Trying to get back on board with Pope

[0r1c]

For whatever reason, Pope is unable to use the Kentucky brand and our top-3 NIL spending/resources to out-talent other teams, like Duke is doing. So now Pope is just going to have to win at an elite level.

Dan Hurley never has the most talented team, but he coaches the hell out of them, develops his players, and wins.

IDK why Pope can't simply go get the best players with all the money we're spending, but now it's all about what he can do on the court.

No more blowouts. No more middle-of-the-SEC finishes. The only way I will be okay with Pope going forward is if Kentucky is absolutely dominant and, at a bare minimum, an Elite Eight team that stays in the top 5–10 all season long.

If he can do that, then myself and many others will be alright with giving him another year.

"You have to go take it and earn it." -Mark Pope. So go EARN another year.

 

[bleedsblue5]

We are in an odd spot imo, we are so used to getting top talent with Cal but then we all can agree he didn't always coach them the best.
Now we have Mark and he fails to get the talent but we are hoping he can coach them up but the injuries have given him the excuse of why that has not happened.

One healthy year of decent talent (this talent is decent enough) and if he can't coach them up then it is time unfortunately to move on.

 

[JimboBBN]

If we get to the elite 8 this year, BBN will be fine with another year. If we don't make it that far, he's 0-3 on making it past the sweet sixteen. That is not acceptable at Kentucky. Especially at a time where we can buy the players we need, and he can't even do that with the top budget in the sport.

 

[BookofMormon]

For whatever reason, Pope is unable to use the Kentucky brand and our top-3 NIL spending/resources to out-talent other teams, like Duke is doing. So now Pope is just going to have to win at an elite level.

Dan Hurley never has the most talented team, but he coaches the hell out of them, develops his players, and wins.

IDK why Pope can't simply go get the best players with all the money we're spending, but now it's all about what he can do on the court.

No more blowouts. No more middle-of-the-SEC finishes. The only way I will be okay with Pope going forward is if Kentucky is absolutely dominant and, at a bare minimum, an Elite Eight team that stays in the top 5–10 all season long.

If he can do that, then myself and many others will be alright with giving him another year.

"You have to go take it and earn it." -Mark Pope. So go EARN another year.

Duke - the institution attracts kids. Scheyer is a mere conduit. You could throw a number of other young competent coaches there and they'd have similar success on the recruiting trail. They have A+ talent annually, Scheyer has had the top recruiting class in 4/5 years and the other year they were 2. They're the only school that can do this.

UConn/Hurley - A- talent, targeted profiles, system players and semi-retention model. Kids go there for the coaching, development & winning. I'd be curious to see what they did if Hurley left, and whether they'd stay internal keeping that system, or go external. My guess is that they'd wait to see how Luke Murray turns out.

UK - will only attract as much as their coach and the $$ they have to throw. Very similar to UNC at this point.

They won't be dominant, expectations out of whack and spoiled. Top 5 is downright hysterical.

I see it as this - correction year, squeeze as much as you can, get them playing great, pleasing on the eyes, hard defensively. Get them to overachieve. It's more the product than the tourney outcome in my eye. You want to see that Pope can build some momentum and actually coach.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Mark Pope needs a super elite talented team to win anything that matters. Same as with Cal. Mitchell gave us that. Without him? Eh, probably another sweet 16 loss. Maybe we can keep it within single digits n year 3.

Has UK ever got beat by double digits n 3 straight ncaa tournaments?

 

[WeWant9]

I am just going let this season play out. I have no real expectations going into it right now, but it is sink or swim.

 

[UKreturntogreatness]

I have high expectations and that we have proven talent and several strong pro potentials. If we see this team performing poorly or giving up in some games then it clearly will be coaching. However, Pope also won a few games last year that was unexpected such as at Arkansas. Plus last year if a key player got hurt we were done. This year we have back-ups for the back-ups so there should be no excuses.

 

[megablue]

Has UK ever got beat by double digits n 3 straight ncaa tournaments?

Good question ... here is a history of NCAA Tournament games since since 1942.
We've lost two (2) games by double-digits in successive tournaments several times, but never three (3) times ... unless I missed it.

Kentucky NCAA Tournament Games

 

[BlueBomb]

IDK why Pope can't simply go get the best players with all the money we're spending...

Well, if I think he occasionally acts like a dork (and I'm 60), just think what an 18-year old thinks.

 

[BookofMormon]

Mark Pope needs a super elite talented team to win anything that matters. Same as with Cal. Mitchell gave us that. Without him? Eh, probably another sweet 16 loss. Maybe we can keep it within single digits n year 3.

Has UK ever got beat by double digits n 3 straight ncaa tournaments?

This is why it's an important year - can't have a coach that needs requisite abundance of talent to win every year. You need a coach who is a program builder, sets culture/system and squeezes the most of out his kids.

Cal needed that kind of talent, but is also the best recruiter in CBB history.

There are some great coaches out there that don't have the resources or desire to recruit at the highest level: Painter & Izzo come to mind.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

This is why it's an important year - can't have a coach that needs requisite abundance of talent to win every year. You need a coach who is a program builder, sets culture/system and squeezes the most of out his kids.

Cal needed that kind of talent, but is also the best recruiter in CBB history.

There are some great coaches out there that don't have the resources or desire to recruit at the highest level: Painter & Izzo come to mind.

I just dont see that man.

Hope im wrong.

Good coaches dont generally have their team unprepared at tipoff so much. All the double digit deficits have been disturbing. I will give Pope and the players credit for adjustments and winning some of those. Some big wins against Duke and Gonzaga and several games against UT.

But that isnt gonna work in march for 6 straight games or even 5 or 4 or 3 even die to parity. You gotta be ready at tip

 

[UKBB4Ever]

C

This is why it's an important year - can't have a coach that needs requisite abundance of talent to win every year. You need a coach who is a program builder, sets culture/system and squeezes the most of out his kids.

Cal needed that kind of talent, but is also the best recruiter in CBB history.

There are some great coaches out there that don't have the resources or desire to recruit at the highest level: Painter & Izzo come to mind.

Cal did not need that. Our ‘11 team that went to the FF wasn’t all that talented.

His ‘96 team that beat us had 1 super star and no one else.

His Memphis team that went to the final game had one sure fire pro.

Cal is a great coach. Regardless of what the haters say. Over his time here UK won more NCAA games than any other program.

Over his time here he won more games against higher seeds than any coach in the country.

He has taken every school he’s coached to the FF. Except Ark. And may very well get them there before he’s done.

6 FF’s, 1 title and 850 or so wins is not the resume of a guy that can’t coach.

It was time for Cal to part ways with UK. But not because of coaching.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

That 1996 team had Marcus Camby and NO ONE else. LMFAO! I’ve witnessed this guy post this same nonsense for YEARS on here. No matter how many times he says it, it still is false.

 

[PastorofMuppets82]

Our 2011 team wasn't that talented?

Knight - (Freshmen) 17.3 ppg, 4 rpg, 4.2 ast... 42% fgp, 38% 3pt, 80% ftp
He set Kentucky freshman records in points scored (657), 3-pointers made (87) and most 20-point games in a season (14).
First Team All-SEC (Coaches), Second Team All-SEC (Media), SEC All-Freshmen Team, NCAA East Region All-Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Went Pro after that year, 8th overall draft pick
Was a High School Parade All-American, #4 Ranked Recruit in his 2010 Class

Liggins - (Junior) 8.6 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.5 ast, 1.2 st, 0.7 blk, 42.4% fgp, 39.1% 3pt
SEC All Defensive Team, NCAA All-Region Team
Went Pro after that year, 53rd overall draft pick
34th Rated Recruit in his 2008 Class

Miller - (Junior) 10.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.7 ast, 47.8% fgp, 44.3% 3pt, 85.3% ftp
SEC Tournament MVP, All SEC Tournament Team
(Went on to be the SEC 6th Man of the Year and a key part of the 2012 Championship Team), eventually drafted after his Senior season 46th Overall
Was a High School Parade All-American, 35th Rated Recruit in 2008 Class

Jones - (Freshmen) 15.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.6 ast, 44.2% fgp, 32.9% 3pt
SEC Rookie of the Year, 1st Team All-SEC, SEC All-Freshmen Team
Was a High School Parade All-American, 11th Rated Recruit in 2010 Class
(Went on to be the 18th overall pick after being a key part of the 2012 Championship Team)

Harrellson - (Senior) 7.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 61.1% fgp
NCAA All-East Region Team, All-SEC Tournament Team
Was Drafted 45th overall

That team had 5 pros in the starting lineup, a #4 ranked recruit freshmen point guard, and Junior (both top 35 recruits themselves) and a Senior big man led team with Terrance Jones doing Terrance Jones things.

Now they were thin, because of Kanter, but they had Vargas, Lamb, and if you want to count them Hood, Polson, and Poole... But to pretend like they weren't that talented is nuts.

 

[MdWIldcat55]

It was time for Cal to part ways with UK. But not because of coaching.

Just curious: Would you call a 9-16 season, the worst in Kentucky basketball history, an embarrassing NCAA loss to #14 seed St. Peter's, a choke-job NCAA loss to a mediocre Kansas State team, and a completely humiliating NCAA loss to #15 seed Oakland, while keeping two lottery picks out of the starting line-up, all in consecutive years, a reflection of "coaching?"

And more generally, would you call one championship in 34 seasons as a college head coach despite having, based on NBA draft picks, more talent than any other coach in the history of the game an indicator of "coaching?"

If not, what do you call it?

Calipari started head coaching college basketball when Ronald Reagan was president (1988), and in that time he has the same number of titles as Steve Fisher, Kevin Ollie (thanks to Cal) Scott Drew, Tony Bennett, Todd Golden and Dusty May, among others, and fewer than Danny Hurley and Jay Wright -- despite having more NBA first round draft picks THAN ALL THOSE COACHES COMBINED. Those are simply the facts.

 

[0r1c]

If we get to the elite 8 this year, BBN will be fine with another year. If we don't make it that far, he's 0-3 on making it past the sweet sixteen. That is not acceptable at Kentucky. Especially at a time where we can buy the players we need, and he can't even do that with the top budget in the sport.

It's not just me or the other fans who feel this. Pope is spending top 3 money in the sport and had a horrible season/Round of 32 beatdown and now has what looks like a sweet 16 team. The boosters and donors will dry up and want a change. It's not sustainable or reasonable to get mediocre results at Kentucky while spending 6 million dollars just on 1 player alone. We need to see elite results on the court.

 

[0r1c]

Duke - the institution attracts kids. Scheyer is a mere conduit. You could throw a number of other young competent coaches there and they'd have similar success on the recruiting trail. They have A+ talent annually, Scheyer has had the top recruiting class in 4/5 years and the other year they were 2. They're the only school that can do this.

UConn/Hurley - A- talent, targeted profiles, system players and semi-retention model. Kids go there for the coaching, development & winning. I'd be curious to see what they did if Hurley left, and whether they'd stay internal keeping that system, or go external. My guess is that they'd wait to see how Luke Murray turns out.

UK - will only attract as much as their coach and the $$ they have to throw. Very similar to UNC at this point.

They won't be dominant, expectations out of whack and spoiled. Top 5 is downright hysterical.

I see it as this - correction year, squeeze as much as you can, get them playing great, pleasing on the eyes, hard defensively. Get them to overachieve. It's more the product than the tourney outcome in my eye. You want to see that Pope can build some momentum and actually coach.

I'm not interested in a correction year in year 3. The majority of fans were not convinced Pope should have been hired in the first place and if after 3 years we're still looking for him to prove it, it's not going to happen. He needs to be elite right now, not next year, not the year after. This isn't Pope's own personal hobby he can just string along however he wants until he figures it out.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Just curious: Would you call a 9-16 season, the worst in Kentucky basketball history, an embarrassing NCAA loss to #14 seed St. Peter's, a choke-job NCAA loss to a mediocre Kansas State team, and a completely humiliating NCAA loss to #15 seed Oakland, while keeping two lottery picks out of the starting line-up, all in consecutive years, a reflection of "coaching?"

And more generally, would you call one championship in 34 seasons as a college head coach despite having, based on NBA draft picks, more talent than any other coach in the history of the game an indicator of "coaching?"

If not, what do you call it?

Calipari started head coaching college basketball when Ronald Reagan was president (1988), and in that time he has the same number of titles as Steve Fisher, Kevin Ollie (thanks to Cal) Scott Drew, Tony Bennett, Todd Golden and Dusty May, among others, and fewer than Danny Hurley and Jay Wright -- despite having more NBA first round draft picks THAN ALL THOSE COACHES COMBINED. Those are simply the facts.

As horrific as Cal's last 5 seasons were, Pope was a downgrade.

That's how bad of shape BBN is in right now.

We are in danger of becoming Indiana if we don't absolutely crush the next hire. I also think we're stuck with Pope until 2028, and then UK can land Oats without buying him out from Alabama at that point. They could pay Pope around $5 to 9 million in a negotiated buyout for his last two years.

How Pope managed to lock in six guaranteed years here is truly amazing.

 

[RunninRichie]

The next hire has to be Nate Oats. Batt knows him, Oats loves him, and he just got married to a new woman. This is all Barnhart's fault. The stupid Calipari contract, that lead to the disaster of 2020-2024, and of course the awful Mark Pope hire. That everyone knew would fail from day one. The money is there and so is the brand. Why can't UK get the players, despite the funding? Simple. We have a underqualified coach.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

Good question ... here is a history of NCAA Tournament games since since 1942.
We've lost two (2) games by double-digits in successive tournaments several times, but never three (3) times ... unless I missed it.

Kentucky NCAA Tournament Games

This is a silly thing to become hyper-fixated on. It's not as if losing close earlier to the likes of St. Peters and Oakland or missing the tournament all together would be preferable.

 

[BookofMormon]

I'm not interested in a correction year in year 3. The majority of fans were not convinced Pope should have been hired in the first place and if after 3 years we're still looking for him to prove it, it's not going to happen. He needs to be elite right now, not next year, not the year after. This isn't Pope's own personal hobby he can just string along however he wants until he figures it out.

One thing that is very much worth considering are options if moving on Pope early. Everyone wants to yell, fire, fire, fire, but who is next?

There are benefits to seeing him out the right way, non-impulsively and emotionally. Show the next guy that it's not a walk the plank system, let some of these other young coaches get up to speed.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

It's not just me or the other fans who feel this. Pope is spending top 3 money in the sport and had a horrible season/Round of 32 beatdown and now has what looks like a sweet 16 team. The boosters and donors will dry up and want a change. It's not sustainable or reasonable to get mediocre results at Kentucky while spending 6 million dollars just on 1 player alone. We need to see elite results on the court.

You have repeated that top 3 money line so many times and it is nothing more than speculation as this is not publicly available information.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

One thing that is very much worth considering are options if moving on Pope early. Everyone wants to yell, fire, fire, fire, but who is next?

There are benefits to seeing him out the right way, non-impulsively and emotionally. Show the next guy that it's not a walk the plank system, let some of these other young coaches get up to speed.

Keep Pope until 2028 and that gives him four full years to turn it around. If he can't do it by then, you can poach Oats from Alabama with no buyout on the Alabama end, then negotiate Pope's last two years in the buyout. There's no way in hell UK keeps Pope for a 5th or 6th year (the end year of his current contract) if he's still slinging 5th through 9th place finishes in the SEC.

Also, what coach in America would think Pope got a raw deal if he's still stinking up the joint in years 3 and 4 at UK? No one. This is Kentucky.

 

[theBlues]

Expectations are the only difference between Pope's biggest believers and his biggest haters; some think he will turn things around and some think there is no chance. I think even the folks that believe in Pope as a coach agree that he needs to win big this year or move on. I firmly believe Pope knows that and would agree(privately at least) that this year is make or break for him.

 

[BookofMormon]

Keep Pope until 2028 and that gives him four full years to turn it around. If he can't do it by then, you can poach Oats from Alabama with no buyout on the Alabama end, then negotiate Pope's last two years in the buyout. There's no way in hell UK keeps Pope for a 5th or 6th year (the end year of his current contract) if he's still slinging 5th through 9th place finishes in the SEC.

Also, what coach in America would think Pope got a raw deal if he's still stinking up the joint in years 3 and 4 at UK? No one. This is Kentucky.

Agree with you on that. 4 years is more than fair and it gives young coaches like Lucas and Hodgson a couple years to build their HC chops.

The biggest challenges on waiting is not going to market with Kansas and Michigan in the same year. I keep wondering if McCollum would be open to Kansas, the fit is too good. Llody? Scherz feels like a shoe-in for UM.

Current big program coaches: Byington, Oats, Oztelberger.

 

[Anon1751335390]

As horrific as Cal's last 5 seasons were, Pope was a downgrade.

That's how bad of shape BBN is in right now.

We are in danger of becoming Indiana if we don't absolutely crush the next hire. I also think we're stuck with Pope until 2028, and then UK can land Oats without buying him out from Alabama at that point. They could pay Pope around $5 to 9 million in a negotiated buyout for his last two years.

How Pope managed to lock in six guaranteed years here is truly amazing.

Dumped the Calipari contracted and got results on par with Calipari's at Arkansas. Net gain.

With Cal, we are still a mile away from being elite and are saddled with his shenanigans.

 

[Buckwheat Otay Is Dead]

For whatever reason, Pope is unable to use the Kentucky brand and our top-3 NIL spending/resources to out-talent other teams, like Duke is doing. So now Pope is just going to have to win at an elite level.

Dan Hurley never has the most talented team, but he coaches the hell out of them, develops his players, and wins.

IDK why Pope can't simply go get the best players with all the money we're spending, but now it's all about what he can do on the court.

No more blowouts. No more middle-of-the-SEC finishes. The only way I will be okay with Pope going forward is if Kentucky is absolutely dominant and, at a bare minimum, an Elite Eight team that stays in the top 5–10 all season long.

If he can do that, then myself and many others will be alright with giving him another year.

"You have to go take it and earn it." -Mark Pope. So go EARN another year.

You’re an idiot. Pope has a contract. Stupid fan won’t get anyone fired at UK

 

[0r1c]

One thing that is very much worth considering are options if moving on Pope early. Everyone wants to yell, fire, fire, fire, but who is next?

There are benefits to seeing him out the right way, non-impulsively and emotionally. Show the next guy that it's not a walk the plank system, let some of these other young coaches get up to speed.

Well I wouldn't fire him mid-season (even though the thought had crossed my mind last year lol)

 

[0r1c]

You’re an idiot. Pope has a contract. Stupid fan won’t get anyone fired at UK

What? Calipari and Stoops also had contracts...

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Dumped the Calipari contracted and got results on par with Calipari's at Arkansas. Net gain.

With Cal, we are still a mile away from being elite and are saddled with his shenanigans.

Cal has won more games at Arkansas, advanced farther than Pope in the NCAA on average, and will a team that features at least three top 20 picks this year.

In addition, it was a net gain to basically jettison UK from all of our NBA alumni, lose 26 games in two years, and lose by a combined 32 points in two NCAA tourney games?

You make it sound like Pope is also not a mile away from being elite. Pope has never even tasted what elite actually is. Not once has even won at the UK historic average winning percentage. Eleven year sample size. Cal had five seasons at lowly UMass where he surpassed the UK average winning percentage.

So no, not a net gain at all. A huge dinosaur dump of a downgrade.

 

[UKortho]

For whatever reason, Pope is unable to use the Kentucky brand and our top-3 NIL spending/resources to out-talent other teams, like Duke is doing. So now Pope is just going to have to win at an elite level.

Dan Hurley never has the most talented team, but he coaches the hell out of them, develops his players, and wins.

IDK why Pope can't simply go get the best players with all the money we're spending, but now it's all about what he can do on the court.

No more blowouts. No more middle-of-the-SEC finishes. The only way I will be okay with Pope going forward is if Kentucky is absolutely dominant and, at a bare minimum, an Elite Eight team that stays in the top 5–10 all season long.

If he can do that, then myself and many others will be alright with giving him another year.

"You have to go take it and earn it." -Mark Pope. So go EARN another year.

In other words, no more coaching like he has done his entire career.

 

[UKortho]

Expectations are the only difference between Pope's biggest believers and his biggest haters; some think he will turn things around and some think there is no chance. I think even the folks that believe in Pope as a coach agree that he needs to win big this year or move on. I firmly believe Pope knows that and would agree(privately at least) that this year is make or break for him.

Pope thinks he is doing fine- compared his poor record to Cal’s last couple of years when he mailed it in. He is clueless- recruits can read through the weird analogies and awkward silences.

 

[Im The Village Idiot]

Keep Pope until 2028 and that gives him four full years to turn it around. If he can't do it by then, you can poach Oats from Alabama with no buyout on the Alabama end, then negotiate Pope's last two years in the buyout. There's no way in hell UK keeps Pope for a 5th or 6th year (the end year of his current contract) if he's still slinging 5th through 9th place finishes in the SEC.

Also, what coach in America would think Pope got a raw deal if he's still stinking up the joint in years 3 and 4 at UK? No one. This is Kentucky.

I actually think this is is the smartest plan if it doesn’t work with Pope. You don’t want to risk hiring someone that won’t be a fit or will be worse. Oats is an obvious home run, given his performance at Bama and relationship with Batt.

 

[theBlues]

Pope thinks he is doing fine- compared his poor record to Cal’s last couple of years when he mailed it in. He is clueless- recruits can read through the weird analogies and awkward silences.

Man, with respect to the last two years, you know that's not true; he's made it clear publicly several times that he knows the last two years were not good enough. I don't know how you thought that was an appropriate response to my post; your relentless negativity is getting old.

 

[UKortho]

Man, with respect to the last two years, you know that's not true; he's made it clear publicly several times that he knows the last two years were not good enough. I don't know how you thought that was an appropriate response to my post; your relentless negativity is getting old.

It’s true. I did make one mistake- he compared his two years to Cal’s last 4. Even Matt Jones, Drew, and Ryan said it was a bad take:


In March 2026, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope made headlines by comparing his first two seasons at Kentucky to the previous four seasons under John Calipariduring his final seasonal radio show. Following a disappointing second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Iowa State, Pope delivered a detailed, four-minute monologue defending his program’s direction by outlining specific data points to prove they are making progress. [1, 2, 3]
He pointed to several specific comparisons between his two-year stretch and Calipari's final four years:

The Statistical Comparisons

• • Winning Percentage: Pope argued that his first two years yielded a higher overall winning percentage than the final four years of the Calipari era. [1]
  • NCAA Tournament Success: He highlighted that Kentucky won three NCAA tournament games in his first two years, compared to just one total tournament win during Calipari’s final four years. [1]
  • SEC Tournament Performance: Pope noted they won three games in Nashville(SEC Tournament) over two years. He added that they lost to higher-quality opponents (No. 5 and No. 6 teams), whereas the previous four years saw losses to lower-ranked seeds (No. 9, No. 35, No. 67, and No. 81). [, 2]
  • Strength of Schedule: He claimed his roster played the hardest consecutive strength of schedule in Kentucky history, averaging a 13.55 difficulty rating compared to the 8.76 rating of the prior four years. []
  • Injuries: Pope emphasized extreme misfortune, noting that out of 72 total games, they only had a completely full, healthy roster for 10 games. [1, 2]

The Fan and Media Backlash
Pope’s framing faced immediate pushback from national media and the Big Blue Nation. Critics noted that despite building one of the nation's most expensive rosters, Pope finished his second year with a 22-14 record and was essentially measuring his success against the absolute rock-bottom floor of the Calipari era rather than the historic Kentucky standard. Many pointed out that Calipari's early tenure at Kentucky—which included four Final Fours and a National Championship—is what built his equity, a luxury Pope has not yet earned. [1, 3]

Calipari's Response
Though he didn't explicitly name Pope, Arkansas head coach John Calipari appeared to throw shade back a few days later during a press conference. He commented on programs that "have no recruits, no idea who's coming back, [and] don't have the money you had a year ago," which many fans and analysts interpreted as a direct jab at the structural state of Pope’s roster building for the upcoming season. [1, 2]

 

[Ash Williams]

I am just going let this season play out. I have no real expectations going into it right now, but it is sink or swim.

That's big of you. I was waiting with bated breath to see if we were going to have a season. Luckily, you granted us that benediction.

 

[blackcat714]

For whatever reason, Pope is unable to use the Kentucky brand and our top-3 NIL spending/resources to out-talent other teams, like Duke is doing. So now Pope is just going to have to win at an elite level.

Dan Hurley never has the most talented team, but he coaches the hell out of them, develops his players, and wins.

IDK why Pope can't simply go get the best players with all the money we're spending, but now it's all about what he can do on the court.

No more blowouts. No more middle-of-the-SEC finishes. The only way I will be okay with Pope going forward is if Kentucky is absolutely dominant and, at a bare minimum, an Elite Eight team that stays in the top 5–10 all season long.

If he can do that, then myself and many others will be alright with giving him another year.

"You have to go take it and earn it." -Mark Pope. So go EARN another year.

Its now or never another double digit loss year and it will be time for a change.

 

[Anon1751335390]

Cal has won more games at Arkansas, advanced farther than Pope in the NCAA on average, and will a team that features at least three top 20 picks this year.

In addition, it was a net gain to basically jettison UK from all of our NBA alumni, lose 26 games in two years, and lose by a combined 32 points in two NCAA tourney games?

You make it sound like Pope is also not a mile away from being elite. Pope has never even tasted what elite actually is. Not once has even won at the UK historic average winning percentage. Eleven year sample size. Cal had five seasons at lowly UMass where he surpassed the UK average winning percentage.

So no, not a net gain at all. A huge dinosaur dump of a downgrade.

Cal at Arkansas:

10 seed
4 seed

Pope at UK:

3 seed
6 seed

Kentucky has a higher kenpom average kenpom ranking over the last two years as well.

Team overall quality isn't appreciably different.

What do you expect from Arkansas this year? They had a transcendent PG last season and managed a 4 seed.

They might be better than us next season, but what is the realistic expectation for them? Another 4 seed? How much closer are they to being elite? Cal has had one borderline elite team, 2022, in almost 10 seasons and they lost in the first round of the tournament.

Stack up Cal's 2020's:

2020 - barely top 30 Kenpom
2021 - Missed the tournament
2022 - 2 seed, lost in first round
2023 - 6 seed
2024 - 3 seed, lost in first round
2025 - 10 seed, sweet 16
2026 - 4 seed sweet 16

Do we feel like we are on the precipice of being elite after 2024 with a 10 seed and a 4 seed? No.

But the good news is that Wagner is that dawg at PG that we desperately need! He will save the team next year!

Coming off the Cal years entails withdrawals. Sure, the cope is gone. You can see that the program has slipped to third tier for going on 10 years now. Your eyes are clear now that you aren't getting the regular hits of heroin in the form of a "promising" prospect. "This year was an utter disappointment, but the next one will be great! AD is reborn in this new recruit!" Inject that straight into the veins! There is always a savior around the corner.

That hit of false hope is gone. Now you can see.

Arguing for Cal to return is demanding another sweet, sweet hit. The truth is too scary, too raw. Just another hit to make all the anxiety melt away for a moment.

 

[kywildcat1021979]

As horrific as Cal's last 5 seasons were, Pope was a downgrade.

That's how bad of shape BBN is in right now.

We are in danger of becoming Indiana if we don't absolutely crush the next hire. I also think we're stuck with Pope until 2028, and then UK can land Oats without buying him out from Alabama at that point. They could pay Pope around $5 to 9 million in a negotiated buyout for his last two years.

How Pope managed to lock in six guaranteed years here is truly amazing.

How Pope manage to lock into 6 guaranteed years here it's one moron "Mitch". Just go look at his history of bad contracts and will understand that's how Pope locked in to such a horrendous deal. I mean Stoops was getting an automatic year for 7 wins and Pope gets an automatic year for a sweet 16. These are 2 of the dumbest contract extensions possible. I know Stoops was the best thing to UK football but he was at his ceiling ( he had the most wins but also the most loses) and Pope making a sweet 16 at UK should be a given. Let's not even get into the other stupid contracts that dumb *** had signed while he was here as AD. He still got to retire and collect his money too.

 

[L.O.D.]

I did that last year. Im done