New Assistant(s)

[JPFisher]

Who do you all want?

Fans have floated Rondo, Prince, and some other alum.

I really want Pope to go after Antigua and throw him the bag of bags, but I feel like that bridge got burned. Like, turned to charcoal and then burned again levels of burned. Easily the first major gaff of the Pope era was letting Orlando leave. Dude is an ace recruiter and finisher.

There's also been talk about Mo Williams and Jamal Crawford, but nothing official, of course.

So, who does Pope bring in to replace Hart, Fox, and Brooks? Who coaches defense? Who coaches offense? Who comes in as a lock down recruiter?

 

[FatCatMan]

It doesn’t really matter. Pope still has to close out on recruits and that’s just not something he’s good at.

 

[TommyMansky]

I want non alums on one year contracts.

 

[kywildcat1021979]

Bring back Antigua fort one when Illinois run is up.

 

[Dead Cat Bounce]

I understand what Antigua brought to the table, and I get why folks miss him, but I can’t really blame Pope for letting him go at that moment. You can’t come in as the new guy and leave the badly underachieving legacy coach’s chief lieutenant in place. How could you ever trust him? That’s a house divided waiting to happen.

Would be thrilled if he brought him back though.

 

[JPFisher]

It doesn’t really matter. Pope still has to close out on recruits and that’s just not something he’s good at.

It's not, but he can surround himself with guys who can help him close. He has a guy who can tell recruits and transfers how they fit in, and that'll help Pope go about finishing deals.

Now, does Pope need to quit getting emotional about UK and taking it personally when recruits don't see the university the same way he does? Absolutely. Does Pope need to quit proselytizing during conversations with recruits? Also yes. I have a guy next to the program who tells me that that's the case, and public evidence leads me to believe that's at least partly factual. Kids with NBA aspirations don't want to hear about LDS God and how great UK used to be. They want to know dollar signs and playing time.

Again, I think Pope can get a closer or two to help and I think Keegan Brown will really help the staff focus their efforts and inform them on how to sell the role at UK.

At this point, I have to be hopeful or get a hefty prescription for Zoloft.

 

[BlueBloodKyFan73]

He hired bad assistant coaches that didn’t recruit only used the UK name

 

[Coach777]

Nobody’s answered the important question. Were they let go or left because they didn’t want to go down with the ship? If they left then this speaks volume of lack of confidence in cmp.

 

[TommyMansky]

We need reverse jerseys with Kentucky on the back.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Idk why people keep wanting to make hires because dudes played here. Enough. Hire the best candidates.

 

[JPFisher]

I understand what Antigua brought to the table, and I get why folks miss him, but I can’t really blame Pope for letting him go at that moment. You can’t come in as the new guy and leave the badly underachieving legacy coach’s chief lieutenant in place. How could you ever trust him? That’s a house divided waiting to happen.

Would be thrilled if he brought him back though.

On one hand, I understand, but it was obvious to the fans that Antigua was tired of Cal's BS and was ready to get out again. Antigua evidently sold himself to Pope on staying and sold him on the recruiting and continuity angle, and Pope rewarded him with a measly one year offer. He was loyal to Lexington and I think to a certain extent, UK.

If Antigua is on the table, you take him. OA and Robic made the amazing Calipari years what they were. Two guys who did a bang up job and who should be welcome on any staff.

JMO, of course.

 

[JPFisher]

Idk why people keep wanting to make hires because dudes played here. Enough. Hire the best candidates.

I do think Rondo could do extremely well as a coach, and that's not just alum bias. He'd be hot headed, but I believe he'd be a dynamite Xs and Os guy with a ton of name recognition.

That said, he's a complete unknown and I'd rather us not take a chance on a newbie coach at this junction.

 

[NociHTTP]

Nobody’s answered the important question. Were they let go or left because they didn’t want to go down with the ship? If they left then this speaks volume of lack of confidence in cmp.

We get it. You want Pope to fail miserably. Always did.

 

[NociHTTP]

I do think Rondo could do extremely well as a coach, and that's not just alum bias. He'd be hot headed, but I believe he'd be a dynamite Xs and Os guy with a ton of name recognition.

That said, he's a complete unknown and I'd rather us not take a chance on a newbie coach at this junction.

He definitely get up in player's faces and demand excellence from them, could he dial it back just a notch?

 

[BlueBloodKyFan73]

We get it. You want Pope to fail miserably. Always did.

Honestly he’s doing a good job right now

 

[JPFisher]

He definitely get up in player's faces and demand excellence from them, could he dial it back just a notch?

I'm not concerned about him getting in kids faces. Frankly, we desperately needed someone to jerk a knot in some tails this past season.

My concern is Rondo trying to override Pope and other assistants since he had a penchant for telling his coach to pound sand back in his playing days.

 

[Sportspm]

I know Pelphrey wasn’t successful as a head coach but he was the lead assistant to Billy Donovan at Florida during their back to back national championships

 

[NociHTTP]

I know Pelphrey wasn’t successful as a head coach but he was the lead assistant to Billy Donovan at Florida during their back to back national championships

No

 

[TommyMansky]

No

Google it

 

[Dead Cat Bounce]

Nobody’s answered the important question. Were let go or left because they didn’t want to go down with the ship? If they left then this speaks volume of lack of confidence in cmp.

Maybe both, would be my speculation.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

Antigua did not want to stay here. That’s just more Matt jones BS.

He was outta here as soon as Cal was gone.

He wouldn’t come back as an assistant if they tripled his pay.

 

[NociHTTP]

Google it

Why?

 

[Supafuzz75]

Nobody’s answered the important question. Were they let go or left because they didn’t want to go down with the ship? If they left then this speaks volume of lack of confidence in cmp.

All their contracts ran out in a couple months..

 

[Coach777]

We get it. You want Pope to fail miserably. Always did.

Actually I thought Pope was a good hire mid way through last season. There was so much wrong with this years team which have all been aired on here. There nothing positive I’ve seen from him in any aspect. Can you point them out? Why don’t you see it’s important to know how they left?

 

[Coach777]

All their contracts ran out in a couple months..

Everyone has contracts but nobody’s were renewed?

 

[Zuma75]

It's not, but he can surround himself with guys who can help him close. He has a guy who can tell recruits and transfers how they fit in, and that'll help Pope go about finishing deals.

Now, does Pope need to quit getting emotional about UK and taking it personally when recruits don't see the university the same way he does? Absolutely. Does Pope need to quit proselytizing during conversations with recruits? Also yes. I have a guy next to the program who tells me that that's the case, and public evidence leads me to believe that's at least partly factual. Kids with NBA aspirations don't want to hear about LDS God and how great UK used to be. They want to know dollar signs and playing time.

Again, I think Pope can get a closer or two to help and I think Keegan Brown will really help the staff focus their efforts and inform them on how to sell the role at UK.

At this point, I have to be hopeful or get a hefty prescription for Zoloft.

Yeah, exactly. Maybe a miracle happens. If not, next man up.

 

[JPFisher]

Antigua did not want to stay here. That’s just more Matt jones BS.

Not from what I've heard. Not by a long shot.

He was outta here as soon as Cal was gone.

If Cal had stayed, he'd probably have left. Antigua and the offensive guru we had Cal's last year were reportedly getting extremely tired of Cal doing what he wanted to do and disregarding assistant input. I believe one famous incident at the end of the season was Cal covering or erasing Xs and Os from Welch's whiteboard and just told his guys to play harder or some ****. RUN! GO! C'MON!

He wouldn’t come back as an assistant if they tripled his pay.

You wouldn't be able to get my happy *** out of my crappy work building if they tripled my salary, and I'm a pleb.

 

[Supafuzz75]

Everyone has contracts but nobody’s were renewed?

The 3 leaving were on a 2 year contract which would been up in June.. Fueger's is up in June this year also.. McLean signed a 2 year last year going through june '27..

 

[TommyMansky]

Not from what I've heard. Not by a long shot.


If Cal had stayed, he'd probably have left. Antigua and the offensive guru we had Cal's last year were reportedly getting extremely tired of Cal doing what he wanted to do and disregarding assistant input. I believe one famous incident at the end of the season was Cal covering or erasing Xs and Os from Welch's whiteboard and just told his guys to play harder or some ****. RUN! GO! C'MON!

You wouldn't be able to get my happy *** out of my crappy work building if they tripled my salary, and I'm a pleb.

I forgot about Welch. Cal wasted his talents. Seemed like a really good coach.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Id like to think we can get Orlando back. Unless Pope said something dumb **** (not impossible), it seems like Pope and Mitch probably wanted a clean slate.

I dont really want alumni. Has rondo proven anything on the coaching front? I dont want to just hire UK alumni some some of you can get your kids free autographs or some ****.

 

[Bichoto]

Glynn cyprien, Jeremy Cox, Tracey Webster

 

[FatCatMan]

Id like to think we can get Orlando back. Unless Pope said something dumb **** (not impossible), it seems like Pope and Mitch probably wanted a clean slate.

I dont really want alumni. Has rondo proven anything on the coaching front? I dont want to just hire UK alumni some some of you can get your kids free autographs or some ****.

Doubt he’ll come knowing next year is probably Pope’s last.

 

[anot]

Having zero recruits signed....it's probably a good thing we lost our two best recruiters lol. Well ik we signed that guy today but you get it

 

[4UK4life1]

Count me in the club that doesn’t want former players just for the sake of them having played here. Only a few would actually be qualified like prince or nazr.

It’s awesome that they have a major love for this school but that doesn’t mean they need to coach here without being qualified

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

I want someone who can convince great players to come here. Apparently the money isn’t an issue so something is.

 

[JSquad0070]

Rondo would be an excellent choice. Probably top 5 smartest BB IQ in history. I don’t see the appeal in Jamal Crawford unless his ties to NBA help recruiting. Prince is also genius level IQ but I feel he’d be better suited in an upper management role. I’m 100% in on Rondo being one of the guys though.

 

[Dr.LutherSan]

I know Pelphrey wasn’t successful as a head coach but he was the lead assistant to Billy Donovan at Florida during their back to back national championships

1. He was no longer on the staff during those championships.
2. UK needs assistants that aren't there because it tugs at our heart. That card has already been used by the head coach.

 

[EnglandWildcat]

Nobody’s answered the important question. Were they let go or left because they didn’t want to go down with the ship? If they left then this speaks volume of lack of confidence in cmp.

Polacheck’s report said AB’s contract wasn’t renewed. So that sounds like he was let go. No one said one way or the other (as far as I can see) about Hart.

I’ve never had any confidence in what Mark Fox brings. I remember his subpar performance at Georgia. That’s not who you need coaching at UK, even in a back-up roll, IMO.

 

[Dr.LutherSan]

I do think Rondo could do extremely well as a coach, and that's not just alum bias. He'd be hot headed, but I believe he'd be a dynamite Xs and Os guy with a ton of name recognition.

That said, he's a complete unknown and I'd rather us not take a chance on a newbie coach at this junction.

I think Rondo would be better suited for the NBA than college.

 

[Coach777]

Polacheck’s report said AB’s contract wasn’t renewed. So that sounds like he was let go. No one said one way or the other (as far as I can see) about Hart.

I’ve never had any confidence in what Mark Fox brings. I remember his subpar performance at Georgia. That’s not who you need coaching at UK, even in a back-up roll, IMO.

Good to know. Yeah I agree with you on Fox.