Who to UK?

[CUJO_1970]

As long as Pope can get players to Kentucky, this will be a good hire. (I never would have hired him this soon - I think he needs more time)

But - he fully understands Kentucky and his offense is great. He beat both Baylor and Kansas which Cal couldn't do and he's ranked higher in KenPom than Kentucky 3 out of the last 5 years...at freaking BYU lol. Dude is a brain too, went to med school at Columbia after the NBA and then decided to get into coaching.

I loved the guy as a player...maybe this is what Kentucky needs. A fresh start by a young coach from the family tree. A very surprising but potentially great hire.

 

[Kevin Bryan]

As long as Pope can get players to Kentucky, this will be a good hire. (I never would have hired him this soon - I think he needs more time)

But - he fully understands Kentucky and his offense is great. He beat both Baylor and Kansas which Cal couldn't do and he's ranked higher in KenPom than Kentucky 3 out of the last 5 years...at freaking BYU lol. Dude is a brain too, went to med school at Columbia after the NBA and then decided to get into coaching.

I loved the guy as a player...maybe this is what Kentucky needs. A fresh start by a young coach from the family tree. A very surprising but potentially great hire.

Yeah, after my shock and pissed-offness wore off a bit I am actually pretty optimistic about it. I'm stoked to see what he can do with a talent upgrade and hopefully some solid staff additions.

 

[IUfanBorden]

From Crum vs Hall.....to Pitino vs Calipari, to.....Knight vs Hall/Pitino. to...…………...

Kelsey vs Pope vs Woodson

JFC...

 

[IUfanBorden]

Yeah, after my shock and pissed-offness wore off a bit I am actually pretty optimistic about it. I'm stoked to see what he can do with a talent upgrade and hopefully some solid staff additions.

X's and O's wise, not a terrible hire. The hire has the "name on the jersey" feel/look to it. And that's fair.

My biggest concern----the pressure. Can he handle that? THink about this...

A coach who won 80% of his games....won a natty, 4 FF's, 7 ELite 8's, multiple conference titles and SECT titles.....Walked away from $33 million dollars, to coach at fukin Arkansas. I mean, that is insane.

Pressure....

 

[dukedevilz]

Jokes aside, Dan Hurley’s dream job is actually Duke. He has a very good relationship with Coach K and he took the job of UConn with Coach K’s advice as well. If Jon Scheyer doesn’t work out for Duke, I wont be surprised that Duke will poach him from UConn eventually.

Nice to have Hurley as a fall back plan. Though, the longer someone stays in the area (i.e. Mark Few/Scott Drew), the harder it is for them to leave.

 

[Kevin Bryan]

From Crum vs Hall.....to Pitino vs Calipari, to.....Knight vs Hall/Pitino. to...…………...

Kelsey vs Pope vs Woodson

JFC...

 

[Kevin Bryan]

X's and O's wise, not a terrible hire. The hire has the "name on the jersey" feel/look to it. And that's fair.

My biggest concern----the pressure. Can he handle that? THink about this...

A coach who won 80% of his games....won a natty, 4 FF's, 7 ELite 8's, multiple conference titles and SECT titles.....Walked away from $33 million dollars, to coach at fukin Arkansas. I mean, that is insane.

Pressure....

Well no other coach out there would know better than him what it takes. He lived it as a player in the fish bowl that is UK basketball, captained a national title team, and learned from one of the best ever.

 

[Anthony B]

Pope and Change

 

[Kevin Bryan]

Pope and Change

 

[UL_1986]

Actually hyped about our Kelsey hire. The last few years have been miserable. This guy is a winner and will win. Don’t know much about Pope, but this proves the landscape of college basketball is changing, and the Rushmore of old coaches are being phased out. Interesting times.

 

[Demarcus Kidd-Miller]

Just got through dragging my nuts through a meat grinder after finding out the news.

I'm so excited about this hire...

 

[doogie503]

Mark Pope?!?!?! Wow.

 

[Kevin Bryan]

Was Hurley at the top of everyone's wish list in Nov 2022 when his career winning percentage was under 60%, he had lost double digit games in 9 of 12 seasons, and had 4 losing seasons? I'm guessing no. Now look where he is a year and a half later. Everyone has to start somewhere, and it's rarely at the top. Look how long it took legends like Wooden and K to win anything.

 

[doogie503]

Was Hurley at the top of everyone's wish list in Nov 2022 when his career winning percentage was under 60%, he had lost double digit games in 9 of 12 seasons, and had 4 losing seasons? I'm guessing no. Now look where he is a year and a half later. Everyone has to start somewhere, and it's rarely at the top. Look how long it took legends like Wooden and K to win anything.

Hurley won a couple ncaa tourney games before going to uconn at least.

Pope has been a HC for 9 years and never won a tourney game. Only made it to the tourney twice.

how the mighty have fallen

 

[treyforuk]

X's and O's wise, not a terrible hire. The hire has the "name on the jersey" feel/look to it. And that's fair.

My biggest concern----the pressure. Can he handle that? THink about this...

A coach who won 80% of his games....won a natty, 4 FF's, 7 ELite 8's, multiple conference titles and SECT titles.....Walked away from $33 million dollars, to coach at fukin Arkansas. I mean, that is insane.

Pressure....

5 years too long. He even said that when he was hired. Know your limits.

 

[Kevin Bryan]

Hurley won a couple ncaa tourney games before going to uconn at least.

Pope has been a HC for 9 years and never won a tourney game. Only made it to the tourney twice.

how the mighty have fallen

Yes, he won 2 tourney games combined in 12 years before back-to-back titles. No tourney wins in first 4 years at UConn and missed the tourney the first 2. Man, he was really killin' it. 😂 Also, this is not a comparison and I'm not saying Pope is going to do anything similar. Just pointing out that everyone started somewhere, and very few were lighting up the win column right from the jump. Another shocking revelation is that it's not easy to recruit great players who aren't Mormon to Mormon State U.

 

[FaithPlusOne]

Close, but more like this.

 

[Random UK Fan]

Hurley won a couple ncaa tourney games before going to uconn at least.

Pope has been a HC for 9 years and never won a tourney game. Only made it to the tourney twice.

how the mighty have fallen

FWIW, Pope has only 1 less tourney win than Calipari over the last 5 years.

 

[Random UK Fan]

Actually hyped about our Kelsey hire. The last few years have been miserable. This guy is a winner and will win. Don’t know much about Pope, but this proves the landscape of college basketball is changing, and the Rushmore of old coaches are being phased out. Interesting times.

This is EXACTLY what is happening . . . it’s just UK’s turn. KU is next. The days of legacy coaches are over. Hurley has the best start so far. Everyone else’s legacy is 20 years away still.

 

[IUBtown]

It's good for Kentucky. The problem is Cal ramped up the thinking in the fanbase that's hindered them. Get the biggest name, all the 5*, then bitch and moan when it doesn't work and go after the next greatest. Give Hurley 15mil/yr, is Scott drew good enough for here? Like holy fvck. If the fanbase can relax and be patient he could be fine but they need to rewire the way they think their team needs built.

 

[kyjeff1]

I guess the big question for the fanbase is, if you could go back in time would you still want Cal gone if it meant Pope?

Still want Cal gone. No question.
The issue with Pope is, it's 10 years too soon, there were better options, but, unlike Calipari, Pope is going to coach for the name on the front of the jersey and he very well could be a better bench coach, which isn’t saying much.

 

[FaithPlusOne]

Still want Cal gone. No question.
The issue with Pope is, it's 10 years too soon, there were better options, but, unlike Calipari, Pope is going to coach for the name on the front of the jersey and he's very well could be a better bench coach, which isn’t saying much.

I actually think it could be a sneaky good hire. A little risky? Sure. But I think he can absolutely coach. It’s always hard to know if more talent will fully equate (some coaches are better in mid-major or less prestigious environments), but the usual assumption is it will.

My shit talk on it has been largely based on the freak out and somewhat unrealistic expectations on how this coaching search would go by some of the UK faithful.

 

[kyjeff1]

If ANYONE says yes, they are fukin lying.

I said earlier this week, I don't caee who it is, as long as it's not Cal. That guy is a mixture of washed up + narcissistic + screwed up priorities. You don't get to prioritize individual goals and the nba draft and cost UK games in the process, then talk down to the fans like they're wrong and keep me as a fan. No sir.

Pope most likely isn’t the answer, but like I said before, losing is okay as long as that coach is doing everything he can to win.

It just sucks we have a dipshit for an AD though and he's about to know he's a dipshit.

 

[MGO2022]

It’s causing a UK fan civil war

 

[kyjeff1]

Live look at Calipari...

Yeah, well, he just woke up in a hotel room in Arkansas and realized it wasn't a bad dream, it's real.

 

[kyjeff1]

I can respect that....

But you doubt he could do worse than Cal? Like Four Final fours Cal---National title Cal...….7 E8's. I get it, last four years....Rough for sure. But think about this...

Coach K went to 13 Final Fours. BUT...………..7 of those came from 1986 to 1995. Including 5 in a row. His 7th FF came in his 14th season @ Duke.....1994. After that 1994 FF?

Missed NCAAT---Bad back season
Lost in 1st round
Lost in 2nd round.

If you include 92-93, 2nd round loss, K had a 5 year stretch like this:

2nd RD loss
FF
Missed NCAAT
1st round loss
2nd round loss

Sort of familiar looking.....

We aren’t replacing 2009-2017 Cal, if he was anything close to that Cal, he would still be UK'S coach, Barnhart is replacing 2018-2024 Cal and that’s an entirely different thing. 09-17 Cal is long gone and never coming back.

 

[kyjeff1]

Yeah, after my shock and pissed-offness wore off a bit I am actually pretty optimistic about it. I'm stoked to see what he can do with a talent upgrade and hopefully some solid staff additions.

Same here, the more I thought about it, the more I think this could actually be a good hire.
I think it just shocked everyone, because he hasn't won anything yet.
Honestly, he could coach blindfolded with an NIT roster and beat Cal, so there's that.

 

[kyjeff1]

X's and O's wise, not a terrible hire. The hire has the "name on the jersey" feel/look to it. And that's fair.

My biggest concern----the pressure. Can he handle that? THink about this...

A coach who won 80% of his games....won a natty, 4 FF's, 7 ELite 8's, multiple conference titles and SECT titles.....Walked away from $33 million dollars, to coach at fukin Arkansas. I mean, that is insane.

Pressure....

If pope has a 4 year stretch like Cal just had, he'll be walking away too, especially if it’s caused by NBA first priorities.
Cal proved he would rather lose any and all games before he would ever let up on his players first bullshit. F that. Play your best lineup and at least watch some damn tape of the opponent.

 

[kyjeff1]

I actually think it could be a sneaky good hire. A little risky? Sure. But I think he can absolutely coach. It’s always hard to know if more talent will fully equate (some coaches are better in mid-major or less prestigious environments), but the usual assumption is it will.

My shit talk on it has been largely based on the freak out and somewhat unrealistic expectations on how this coaching search would go by some of the UK faithful.

We will find out soon enough how good of a recruiter he is. He has a thin roster right now and a portal full of good players, lets see if he gets who he should get.
I like the idea of him playing a 5 out offense, so at least we'll have that.

 

[dukedevilz]

Yes, he won 2 tourney games combined in 12 years before back-to-back titles. No tourney wins in first 4 years at UConn and missed the tourney the first 2. Man, he was really killin' it. 😂 Also, this is not a comparison and I'm not saying Pope is going to do anything similar. Just pointing out that everyone started somewhere, and very few were lighting up the win column right from the jump. Another shocking revelation is that it's not easy to recruit great players who aren't Mormon to Mormon State U.

Yep. The honor code is the hardest aspect, if we're being honest. BYU was a legit national title contender in 2011 until Brandon Davies got suspended for breaking the honor code.

"Hey, would you like to play basketball for BYU? Just remember, you can't have sex unless you're married." That's a tough sell for college kids.

 

[della]

Looks like Lexington City has elected the new Pope.

 

[ThePhog08]

I like random uk fan and jimbo and sometimes Kevin. Hear this the right way, I am not saying all of UK fans.

UK fans publicly execute kings and then get confused why no one wants to be king.

Y’all are the biggest a holes in the world and wonder why any coach tells you to kick rocks. UK fans have been toxic for decades and the chicken came home to roost.

Scott Drew is a goofy nice guy Christian and he saw how yall treated a John Calipari. Why in the hell would he come there ?

 

[dukedevilz]

I like random uk fan and jimbo and sometimes Kevin. Hear this the right way, I am not saying all of UK fans.

UK fans publicly execute kings and then get confused why no one wants to be king.

Y’all are the biggest a holes in the world and wonder why any coach tells you to kick rocks. UK fans have been toxic for decades and the chicken came home to roost.

Scott Drew is a goofy nice guy Christian and he saw how yall treated a John Calipari. Why in the hell would he come there ?

Fair critique. Lots of good Kentucky posters on this forum. Collectively, however, BBN is just really hard to please. If I were Hurley or Drew or Calipari, I probably would have done the same thing. Half the salary is worth it when you're only dealing with 10% of the stress as the Kentucky job.

 

[dukedevilz]

The best job search I can compare this to is when Guthridge left UNC in 2000. The first choice, and obvious choice, was Roy Williams. He said no. And then they went to Larry Brown, George Karl, and Eddie Fogler (why did Fogler say no lol?). There may have been others I'm forgetting. They resorted to one of their own former players - and an up and coming coach, Matt Doherty. I know Doherty wasn't on the top of anyone's list when the search began. Very similar to Kentucky and Pope.

I'm not saying Pope is Doherty - or that he'll struggle like he did. Just simply saying the job search to find a replacement was similar.

 

[Deepelm]

Jokes aside, Dan Hurley’s dream job is actually Duke. He has a very good relationship with Coach K and he took the job of UConn with Coach K’s advice as well. If Jon Scheyer doesn’t work out for Duke, I wont be surprised that Duke will poach him from UConn eventually.

Yeah, your track record on this is great thus far. Dumb ass.

 

[kyjeff1]

Well, the donors are stepping up to help the Pope out.

 

[winin11]

I don't want a coach that gets triggered by what some in the fan base say.
For what it's worth, I think it was a solid hire. He will play fast and we'll see him be a whole lot better at recruiting, Kentucky almost recruits itself.
Mark Pope was playing with 3 star players and beating good teams.
I just hope he knows at KY there is no transitional year or two to get things on track. There will be some bumps in the road and will be interesting to see if the fan base goes all in on him or.....

 

[ExitFlagger]

Well, the donors are stepping up to help the Pope out.

That number’s hard to believe, but if he’s going to be swimming in NIL dough, there’s no reason he won’t do a decent job. Most players are going to the highest bidder.

 

[dukedevilz]

Well, the donors are stepping up to help the Pope out.

Seriously? Someone just pledged 4 Mil within 12 hours or so of his hiring? Wild.

Use it all on Reed Sheppard, if that's what it takes.

 

[kyjeff1]

Seriously? Someone just pledged 4 Mil within 12 hours or so of his hiring? Wild.

Use it all on Reed Sheppard, if that's what it takes.

You better believe I'd be throwing a huge percentage of that at Reed. He’s the guy that can kick start Pope's first season and wouldn’t you know it, he is good buddies with one Jeff Sheppard.
I'm encouraged by what's happening. Pope wasn't in my top 10, but I can see a path for success, I just won't expect it.