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Candid Coaches: Who was college basketball's best high-major coaching hire of 2024?

This is silly BS.
  • "Cal stayed too long at Kentucky. He knows that now. But I talked to him on the road, and you can just tell that a weight has been lifted off of him. I'll be shocked if he doesn't go to another Final Four. He's going to win big again. He has everything he needs to win big again."
 
This is silly BS.
  • "Cal stayed too long at Kentucky. He knows that now. But I talked to him on the road, and you can just tell that a weight has been lifted off of him. I'll be shocked if he doesn't go to another Final Four. He's going to win big again. He has everything he needs to win big again."

I agree with the first 3 sentences.

Beyond that, I'll believe when I see it.
 
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This is silly BS.
  • "Cal stayed too long at Kentucky. He knows that now. But I talked to him on the road, and you can just tell that a weight has been lifted off of him. I'll be shocked if he doesn't go to another Final Four. He's going to win big again. He has everything he needs to win big again."
Here is a sobering stat on Cal; with 4 straight top 5 recruiting classes (2020-2023), from 2021-24 there was a chance to win 36 post-season games (24 possible NCAAT wins and 12 possible SECT wins). He won TWO.....
 
This is silly BS.
  • "Cal stayed too long at Kentucky. He knows that now. But I talked to him on the road, and you can just tell that a weight has been lifted off of him. I'll be shocked if he doesn't go to another Final Four. He's going to win big again. He has everything he needs to win big again."
Anonymous coach

Really it's Seth Greenburg.
 
On Mark Pope

He's not a guy that's looking for a microphone every 10 minutes to state his case. He doesn't make a lot of excuses. Basketball is what drives him. Underrated recruiter, very good talent evaluator and knows how to stay ahead of the curve offensively and be impossible to guard in space. Uses his personnel like a surgeon.

Everyone on the floor is really good at something and they'll buy into that role."

"I know this isn't the guy Kentucky fans thought they were going to replace Cal with -- but he's already won them over. He'll be super there. And he really is a brilliant offensive coach. So not only will he be good there, but they'll be fun to watch. He might not dominate the recruiting rankings like Cal did because lots of schools are using NIL. But he'll get good players and win big
 
On Mark Pope

He's not a guy that's looking for a microphone every 10 minutes to state his case. He doesn't make a lot of excuses. Basketball is what drives him. Underrated recruiter, very good talent evaluator and knows how to stay ahead of the curve offensively and be impossible to guard in space. Uses his personnel like a surgeon.

Everyone on the floor is really good at something and they'll buy into that role."

"I know this isn't the guy Kentucky fans thought they were going to replace Cal with -- but he's already won them over. He'll be super there. And he really is a brilliant offensive coach. So not only will he be good there, but they'll be fun to watch. He might not dominate the recruiting rankings like Cal did because lots of schools are using NIL. But he'll get good players and win big
I would say all that is surprisingly very fair.
 
Cal is just the biggest name among this group.
He’s had a great HOF-worthy career but
I do believe his best days are long behind him.
He’ll be 66 before the next NCAA tournament. I can’t expect him to have more than 3 years left at this point.
 
I like that all the Cal quotes were “oh he’s now motivated again and he’ll be good” whereas all the Pope comments talked about how gifted of a coach he is.
 
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