
8,479
6,812
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It’s a good start, but the dude hasn’t said anything since our loss. Putting out a 3 minute video ain’t gonna cut it.
 
mdluk1

mdluk1

All-Conference
Oct 28, 2007
1,055
4,636
113
UK4Life#9 said:
I have childhood friends who are fans of Louisville, Duke, UNC, Tennessee and a Florida fan and when you ask them why, they tell you because of how bad Kentucky fans are.

Kids do not come to Kentucky because it’s Kentucky anymore, why make the place even less inviting????
Click to expand...
I could say the same thing about all their fans. Everyone hates dUKe . I used to pull for all the state schools until their fans, especially U6, made it impossible.
 
BBNSZN914

BBNSZN914

Heisman
Apr 9, 2024
4,667
11,947
102
tjhunter said:
I don't know if pope will make it or not! But I do know there are a lot of really good basketball players and parents who want no part of BBN.

NOT because of any coach, but because of YOU fans! You guys trash any player for what you think doesn't meet a standard. No parent wants to see there child develop and thrive for the NBA at a place that posts constantly on social media how they suck.

You hope it'll be a ugly finish for pope, whether you are right or not doesn't matter. But the fans that are going viral are being noticed and used against ky. And that will not change with a new coach!

So how about being respectful and be a Fan of these guys, and after the year's over pope is retained/fired on his performance .

But let the guys know, you love them and are cheering for them. Help make it a place where players and parents WANT to Be! You guys don't understand how sickening you make BBN look.
Talking about SAD!! BBN actually looks much worse the Pope!
Click to expand...
There are ******** and idiots in every fan base, and we have a large one but you have characterized our entire fan base as such. Blanket generalization.
 
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