I think you probably hoped for good results rather than you were high on him. Most people were the same. I don't see how anyone could truly be high on him if you looked at his past results. Be that as it may, he can't do this job. He had his chance but now we need to move on.
Stokes post pones decosion
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I don't see any evidence he could build a good team every 3 or 4 years. That assumes he recruits young kids, develops them into really good players and has the loyalty of the players to stick with him. That is the Iowa coach not Pope. But the Iowa coach has overachieved at every level so there is that too.
i think he is definitely seen as mid to low average coach now especially considering all the bad coaching moves and odd press conferences. Definitely seems to be a huge portion of the media that questions the hire. Nobody is going to come out and say fire him but that is not what most media does.
The best players in the portal will not compare to Stokes.
If you look in the portal right now you can definitely see that
When you’re offering priority number 1 money but not getting priority number 1 vibes in return the NIL package offer has to be decreased. I’ll be damned if I pay top dollar for a player that is obviously using me as a backup plan. My NiL package offer would be reduced in half by this time if not more if not pulled entirely. I would have major concerns by signing a player that was not bought in from the beginning.
She trashes everyone and things but Pope but somehow that would be ammunition
That said, I think you do have to give him one more year or else as an institution, you start scaring good coaches away with the quick trigger finger. The best coaches don't want to work for volatile admins. It's a mistake Mitch has to live with, do the right thing and cross his fingers Pope is smart enough to figure it out.
Then you really have to regroup and land someone you can count on - someone established with the track record. I like the guy down at Texas Tech - great coach and would seem a good cultural fit (which is important). We can hoot and holler for guys like Hurley, who would probably win anywhere he went, but you need someone that fits the culture.
Actually, it's the same half that would say both things.
It wouldn't matter if Pope brought in Cal and Pitino as assistants and brought back John Wall and AD, they would still say "OMG, Pope has no idea what he's doing, I can't believe this is where the program is right now, wah, wah, wah"
I haven't kept up with this Stokes recruitment as much lately, but do we know this is factual?
Just like the other side would say poor Pope had injuries,,of course he can't get recruits because Cal ruined the program and at least he cares about the program. wah,wah,wah
Huh? They lost like 5 games in 2 years, had 1 seeds both seasons, a final 4 and would have had a second FF if there wasn't some crazy play.
We would take those results every time and honestly, duke was the favorite to win the title each if the last 2 years. Coaching blunders cost them both times.
Having the best players absolutely does work.
How’d you like watching that Iowa State game?
False.
"The other side" has been calling out all of Pope's flaws too.
Just be sure to hold your opinions steady, because if Pope saves it and has a great year next year, don't even try the old "I'm going to eat Crow now" BS, own it. You guys aren't giving the guy a fair chance at all.
You might have been calling out his flaws but many Pope supporters aren't doing that at all.
I enjoyed it more than the St Peters and Oakland games, that's for damn sure.
I also enjoyed it more than the Richmond, UNCW, K-State (X2), Evansville and Robert Morris games, where our teams were at full strength and still lost.
Got anymore brilliant takes?
I guarantee you, anyone in here that has any level of support for Pope, has zero problem admitting Pope has many flaws.
That's the difference, you guys refuse to say a good word about the guy.
I don't care what anyone says, the job he did last year, was phenomenal. Still had some sh*t games in there, but he showed what he can do.
All the guys like Trilly and even the national guys have said he prefers Self and Kansas. Kentucky’s offer far exceeds them and they are even having a tough time getting the money to sign him period. If Self retires then he will choose us, that is the word. It’s a tough situation because we need him. Pope desperately needs him but do we want him if he really doesn’t want to be here, but has to in order to get his payday? Can you imagine if we lose a Nike signed player to an Adidas school where he announces at an Adidas event. It’s not 100% that he will announce there but he moved it back a week because the media set an arbitrary date and he didn’t like it but came out and moved it for whatever reason.
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If that's true, I'd tell Stokes to kick rocks. No way would I want a kid that doesn't want to be here. He'll just end up refusing to play eventually.
Sadly Pope can’t do that, he needs his kind of talent and the recruiting “win.” His lack of success is killing us in these situations.
I would forget about Stokes and go put my money in a couple of these players who are proven.
CornOnTheCob is never happy about anything. PURE insanity not to put that thing on ignore. Literally never smiles ever.
I doubt that it does. I want to see the final roster first, but I hope it does.
I was happy with his first season BUT with the caveat that that would be his basement here. The team was quickly thrown together and he was still getting acclimated to the job so I could overlook the bad losses.
In year 2, he had a Ferrari. Compared to ‘96. And he took a major step backward and imo proved himself totally out of his depth in his role here. I just don’t think we can afford to move backwards, and that’s what we’re doing.
we didnt give Pope a fair chance? Respectfully GFTO Kyjeff, we gave him 2 years and some like myself gave the NIL pot more money than we should have. year 3 better be elite or Pope can eff off
His teams quit last year too. So yes, he showed his hand.
His team last year didn’t play defense. So yes, he showed what he can do.
His players last year didn’t get better. So yes, he showed what he is.
Last year was a precursor for this year just like this year shows us next year.
Next year you will be saying no one could have predicted this. When almost everyone did.
He also can't afford to have another kid that opts out.
I've always gotten along very well with him. We just find ourselves on the opposite side on this Pope thing. I feel like he's a good guy, we all want UK to win.
I've seen crazier things happen.