Norlander Predicting UK for Milan

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
39,168
61,514
113
No, I’m saying UM has far deeper pockets than UK. May is going nowhere

Jfc you're still missing what im saying. Take Mays name out of it if it helps you process this better.

Kentucky can now tell its next coach "you can outspend everyone but Duke and a few others". Thats going to change things. And the fact that we ARE spending more than almost everyone else and Pope/UK STILL look like **** should really be more alarming for some of you.
 

Catlogic1552

All-Conference
Jul 3, 2025
613
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That's because there is always massive uncertainty about playing for Mark Pope.

Elite kids don't trust him with their futures. I'll be surprised if he lands Momci.
If Pope fails, it will be something like 0-25 on players recognized as impactful. That will be enough to 100% convince me. Then we just have to wait out the inevitable. UK will be set back another two years if this falls through.
 

Im The Village Idiot

All-Conference
Sep 7, 2025
598
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Jfc you're still missing what im saying. Take Mays name out of it if it helps you process this better.

Kentucky can now tell its next coach "you can outspend everyone but Duke and a few others". Thats going to change things. And the fact that we ARE spending more than almost everyone else and Pope/UK STILL look like **** should really be more alarming for some of you.
I understood your point very clearly.

My point is your inclusion of May as an example shows you think the available pool is larger than it is. Slow down and understand that what I’m saying isn’t a personal attack. You’re coming at this topic with blue glasses, that’s all. May is among a decent-sized crop of elite coaches who have very little incentive to choose Kentucky at this time due to NIL. KSR has been hammering the point lately as well that we (Kentucky) need to be in favor of more guardrails and restrictions because NIL is going to hurt us more than help us against many of these programs like Michigan, Duke, St. John’s, Texas, Texas Tech etc etc etc
 

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
39,168
61,514
113
I understood your point very clearly.

My point is your inclusion of May as an example shows you think the available pool is larger than it is. Slow down and understand that what I’m saying isn’t a personal attack. You’re coming at this topic with blue glasses, that’s all. May is among a decent-sized crop of elite coaches who have very little incentive to choose Kentucky at this time due to NIL. KSR has been hammering the point lately as well that we (Kentucky) need to be in favor of more guardrails and restrictions because NIL is going to hurt us more than help us against many of these programs like Michigan, Duke, St. John’s, Texas, Texas Tech etc etc etc

Well, you started with "you dont seem to be well-rounded or well-informed" so the personal attack part is out the door.

I included May because its a hot name right now. It very well could be an upcoming coach, like an Otzelberger. Heck, it could even be something that *could* swing a Billy D or other NBA coaches, especially as college basketball slowly becomes a pro sports anyways, where a guy like Mike Malone starts to makes more sense.

Im very aware that UK is not positioned well in this NIL era. Lets be honest, its a middling state school in one of the poorest US states. There isnt a whole lot of "FU" money going around. Ive said as much for months.

That said, this is also an era where the programs have to WANT to spend what Kentucky is willing to spend. Duke and Michigan looks like they will. SJU (after Pitino), Texas, TTU? Im not so sure.

My point in all this is that we dont know how far this money will go that Pope is getting. And if the product he puts on the floor is garbage, than revenue is lost, so is interest. So I'm not entirely "in love" with giving Pope a $4mil hail mary, just to still be a 13 loss team.. or worse win enough to warrant year 4.
 

smoothmoves

Redshirt
May 15, 2023
7
23
3
Most analysts have said with him we are in the 10-15 range. Literally every talking head has said that, so I’d say if you don’t believe it then you are the one in the small crowd. You can’t possibly look at our lineup with Milan and think we are worse than 15th 🤷🏻‍♂️
There are probably only 5 rosters I'd trade for ours straight up (assuming Milan is a done deal). Even Florida, who everyone is considering a juggernaut, is praying Aberdeen gets cleared. If not, they've got a mid backcourt with not a ton of spacing 3-5. Arkansas and Tennessee look really soft inside once you get past their guards and wings. UConn doesn't have a ton of depth and is depending on a couple guys taking massive leaps. Could keep going, just saying all that to say I like our squad
 

4UK4life1

All-Conference
Dec 21, 2004
3,153
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When Pope was hired, NIL was still so new and no one had any ideas what can and cant be done. If it is indeed true that Pope isnt the guy for the job, than you move on. And kentucky now has a bit of advantage here where we can entice coaches with a top 99 percentile of roster spending. The next coaching hire could look a lot different now. And if boosters are willing to spend $4mil for a single Pope player, than you tell someone like Billy D/Maye/etc "you have $25mil a year to spend".. thats gonna turn a lot of heads.
I’m all for it
 

JASUN74

All-American
May 22, 2008
3,706
5,399
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There are probably only 5 rosters I'd trade for ours straight up (assuming Milan is a done deal). Even Florida, who everyone is considering a juggernaut, is praying Aberdeen gets cleared. If not, they've got a mid backcourt with not a ton of spacing 3-5. Arkansas and Tennessee look really soft inside once you get past their guards and wings. UConn doesn't have a ton of depth and is depending on a couple guys taking massive leaps. Could keep going, just saying all that to say I like our squad
I agree with a lot of this and really like our overall group. I’m not sure about Zoom being a Point Guard, instead, I see him more of a two guard like Denzel that will need to be the starter. I want Zoom to forget about trying to score at all really, if he’ll focus on trying to lead us in assists and steals, we could be awesome by the end of the season. His points are going to come. I think he’ll be ok the further into the season we go though. Anyway, I do believe the media will still have us around 20-22 to begin the season, even with Momcilovic. Hopefully we go on a nice couple winning streaks this season and prove everyone wrong.
 

Anon687865

Freshman
May 25, 2026
123
70
18
Congrats on hitting 93 posts before getting banned this time, quite the accomplishment for you. Bold of you to talk about anyone’s track record when your entire existence on this board is a masterclass in bringing zero value with your grade school trolling ability. You have the intellect of a sack of potatoes , the maturity of a toddler, and everyone is thoroughly exhausted by your pathetic, repetitive cry for attention. You are the definition of pathetic.
Talk about zero value. Mr. Pot. meet Mr. Kettle. Ditto on the "repetitive cry for attention." Tell "Milan" to make up his mind. Or is it "Los" or "Serbian Sniper" younpathetic clown. Your desperate attempt to be thought of as an insider is the true "definition of pathetic." By the way, I agreed to take your bet that this squad will have 3 first round draft picks and 2 second rounders in the 2027 NBA draft. Name the price, you hack
 
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Beatle Bum

Heisman
Sep 1, 2002
42,158
64,186
113
We dont know how good he is or isnt? Im pretty confident we have seen enough from him at UK and before to say thay hes not of the caliber this program deserves. I dont know how much more time you think he needs. Im willing to give this ONE more year, but thats generous.

And give him resources? Was he not handing out million dollar NIL deals last year? Using the same Kentucky "brand" and facilities that Cal used to turn us into a force in the 2010s?
Whoa. Are you comparing the 2010s to the era of the free-agent portal and NIL? Even pre-portal/pre-NIL Cal could not compete with his era in the 2010s. This ain’t that era. I think you’ll need to make your point some other way.
 
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SenseMaker_Cats

All-American
Jul 3, 2025
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Talk about zero value. Mr. Pot. meet Mr. Kettle. Ditto on the "repetitive cry for attention." Tell "Milan" to make up his mind. Or is it "Los" or "Serbian Sniper" younpathetic clown. Your desperate attempt to be thought of as an insider is the true "definition of pathetic." By the way, I agreed to take your bet that this squad will have 3 first round draft picks and 2 second rounders in the 2027 NBA draft. Name the price, you hack
Get help.
 

Beatle Bum

Heisman
Sep 1, 2002
42,158
64,186
113
Not what im saying, at all.

I am still firmly "out" on Pope until I see some serious turnaround this year on MULTIPLE fronts. Coaching, communication, accountability, recruiting. Do you not remember how bad we looked early in the season? If he answers the majority of these questions and we get an elite8 or beyond? OK, then you might have convinced me to finance him. And if you think he deserves that now? Thats certainly one way to see it. But I think the rest of us fans have a right to look towards the future and save this money for the next coach (or just get rid of Pope now).
Huh?!?
 

Beatle Bum

Heisman
Sep 1, 2002
42,158
64,186
113
I agree with everything except JJ‘s first round potential. He showed exactly zero first round potential. He was horrible,
I still think Jasper has first round potential. Emphasis on potential. He showed flashes of why he was so highly regarded out of high school in what was one of the best HS classes. If he works on his strength, I see a solid 2G for Oregon next year. I know he wants to be a PG. I do not see PG. He is a bit small for an NBA 2G, but I see that potential. Not in a year, but in 2-3 years, if he works.
 

Anon687865

Freshman
May 25, 2026
123
70
18
Get help.
New Girl Reaction GIF
 

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
39,168
61,514
113
Whoa. Are you comparing the 2010s to the era of the free-agent portal and NIL? Even pre-portal/pre-NIL Cal could not compete with his era in the 2010s. This ain’t that era. I think you’ll need to make your point some other way.

Im not following.

I understand its now two different eras. But Cal didnt need to be given blank checks to go sign players and make things happen. Yes, other schools like a Michigan can now go toe-to-toe with UK because of NIL, but Pope still has missed on far too many recruits and transfers. This is the class he puts together with our brand, facilities, and money?
 

Beatle Bum

Heisman
Sep 1, 2002
42,158
64,186
113
Im not following.

I understand it’s now two different eras. But Cal didnt need to be given blank checks to go sign players and make things happen. Yes, other schools like a Michigan can now go toe-to-toe with UK because of NIL, but Pope still has missed on far too many recruits and transfers. This is the class he puts together with our brand, facilities, and money?
Cal missed after that era, BEFORE NIL. Picking one successful era and acting like that is the history of UK is just wrong. Even the coach who created that era could not sustain it.

Recruiting today is nothing like it was before the portal and NIL. In fact, the word “recruiting” is not even appropriate for what happens in the portal. As mentioned on Leach’s show this morning, if you have a roster budget of $2 million for a guy like Freeman and then someone offers him $3 million, do you just throw an additional million at him? It’s a new world and a bunch of posters here, including you apparently, are stuck in the past trying to compare apples to oranges.

Your posting on Pope is inconsistent, as pointed out by others. Don’t give him a the money, as if there is some banking the money for the next coach, but expect him to win as if he had the money? It’s absurd. Do you want the Cats to win or do you want to claim you were right when Pope fails because we accepted your plan?
 
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FitchandMurray29

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Dec 11, 2021
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Is there any proof either of them followed Momcilovic in the first place?
I can confirm that Kam did follow him and now doesn’t. I can confirm that Keegan did follow him. I personally can’t confirm he doesn’t now. He showed up on a recent followers list on IG that you can see but then Milan gained a ton of new UK followers where I could no longer see Keegan on there. The same concept from my experience also pertains to Brandon Wells our strength guy. I saw him on there and then now so many new recent followers, I don’t. Both Keegan and Brandon’s accounts are private so I can’t check who they’re following directly.

Maybe someone is paying for a site like dolphin radar to go through all of Milan’s followers since his account is public?

Way too much IG paranoia but that’s what I can add to the issue
 

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
46,164
84,152
113
Lol is anyone paying attention? This happens every big recruitment with Pope. We start out the leader, "announcement any day now", they announce weeks/days later and it's not UK.
If he whiffs on this it will be the start of the end for him IMHO. He already missed on a ton of difference makers. We don’t have quite enough yet to really make a run IMHO. This whiff and another mediocre season and it’s over with his terrible recruiting record. This is huge for him and our season for sure.
 

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
46,164
84,152
113
I can confirm that Kam did follow him and now doesn’t. I can confirm that Keegan did follow him. I personally can’t confirm he doesn’t now. He showed up on a recent followers list on IG that you can see but then Milan gained a ton of new UK followers where I could no longer see Keegan on there. The same concept from my experience also pertains to Brandon Wells our strength guy. I saw him on there and then now so many new recent followers, I don’t. Both Keegan and Brandon’s accounts are private so I can’t check who they’re following directly.

Maybe someone is paying for a site like dolphin radar to go through all of Milan’s followers since his account is public?

Way too much IG paranoia but that’s what I can add to the issue
Strange. Not really important, but seems like it could be a bad thing. Usually they follow when we get them, him following and then unfollowing that soon is worrisome. Unless they did it to make his announcement have some drama and not known before he announced or something.
 
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