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With Cal, UK was at least part of the story (recruiting/draft). Feels like we're starving now on all fronts.

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Anon1751335390

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Jun 30, 2025
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Hey man! This year might have been disappointing, but at least Wagner is coming! He's the dawg at PG the team sorely lacked!

That was just about every single season under Cal since 2015. The program was on the precipice of being saved by a new collection of recruits. What did it amount to? An endless cycle of hype, frustration, desperation, and then back to hype.
 
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H

HipTer

Senior
Apr 11, 2012
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UK BasketballFan said:
You can’t believe that? Losing on purpose LOL
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I don’t think Calipari lost on purpose either, but I do believe he built teams and played with goals in mind that he knew were not the best way to win championships. I believe that because Calipari has stated and made clear what his primary goal is over-and-over to anyone who will listen. Calipari’s a smart guy. Maybe the best CBB marketer ever. He knows what type of rosters could give him the best chance to win titles – and he had the charisma and program gravitas at UK to put those rosters together if he wanted (and could probably still do it at Ark.)
 
CatManFromCa

CatManFromCa

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Jan 8, 2026
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HipTer said:
I don’t think Calipari lost on purpose either, but I do believe he built teams and played with goals in mind that he knew were not the best way to win championships. I believe that because Calipari has stated and made clear what his primary goal is over-and-over to anyone who will listen. Calipari’s a smart guy. Maybe the best CBB marketer ever. He knows what type of rosters could give him the best chance to win titles – and he had the charisma and program gravitas at UK to put those rosters together if he wanted (and could probably still do it at Ark.)
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Brother, if you’re this emotionally attached to Cal’s era, then just go ahead and follow him to Arkansas. Seriously. They’ve got plenty of room on the bandwagon and you already sound like you’re halfway there. Cal chased draft night, not banners. He built NBA showcases, not championship teams. And the results looked exactly like that.

Meanwhile Pope is actually building modern basketball….older players, shooters, spacing, continuity, international talent, grown‑man rosters.
You know… the stuff Cal refused to do for a decade!

Mark Pope literally flew into a WAR ZONE to recruit a kid. A war zone. In Israel. Missiles in the sky. Sirens going off. Imagine Cal doing that for UK!
 
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TFCat11

TFCat11

Heisman
Mar 25, 2019
6,189
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I agree with the OP to an extent, in that hindsight it might have been the wiser play to keep Calipari around for the reasons he mentioned, however that wasn’t an option because about 85% of the reason Calipari left was the NIL Kentucky was going to be working with greatly reduced the amount of Cal type players he was going to bring in annually.

And it’s going to be the exact same situation going forward with whoever replaces Pope, who also in hindsight, was the perfect coach to follow Calipari, but as we are seeing now, is being kept around for a season too many.

Bottom line, UK will get the level of coach that will be aligned with how much the large boosters pledge in NIL, because if you aren’t one of the top 5 spenders in the sport, you are not going to get a top 5 coach or the top 5 players.
 
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S

Static Cat

Redshirt
Dec 2, 2018
24
20
3
CatManFromCa said:
Brother, if you’re this emotionally attached to Cal’s era, then just go ahead and follow him to Arkansas. Seriously. They’ve got plenty of room on the bandwagon and you already sound like you’re halfway there. Cal chased draft night, not banners. He built NBA showcases, not championship teams. And the results looked exactly like that.

Meanwhile Pope is actually building modern basketball….older players, shooters, spacing, continuity, international talent, grown‑man rosters.
You know… the stuff Cal refused to do for a decade!

Mark Pope literally flew into a WAR ZONE to recruit a kid. A war zone. In Israel. Missiles in the sky. Sirens going off. Imagine Cal doing that for UK!
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LMFAO!
 
M

moses1uk

All-Conference
Jun 16, 2005
1,065
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CatManFromCa said:
Brother, if you’re this emotionally attached to Cal’s era, then just go ahead and follow him to Arkansas. Seriously. They’ve got plenty of room on the bandwagon and you already sound like you’re halfway there. Cal chased draft night, not banners. He built NBA showcases, not championship teams. And the results looked exactly like that.

Meanwhile Pope is actually building modern basketball….older players, shooters, spacing, continuity, international talent, grown‑man rosters.
You know… the stuff Cal refused to do for a decade!

Mark Pope literally flew into a WAR ZONE to recruit a kid. A war zone. In Israel. Missiles in the sky. Sirens going off. Imagine Cal doing that for UK!
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Well Ellen did tell UK fans they shouldn’t go to the SEC tourney also
 
UKGrad24

UKGrad24

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anot said:
I'll forever say Cal was losing on purpose at the end. Especially the last two or three years. Cal had some real beef with somebody. Maybe everyone realted to UK. Wonder what really happened.

That is sabotage to me.
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He was throwing games. He wanted all of his demands met and when it didnt happen he went Lazy and said fine we’ll just grab some Wheelers. Anyone notice how the second Calipari leaves Kentucky he’s suddenly a few made shots from the final four?

A lot of people just never understood him. Calipari did the same thing at Memphis, threw the Missouri tournament game by screwing his own lineup. He’s been doing that for years when he doesn’t get his way.

Calipari wanted all demands met, he thought the contract locked him in so there’s nothing that can be done about it.
 
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W

Wildcatsfan2012

Sophomore
Apr 15, 2026
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Vek96 said:
Really? Another thread about this? Wow. This board just repeats the same thing over and over and over.

AGAIN, Calipari won 1 tournament in his last 5 seasons, WITH NUMEROUS FIVE STAR RECRUITS. That’s way more pathetic than Pope, who has won three tournament games in his two seasons here.

Let’s see what the final roster looks like, before continuing to start another Pope bashing thread.
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The problem.
 
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Wildcatsfan2012

Sophomore
Apr 15, 2026
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CatManFromCa said:
Brother, if you’re this emotionally attached to Cal’s era, then just go ahead and follow him to Arkansas. Seriously. They’ve got plenty of room on the bandwagon and you already sound like you’re halfway there. Cal chased draft night, not banners. He built NBA showcases, not championship teams. And the results looked exactly like that.

Meanwhile Pope is actually building modern basketball….older players, shooters, spacing, continuity, international talent, grown‑man rosters.
You know… the stuff Cal refused to do for a decade!

Mark Pope literally flew into a WAR ZONE to recruit a kid. A war zone. In Israel. Missiles in the sky. Sirens going off. Imagine Cal doing that for UK!
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This has to be a joke. Pope is building a MAC basketball team. I agree Cal was done here at Kentucky, but that doesn't help the fact that Pope is not the answer.
 
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moses1uk

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Wildcatsfan2012 said:
This has to be a joke. Pope is building a MAC basketball team. I agree Cal was done here at Kentucky, but that doesn't help the fact that Pope is not the answer.
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Then you have to be super excited !!! Only 11 more months before UK can fire him
 
A

Anon200440

Senior
Mar 28, 2026
195
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CatManFromCa said:
Brother, if you’re this emotionally attached to Cal’s era, then just go ahead and follow him to Arkansas. Seriously. They’ve got plenty of room on the bandwagon and you already sound like you’re halfway there. Cal chased draft night, not banners. He built NBA showcases, not championship teams. And the results looked exactly like that.

Meanwhile Pope is actually building modern basketball….older players, shooters, spacing, continuity, international talent, grown‑man rosters.
You know… the stuff Cal refused to do for a decade!

Mark Pope literally flew into a WAR ZONE to recruit a kid. A war zone. In Israel. Missiles in the sky. Sirens going off. Imagine Cal doing that for UK!
Click to expand...
Yeah all Cal did was give the majority of the younger fanbase the best decade or so of entertaining basketball, with a championship, final fours, elite 8s and talented players up and down the roster


Meanwhile pope builds rosters with future accountants, shame how its fallen under him
 
C

CatBearPig

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Anon200440 said:
Yeah all Cal did was give the majority of the younger fanbase the best decade or so of entertaining basketball, with a championship, final fours, elite 8s and talented players up and down the roster


Meanwhile pope builds rosters with future accountants, shame how its fallen under him
Click to expand...

Go cheer for Arkansas bud. He’s gone and I’m glad he’s gone.
 
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JimboBBN

JimboBBN

Heisman
Jan 26, 2016
15,022
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I like to think most of the fanbase would take Cal back if given the choice of him or Pope. Its not really close, to be honest. The problem is, I don't want either. This entire decade of UK basketball has been horrible. Next offseason needs to be huge. Pope will be gone. Those telling themselves the roster will be good next year are loony tunes.
 
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TheApostleSaulSmith

TheApostleSaulSmith

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JimboBBN said:
I like to think most of the fanbase would take Cal back if given the choice of him or Pope. Its not really close, to be honest. The problem is, I don't want either. This entire decade of UK basketball has been horrible. Next offseason needs to be huge. Pope will be gone. Those telling themselves the roster will be good next year are loony tunes.
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There's a thread idea.
If, the night after the Oakland game, you had to pick between sticking with Calipari or firing him BUT the only choice for a replacement is Pope...

I actually think the poll would be closer than you might think. Some people around here are pretty psycho when it comes to Cal.
 
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Phil_The_Music2

Phil_The_Music2

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Nov 29, 2010
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Anon200440 said:
Yeah all Cal did was give the majority of the younger fanbase the best decade or so of entertaining basketball, with a championship, final fours, elite 8s and talented players up and down the roster


Meanwhile pope builds rosters with future accountants, shame how its fallen under him
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Cal got beat by a future accountant with a roster full of NBA players. I'll pass.
 
H

HipTer

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Apr 11, 2012
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CatManFromCa said:
Brother, if you’re this emotionally attached to Cal’s era, then just go ahead and follow him to Arkansas. Seriously. They’ve got plenty of room on the bandwagon and you already sound like you’re halfway there. Cal chased draft night, not banners. He built NBA showcases, not championship teams. And the results looked exactly like that.

Meanwhile Pope is actually building modern basketball….older players, shooters, spacing, continuity, international talent, grown‑man rosters.
You know… the stuff Cal refused to do for a decade!

Mark Pope literally flew into a WAR ZONE to recruit a kid. A war zone. In Israel. Missiles in the sky. Sirens going off. Imagine Cal doing that for UK!
Click to expand...
My friend, it seems you misconstrued what I wrote. Don't know if that was your fault or mine - also sometimes hard to tell when trolling is ongoing - but what I typed doesn't sound too complimentary of Calipari to me, coming from a person who prefers chasing championship rosters over OAD draft picks.
 
1

1UKCatFan

Freshman
Mar 14, 2025
31
58
13
UKCowboys said:
I swear, if you read the OP's post and it imagined it was a post from a Duke or Kansas fan talking about their own team, you would see how ridiculous that post is. "We are starving".....LMAO
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Duke and Kansas fans wouldn't say this because they at least have a glimmer of hope. What we have is a team that will be ranked outside of the top 25 all season.
 
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whack0001

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It’s been said 1000 times but it all comes back to Barnhart. He completely botched the handling of Cal and his contract and then failed miserably at hiring a new coach. That a$$ clown can’t go away fast enough.
 
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ZaytovenCat

ZaytovenCat

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Apr 25, 2013
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CatManFromCa said:
Pope is literally the FIRST coach since 2015 building the exact kind of roster that wins in 2026…older, tougher, shooters, system guys, international talent, continuity. You know… the stuff everyone begged for during the Cal collapse.

UK isn’t dead. You’re just tired. And exhaustion doesn’t mean the program is doomed….it just means you need a nap.
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Nobody begged for this. Also there’s no more continuity with Pope than there was Cal. What we wanted were a few elite players sprinkled in each year with high 4 stars who stuck around. Basically what Duke is doing. Not only can Pope not get anyone remotely elite, but he can’t even hang on to most of middling players he actually does get here.
 
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Goingfor9

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MdWIldcat55 said:
The level of whining and crying and self-pitying entitlement on this board makes me embarrassed to be a Kentucky fan. And based on what? A bunch of nerds who never played middle school basketball putting together lists of portals transfer players that have some guys higher than the ones committed to Kentucky.

The truth is, everyone is in the same position, assembling teams after the season in a process that amounts to a giant, complex “picking teams on the playground.”

No one knows how these teams will mesh. A few programs, with solid returning cores, have an advantage. For everyone else, the best an informed fan can do is watch a lot of video, study these guys in settings as close to Popes offense as possible, and wait and see.

Having watched a lot of video, I personally feel this collection of players Kentucky has assembled has a chance to be pretty sound. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong. But I’d rather be optimistic based on my own observations than wringing my hands and crying because of something Jeff Goodman or someone of equivalent basketball knowledge said.
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Tubby was “ sound”. Sound isn’t winning at UK level.
 
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Jazzycat

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May 23, 2002
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It is do or die for Mark Pope this year. He either makes a run in the SEC or NCAA and is highly successful with this team or he will be terminated. That is the bottom line for this year. No excuses - it is year 3…
 
H

HipTer

Senior
Apr 11, 2012
1,078
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JPFisher said:
Money is the great equalizer. Cal got us some of the greatest players before NIL, but the quality significantly dropped thereafter.

The last couple years of Cal had more busts than a museum of fine art – not to mention more early exits than should ever occur with the recruiting classes we were bringing in on paper.

Yeah, Cal got us top-ranked recruiting classes, but again, his last few seasons had the same or worse result as Pope's. I think it's an unfair, false equivalency to keep ragging on Pope compared to Cal. It was a completely different era when Cal was bringing in his top guys and when money got involved across the board, Cal fell off too.

Pope has his issues and recruiting is definitely one of them, but I can't compare him to Cal and call it apples to apples.
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I don't know about you, but once I figured out that No. 1 high school recruiting classes didn’t mean having the best teams – often not even close – unless those recruiting classes could be stacked (e.g., Alabama football, the way dominant CBB programs used to do, or even UKBB’s 2014-15 squad), I started understanding there was often quite a difference between top projected draft pick and best CBB player.
 
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yoshukai

yoshukai

Heisman
Dec 21, 2002
29,890
42,412
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Son_Of_Saul said:
BBN feels like a man looking for snacks and all he has left is peanut butter and crackers.

I don't think we can take another summer of overhypring and/or over projecting on players like Kam Williams and Braydon Hawthorne. We used to do the same thing back in the twilight Tubby years regarding guys like Shagari Alleyene, Matt Pilgrim, and Rekalin Sims when we heard they were coming to UK.

You keep Cal, and at least there's still a story. Acuff is going top 5 this year. Jordan Smith Jr. next year. Maybe they get back Maleek Thomas. You let Calipari ride off into the sunset and you still have his pipeline to NBA players for years to come. We don't have that connection right now because of the awkward reality that Cal left under bad circumstances (he created most of that, but still).

It just feels like UK basketball isn't good at anything right now. I think the saddest part of all of this is that there is still a large portion of the fan base that is trying to move the expectation goal post and make excuses for what we're seeing.

The bottom line is that Pope needs an Elite Eight next year, at minimum. We've finished 6th and 9th place in the SEC in his first two years. If that happens again, we need to go out and hire a killer to coach here.
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You and Cal should get a room ! lmao !
 
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The_Answer1313_rivals

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This is becoming that messy divorce where 5-10 years down the road one party realizes they made a massive mistake lol.

I was always of the mindset of "well Cal didn't get the results lately he had to go".............I'm rethinking that now tho.

Fact is the man still can recruit. As long as you get talented players you always have a shot.

Pope cannot do that At all lol
 
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TheApostleSaulSmith

TheApostleSaulSmith

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The_Answer1313_rivals said:
This is becoming that messy divorce where 5-10 years down the road one party realizes they made a massive mistake lol.

I was always of the mindset of "well Cal didn't get the results lately he had to go".............I'm rethinking that now tho.

Fact is the man still can recruit. As long as you get talented players you always have a shot.

Pope cannot do that At all lol
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It's like a rich guy dumping a Katy Perry or a Megan Fox because he thinks she's getting a little too old, thinking he'll have his pick of any supermodel after the divorce.

Then next thing you know, he's dating Lena Dunham.
 
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