I like this pickup. He appears to be a good passer as well.
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- Thread starter K86
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Pope lost to 11 seed Duquesne in the first round of the tournament last year. Funny how people talk about how amazing of a coach he is overlook the fact he’s never won a tournament game.
I’m far from a Cal fanboy, just believe we could have gotten a more proven coach than Mark Pope.
I’m far from a Cal fanboy, just believe we could have gotten a more proven coach than Mark Pope.
You can choose to be optimistic or pessimistic since he hasn't coached a game here yet. I'm glad most of our fanbase has gotten behind him. He's pouring his heart and soul into this, which is very refreshing from the last guy.
We struck out on Hurley and Drew, and apparently, Donovan wasn't interested, and we really could not afford to wait around for him. I also doubt he would have put together a roster as quickly as Pope and staff have already done. I like the Pope hire, much more than Pearl, etc. Pitino gave a great endorsement, so I think this was a good hire with lots of upside. Plus, the fanbase is mostly energized again.
well we had a coach who won a national title, recruited 5 star players, and lost to a 15 seed, went 9-16, and lost to a 14 seed. So having a "proven" coach may not be that amazing.
Just curious. Would you trade Pope for the Cal we all know? I'll listen.
Look at his previous roster. Now look at his going into this year.
I believe we will be good next year with our roster Lets be elite in shooting, D and rebounding and see.where that takes us
He could've gone to Siena to be their star player and put up 15 shots a game. He chose to come to UK and be a backup, 9th man type player who gets 5 shots a game. Quality depth piece at a position of need. Great pickup. My only complaint is he's another guy with only 1 year of eligibility. I wish we had a little more potential for roster continuity after this season.
Three things I am most intrigued about is the new explosive offense, the fast paced wear them down running and the old age of this team. Pope going all in year one with all the experienced guys. Makes you wonder how much of a difference that will make since we haven't seen that in so many years. Who would have thought we would go quality two deep at every position before all this started?
If we get either Robinson, Lanier, or Poplar I will be thrilled with the roster Pope has put together.
If we ever sign more than one 5 star freshman per year in the future I'll be disappointed as there are
never more than 4-5 of them that will turn out as good as a senior 3 star that panned out and the senior
is much less of a risk.
If we ever sign more than one 5 star freshman per year in the future I'll be disappointed as there are
never more than 4-5 of them that will turn out as good as a senior 3 star that panned out and the senior
is much less of a risk.
I agree about that being a bit concerning, but I figure we will get one elite 5-star, maybe Harwell or Riley. Then we can possibly add the top in-state guys: Jasper Johnson (also elite), Moreno, and/or Magwood. With those 3-4 combined with sophomores Perry, Chandler, and Noah, and we probably still have a starting center in Garrison and a starting SG/SF in Oweh back. That is a good base.
At that point, you are up to 8 players on the roster and can go after 2-3 elite transfer guys, like a starting PG or PF. Much easier to fill and you'd have continuity for several years with those Kentucky kids.
This is a great starting roster for CMP in a short time to establish his program going forward.
Him and Brea have been 3 point specialists but there’s a chance they show more versatility if all 5 players have to be guarded in Pope’s offense
At BYU. Think about that. He hasn't had NEARLY (not even remotely close) the talent that Cal's had over the years. The guy can coach and develop his guys appropriately. None of this stupid "you start and you start" because of draft status. And thank God we won't see the same lousy lineup come out the second half that started the first half, game after game after game. We have a guy who wants to win titles FOR KENTUCKY.
I think Cow is about to embarassed on a national scale when he sees what an offense SHOULD look like, and watches Pope doing the kind of job that Cal SHOULD have been doing for years.
Talk is cheap. Who other than a retread was on the list that wanted the job? If you only come to UK for money its another 3-5 years wasted. And unless you have a vision here you will fail. No coach that was in the SEC wanted the job other than the one we had so Pope saved the program. The talent on BYU s team last year doesnt compare what he he has brought in for next year. Any negative post that question his coaching success at BYU is foolish. This is a new day for everyone. Woulda, coulda, and shouda posts are just based on opinion and a waste of effort. We put up with BS coaching for 5 years so why not give Pope a fair fight. His loyality to the BBN and and the 1996 Championship proves he gets it and thats what we all wanted. We are lucky to have him leading the program.
Will Kentucky be the oldest team this yr? I've seen we got 26 yrs of experience on the team combine right now with 2 players to add still
Pope is the perfect man for this job. He is absolutely killing it so far. He will get his tournament win this coming season and then you will have to find something else to gripe about.
This has to be Brad or his daddy
you're just "happy" to have a guy? You don't know if he's any good or not, you're just happy to have him.
This cannot be where we are now
Are you disabled and not able to type his name in a YouTube search bar??? You likely have already looked up his highlights and stats but you have an agenda to push and those mean UK coaches just keep tinkering with your fragile little feelings don’t they? 😃
After watching him play i'm really happy to have him on the team I hadn't seen him play before now I have I trust Coach Pope also if he wants a player wtf am I to question him Lol
I love the fact that part of the fan base was so happy getting 5* and losing way too much, a coach that did not care about winning the SEC, SEC Tourney and then full of excuses for the NCAA tourney. A coach that did not start 2 top 10 Draft Picks, a coach that did not like KENTUCKY at all.
Then we get a guy that is all in on Kentucky, got hired late in the process and are complaining about the first roster because we do not have those same 5* kids and such.
I will wait and see what CMP does with the roster he decided he wants. A coach that has stated we want to win now. A coach that said he will not (I REPEAT NOT) get kids that only play for the name on the back of the jersey.
If we do not get another 5* and win SEC titles, SEC Tourney Titles, Final Fours and National Championships I will be far more happier.
Pope at least has a system, recruits for his system.
CAL just wanted names, 5* and no plans, Excuses each year, we are young, we have not even taught defense, we have not run any plays, we have been getting them to go bowling, getting them to play pick up games and such.
GO ON AND HANG ON CALS JOCK. You all make me sick with that thinking.
Then we get a guy that is all in on Kentucky, got hired late in the process and are complaining about the first roster because we do not have those same 5* kids and such.
I will wait and see what CMP does with the roster he decided he wants. A coach that has stated we want to win now. A coach that said he will not (I REPEAT NOT) get kids that only play for the name on the back of the jersey.
If we do not get another 5* and win SEC titles, SEC Tourney Titles, Final Fours and National Championships I will be far more happier.
Pope at least has a system, recruits for his system.
CAL just wanted names, 5* and no plans, Excuses each year, we are young, we have not even taught defense, we have not run any plays, we have been getting them to go bowling, getting them to play pick up games and such.
GO ON AND HANG ON CALS JOCK. You all make me sick with that thinking.
And he was on thin ice. Losing to double digit seeds is unacceptable here.
Those weren’t the only options, would have much rather had Oates (KSR said the other day we didn’t reach out to him), Donovan (wait and ask, you could get Pope anytime), Pearl, Golden, Beard, or Lloyd. Now we have a coach that only got hired because he played here.
U and me both . Absolutely nonsense that skilled talented athletes cannot make 85 % of their free throws . Just lack of effort to put in the time to shoot one hundred a day and learn proper technique. My coach in high school limited me and two other starters shooting as we had two guys who eventually got 4 year grant in aides to P5 schools . So I practiced my free throws . Hit 78 percent and I am not one tenth as talented as the kids playing today .
It’s all just proper technique and repetition.
Just step away from the keyboard and let this play out. You might learn something
Two of the more proven ones turned us down. Pope has 11 years experience. How proven does one have to be? And don’t give me the NCAA tournament crap. Anyone can lose in a 6 game free for all. Has no bearing on whether he is a good coach. Being at UK will make him better because he will get better players. Relax and give him a chance.
The way this roster has been constructed is different than we are used to. This is looking like a very balanced squad without the glaring weaknesses and holes of recent Cal teams. You've got a team where the sum of the parts may be better than individual pieces look on paper.
Anyone claiming to know how this team will play this fall is FOS. Not even the coaches know at this point. It will be a new team with lots of veteran pieces. I am hopeful that Pope can get this team off the ground and build a foundation for future success.
Anyone claiming to know how this team will play this fall is FOS. Not even the coaches know at this point. It will be a new team with lots of veteran pieces. I am hopeful that Pope can get this team off the ground and build a foundation for future success.
Kentucky signed Almonor as a back-up, a guy who has more NCAA tournament wins as a player than THE ENTIRE UK PROGRAM for the past five years. In those two wins, he was high scorer in the first game with 23, then took on the role of harassing Purdue's Edey the whole game on the way to maybe the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history. And you see no reason to add him? This cannot be where some of Kentucky's real fans are now.
This seems to be a common theme from every player that Pope’s been bringing in…. I LOVE IT!!!!!
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