This. Like you can’t even argue this. This isn’t being mean or acting elitist. It’s straight fact, and this is simply unacceptable.
BYU finished ranked 18 in kenpom…
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Awesome. We can lose to them in the first round in 5-6 years when we make the tournament again and you can feel better about it.
Yes, I'm Barney. Look, you can throw a tantrum, roll on the floor, do whatever, but you've got 2 choices. Accept the hire and hope for the best or just leave. Eventually you get to where I am, hoping for the best.
So what exactly is your point? That we're supposed to get behind someone just because of a higher kenpom ranking? I want a coach that has at least won a Conference Tournament, Regular Season Championship or some Tournament games. Something neither Cal was doing anymore nor has Pope proven before being hired at a blueblood.
Hope you are right, but it is looking to be a complete program rebuild. Next year likely won't make the big dance, but we haven't been a factor for 4 years and were not going to be with Cal so that is a wash. Was just hoping that next year we could hit the ground running and make some noise. It is what it is. I will support the new coach until they give me reason not to.
Hoping it works out and supporting the team vs faking enthusiasm off of bare minimum accomplishments in one's career are completely different things. I'll leave when I'm good and ready, not because @Ugoff says so.
The point is that Kenpom didn't do jack for Kentucky despite all our offensive firepower and Calipari being at the helm. Take a chill pill and breathe, Man. I'm upset by this hire too. It's totally unfair for Pope and feels like Barnhart royally screwed the pooch. I get it, but taking it out on someone who's just trying to rationalize and see a sliver of a silver lining ain't helping anyone, Chief. I'm not saying we start hanging banners for anything less than championships. Never have. Never will.
Exactly. In fact, it was probably they worst team they have had in the past +20 years
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You all are just looking for things to complain about. BYU snapped their 19 game home winning streak. How many home games did they lose? They beat us on a neutral court at the beginning of the year. Someone who can’t coach couldn’t have taken a less talented team in there and won. Give him more talent and see what he can do. We should all get behind him and give him a chance. If he fails then we move on. I believe it’s going to be a fun year. We will see
That was the same point I was making for BYU, you didn't need to explain the obvious as if I was making some Calipari defense. I need to see results in the form of Tournament wins, Conference Championships or Conference Tournament Championships to be convinced this is the right hire. Obviously Mitch didn't. The kenpom ranking in of itself didn't translate to postseason success. One Conference Tournament win over a 17-15 Central Florida team, no NCAA win nor has there been anything of that stature won in his career. Really not that much to ask one of those boxes to get checked. Not going to apologize for expecting at least one of those before getting the job here. Yes, I get that it didn't do anything for Kentucky to be the 2nd highest scoring team, best 3 point shooting team with the awful defense and Cal on the bench. I'm just failing to see how this kenpom efficiency rating of 18th overall for BYU with Pope
What do you base that on? I hope like hell he does win National Championships here, but I am not going to make a bold prediction when there isn't a resume that proves otherwise.
Look who else BYU beat this year, including Scott Drew and Baylor
Great wins, but some awful losses this season, too.
I could see Pope doing well here if he could get Kentucky-level players. Hopefully the feast or famine tendency diminishes on a bigger stage.
I'm willing to give Pope a chance, but this is a monumental risk and an insane leap of faith for both Pope and Mitch.
Besides Allen Fieldhouse looking like a complete dump, it sure does. Beat Kansas at home WITH Dickinson. That's frickin amazing
Kansas was a top 5 team until their best player got hurt and they didn't have any depth.
Beating kansas after mccullar was gone is not a marquee win
Lol! Ffs they had the 20th ranked player overall in the 2023 class take his place. 6'-3" combo guard. They beat OK and UTx without him but couldn't beat BYU @home? Played as well without him as with him.
Your turn to make another fkn excuse to discount the win. We'll hang up and listen. Non wait. We won't
No.
When someone is touting the wins vs specific programs as a way to endorse a hire, it's only natural to look at those wins. Even a surface examination shows this was the Jayhawks' worst season since 1999 and Baylor's worst since 2018. The wins don't mean much when programs are having down or subpar years.
How did Cal do against them in the tournament that year?
Despite people explaining to you why UK might not have felt the same way as you, you continue pushing this narrative that he was this unnecessary and mediocre hire.
They were only missing McCullar. They had just come off beating Texas without him, and they got him back the game after BYU and lost to Baylor.
I get the impression that all of the positives around Pope are going to be explained away, and all the negatives amplified. Some people just want to be miserable.
It’s good to see who here are just miserable MF’s compared to those of us who have just been concerned about the program for years.
It's called having an opinion, and I really don't think it is an unreasonable one.
I hope Pope kills it, and I'm pulling for him 100%, but I believe the process that brought him here was horribly flawed and left us with a risky hire when there were much more accomplished options available.
I felt the exact same way when BCG was hired. No, I don't think Pope will follow the same path as BCG, but it is an equally risky hire IMO.
FWIW, when BCG became the guy, I backed him 100% too, until the evidence that he was in over his head became overwhelming.
Um... maybe they had a "down" year because a new team with a good coach came in and beat these people with 2 star talent. Kansas didn't have a down year talent-wise. They lost games. Doesn't mean they stopped being Kansas and their home court advantage wasn't still huge.
At some point you as an adult have to stop choosing every negative viewpoint and actually consider the other perspective.
Awww. Poor Kansas. Nobody else had players get injured last year. Definitely not teams with a 5 star backup to replace their "only" star player
This is salt though. Cal wouldn’t win 5 games if he had Popes roster in the big 12.
This is irrelevant. Two different coaches who build rosters differently. Mark Pope can't nor will he build rosters here the same way he did at BYU and expect to win in the SEC. He will have to recruit much better players to succeed at Kentucky now that he is here.
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We lost 10 with the #1 ranked recruiting class and no tournmanet wins in conference or NCAA and had a defensive efficiency in the 300’s.
But that opinion isn't going to do anything positive going forward, so why keep espousing it? You're not showing support for the coach.
Most of my posts that people are responding to were made before Pope was hired. I was hoping we might still change course.
I haven't started anything new since he was announced though.
Once my initial posts fade away, everyone will think of me as a Pope sunshine pumper. 😁
I haven't started anything new since he was announced though.
Once my initial posts fade away, everyone will think of me as a Pope sunshine pumper. 😁
It won't matter to some. They are just going to keep digging up posts to wag their finger in everyone's faces as if they were on board all along and this was their #1 candidate from the start. Like many, I slept on it and felt differently the next day. Initially, I did not realize the restrictions on student-athletes that impacted recruiting at a Mormon school that Pope had to deal with and the fact in year 1 in the Big 12 a big non-conference win over San Diego State, beating Kansas, Baylor, Iowa State, TCU, Kansas State & Texas. I'm 100% behind Mark Pope and hope he succeeds. Doesn't mean there still is not a lot to be proven for Pope in the postseason which was the biggest concern after Cal falling short in recent years. Not getting the job done in the Tournament here.
Just because someone has a question over Pope's overall resume before getting the UK job does not mean they are on the side of Calipari giving him a pass as if it was better off with Cal. Fans just want to be sure the right hire was made so that we don't get stuck where we already are. The logic behind the black and white linear thinking belief by some of you all in this thread that if you question Pope, it means you're all in for Cal just galls me to no end here.. Literally no one is saying Cal was getting the job done either. For the umpteenth time, I hope he succeeds, brings home National Championships here and make every coach who passed on the opportunity regret it. Pope is going to get his chances here. Seeing one of our own win who makes this his destination job is what we all hope happens with this but has it all to prove. It will be even better to see an alumni here win a title first than one with Hubert at UNC or Scheyer at DOOK.
With a very limited roster at that. Imagine what they could have done with Sheppard and Dilly, Reeves caliber players.
