Pope photo

[Eagles_Ball_69]

I think this might be too personal for him to be successful. He looks like a guy who just saw his ex girlfriend on a date with another guy.

He's just not a good enough recruiter or coach to be successful. Being too personal has nothing to do with it. He is what he has always been. Just meh. This team will finish in the middle third of the league, make the tourney, win a game (maybe two) against some other meh team, and then get absolutely bent the next game when they face a real team. It's what his teams are and have always been.

 

[Eagles_Ball_69]

30 mil to fail at a dream job. I don't feel that bad. I'm sure he'll be just fine after this.

I also don't feel bad for him, but it ain't about the money. I don't feel bad for him because I think he's just a fraud. He isn't genuine at all, and it's hard for me to have compassion for those type of people. Bloody practice? C'mon now. Just telling people what he thinks they want to hear after watching that soft a$$ team get destroyed.

 

[MarvinHagler89]

It’s quite a pathetic picture. Just not meant for the job. Sad situation

 

[jedwar]

wow

That's the face of a man who knows his time is coming to an end.

 

[Eagles_Ball_69]

Why did you have to post this Richie dang. Im going to stop saying anything about firing him. This man is struggling. I love UK to death. But Im sad now. Sad that it didnt work out. Sad that he looks like hes holding back tears. Sad that I feel like hes trying and does know hes in over his head but what's he supoosed to say?? Hey guys I know im failing and im just going to quit...

I hate this picture. Theres a lot behind this picture and its really hitting hard. I think im done having fun with the Pope stuff.

I apologize Pope. If you read rafters. I love you man. You're always a champion. You'll always be in the rafters of Rupp Arena. Cheer up buddy. Nothing to lose now. Accept it and go out with a bang. Coach your asss off this season man.

This kansas game doesn't define this season.

I'm sad because he's not good enough and that makes UK basketball, my favorite thing in the sports world, not good enough. Piss on all the other stuff. Part of his problem is he lives in his feels all the time and you can tell in the way he talks and see it in pictures like this. He's happy. He's sad. He's mad. He's emotional. Whatever dude, sack up and be a coach. But he can't. Why? See above.

 

[Eagles_Ball_69]

He needs to resign, at a home game at Rupp, against a cupcake. Announce it to the crowd. Get one last win. And let Mo Williams take over. He’d be loved by the fanbase.

Nah, most of us would just be thankful he's gone. But we all know he won't do that. Why? Fraud.

 

[SECualHealing]

I also don't feel bad for him, but it ain't about the money. I don't feel bad for him because I think he's just a fraud. He isn't genuine at all, and it's hard for me to have compassion for those type of people. Bloody practice? C'mon now. Just telling people what he thinks they want to hear after watching that soft a$$ team get destroyed.

This is why it better be a home run hire when you pick an alumni. No one would have wished this on Pope before his time here but unfortunately his fate is just about sealed. Most fans memories of him will be of his failure of a coaching job and not him being a part of a special National Championship team.

 

[MachineHead]

That's the face of a man who knows his time is coming to an end.

It’s already there. He was on razor thin ice already, but he lost the job last night. He humiliated the program.

 

[Bluegrass79]

No he was letting Stokes know how he felt about how he done him... talking **** to him they're in the game and the whole recruiting.

Mark Pope is a good person 100000000% and didn't mean nothing towards Stokes whatsoever you know that and I know that. That ******** he pulled in the game you know I mean. It wasn't right for real.

And if I'd been on that bench and you put me in the game I would have stuck in his Louisville ******* mouth ...my ******* elbow.


Mark Pope ain't the one that should be hearing it... That little ***** traitor from Loserville was and is and always be the one to be hearing it this state.


And if you're reading this message board you traitor mfker ...reach out. I here you know this forum. Come on through chump

 

[Eagles_Ball_69]

This is why it better be a home run hire when you pick an alumni. No one would have wished this on Pope before his time here but unfortunately his fate is just about sealed. Most fans memories of him will be of his failure of a coaching job and not him being a part of a special National Championship team.

Being an alumni shouldn't influence a hire. Unfortunately for BBN, that's exactly what happened when he was hired. Not a chance he sniffs the job had he finished his playing career at Washington.

 

[Pygmy Sasquatch]

wow

If this is an unaltered, legitimate photo, then wow. He looks broken.

 

[MachineHead]

No he was letting Stokes know how he felt about how he done him... talking **** to him they're in the game and the whole recruiting.

Mark Pope is a good person 100000000% and didn't mean nothing towards Stokes whatsoever you know that and I know that. That ******** he pulled in the game you know I mean. It wasn't right for real.

And if I'd been on that bench and you put me in the game I would have stuck in his Louisville ******* mouth ...my ******* elbow.


Mark Pope ain't the one that should be hearing it... That little ***** traitor from Loserville was and is and always be the one to be hearing it this state.


And if you're reading this message board you traitor mfker ...reach out. I here you know this forum. Come on through chump

Touch grass

 

[RunninRichie]

No he was letting Stokes know how he felt about how he done him... talking **** to him they're in the game and the whole recruiting.

Mark Pope is a good person 100000000% and didn't mean nothing towards Stokes whatsoever you know that and I know that. That ******** he pulled in the game you know I mean. It wasn't right for real.

And if I'd been on that bench and you put me in the game I would have stuck in his Louisville ******* mouth ...my ******* elbow.


Mark Pope ain't the one that should be hearing it... That little ***** traitor from Loserville was and is and always be the one to be hearing it this state.


And if you're reading this message board you traitor mfker ...reach out. I hear you know this forum. Come on through chump

Who told you Stokes knows this forum?

 

[ToniTonyToneDelkDelkDelk]

If Rondo was our head coach this total emasculation of our basketball program would never happen.

 

[JwUKFan11]

That’s not a real picture is it?

It's edited to make Pope look more sad.

 

[HolySmokes]

I'm sad because he's not good enough and that makes UK basketball, my favorite thing in the sports world, not good enough. Piss on all the other stuff. Part of his problem is he lives in his feels all the time and you can tell in the way he talks and see it in pictures like this. He's happy. He's sad. He's mad. He's emotional. Whatever dude, sack up and be a coach. But he can't. Why? See above.

I get it. Im just done tho. What said is true. But hes a grown man and he will be gone soon. Im done adding onto it. I've done more than enough damage. Im not judging anyone for doing what we do on here. I think im done having fun with it.

Basketball isnt that serious at the end of the day. Even if we go 40-0 its like hooray!! Then back to real life.

 

[OliverSimmonsTwinBrother]

Found the unedited version

 

[MonsterMash79]

no. This is part of my own personal process. Been here since 1997 when they started advertising the OG board in the Cat’s Pause.

All good brotha

 

[Eagles_Ball_69]

I get it. Im just done tho. What said is true. But hes a grown man and he will be gone soon. Im done adding onto it. I've done more than enough damage. Im not judging anyone for doing what we do on here. I think im done having fun with it.

Basketball isnt that serious at the end of the day. Even if we go 40-0 its like hooray!! Then back to real life.

Serious enough to be a billion dollar industry. Serious enough to pay this dude $5M+ to put out that product they spent $20M+ on. I get what you're saying, but it brings a lot of people a lot of joy when it's good. I'm tired of hearing what a good/nice guy he is and how he was a national champion. What he is currently is a very meh coach and is a complete fraud. I don't care about any of the other stuff. Having this is worse than having someone that goes 5-25 one season. This is gonna end in another 24-12 type year. And then here we go again. When people see this dude for what he really IS (not what he was), then BBN will be back on the same page again.

 

[UKortho]

wow

He is a broken man.

 

[PooPooPeePeePoo]

No he was letting Stokes know how he felt about how he done him... talking **** to him they're in the game and the whole recruiting.

Mark Pope is a good person 100000000% and didn't mean nothing towards Stokes whatsoever you know that and I know that. That ******** he pulled in the game you know I mean. It wasn't right for real.

And if I'd been on that bench and you put me in the game I would have stuck in his Louisville ******* mouth ...my ******* elbow.


Mark Pope ain't the one that should be hearing it... That little ***** traitor from Loserville was and is and always be the one to be hearing it this state.


And if you're reading this message board you traitor mfker ...reach out. I here you know this forum. Come on through chump

Bro if this is real please check in to a hospital

 

[seccats04]

Fire Mark Pope. But I still cant help but feel sorry for him as many times as I say I shouldn't. I mean look at his face. Hes defeated. I dont wish that on anyone.

He could’ve walked away after last year if he knew he was in over his head. It’s hard to walk away from that much money but if he loves the program the way he says he does, he would quit.

 

[BluWildcatz]

wow

Honestly, when I first saw this image, I assumed it was A.I. ...

 

[Bluegrass79]

Dont be making Pope cry dammit!

Gawd he tries

 

[Bluegrass79]

Touch grass

Who told you Stokes knows this forum?

Bro if this is real please check in to a hospital

I did. It was crab.

This forum ....***..nvm.

Its sorta real but I apologize for it being too real. I take back 28% for you. I don't have health insurance should I still go??

 

[bbnkat02]

I kinda feel for Pope. He knows it’s over. This was his dream job and he’s clearly not able to do it well.

Yeah, not a damn one of us should be happy about this. I wanted it to work. But it's not going to.

I don't feel majorly sorry for him, BUT I also know what it's like to have something you hoped would be great or fun turn into a nightmare.

 

[bbnkat02]

30 mil to fail at a dream job. I don't feel that bad. I'm sure he'll be just fine after this.

Sure financially he will be fine. Come on, imagine you got to coach your high school team or something and you just had every crap thing happen or just couldn't get it done. You'd be hurt.

He's stuck between trying to do right for us and how to save it. I think he DOES love Kentucky. Maybe too much. Kinda like why doctors shouldn't work on their own family- you lose objectivity. As mad as I am at him, I don't hate him. He's a decent person.

And I think that's the issue. He's a good guy. And he loves Kentucky....too much. He's lost objectivity and what we see now is panic. Hence his wonky lineups. He's trying everything and it's just not working.

 

[bbnkat02]

He needs to resign, at a home game at Rupp, against a cupcake. Announce it to the crowd. Get one last win. And let Mo Williams take over. He’d be loved by the fanbase.

I think that needs to happen as well We don't want to fire him. Because the headlines will look AWFUL.

"UK fires one of its own in Pope"
"Cats turn on beloved former player, firing Mark Pope"
"Pope dismissed from his own alma mater"

None of that looks good for anyone

If Pope can't turn it around (and I have huge doubts) Batt just needs to sit him down and say, "Mark....do the right thing"

 

[bbnkat02]

That’s embarrassing. Have some class and congratulate the kid on a good game. Especially if you thought you were getting him until the last day.

"Kid" my ***. They're making millions. And Pope shook his hand like a man. Stokes spent the entire night showing us his skills and his ***. Dude is a ****** person. I have ZERO respect for him as a human being. He'll get popped in the mouth either this year or at the next level with that jawwing he was doing. Sure, he earned a bit of trash talk. But there's a limit.

 

[bbnkat02]

That is even more embarrassing than being fired. No one likes quitters. It's difficult to even think of a quitter viewed positively. If you have any examples of one, Id love to hear it. Could you imagine the state of the program if a former player that won a championship here resigned after beating a cupcake as a coach on home court? Announcing it to the crowd??? Talk about new lows... Best case scenario if it does not work out again this year and they work it out on the back end out of the public. People get fired all the time, the fans warm back up to them after a period of grace.

There's a difference between quitting out of laziness and quitting out of respect for something you love. This would be the latter. It takes a big man to admit when he's wrong or not the right fit. And it would be world's better image wise for the program instead of having to fire him.

 

[bbnkat02]

That's the face of a man who knows his time is coming to an end.

Yep. We've all had it at different points. Loved one dying, job ending, kids leaving, life changes, etc.

People crapping on him for being human, I don't like that stuff. He's not curlled up on the court in a fetal position crying his eyes out. He loves Kentucky and knows he's not doing a good job- and he doesn't know how to fix it. Just like Cal didn't know how to fix it.

I want him gone- but I'm not gonna be a dick about it.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

But a lot of this is on Pope being arrogant. He refused to hire a GM like other top programs and acted like he was above it. He needed a very strong staff but went with proven loser Mark Fox and said he turned the D over to him.

 

[WeWant9]

I think that needs to happen as well We don't want to fire him. Because the headlines will look AWFUL.

"UK fires one of its own in Pope"
"Cats turn on beloved former player, firing Mark Pope"
"Pope dismissed from his own alma mater"

None of that looks good for anyone

If Pope can't turn it around (and I have huge doubts) Batt just needs to sit him down and say, "Mark....do the right thing"

The media really doesn't seem to care about Pope, so, I do not think it would be crazy blow back.

I also don't think Pope is just going walk away, how many coaches leave money on the table? I remember iu fans saying Archie should do the right thing and just resign and not take the buyout, that didn't happen. Even when Cal was getting blasted by the fanbase he basically said give me my money and I'll leave.

 

[BluWildcatz]

I think that needs to happen as well We don't want to fire him. Because the headlines will look AWFUL.

"UK fires one of its own in Pope"
"Cats turn on beloved former player, firing Mark Pope"
"Pope dismissed from his own alma mater"

None of that looks good for anyone

If Pope can't turn it around (and I have huge doubts) Batt just needs to sit him down and say, "Mark....do the right thing"

I don't know. I don't really buy the notion that the rest of the college basketball world is in any place to judge us. Sure, the headlines might look bad, but look at the OP-- it can't get much worse than it already is. NCAAB as a whole is corrupt, immoral, and certainly not in any position to play judge and jury. The reality is that people (including media) simply hate Kentucky basketball because of our obnoxious fanbase and historic winning tradition, so they will feign a moral attitude as long as it's against UK; otherwise, they're amoral, at best. The same people who will say we're evil for ousting Pope are the same people who made fun of us for hiring him and were complicit in him being fired in the first place (Opposing fanbases put pressure on Pope from day one.) Let's just let our money do the talking and hire a new coach. Who cares what others think? Their "opinions" are irrelevant. Otherwise, I agree with everything you've written, so I don't want to make it seem like this is directed at you or anything.

 

[Catastic5]

The media really doesn't seem to care about Pope, so, I do not think it would be crazy blow back.

I also don't think Pope is just going walk away, how many coaches leave money on the table? I remember iu fans saying Archie should do the right thing and just resign and not take the buyout, that didn't happen. Even when Cal was getting blasted by the fanbase he basically said give me my money and I'll leave.

It’s actually impressive how little the media respects Pope. I don’t even think Billy G had as much disrespect from the media as Pope has.

 

[bbnkat02]

I don't know. I don't really buy the notion that the rest of the college basketball world is in any place to judge us. Sure, the headlines might look bad, but look at the OP, it can't get much worse than it already is. NCAAB as a whole is corrupt, immoral, and certainly not in any position to play judge and jury. The reality is that people (including media) simply hate Kentucky basketball because of our obnoxious fanbase and historic winning tradition, so they will feign a moral attitude as long as it's against UK; otherwise, they're amoral, at best. The same people who will say we're evil for ousting Pope are the same people who made fun of us for hiring him and were complicit in him being fired in the first place (Opposing fanbases put pressure on Pope from day one.) Let's just let our money do the talking and hire a new coach. Who cares what others think? Their "opinions" and are irrelevant. Otherwise, I agree with everything you've written, so I don't want to make it seem like this is directed at you or anything.

No, I'm not taking it that way.

You're right. That's just how sports media is though. They'll praise you and then stab you in the back. Pope could lose out and we fire him and they'll ***** we didn't give him enough time or patience. This is Kentucky man. Comes with that territory. We're not America's team. We're part of the evil empire (along with Duke or KU) depending on what rival fan base you are.

What's frustrating is even with Hurley as big of a prick as he is, and that UCONN fanbase being snotty and obnoxious? They're loved.

Part of it is we're always perceived as being part of the evil south. That damn Disney movie Glory Road did us ZERO favors. Made us all look like Confederate racists. That being said, a lot the sports world still holds a major grudge against Rupp. So, when we get caught cheating or just general not doing great, we get absolutely dogpiled by sports media. I mean, lets be real. Bilas crapped on us all night (and does so even when we are legit) Refs do us no favors either. Two very quick and iffy fouls on MM last night. So it's always us vs the CBB world. That being said, that's why I hope Pope steps aside. Because flat out firing him is gonna make none of us look great.

 

[BluWildcatz]

It’s actually impressive how little the media respects Pope. I don’t even think Billy G had as much disrespect from the media as Pope has.

Well, he represents Kentucky, and we suck, so they're not going to hold back. But once he's gone, they'll pretend like we're solely responsible for this. I agree with bbnkat about that. That's how they spin the narrative.

 

[BluWildcatz]

No, I'm not taking it that way.

You're right. That's just how sports media is though. They'll praise you and then stab you in the back. Pope could lose out and we fire him and they'll ***** we didn't give him enough time or patience. This is Kentucky man. Comes with that territory. We're not America's team. We're part of the evil empire (along with Duke or KU) depending on what rival fan base you are.

What's frustrating is even with Hurley as big of a prick as he is, and that UCONN fanbase being snotty and obnoxious? They're loved.

Part of it is we're always perceived as being part of the evil south. That damn Disney movie Glory Road did us ZERO favors. Made us all look like Confederate racists. That being said, a lot the sports world still holds a major grudge against Rupp. So, when we get caught cheating or just general not doing great, we get absolutely dogpiled by sports media. I mean, lets be real. Bilas crapped on us all night (and does so even when we are legit) Refs do us no favors either. Two very quick and iffy fouls on MM last night. So it's always us vs the CBB world. That being said, that's why I hope Pope steps aside. Because flat out firing him is gonna make none of us look great.

Agreed. Him stepping down would be ideal. At the end of the day, it's just basketball, and I do think he's a good person.

 

[Goingfor9]

The dude is emotionally immature to not be able to look Stokes in the eye and say good game and good luck the rest of the way. That’s pretty Petty. You know it’s happened time and time again players pulling one over on him so shame on Pope.

 

[Chris Mallory]

Can you imagine the outrage if he smiled just a little.