Who to UK?
- Thread starter della
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Maybe he’ll be good enough that UK fans can get back to being assholes! jumpingsmile @della’s tired of the mopiness!
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Solid choice! He’s the kind of kid I felt like we’ve been missing those last years.
Five players Mark Pope should bring with him from BYU
The conversation starts with BYU and the pieces Mark Pope already had in place out in Provo. And he had some pretty good ones.www.on3.com
Jaxon Robinson, yes.
I'd pass on the other 4. Traore is efficient inside, but he's small, not much of a rim protector, and is below average in the PnR.
Khalifa is a wizard with the ball and will find the back door cutters (top 10 in nation in Ast/TO Ratio). But, he's slow-footed and hiss offensive game leaves a lot to be desired.
Knell has beautiful shooting mechanics. He could be a very reliable 3-pointer shooter. And he's gotten better defensively, but he's a below average athlete. And he doesn't offer much outside of 3-point shooing. If you're wanting him as the 8th or 9th man? Sure, snag him.
Waterman would be fine, provided he's a backup 4. Decent handle, decent athlete. But not elite. He disappears in long stretches of game.
After Jaxon Robinson, I'd say Dallin Hall or Richie Saunders. Hall had a 3-1 turnover ratio, good defender, and can beat his man off the dribble. He just needs to be a more reliable shooter, especially from the free throw line. And after Hall, I'd say Richie Saunders. Dude has a crazy high motor - and he shot 52% from the field as a 6'5 wing. Great at cutting.
That's my recommendation. Jaxon starting on the wing. And Dallin Hall and Richie Saunders as reliable energy guys off the bench.
And looky there. Dallin Hall is in the portal. I bet he ends up in Lexington.
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Coaching is just like teaching, it’s working with people, but in something fun! And if you can earn a living doing it, and if you are smart and doing it, that’s awesome!
Coaching is just like teaching, it’s working with people, but in something fun! And if you can earn a living doing it, and if you are smart and doing it, that’s awesome!
That's comparing what someone did at BYU though versus 2 blue bloods. It's not the same.
We all know you're not as good as UT now. I'm talking about actual middle of the road.
That's what I said. For an offense that is predicated on great shooters, you won't get much better than those 2.
Like I said, we are having an excellent off season so far.
Got rid of Cal for free. (Like being cured of cancer)
Got a savant for coach that bleeds blue and was national champion/captain of one of the best college basketball teams ever assembled.
Got 4 million in NIL mere hours after.
Can't wait for the presser in Rupp on Sunday. I hope they bring Pitino in to introduce him and bring back the '96 National Champion team that kicked Cal's ass out of the FF.
Looking forward to the staff and team Pope's going to build, because I see him building the exact type of team that's been kicking Calipari's ass the last five years.
Got rid of Cal for free. (Like being cured of cancer)
Got a savant for coach that bleeds blue and was national champion/captain of one of the best college basketball teams ever assembled.
Got 4 million in NIL mere hours after.
Can't wait for the presser in Rupp on Sunday. I hope they bring Pitino in to introduce him and bring back the '96 National Champion team that kicked Cal's ass out of the FF.
Looking forward to the staff and team Pope's going to build, because I see him building the exact type of team that's been kicking Calipari's ass the last five years.
Really glad to see you back here man!
Curious to see who fills out his staff. Wouldn't be surprised if he reached out to Scott Padgett.
Cody Fueger will for sure be coming. Probably Nick Robinson, too. And then two Kentucky guys.
You can cut it up how ya like----meatloaf is still meatloaf. In 15 seasons he still went to 4 FF's, 7 E8's and won a national title...
In that same time frame...
Bill Self----One title, 3 FF's and 6 E8's. He also lost in the 2nd round 7X's. Including 4 of the past 5 NCAAT's.
Cal walked away from $33 MILLION dollars....WHo does that?
Is 2020-2024 Cal the same Cal as 2009-2017? It's not sliced up, it's a fact. Cal is not the same guy, college basketball is not the same and his results can't be any different.
Also, the greatness of the players isn't the same.
Parity, physicality and analytics is far better in the game today, you can't win when you do anything other than put everything you have into winning games. Cal stopped doing that. He thinks he can be player-first and roll the balls out with guys that are young, not disciplined and are not invested in college ball. This can't be argued, the.proof is right there in the results and you even said it yourself "why is Cal playing these lineups, they make no sense". Well, he played those lineups because winning college games wasn't his top priority.
Yes, I think Fueger is expected. He may be the only one coming from BYU. Not sure about Robinson. Gotta upgrade at least 2 of the assistant spots. Sounds like the video/analytics director will be onboard. I think a GM position is in the works too.
I guess maybe KU outta start looking at Self, then....Hes certainly not the same Bill from his beginning at KU either.... Natty, 2 FF's, Runner up, and 5 E8's in first 9 seasons.
Never really cared for Cal.....But to "run a dude off" that won 80% of his games, never a hint of NCAA issues, won a title, 4 FF's, 7 E8's---6 SEC and SECT titles.....to then hire Mark Pope, is well, mindboggling.
I know----Its Kentucky. And I agree---its different there. But for a dude to walk away from millions, and then for UK to swing and miss on multiple coaches, is sort of telling.
As the saying goes---"Be leery of what ya wish for----it just might come true..."
You’re trying to put everything in a nice little box and just act like he averaged an 80% winning percentage the whole time, but you know that's not true.
In the last 4 years, he has the worst season in program history and the 2 worst NCAAT losses in.program history.
Not only that, but he's the one that didn't adapt, he's the one that doubled down on players first, he's the one that declared war on UK fans, he's the one that got lazy and he's the one that created the culture that eventually ate the program. He also vowed not to stop with players first, which is cute language for "NBA draft first".
The 2024 version of Calipari isn’t in the same galaxy as 2009 Cal. Not even close and he has himself to blame for all of this.
The fans didn't run him off, because, according to him, he doesn't read, or hear what the fans say. Those same fans packed every arena and supported him and the team. Those awful fans did their part.
Also, Mitch Barnhart stuck his neck out for that asshat. Sat there and pledged his support for Cal, who left a week later and stated he was looking into the Ohio State job in February.
For 9 million a year, I'd let UK fans trash me every day, heck, I'd trash myself if I sucked as bad as he has. Something he has yet to do, because nothing is his fault.
1. Never said Cal wasn't a dick....He is. To do the interview, then take another job---That's top shelf , new level shitty. Again, cray he done that-----Get fired----walk off with $30 mill, or so.
2. No coach is the same as they were. Not even Rupp. After his title in 58, Rupp only reached the FF once in his last 14 seasons. And missed the NCAAT 4x's as well. Same with Knight. After winning the title in 87, Knight only reached the FF one more time is last 13 seasons.... All coaches, all programs go through that. Which leads to me saying this...
One of the biggest issues with BBN, is they think UK is immune to this----But you are not. As for the fans not running him off----Meh. Rather you believe him saying he doesn't read this or that, is irrelevant. Unless dude was living in a cave, HE KNEW. ANd apparently it was enough to make the dude change his mind, and simply walk away from $33 million, and take a much lesser job.
No Cal was not the same. He needed to change. Would he have? I dunno. Better hope now like he doesn't, If he does.....?? Ruh-roh.
Listening to fans, both programs got an upgrade at coach and both got bigger commitments for NIL.
The Pope hire seemed rushed.... and now news comes out UK , Barnhart, the title ix person and the swim coach are being sued because the swim coach was allegedly a little rapey and abusive.
Great day to be a wildcat. 😬
Great day to be a wildcat. 😬
At least it was only a little rapey and abusive.
We call this, "New girlfriend syndrome...."
Not going to read the whole thread but I'd like to say Pope is actually a solid coach despite no tourney success at BYU. Interesting to see how he will recruit at UK and the SEC level along with the culture. I think he'll be fine but how good remains to be seen
Self in that timeframe:
2018 - 1 seed, Final Four
2019 - Preseason #1, started 10-0 before Azubuike got hurt and the best shooter left the team. Fell to a 4 seed
2020 - Finished AP #1, would have been prohibitive favorite if there were a tourney
2021 - 3 seed, lost in the 2nd round
2022 - 1 seed, won the NC
2023 - 1 seed, Self didn't coach in the tourney
2024 - Preseason #1, started well, best player got injured and fell to a 4 seed
No major upsets in the tourney.
I think you know the two aren't comparable. Especially with the context that Calipari was pulling in top classes every year while Self was cobbling together scraps due to the investigation.
A guy who already made 100 million and just signed a contract to make 35 million more with Arkansas. Ergo - Cal didn't walk away from $33 million.
He just changed where it was coming from.
Nobody ran Cal off.
He had a lifetime contract and just received a very public display of confidence from the athletic director.
I don't really give a shit what you call it.
You're framing a narrative around this whole thing that you want so bad to be true. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but: we are not going to become Indiana.
If Cal prioritized UK basketball, he would still be at UK. Lets get this right, the fans got pissed because Cal refused to come off his players-first bullshit. He would rather lose than make even the slightest adjustment to that. That's on him, he stuck with it far too long and he still didn't learn his lesson, he's going to continue to do it at Arkansas.
Rup didn't do this, Wooden didn't do this, Denny Crumb didn't do this and Bob Knight didn’t do this.
Could you imagine the head coach for the NY Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, or Alabama fb, losing games because they had other priorities? Somehow UK gets frowned upon, but no other blue blood franchise/program would put up with that.
You’re not stilling my thunder she-witch!! I’m excited about this hire and I love it!!!!
This. Pitino's quote about "I'll write an NIL check to help Mark make it happen" is completely overshadowing the one from that same interview that grabbed my attention: "[Donovan] had no interest in that situation". Pitino might've been BSing, but with how this played out and how Pitino absolutely would've known what Donovan's thoughts were, it makes you wonder if Donovan was only being coy in public because he didn't want to embarrass Barnhart in public for a third time. There's no logical reason for Donovan to return to the college game at this point.
Barnhart's quote about the candidate list "being more of a puddle rather than a pond" backs up all of that. When you exclude moonshots like Donovan & Hurley, refuse to consider the damaged goods like Miller, Pearl, and Pitino, and then get the carpet pulled out from under you by a coach's wife....it's much easier to see how we ended up here so quickly. Oats probably still would've been worth the buyout, IMO, but perhaps there was something else going on there.
These kinda sum up where I am. When I saw the news break, I was in complete denial for about 30min. I was irrationally hoping it was just chaff to cover for some other big/unexpected fish that Barnhart was trying to get into the boat. And then reality hit.
Mark's smart and extremely assertive. He knows better than any other person on the list what the Kentucky job entails and the pressure involved (esp in the midst of a FF drought). I have a tough time believing he would sign up for this unless he was confident he stood a decent chance of success.
Laser-focused on how the staff is constructed and I REALLY think he'll need a GM position (Nazr?) to help with the bunny-hopping as they try to get things rolling the next 12-18mos. I selfishly want to see Rondo on the bench because he's my all-time favorite wildcat, but I can't really imagine Barnhart letting him on the staff after the gun charge (as weak as that might've been).
Anyway, gonna be a long summer. The happiest person in the midst of all of this is, undoubtedly, Pitino.
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