If we’re hiring a de facto GM (whatever they call it) that would seem to be a pretty good indication he’s being retained.
The Case FOR Mark Pope
- Thread starter @Rockhill2025
- Start date
You're not a troll of you think he deserves a 3rd year. Whether he gets it or not, IMO, will be decided largely over what happens the next couple of weeks
He could lose today and in the first round and still get a third year. Lunacy to think he's going anywhere after this year.
The third year is happening regardless.
I challenge anyone to see if a college basketball has ever been fired after 2 seasons where they made the NCAA Tournament both years and had no off court scandals.
The criteria for firings after such a short time are universally either overall losing record with no NCAA appearances or some sort of NCAA/legal trouble.
Exactly. BCG would have gotten a third year if he wasn't an absolute turd.
You ever notice from some that they never bring up recruiting? Injuries, he’s the next coach K give him time (always ignore NIL), good man, he beat Pitino…..but never a reason why he can’t recruit. It just goes by without excuse. I happen to know one they can use. Let’s see if it catches and anyone uses it. A little social experiment.
Golden doesn’t have any recruits signed either.
Let’s see if it catches.
Top 10 all year and finished 1 or 2 in the SEC. This is Kentucky and we shouldn’t ever be unranked. We should be top 10ish all season and should be at the top to win SEC titles. This don’t for every season but it should be pretty constant
Then he needs a final four, but if he finishes ranked 8th, wins the SEC, and gets to the elite 8, then we can talk.
Some guys are saying they have expectations but him time. I don’t really believe it. If he just makes sweet 16’s here and there and finish 5th in the SEC, those same guys will absolutely want him extended. To them it’s about the coach it’s not about our standard. It’s the era we live in, support the face not the institution. It’s a sickness today.
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Pope inflated those early top 10 wins when he had the oldest team in college basketball history playing Freshman filled teams like Duke early in the season. The last 25 games against the top 25. UK is 8-17, that’s a fireable offense. Against teams with a pulse we aren’t even 50% win percentage.
Have you not been here to see how awful this logic is? So we really need to go through how easy it is to dismantle this way of thinking or can we save it because it’s been slaughtered so badly there’s no need? Even some of the guys that said this couldn’t argue the facts and stopped. Why continue to say it?
12 years no NCAA tournaments, 63% winning percentage, no conference championship to date. Going in 13 years. What’s taking him so long to turn into a Kentucky worthy coach? Does he need 15-20 years to build a winning resume? This stuff is getting ridiculous.
Give Hurley $22 million and the portal, I can just about guarantee that Hurley and Golden’s first two seasons would have been better.
IF he jettison's his existing staff and surrounds himself with coaches who won't be yes men, then yes he has the potential for long-term success here. He needs guys who will coach these kids. He needs to rely on his coaching instincts in the first halves of games, and worry about the analytic stuff at half-time. He's proven that he CAN coach. He needs to start telling these kids the whole truth, and holding them accountable. Likely he'll be told these same things at season end.
You can’t be using logic and facts on here Ollie. Anon army don’t like it
This is why i don't get their argument. It'd purely apples to oranges. And this is UK, we don't wait until a coach hopefully becomes a Hurley or golden. We go sign those types coached.
I don't think there's a doubt in the world he gets a third year. You can argue whether or not it's deserving (it probably is) and you can argue over how that third year is going to go...but there seems to be no doubt he's getting it.
Troll is the most overused word on this site.
Agreed. Some of us can want it or hope it, but it ain't happening. I can't even imagine a scenario that doesn't involve some kind of horrific tragedy or aliens where he wouldn't be back next year.
Because they either ignorantly or intentionally ignore the context. You’re exactly right, we don’t hire to wait on good coaches we hire good coaches. Some of these guys saw UK hire a coach and just think well he must be a stellar coach. Not realizing Barnhart made a hire most of the SEC wouldn’t have even made. Pope wasn’t qualified for any top 25 program, had he not played at UK his name wouldn’t have even been on the radar
Hurley already had a proven record of success and no NIL. If someone doesn’t understand the differences in Hurley, Golden, and Mark? Then they’re just being ignorant to cover the guy. Neither of those coaches or situations are the same.
TBF...Clyde was a lot better actual coach than Pope too.
This isn't about magical runs. We want consistency and not rely on some sucker punch every year. Is this too difficult for you. This is about our fall.
Mark is not qualified for the job. He’s been given at mimimim 20 million dollars over2 years, possibly more. He’s embarrassed the program and shown himself to be completely incompetent. Kentucky playing on Wednesday is one of the most embarrassing things I’ve seen at UK. So what I guess I’m saying is Mark shouldn’t be allowed traditional time. He might get it, but he shouldn’t. Missing on all of the recruits should get this scrapped. The longer we wait, the worse it gets. He has no chance of winning here. And people across the country would understand it. Look at the blowouts, the horrid coaching, the worst recruiting in UK history. 2 years is enough of that and it would make sense to fire him.
I hope you are correct but they beat the # 16 team and # 8 with the identical SEC record as UK. We can talk after today about a run.
Go to a UK game and enter the arena when they open the doors and watch UK’s entire warmup session. Then compare that to the top 10 teams and you will understand Kentucky’s problems.
It was the “I’m not an ambassador for this program” comment that got him fired. Mitch fixed his own mistake on that one.
That’s just not gonna happen at this point. Especially if we pulling a win today. Now had we choked to LSU and then in the opening game of the NCAA? It would’ve become a lot more debatable.
I’m still very much in doubt on him. But he’s getting the third year unless he steps down. And that third year will very much be put up or shut up.
Agreed 100%
I was reading something Perry Stevenson wrote on Twitter last night as to why his practices were 3 hours long
I really wish he would have worked out. The man was an amazing coach he just didn't have the talent available during his time. Plus having to deal with Mitch daily probably didn't help his drinking. I don't drink but I'd probably be a raging alcoholic in month having to deal with that clown
I’m just gonna say every team is missing players to injury it isn’t just a uk phenomenon.
The injury excuse is old and tired. You lose guys at this level.
