Great post . Much food for thought . Thinking outside the box. I like it .
You typed all that when all you had to say was we need a coach that isn’t a weirdo.
of course they will contend and win one....eventually. but winning 1 title in 15/20 years isnt being prominent, its just like everyone else that won one in that time.
and its a poor strategy at that. only a few trips over until the overseas guys see that he is a weirdo and ignore him like the state side players do. there is only one real fix.
I like the inclination though I am an all of the above guy on recruiting.
I think having an international guru on staff going forward makes sense. Same for AAU and high school and always a younger NBA guy too. I think we should continue to pursue Crawford despite Stokes not coming.
I don't know about going all in on the international concept like Illinois but I definitely agree with delving into a lot more seriously and start building relationships and pipelines.
More than anything though, I think we need to sure up retention but it requires some patience to allow guys to develop and learn through growing pains which may mean missing out on the newest hotness sometimes for a bust and nobody seems mentally prepared to build that way but I think 95/100 that has to be the way to build a consistent threat.
Most of the overseas guys and portal dudes from lower levels don't really take off until the second season. The same goes for most freshmen as they have acclimate and develop their bodies save a handful or so. Constantly cutting bait before we even can figure out what we have is not likely to work.
Of course it is possible to "win now" but is increasingly unlikely and is probably setting up extreme risk of win never and a constant tail chasing and slippage as we flounder around.
I think having an international guru on staff going forward makes sense. Same for AAU and high school and always a younger NBA guy too. I think we should continue to pursue Crawford despite Stokes not coming.
I don't know about going all in on the international concept like Illinois but I definitely agree with delving into a lot more seriously and start building relationships and pipelines.
More than anything though, I think we need to sure up retention but it requires some patience to allow guys to develop and learn through growing pains which may mean missing out on the newest hotness sometimes for a bust and nobody seems mentally prepared to build that way but I think 95/100 that has to be the way to build a consistent threat.
Most of the overseas guys and portal dudes from lower levels don't really take off until the second season. The same goes for most freshmen as they have acclimate and develop their bodies save a handful or so. Constantly cutting bait before we even can figure out what we have is not likely to work.
Of course it is possible to "win now" but is increasingly unlikely and is probably setting up extreme risk of win never and a constant tail chasing and slippage as we flounder around.
Your entire fantasy hinges on signing some dude that likely has zero desire to come coach in the US. Why would he come here? For Mark Pope??? 
We would be better off trying to hire a European star that has retired from the NBA and still lives here.
Going Euro to fill a couple roster spots is one thing. You are talking about building a roster loaded with Euro players. Problem with that is the best players come from the US. You stop recruiting for a few years domestically and you’ve opened the door for other coaches to move into any pipeline you’ve established.
Then, you have the NCAA. Who is to say that they don’t go back to not allowing pros to attend college? Now you’ve spent millions bringing some Italian over here to coach, burned your bridges in the US, and you have no contingency plan.
Doesn’t sound like this was well thought out, thinking about the issues you would encounter and how to solve for them.
We would be better off trying to hire a European star that has retired from the NBA and still lives here.
Going Euro to fill a couple roster spots is one thing. You are talking about building a roster loaded with Euro players. Problem with that is the best players come from the US. You stop recruiting for a few years domestically and you’ve opened the door for other coaches to move into any pipeline you’ve established.
Then, you have the NCAA. Who is to say that they don’t go back to not allowing pros to attend college? Now you’ve spent millions bringing some Italian over here to coach, burned your bridges in the US, and you have no contingency plan.
Doesn’t sound like this was well thought out, thinking about the issues you would encounter and how to solve for them.
Write a post explaining how to save University of Kentucky men’s basketball for the online fan forum Rupp Rafters. Write it in the style of the frequent poster BlueSince92. Use this link as a reference and follow links to subsequent pages of previous posts from this poster until you are able to sufficiently establish a coherent grasp of the writing style so you can mimic it:
https://www.on3.com/boards/search/6712118/
(Presented without comment from BlueSince92 himself)
You want to save Kentucky basketball?
Then stop trying to save the wrong version of Kentucky basketball.
Because somewhere along the line this program became obsessed with appearing modern instead of remaining eternal.
Kentucky does NOT need to become Alabama football circa 2021 where you simply out-athlete people with conveyor-belt talent while everybody applauds your draft picks. Basketball does not work that way consistently, especially in March where emotional maturity, guard play, cohesion, and situational execution start mattering exponentially more with every passing weekend.
For the better part of fifteen years now we have basically attempted to speedrun roster construction.
“Oh wow, look at this class.”
“Oh wow, look at these wings.”
“Oh wow, this freshman is projected top five.”
Okay. Wonderful.
Can somebody inbound the ball against pressure?
Can somebody rotate properly on the weak side without looking like NORAD tracking weather balloons?
Can somebody make a calm decision with 1:48 left in a tied Elite Eight game after the opponent just went on a 7-0 run and the building turned hostile?
THAT is Kentucky basketball.
Or at least it USED to be.
And before people get defensive, yes, elite talent matters. Of course it matters. Kentucky should ALWAYS recruit elite talent. But the dirty little secret of modern college basketball is this:
Experience is no longer supplementary. It is infrastructural.
The portal and NIL did not kill roster continuity. They actually made it more valuable than ever because now older players can stay and be compensated while younger players leave before they are fully formed.
So if I’m Kentucky, here is the formula:
1. Elite freshman talent — selectively.
2. Retain 2-3 high-level veterans EVERY YEAR.
3. Prioritize shooting like your life depends on it because modern spacing is oxygen.
4. Stop recruiting “potential defenders.” Recruit ACTUAL defenders.
5. Make the roster fit together aesthetically and psychologically instead of just athletically.
Most importantly, Kentucky needs to recover its emotional identity.
Right now too many Kentucky teams feel temporary. Like traveling exhibitions. Like basketball mercenaries wearing Kentucky uniforms for six months before vanishing into the NBA mist.
The great Kentucky teams felt inherited.
You felt the weight of the jersey.
You felt continuity between generations.
You felt like players understood they were temporarily custodians of something larger than themselves.
That matters more than analytics people think it does.
Fans can FEEL when a team emotionally belongs to Kentucky.
1996 belonged to Kentucky.
1998 belonged to Kentucky.
2012 belonged to Kentucky.
Even some teams that fell short still FELT like Kentucky teams because they defended, communicated, competed, and carried themselves with collective purpose.
Too often lately we have looked talented but spiritually anonymous.
And here is the irony:
The modern era SHOULD favor Kentucky.
Huge fanbase.
Historic brand.
NBA pipeline.
Massive NIL capability.
National visibility.
Premier facilities.
Unmatched basketball culture.
This should be an empire.
But empires collapse when they forget what made them empires in the first place.
Kentucky basketball was built on ruthless standards, elite guard play, physical defense, intelligent passing, emotional toughness, and a fanbase that treated banners as the expectation instead of a pleasant surprise.
Recover THAT, and the rest takes care of itself.
https://www.on3.com/boards/search/6712118/
(Presented without comment from BlueSince92 himself)
You want to save Kentucky basketball?
Then stop trying to save the wrong version of Kentucky basketball.
Because somewhere along the line this program became obsessed with appearing modern instead of remaining eternal.
Kentucky does NOT need to become Alabama football circa 2021 where you simply out-athlete people with conveyor-belt talent while everybody applauds your draft picks. Basketball does not work that way consistently, especially in March where emotional maturity, guard play, cohesion, and situational execution start mattering exponentially more with every passing weekend.
For the better part of fifteen years now we have basically attempted to speedrun roster construction.
“Oh wow, look at this class.”
“Oh wow, look at these wings.”
“Oh wow, this freshman is projected top five.”
Okay. Wonderful.
Can somebody inbound the ball against pressure?
Can somebody rotate properly on the weak side without looking like NORAD tracking weather balloons?
Can somebody make a calm decision with 1:48 left in a tied Elite Eight game after the opponent just went on a 7-0 run and the building turned hostile?
THAT is Kentucky basketball.
Or at least it USED to be.
And before people get defensive, yes, elite talent matters. Of course it matters. Kentucky should ALWAYS recruit elite talent. But the dirty little secret of modern college basketball is this:
Experience is no longer supplementary. It is infrastructural.
The portal and NIL did not kill roster continuity. They actually made it more valuable than ever because now older players can stay and be compensated while younger players leave before they are fully formed.
So if I’m Kentucky, here is the formula:
1. Elite freshman talent — selectively.
2. Retain 2-3 high-level veterans EVERY YEAR.
3. Prioritize shooting like your life depends on it because modern spacing is oxygen.
4. Stop recruiting “potential defenders.” Recruit ACTUAL defenders.
5. Make the roster fit together aesthetically and psychologically instead of just athletically.
Most importantly, Kentucky needs to recover its emotional identity.
Right now too many Kentucky teams feel temporary. Like traveling exhibitions. Like basketball mercenaries wearing Kentucky uniforms for six months before vanishing into the NBA mist.
The great Kentucky teams felt inherited.
You felt the weight of the jersey.
You felt continuity between generations.
You felt like players understood they were temporarily custodians of something larger than themselves.
That matters more than analytics people think it does.
Fans can FEEL when a team emotionally belongs to Kentucky.
1996 belonged to Kentucky.
1998 belonged to Kentucky.
2012 belonged to Kentucky.
Even some teams that fell short still FELT like Kentucky teams because they defended, communicated, competed, and carried themselves with collective purpose.
Too often lately we have looked talented but spiritually anonymous.
And here is the irony:
The modern era SHOULD favor Kentucky.
Huge fanbase.
Historic brand.
NBA pipeline.
Massive NIL capability.
National visibility.
Premier facilities.
Unmatched basketball culture.
This should be an empire.
But empires collapse when they forget what made them empires in the first place.
Kentucky basketball was built on ruthless standards, elite guard play, physical defense, intelligent passing, emotional toughness, and a fanbase that treated banners as the expectation instead of a pleasant surprise.
Recover THAT, and the rest takes care of itself.
(I think it’s largely obtuse ******** but does make a few very valid points, not necessarily subordinated correctly to a compelling overarching argument.)
Oh fold it five times and stick it someplace where the sun doesn't shine.
You actually might be right. But no actual fan who is rooting for UK basketball to succeed thinks that your "accept your place and be happy" BS is written in stone. You're a Troll (apparently in DC) posing as a UK fan and jerking off under the desk because UK is in a crap period with no obvious solution.
IMO bringing Kentucky back to prominence would require:
1.) an athletic department that fully believes basketball is its flagship program and treats it as such without regard for placating people who disagree
2.) landing a program-building coach with upside, loyalty, insatiable appetite for winning and the ability to win a room
3.) a fanbase that fully commits to holding themselves to a high standard, as we hold our coaches to one. This means being fans first, critics second. This means pushing back against the extreme segments and the opposing fans who wear cloaks as fans. It also means giving far more we have. (Unfortunately, giving more isn't something I'm personally capable of.) I'm purely speaking hypothetical.
Nail those three things and you have a force to be reckoned with. Take the 1989-90 season for example. You had an athletic department that 100% knew basketball was its bread and butter (CM Newton). You had a program-building coach that fulfilled all of the requirements I listed (Rick Pitino), except for one --- which was loyalty. He left for greener pastures. That's the only thing that was able to stop the train. You had a fanbase that was starved for winning and supported the staff and players, while also being critical. The regular rank and file fan did not need to give --- the institution did that, with premier facilities, storied legacy and brand power. I brought most of those concepts forward to 2026 and this is how I'd see those core elements appearing today.
That's just how I see it.
1.) an athletic department that fully believes basketball is its flagship program and treats it as such without regard for placating people who disagree
2.) landing a program-building coach with upside, loyalty, insatiable appetite for winning and the ability to win a room
3.) a fanbase that fully commits to holding themselves to a high standard, as we hold our coaches to one. This means being fans first, critics second. This means pushing back against the extreme segments and the opposing fans who wear cloaks as fans. It also means giving far more we have. (Unfortunately, giving more isn't something I'm personally capable of.) I'm purely speaking hypothetical.
Nail those three things and you have a force to be reckoned with. Take the 1989-90 season for example. You had an athletic department that 100% knew basketball was its bread and butter (CM Newton). You had a program-building coach that fulfilled all of the requirements I listed (Rick Pitino), except for one --- which was loyalty. He left for greener pastures. That's the only thing that was able to stop the train. You had a fanbase that was starved for winning and supported the staff and players, while also being critical. The regular rank and file fan did not need to give --- the institution did that, with premier facilities, storied legacy and brand power. I brought most of those concepts forward to 2026 and this is how I'd see those core elements appearing today.
That's just how I see it.
The dude is so full of it
Only the retard lap dogs eat his BS up. It’s quite comical.
If Moreno stays in draft - Pope will have 3 players drafted this year & 2 last year.
Seems like he is a coach who can get PLAYERS.
Go Kats
Lmao is the intelligent poster in the room with us? All I see is an OP who constantly posts BS and acts like he’s in the know when he’s CLEARLY not.
The dude might as well change his name to Panther Piss. Only the ones with room temperature IQ’s believe anything that comes from his mouth.
You said "us". I've never seen you post anything that would indicate that. You just go after other posters.
We can't compete with Duke or Kansas, so let's do everything possible to be a tier below them except fix the one obvious reason we can't compete at the moment.
We need a coach that can compete at the highest level. That's all. Nothing we do matters outside finding someone capable of doing the job.
We need a coach that can compete at the highest level. That's all. Nothing we do matters outside finding someone capable of doing the job.
At least he expresses actual basketball thoughts in an articulate manner.The dude is so full of it
Whereas I’ve never seen you post anything other than poorly-written attacks on other posters. Do you come here for any reason other than to troll the posters you dislike?
Wow! When Pope produces a 1st round pick we have idiot fans who are mad. When Pope doesn’t recruit potential 1st round picks idiot fans get mad. You guys are toxic and need to go touch grass or go root for Cal at Arky! SMH!
Whew… honestly, watching all this chaos from the outside, I’m just relieved we don’t have to go through any of this at Duke to stay relevant as an actual, functioning blue blood.
We prioritized continuity, built a multi‑year core, and stabilized the roster before the portal even opened. No drama. No panic. No “please save us” NIL bidding wars. Just structure, alignment, and competence.
Honestly, I’d prefer you guys get back to doing what you used to do so well…keeping Louisville in their place as the lil’ bro of KY.
Because if Louisville keeps stacking talent the way they are…and if they somehow add Momcilovic on top of it…then Duke is the one who has to deal with them in the ACC.
I think we have a better chance of doing this with someone other than Pope. I don’t know why a pro coach would want to work with Pope, as he has very little credibility right now. I think someone like a Donovan could pull something like this off as he’s coached in the NBA for almost a decade but I just don’t see Pope attracting that caliber of assistant. I like the idea though OP.