How is this possible??

[Popesdenimshorts]

I was one of the few who didn't hate the Pope hire initially....primarily for one reason. He is super smart, smart people tend to figure things out

How is someone so intelligent so inept at recruiting?? How has not learned, tweaked things, gotten better?? How is still struggling to recruit at one of tje blue blood programs??

Smart people learn and usually get better. What is going on here?? Im beyond confused at how he continues to lose guys who seemingly want to come here.

Thoughts, musings??

 

[Catphright23]

Because we are offering the same type kids who are selfish and just want to go to highest bidder
They aren't looking at narratives around kids. Wright went to byu who bought him, you go to byu and you got so many stupid rules.

 

[gonefishin]

I was behind it too. I guess I was blinded by the fact that he loves UK so much, won a ship here, and i just believed his coaching would
Level up transitioning to Kentucky.
Holy hell was I wrong.

If he does end up with roster that is a joke…I have such a hard time believing he makes it through summer. The boosters and higher ups have to see this will only get worse.

I have no idea if it is just pope, if JMI is throwing boulders in the way, or what…
But we are the laughing stock right now.
How fu**ing sad and pathetic.

 

[MachineHead]

Because he’s a dork. He’s a goofy dork. There’s nothing “cool” about him. Nice guy. Super smart. But he can’t relate. Hiring Mo Williams was good, and he can do the work, but eventually they have to talk to Pope, and that’s the end of it.

 

[TFCat11]

You have to understand, there’s two distinct types of “smart” people…

1. Those who take complex concepts, and simplify them.
2. Those who take simple concepts, and complicate them.

Pope is the resident genius of point #2

 

[UKreturntogreatness]

I was fine with the Pope hire although it seemed like a rushed panic situation after a few rejections. His first season was pretty good given Cal f'd us and left the program with no one to play.

What's sad or confusing is how his genuine positivity and enthusiasm does not connect with gifted recruits. In today's social media world the truth is negativity is what is prominent. You can look at this website as example or any site that allows comments. Even our leadership is about put-downs and threats. So, perhaps with young people who have grown up in this environment Pope comes off comical to them or not someone who is going to be able to take them to the next level.

The other likelihood is the money and how Kentucky's NIL program works compared to other programs where you can earn more with no limits.

 

[Kyfan27]

I hear you, but I think we were gaslit into thinking it was a good hire. "He's a great X's and O's coach the Kentucky brand will take care of the recruiting" "look what's he's done at BYU. He did great in their first year in the big 12. It's impossible to get good players to go there because of the rules at BYU." He's done what he's always done and that's win 60% of his games. It's no coincidence that BYU got good players after he left. I remember thinking it was weird that nobody followed him from BYU to Kentucky. Hell one of them went to Louisville. I assumed our first year would just be the same roster as his last BYU team. To be fair we had a better roster his first year, but how many of those players have since spoken about how much they loved Pope. I haven't heard of one. Hell I saw an interview with Amari a year ago talking about how he had to run "17 17's" and he said "the coach" made them run those. Does he not know Pope's name? It was odd. The annoying thing is the X's and O's are terrible also. Crazy substitutions, team coming out flat consistently, timeouts being called far too deep into big scoring runs. Pope is just done and that's all there is to it. I was willing to give him this portal season to see if he learned anything from last year. Guess not

 

[Monday Nitro]

Because he’s a dork. He’s a goofy dork. There’s nothing “cool” about him. Nice guy. Super smart. But he can’t relate. Hiring Mo Williams was good, and he can do the work, but eventually they have to talk to Pope, and that’s the end of it.

Yeah, that's it.

 

[JwUKFan11]

How is it hard to figure out that Pope is super weird? Just listen to him talk. We are playing basketball not performing surgery. Smart people are everywhere, but this board has convinced themselves only a doctor knows how to use analytics and eventually Pope will get it right. Reality is no high level player that gets around him for more than 5 minutes wants to play here.

 

[VC99]

I was one of the few who didn't hate the Pope hire initially....primarily for one reason. He is super smart, smart people tend to figure things out

How is someone so intelligent so inept at recruiting?? How has not learned, tweaked things, gotten better?? How is still struggling to recruit at one of tje blue blood programs??

Smart people learn and usually get better. What is going on here?? Im beyond confused at how he continues to lose guys who seemingly want to come here.

Thoughts, musings??

Because there is a blatant and fundamental difference in the personality and mindset of Pope and these 18-23 year old basketball players.

 

[Loucatfan30]

Because he’s a dork. He’s a goofy dork. There’s nothing “cool” about him. Nice guy. Super smart. But he can’t relate. Hiring Mo Williams was good, and he can do the work, but eventually they have to talk to Pope, and that’s the end of it.

The narrative is already out there that he is a weird dude. Nobody is coming here to visit without knowing it. Any player we get we have to pay more for because of this fact. Our coach doesn't help in recruiting he is a net negative. It is effectively over for Pope here.

 

[Cats_2010]

I was definitely behind his hire. His offensive scheme at BYU was extremely effective. I thought he would be able to do the same here with an even better quality group of players. Actual basketball players with sound fundamentals not just athletic freaks who struggled with basic fundamentals which became Cal’s calling card.

what I didn’t know is how weak minded pope is and doesn’t have what it takes to drive a team of dogs. He can’t recruit them because he cannot connect with them. Hes a fish out of water trying. If any of those players came here the results would be extremely mixed because pope can’t push them. They would just drag pope along for the ride. It really is that simple and it’s been obvious for awhile now pope at UK is not a great fit (or even good/average for that matter).

 

[mdluk1]

Because he’s a dork. He’s a goofy dork. There’s nothing “cool” about him. Nice guy. Super smart. But he can’t relate. Hiring Mo Williams was good, and he can do the work, but eventually they have to talk to Pope, and that’s the end of it.

That is such bull crap. What is cool about the midget at u6? They’re killing it in the portal and that midget is as goofy as can be,

 

[Farsight Clone]

Everyone keeps saying Pope is smart. If he was he would figure it out by now and make drastic changes.

However, Pope can be smart in something else. He isn't as smart in basketball it seems to be a successful coach. His record proves that.

I am smart in design/creative field but dumb in the business.

That can be the same for Pope. He can be super smart medically, but that doesn't mean because he's smart in that area means it translates to being a basketball coach.

 

[WeWant9]

I feel like there are three things most recruits want to hear/discuss. 1. How will they be used/their role 2. What can the program/coach do help their overall chances of going pro 3. How much NIL

I really am not sure where the disconnect comes from. Maybe Pope goes way too analytic when talking to them, maybe he goes overboard with his "this is beautiful" talk, but there is something that seems to turn players off.

 

[MidseasonTweak]

That is such bull crap. What is cool about the midget at u6? They’re killing it in the portal and that midget is as goofy as can be,

I don't find him goofy, he has that prick *** energy but likely relates to players more easily as a "real one"

 

[BookofMormon]

How is it hard to figure out that Pope is super weird? Just listen to him talk. We are playing basketball not performing surgery. Smart people are everywhere, but this board has convinced themselves only a doctor knows how to use analytics and eventually Pope will get it right. Reality is no high level player that gets around him for more than 5 minutes wants to play here.

Cal aint' smart if you've ever listened to him. But he focuses on simple things that matter to simple recruits, and he's charismatic and a schmoozer. The art of recruiting isn't about smarts, it's about hittting things that matter, being likeable/relateable and showing the audience you care.

 

[MachineHead]

That is such bull crap. What is cool about the midget at u6? They’re killing it in the portal and that midget is as goofy as can be,

Allegiances aside, if someone were to ask me who I’d rather hang out with…not be coached by, not work with, just hang out with for fun…and you asked me Pat Kelsey or Mark Pope, I’m taking Kelsey 100 times out of 100.

 

[GACatsFan7]

I was one of the few who didn't hate the Pope hire initially....primarily for one reason. He is super smart, smart people tend to figure things out

How is someone so intelligent so inept at recruiting?? How has not learned, tweaked things, gotten better?? How is still struggling to recruit at one of tje blue blood programs??

Smart people learn and usually get better. What is going on here?? Im beyond confused at how he continues to lose guys who seemingly want to come here.

Thoughts, musings??

My honest opinion is that Mark Pope thought he could come to Kentucky and recruit talent at the same level as Calipari based on the Kentucky brand. The problem is that the Kentucky brand had shifted dramatically since his days as a player and he is out of touch with reality. For better or worse, Kentucky became known as a players-first school that produced NBA talent. That was Cal's selling point. Less about Kentucky and more about the kid and his future.

I think he likely resented Calipari at some level for diminishing what he believed to be the pride of the Bluegrass State and wanted to come in like a white knight and bring things back to their proper order and his career is going to die on that hill in about a year.

 

[Ukwazoo3]

Pope + JMI = no bueno

 

[mdluk1]

My honest opinion is that Mark Pope thought he could come to Kentucky and recruit talent at the same level as Calipari based on the Kentucky brand. The problem is that the Kentucky brand had shifted dramatically since his days as a player and he is out of touch with reality. For better or worse, Kentucky became known as a players-first school that produced NBA talent. That was Cal's selling point. Less about Kentucky and more about the kid and his future.

I think he likely resented Calipari at some level for diminishing what he believed to be the pride of the Bluegrass State and wanted to come in like a white knight and bring things back to their proper order and his career is going to die on that hill in about a year.

I think he did make a mistake taking down all the nba players pictures. That had to be a selling point.

 

[JwUKFan11]

Cal aint' smart if you've ever listened to him. But he focuses on simple things that matter to simple recruits, and he's charismatic and a schmoozer. The art of recruiting isn't about smarts, it's about hittting things that matter, being likeable/relateable and showing the audience you care.

You don’t need to be a genius to coach basketball especially when you can recruit. We have a coach that is book smart but can’t relate to basketball players.

 

[JwUKFan11]

Pope + JMI = no bueno

Pope + recruiting = no bueno

 

[BookofMormon]

You don’t need to be a genius to coach basketball especially when you can recruit. We have a coach that is book smart but can’t relate to basketball players.

I guess what is shocking here is that he has the $$ advantage, I think. Yet he still can't land players.

 

[BellyBall]

At his core he is a very weird dude. He can't hide that once they meet in person.

 

[Catlogic1552]

I think he did make a mistake taking down all the nba players pictures. That had to be a selling point.

If Pope wanted to recruit using history and “the name on the front of the jersey”, this was a massive failure.

 

[darkshadesofblue]

I hate to say it and it bares repeating but it is what it is. He is a Yes man trying to sell tradition when players in this generation don’t give a **** about that. That’s why IU has been as bad as they’ve been for so long. People need to embrace the fact that players don’t come here now for the name Kentucky, in fact if it wasn’t for money guys like Butler, Oweh, Williams wouldn’t have been at Kentucky. That’s not to say they don’t enjoy their time and love what it’s all about once they leave. Popes first year was one of the funnest years I’ve had as a fan after Cal left, but reality is quickly setting in. I’m starting to genuinely feel bad for the guy but he knew what he was getting into, it comes with the territory. It’s time to adapt or it’s going to be an ugly divorce. Right now it’s looking like the beginning of the end for Pope before completely unravels

 

[JwUKFan11]

I guess what is shocking here is that he has the $$ advantage, I think. Yet he still can't land players.

Money is comparable most places so taking a bit less to not play for a complete weirdo makes sense.