Assistant Coach Alvin Brooks...

[Uncle Adolph]

I thought when we hired him away from Baylor he was supposed to be one of the top recruiters in the country ?
I have not seen that yet.
I want so badly for CMP to do well here but we have got to do well in recruiting. Yes I am starting to get worried about it.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

There is no more recruiting. Only paying.

 

[Uncle Adolph]

There is no more recruiting. Only paying.

That is true too.

 

[SemperFiCat]

Has Mark Pope ever assembled a Kentucky roster that didn't at least make it to the Sweet 16 or accomplish a record tieing most top 15 wins?

 

[JPFisher]

Has Mark Pope ever assembled a Kentucky roster that didn't at least make it to the Sweet 16 or accomplish a record tieing most top 15 wins?

Bro, what has he done for us LATELY?

 

[9timeChampion]

I can't wait till we get to August and the doom and gloomers will be gone. They love negativity like leeches love blood.....

 

[Uncle Adolph]

Has Mark Pope ever assembled a Kentucky roster that didn't at least make it to the Sweet 16 or accomplish a record tieing most top 15 wins?

Yes. I think he is a really good coach and ambassador for our program but do we need to upgrade the talent level to take the next step ?
So many swings and misses have me baffled.

 

[kydmb99]

Has Mark Pope ever assembled a Kentucky roster that didn't at least make it to the Sweet 16 or accomplish a record tieing most top 15 wins?

Overachieving teams that reach the Sweet 16 then get blown out isn't going to cut it moving forward

 

[MrHotDice]

I thought when we hired him away from Baylor he was supposed to be one of the top recruiters in the country ?
I have not seen that yet.
I want so badly for CMP to do well here but we have got to do well in recruiting. Yes I am starting to get worried about it.

It take longer than one year to build recruiting relations with NIL, Shoe Companies, and this Wild West No Holds Barred recruiting high schoolers. I dont think Pope hires dead weight to help him recruit.

 

[jedwar]

Has Mark Pope ever assembled a Kentucky roster that didn't at least make it to the Sweet 16 or accomplish a record tieing most top 15 wins?

He hasn't won a game in May for UK. Failure.

 

[Jsp65]

This has NOTHING to do with Brooks or Hart. It has EVERYTHING TO DO with Pope being a BAD recruiter.

Pope is Tubby 2.0

 

[Uncle Adolph]

It take longer than one year to build recruiting relations with NIL, Shoe Companies, and this Wild West No Holds Barred recruiting high schoolers. I dont think Pope hires dead weight to help him recruit.

I agree with you 100%
Nobody is rooting for CMP harder than I am!

 

[Digger-Cat]

 

[JPFisher]

Yes. I think he is a really good coach and ambassador for our program but do we need to upgrade the talent level to take the next step ?
So many swings and misses have me baffled.

I think it's a few things.

1. We don't actually know who the staff is heavily pursuing.

2. We have plenty of portal left.

3. If we really do have $10 million+ to spend, then we're not hurting for funds.

4. We miss out on some guys, but that's not always a bad thing. We cast a broad net, and because of all the names, I think fans think we're losing out on hard targets when we really just sent out feelers. Example of "losing out" on some guys: Nelly Davis was the biggest whiff last year and looked like a chunky uncle who forgot how to play ball most of the year. Then there was the dude who went to UConn that we whiffed on and got Brea instead. Aiden something? Another complete bust. Osobor never made headlines, either....

The point is, I'm cool with where we are.

 

[MrHotDice]

Yes. I think he is a really good coach and ambassador for our program but do we need to upgrade the talent level to take the next step ?
So many swings and misses have me baffled.

Just what is the next step. A school with as many titles as Kentucky know only one way you can finish and since Pope keeps saying, I know the Assignment, its the playbook for every coach since Rupp.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

Overachieving teams that reach the Sweet 16 then get blown out isn't going to cut it moving forward

Yes, a team devastated with injuries that when they were a complete team were in the top five but just leave that out

 

[FtWorthCat]

Get to the Sweet Sixteen and you're in the hunt for a championship. That's all we can ask for. We beat two of the Final Four teams, and were better than the team that beat us. We did beat Tennessee 2 out of 3. It takes a little luck to win it all, and we were short on that this year. I like the 5 we've got returning and the 4 coming in so far.

I'm not really interested in recruiting "one and done" NBA guys, anymore. I don't mind a grad transfer or two each season, for the experience. We couldn't win it even with guys like Maxey, Wallace, Quickley, etc., who were NBA rotation guys if not stars from Day 1. Outside of Duke's 3 "one and dones", no one else in the Final Four is a projected lottery pick, and only Broome is projected in the late first round. Of the top 50 players in the portal last season, only one is still playing, and he was #44. It's not about recruiting rankings anymore, except for Duke, it's about building a team over multiple seasons.

2024 College Basketball Transfer Portal

2024 College basketball Transfer Portal

247sports.com

 

[catzfanjim]

Overachieving teams that reach the Sweet 16 then get blown out isn't going to cut it moving forward

That’s better than Cal flaming out in the first round.

 

[Aike]

I can't wait till we get to August and the doom and gloomers will be gone. They love negativity like leeches love blood.....

The doom and gloomers will be with us always. It’s biblical.

 

[TFCats11]

There is no more recruiting. Only paying.

Unfortunately, it’s going to take a while for the old habits to die hard!

UK is not the NIL heavyweight we all hoped for. We will eventually get used to it, some sooner than others however.

 

[BleedBlue13]

Idk man we went from highly rated recruits and losing in the first round to under the radar guys sweet 16 and breaking an all time ncaa record. That’s not good enough!!! Some people just don’t live in reality. The only thing we have to judge coach on so far is last season and I think he did a hell of a job. Of course we have areas to improve in, let’s wait and see if he does. Cal certainly didn’t, same philosophy year after year that was proven not to work. Older successful coaches don’t change imo Self is in the midst of that now very glad Pope is younger and energetic.

 

[rick64]

These young men are now basically hired contractors. You sign them up for a year with an NIL deal, then its where can they go and pay them the most next year.

 

[JPFisher]

Unfortunately, it’s going to take a while for the old habits to die hard!

UK is not the NIL heavyweight we all hoped for. We will eventually get used to it, some sooner than others however.

What sources do you have that we're at such an NIL disadvantage? You say this stuff like it's definitive.

Everything I've seen suggests we're sitting at ~$10 million or more. The most I've seen suggested for a player was $3 million, and that was for Yaxel.

What do you know that insiders and everyone else missed?

 

[Farsight]

I can't wait till we get to August and the doom and gloomers will be gone. They love negativity like leeches love blood.....

There are some people on this board that see things through a gray realistic lens and can consider both sides. That's not a doom or gloomer or cry baby. The world is not black and white. A critique is not negative, there is a difference.

 

[permdaddy]

IMO, all assistants should be X and O guys. Recruiting is 90% transactional with players. Sure, there are 10% that take relationships into consideration, but there aren't enough of those guys to have an old school type recruiter on staff.

 

[9timeChampion]

A critique without factual knowledge though is an opinion. An opinion based on what. Some teams are throwing money at one or two players, Osobor for example got a crap load of money on a shitty Washington team. With every time someone picks someone else, its either we don't have enough NIL(rumor), Pope is pinching pennies(rumor), or a bunch of baseless maybes based on a player not coming here.

There are some people on this board that see things through a gray realistic lens and can consider both sides. That's not a doom or gloomer or cry baby. The world is not black and white. A critique is not negative, there is a difference.

 

[Farsight]

A critique without factual knowledge though is an opinion. An opinion based on what. Some teams are throwing money at one or two players, Osobor for example got a crap load of money on a shitty Washington team. With every time someone picks someone else, its either we don't have enough NIL(rumor), Pope is pinching pennies(rumor), or a bunch of baseless maybes based on a player not coming here.

You real realize that your opinion isn't fact either?

 

[jace2012]

I don’t blame Coach Brooks, if we are not spending the money it’s no one’s fault but administration or NIL compliance

 

[AJG-15]

He should have connections in AAU circuits. Yes money is important but also recruiting. Instead of offering 50 players and I prefer to go hard after fewer but be more effective.

Usually, portal players decide quicker. They already been trough the recruiting process. Their window of opportunity is shorter . So if you make the correct offer they usually commit. If you have done zoom meetings, went to visit them, they visited Lexington and you made the offer and still you didn’t close the deal that’s a problem.


With HS recruiters you need to do all that dance with parents visits, offers, social media , wait etc…..

Portal should be business.

I hope we have the right folks to do it.

 

[fredmanthecatfan]

I don’t think any of us know enough about what is going on to know how it is going.

We hear about a guy in the portal and it’s like a kid looking at a shiny new toy at the store. When he picks another school or delays his decision, we are like the kid who throws a tantrum in the store—“Mommy won’t get me the toy I want. I’ll only get these crappy toys that the cool kids don’t want “.
Meanwhile Pope is checking these guys out not just to see how good they can play, but how they might fit on the team.
Recruiting will be ongoing. If we fill our roster now with good players that don’t mesh well, we’ll complain that when an even better prospect does come along that Pope was too impatient and took the wrong guys.
People who want to complain are going to.
I’m just going to enjoy the ride.

 

[9timeChampion]

You real realize that your opinion isn't fact either?

Yeah true but I'm not on social media crying about every player we lost. I don't think most people on here are truly Kentucky fans. I been a fan since I been 8, remember 93-94 teams Delk, Ford, Reddick and I love Kentucky basketball.
It makes our fans look desperate, crying over players when their is 1000 in the portal and more to come.
Plus blaming Mitch(mainly over lifetime contract, and our football coach), saying Pope is pinching pennies(without knowing the plan), or saying we don't have the nil to compete and making up negative shit is only making our team and our coach look bad without knowing right or wrong. I don't act like I know anything.
Lots of people on here are pissed over Cal leaving and used to way he recruits and some are trolls from opposing fans. I mean I guess I'll be the one laughing when we have a team good to go by the end of May. We have to wait on NBA decisions too.

 

[ManitouDan]

There is no more recruiting. Only paying.

Depressing state of affairs .

 

[ralphdaltonfan]

I don’t blame Coach Brooks, if we are not spending the money it’s no one’s fault but administration or NIL compliance

"Mad" Mitch really doing nobody in the Basketball Program any favors. His "it will take care of itself" nonsense is tiresome.

Meanwhile you have a big mouthed FB coach who talks like he's got the Saban/Meyer formula but is being held back.

Calipari was right in what he said a few Summers ago, know it hit some wrong but many didn't like the messenger instead of listening to the message.

 

[Farsight]

Yeah true but I'm not on social media crying about every player we lost. I don't think most people on here are truly Kentucky fans. I been a fan since I been 8, remember 93-94 teams Delk, Ford, Reddick and I love Kentucky basketball.
It makes our fans look desperate, crying over players when their is 1000 in the portal and more to come.
Plus blaming Mitch(mainly over lifetime contract, and our football coach), saying Pope is pinching pennies(without knowing the plan), or saying we don't have the nil to compete and making up negative shit is only making our team and our coach look bad without knowing right or wrong. I don't act like I know anything.
Lots of people on here are pissed over Cal leaving and used to way he recruits and some are trolls from opposing fans. I mean I guess I'll be the one laughing when we have a team good to go by the end of May. We have to wait on NBA decisions too.

You keep saying people are being negative or "crying" about portal misses, but honestly, some of us are just trying to look at things realistically. It's not about doom and gloom, it's about recognizing patterns and being willing to have a conversation without blind optimism.

You say others are speculating, but you're also speculating when you downplay concerns or say it's no big deal. We all want the program to succeed and being critical or asking questions doesn’t make someone less of a fan. Acting like there's only one "right" way to be a Kentucky fan doesn’t help anything. You hold no standard of what constitutes that.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

"Mad" Mitch really doing nobody in the Basketball Program any favors. His "it will take care of itself" nonsense is tiresome.

Meanwhile you have a big mouthed FB coach who talks like he's got the Saban/Meyer formula but is being held back.

Calipari was right in what he said a few Summers ago, know it hit some wrong but many didn't like the messenger instead of listening to the message.

Of course we all wanted cal gone but it was alarming to hear him talk about the lack of ad support in nil. Same thing from stoops when he almost left.

In this day and age, you simply cannot have an ad thats neutral on this stuff, let alone one that is at least borderline obstructionist.

 

[Cayts69]

Has Mark Pope ever assembled a Kentucky roster that didn't at least make it to the Sweet 16 or accomplish a record tieing most top 15 wins?

Has Mark Pope ever assembled a Kentucky roster that made the Final Four?

 

[9timeChampion]

g negative or "crying" about portal misses, but honestly, some of us are just trying to look at things realistically. It's not about doom and gloom, it's about recognizing patterns and being willing to have a conversation without blind optimism.

You say others are speculating, but you're also speculating when you downplay concerns or say it's no big deal. We all want the program to succeed and being critical or asking questions doesn’t make someone less of a fan. Acting like there's only one "right" way to be a Kentucky fan doesn’t help anything. You hold no standard of what constitutes th

Well just because some players go elsewhere don't mean their negative reasons are true either. Just because you think its realistically without facts makes it not realistic. Being realistic, when we have 9 players, you don't know what we are offering anyone. Being overly negative or pessimistic whether you think its realistic or not is not a good look.

 

[TOMCATS1990]

He is a High School recruiter and Baylor probably had a much larger payroll to work with too

 

[AJG-15]

Of course we all wanted cal gone but it was alarming to hear him talk about the lack of ad support in nil. Same thing from stoops when he almost left.

In this day and age, you simply cannot have an ad thats neutral on this stuff, let alone one that is at least borderline obstructionist.

Cal leaving gave Mitch the years to retirement since he gave the crowds what they were asking: Cal’s head.

Of course, Cal was right that the basketball program was not getting the support it was needed it.

Of course, BBN was right asking for both Cal and Mitch to leave.

I doubt Pope will ever make public if he does not get the support he needs, especially that he only been around for a minute .

 

[Farsight]

Well just because some players go elsewhere don't mean their negative reasons are true either. Just because you think its realistically without facts makes it not realistic. Being realistic, when we have 9 players, you don't know what we are offering anyone. Being overly negative or pessimistic whether you think its realistic or not is not a good look.

You're trying really hard to brand anything short of blind optimism as "pessimism" or a "bad look," but come on man that’s just another way of shutting down valid discussion.

You say critiques aren’t realistic unless we have full facts, but nobody — not you, not me — has the full NIL playbook or recruiting plan. So if you're allowed to assume the best, others are allowed to question things. That’s not negativity. That’s being engaged. That’s caring.

You don't get to frame concern as being a bad fan. You’re not the gatekeeper of Kentucky fandom, and pretending you are just makes you look like the one desperate to control the narrative. It's a bad look you can't comprehend the difference.