BCG's results were not good even without his drinking issues but they were not so bad that firing him after only two seasons was the obvious move unless you were positive one of the very best in the game would definitely take the job which may have been the case in that instance.
Why do you say that, if we consistently got to the sweet 16 that would be a huge improvement over where we are now would it not?
It would not be enough to satisfy me if we never get beyond that and I'm not buying that it suits you either. I'm also not convinced the Sweet 16 is our ceiling under Pope either but he will he have to get past there in the near future or the opportunity will likely close and we will have a new coach.
Results are results. 4 seconds, 5 fifths, 2 NCAAT appearances and no NCAAT wins. In a results driven business, that’s literally the definition of meh. At UK he’s been T6 and T7. No weekends in the SECT and a S16 butt kicking and a R32 butt kicking. Again, the very definition of meh. Results are results.
Accurate. All the way from beginning to end.
That’s fine. If you want that to be your rule, live by it. Tell me right now that Pitino did an awful job coaching in the 1989-90 season. I’m sure you’d 100% agree without reservation, right? No context matters, just W/L. And Calipari was one of the worst coaches in the 2021 season when he went 9-16? He may have been a great coach the other decades of his career but he absolutely stunk in 2021. Just terrible. Definitely couldn’t be other factors like Covid, roster constraints, lack of complementary pieces or certain guys just didn’t blossom early enough? The record plainly tells you what the coach is, right? And let’s not reply by talking about sample size coz that’s my argument, not yours. I’m the guy who gets to talk about sample size, context and showing progression. You can be the guy who says Pitino was a bumbling idiot while winning 50% of the games in year one.
Those two guys (Cal, Pitino) have/had an entire body of work that didn’t require any freaking context. How someone as analytical as you claim to be can’t understand that just blows me away. It’s so damned short-sighted. Coach Ks beginning was a billion years ago pre NIL and Portal. His mentor was also the best coach in the game at the time. Popes was Mark Fox.
I predicted your play before you ran it.
FTR…SOME context matters. Problem with Pope is, context is ALL he has when it comes to Popesplaining his “successes”. Results are results. When you have to explain every “success” he’s had in an 11 year coaching career with context…maybe it’s not really success after all.
I just disagree with the way you handle this topic and I think the moment someone mentioned obvious examples where excellent coaching didn’t automatically mean the record looks amazing shows just how paper-thin it is.
How can you not understand this. It isn’t the name. It’s the fact THEY FREAKING WON BIG before those seasons happened. Like seriously. You’re not a dullard like Paul and a few others. You have extreme moments of clarity. Everyone knew Cal and Rick could coach before those seasons happened. Why? Because they’d won at the highest of levels. It ain’t their name, it’s their previous RESULTS. Surely that’s not difficult to understand.
I’m having no difficulty understanding it. I just disagree with your assessment. I absolutely believe Pope showed serious chops prior to Kentucky. I want him to continue that progression here. He hasn’t yet. I can’t pretend to know for sure that he ever will.
The way I “handle the topic”? Lol I’m being about as direct as I can. Pope has never done a thing in his career that didn’t require some sort of explanation on why or how it was a success. Cal and Pitino did PLENTY prior to the examples you gave. Nobody needed to wonder if those two dudes could get it done. Why? They already had gotten it done.
Again, I disagree with your assessment of early Pope. Just not going to agree. Look at what he did with Utah Valley, then BYU objectively and tell me he can’t coach. I just think you dislike Pope and that’s fine. I’m trying to judge the man fairly.
I didn’t say he “can’t coach”. There’s a pretty big gap between being meh and “can’t coach”. He’s fine for Utah Valley. He ain’t for here.
Well, I think this is where things get complicated for me.
That’s just it. I’m not talking about “promise”. I’m talking about those two specific instances you referenced were both coaches that had absolutely KILLED it previously. They were the absolute best in the business PRIOR to that. You didn’t have to wonder about promise. That’s it.
I’d be more impressed had he supplanted Gonzaga or New Mexico State. That’s what Cal did. It’s what Rick did. They owned those mid conferences. Pope? Not so much. Again…I see a world where he could kill it. I also see a world where he could suck. But worse than anything, I’m nearly convinced he’s been living in the world I think he’ll continue to live in. Firmly meh.
Cal did and Rick did but other guys didn’t who went on to be great.
Agreed. Just referring to the exact instances you used.
I'm not about to claim Fox is anywhere near the coach those guys proved to be but if you insist on touting early careers I will add this.
Pitino and Calipari are examples of the exception not the rule and are two of the greatest coaches in history. Even at that Pitino's college winning % prior to Kentucky was barely better than Pope's winning percentage to this point. Pitino did have the Final Four at Providence but had no tournament wins prior to that season. It's not like these guys at the stage we hired them are the options to currently pick from and I'm selecting Pope. I assume everyone would agree that would clearly be no contest.
That's just using snark to dodge a question you have no reasonable answer for.So you’ve got something to do during the day?
Step out. Get me out of your head. The Idiot gave specific examples which is why Cal and Pitino were talked about. You can’t get Popes junk off your chin long enough to realize that though. Sheesh man.
You are extraordinarily dim. The stats are factual. It is really as simple as that. These numbers do show that you can't entirely predict someone's entire career based on their accomplishments at their early and usually lower level positions. Smith and K stepped into much better situations at Duke and UNC than what Pope walked into here as well. You insist on being a simpleton and refuse to consider any context or the nuance of situations.
The fact that you actually believe that is a sad indication about you.
This was my original thread you have been trashing up. You just want to be able to spread your biased ignorant agenda without getting called out. You always resort to crudeness when you have no rational argument.
Staying healthy is the #1 keyPope has faced the two most difficult schedules in UK's history rated at 14.04 and 12.96 for an average of 13.50 while winning 63.9 % of his games. UK has played schedules rated above 10.60 seven other times with an average rating of 11.44 while winning 60.8% of their games.
While we all agree Pope needs to upgrade the outcome in the near future I think this perspective as well the injury situation he has dealt with gives some reason to exercise a bit more patience for now.
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Way to avoid discussing the issue of how NIL/transfer portal changes have increased the speed with which coaches can turn things around. It is so obvious; everyone without an agenda knows it.
It is extremely exaggerated by those with a one track mind set on firing a coach. The claim that it makes it easier to win at UK is in no way the established fact you claim it to be. I have addressed this at least 50 times now and that is not an exaggeration.
To this point that is true but that does not foretell the future. Those of you who believe you know the future with certainty are clearly delusional. I have never claimed that he is destined for big success but that can not totally or reasonably be ruled out either.
