Everyone is entitled to their own opinion... Just curious, would you want Bill Self or just hypothetically Coach K as the coach of UK?
Coach Cal Replacements
- Thread starter thedahc
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I disagree on Donovan for our possible head coach. He has turned us down twice before. In my book he would not get a third chance to say no. And on a personal note, there is something about him that rubs me the wrong way. I can't put my finger on it, but it's not the turning us down before and his coaching ability, but there is just something there. Sorry.
Aaron's been a Calipari apologist for years. He disappears entirely whenever we lose an embarrassing game or constructs some type of strawman making UK fans look completely unreasonable for thinking Cal has done a piss poor job these last 5 years.
Then, almost without fail, everytime we actually win a big game he comes out to say "I told you so."
I know he's just trolling for engagement but it's a tired act.
Then, almost without fail, everytime we actually win a big game he comes out to say "I told you so."
I know he's just trolling for engagement but it's a tired act.
I like my UK basketball how i like my women. No Beard!
That’s ok, we all have a right to our own opinions. I understand your point too
In today's setup, I'm going with Self. During the pre-NIL & transfer portal era, I'm going with Coach K.
-At 37, Pitino had the Knicks in the conference semifinals the season before he became the coach at UK and a Final Four two years prior.
-At 46, Tubby had only coached for 6 seasons, but already had 3 Sweet 16s under his belt.
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Pope at 51: 8 years as a head coach, but only one tournament appearance.
Smart: solid at VCU and Marquette, but has already shown that he can't make it at a big program.
that's pretty disingenuous to minimize Pitino's accomplishments prior to coming to UK.
This. Watched about two minutes of his podcast and stopped. Complete douchenozzle.
I think there is a lot of staying in the good graces of the UK SID as well when they do these things
Watching Jack Pilgram do the rapid reaction show, those guys are fans in the moment like everyone else, then when writing a blog entry he's clearly sensitive to UK's reactions
Watching Jack Pilgram do the rapid reaction show, those guys are fans in the moment like everyone else, then when writing a blog entry he's clearly sensitive to UK's reactions
Oats was his latest flavor so yesterday was brutal for him. He spent the entire night throwing water on the win and twisting words. I finally muted.. Who does that on a Saturday night other than pretend UK fans and in his own words “incel’s”? Dont like the word but he was calling people that last night and it seems he knows it well, lol. Anyway. Whatever. No time for the silliness. Enjoy the weekend! Great and fun win. Still can’t believe 117.
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Maybe from now on, fans should answer these polls with the names of the coaches of the next 3 teams we’re about to face!
I agree with this who say there is no obvious name out there. I might take a little unconventional approach and look for a guy who has never won it all, but is still very relevant and wants that ekusuve title so bad. Most likely older and would be maybe a 5 year hire. I know Mitch wouldn’t touch either of these guys, but someone like Pearl or Sampson.
I'm not arguing he was a bum. There was a reason we hired him. I'm saying, he was not established HOF coach like Cal some think we're entitled to on the next hire. He was no Donovan or Stephens.
Pitino was a young coach who had one good year in college. He had a six seed team and went to the Final Four one year. Went to NBA and won one series in the playoffs in two seasons. People thought he had the goods. I did. Not because of years and years of success, but because of two.
But I wouldn't put his resume against Scott Drew. And i see people now who look at Scott Drew, who's done way more than that, and they want to poke holes. And that's probably our top realistic candidate. And the next group of candidates if he were to decline will have much less.
For me, anyone who puts the UK program first and is willing to give 100% to that goal is fine with me. I don't care who they are - if they do that they will be much better than Calipari.
I think Kelvin Sampson needs a look I know in Indiana he was caught a little shady but with nil now that was very minor I like the way he plays and I believe he could really recruit well here
There's not a lot of established HOF coaches out there. The few that are, most likely have great gigs at good programs and are entrenched for life with contracts similar to Cal.
Scott Drew is a good example. He's 20 years into a program he has built. Today, Baylor can pay him whatever he wants, and spend resources on basketball. When Pitino was coming up, he and other top caliber coaches had to shoot for bigger more blue-blooded programs. Not only for money, resources, etc but like you said he kind of caught lightning in a bottle and most likely wasn't going to sniff deep runs at Providence anymore.
Now there's more parity in general. There's more exposure, media, etc for all. So, a young coach today can make a HOF career at a Providence, make good money, be seen on TV, recruit, and not have to worry about massive pressure.
Gonzaga is another good example. Mark Few has poo pooed many people, including us. He doesn't need the blue blood platform. He's 20 years in, his is program well known, he gets great talent, puts kids in the league, and lives a nice quite life way up in the pacific northwest out of the fray of big time P5/blue blood collegiate athletics.
Jay Wright, again similar story. Has been courted by everyone including us to which his response has been "nah i'm good"
I've always maintained Billy Donovan is the guy, but he falls into the above category of dudes who did it and no longer need what we have to offer.
Which is why everyone needs to be careful. Especially those who would actually make the decision to move on from Cal because the odds favor getting someone who isn't going to be able to do it.
I guess my point is, I wouldn't want either of those coaches as the head coach at Kentucky. I hate both of those programs, so I want to beat them... Not have to turn around and now support them at UK. The same is true for me personally when they suggest Hurley as the next UK coach.
Never was sold on Oats. How he handled that fiasco with Miller left a sour taste for me, I'll take a pass.
Forget Donovan, he turned us down twice, he doesn't get a third try.
Whomever is the next coach at UK has to be hungry, puts the program first, recognizes the importance of tradition and embraces the fans but most of all eats, sleeps and breathes basketball. I want a coach that recruits players to fit his style of play, not the highest ranked 5 star that can't play in your scheme.
The list would probably be short. One that stands out and would be a bridge for the short term is Pearl but most don't want him. Smart is a good coach but he shouldn't have taken the Texas job when he did. Timing was wrong for that move.
Vogel would be an interesting hire and I like Golden from Florida as well.
I like Pope but not sure he could handle this job. He may be more inclined to stay at BYU.
Hurley isn't leaving UConn and why should he currently ?
At the end of the day, finding a coach would be no problem but Letting Barnfart handle the hire would be a mistake.
Forget Donovan, he turned us down twice, he doesn't get a third try.
Whomever is the next coach at UK has to be hungry, puts the program first, recognizes the importance of tradition and embraces the fans but most of all eats, sleeps and breathes basketball. I want a coach that recruits players to fit his style of play, not the highest ranked 5 star that can't play in your scheme.
The list would probably be short. One that stands out and would be a bridge for the short term is Pearl but most don't want him. Smart is a good coach but he shouldn't have taken the Texas job when he did. Timing was wrong for that move.
Vogel would be an interesting hire and I like Golden from Florida as well.
I like Pope but not sure he could handle this job. He may be more inclined to stay at BYU.
Hurley isn't leaving UConn and why should he currently ?
At the end of the day, finding a coach would be no problem but Letting Barnfart handle the hire would be a mistake.
T. J. Otzelberger, Danny Hurley, Todd Golden, Grant McCasland, Frank Vogel, and Mark Pope are present coaches that I would hope will be on the short list. Don’t know if any are interested but UK needs to ask. Hope this process begins in April.
Its' going to be somebody not even mentioned or hardly even mentioned when he leaves. It will NOT be an SEC coach.
He's old as hell. Pass. Get someone who has won something somewhere. We can do way better.
He would win big here. End of his career, chasing that elusive title. He would be a great hire imo.
Maybe not but we did take Tubby from Georgia so I can see a scenario where we would look at an SEC coach.
When the time comes and I hope it's sooner than later, We shouldn't have any problem finding a coach.
Dude has like 7 Level 1 violations at LSU. He’s a complete cheater.
He has taken a terrible Mcneese State and they are 24-3 with a win over LSU. This guy is gonna get a big job again and it’s gonna be soon. Wins everywhere he goes.
I actually really like the D2 guy that, of all the people, I first saw mentioned by a Louisville fan.
Hear me out now.
He’s won 3 of the last 4 D2 national titles and 4 of the last 6. That ties him for 2nd all time. He has 5 national d2 coach of the year awards. Ties him for first all time. They were also 31-1 when the tourney was cancelled in 2020. He’s lost a total of 20 games in his last 8 seasons counting this year. They just won their conference for the 11th straight season and still have 2 games left. And he’s only 42 years old.
I get that people would rather have someone that’s proven at this level. And obviously going with a D2 guys is a huge gamble for a lot of reasons. Will his style translate to D1? I think it would. But will he be able to recruit? That’s definitely the biggest question mark. He did just have a former player sign a 10 day contract i wanna say.
But Bruce Pearl started off in D2 and i know a lot of UK fans love him as a coach. He’s really good. Dan Hurley and Nate oats are 2 others UK fans love and are obviously very good coaches and they were both in high school before moving to D1.
Hear me out now.
He’s won 3 of the last 4 D2 national titles and 4 of the last 6. That ties him for 2nd all time. He has 5 national d2 coach of the year awards. Ties him for first all time. They were also 31-1 when the tourney was cancelled in 2020. He’s lost a total of 20 games in his last 8 seasons counting this year. They just won their conference for the 11th straight season and still have 2 games left. And he’s only 42 years old.
I get that people would rather have someone that’s proven at this level. And obviously going with a D2 guys is a huge gamble for a lot of reasons. Will his style translate to D1? I think it would. But will he be able to recruit? That’s definitely the biggest question mark. He did just have a former player sign a 10 day contract i wanna say.
But Bruce Pearl started off in D2 and i know a lot of UK fans love him as a coach. He’s really good. Dan Hurley and Nate oats are 2 others UK fans love and are obviously very good coaches and they were both in high school before moving to D1.
Bruce Pearl earned his way up through the ranks from D2. He didn't go straight to Tennessee.
He won a title at D2 southern indiana. Then he spent 4 seasons at UW-Milwaukee and then went to Tennessee.
But how much did those 4 seasons at Milwaukee really matter? If he hadn’t did that first would he not have succeeded at Tennessee?
Cal took him to the woodshed yesterday but Oats would still be my call if we were looking for a coach in April. I’d take Sampson over Pearl if those were my choices though.
Sean Miller is Cal 2.0 without the Tournament success to warrant being at Kentucky. Would recruit well enough to satisfy the fan base but never made it out of the Elite 8. Now that the playing field has been leveled with NIL, his cheating will not be near of an advantage to him. Will Wade, hard pass!
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I remember when he got in trouble at IU. It was for texting recruits during times there was supposed to be no contact. Seems really silly now. He had I IU rolling at that time too. They’ve not had anyone near as good since
I agree. Sampson is who I said they should get if Calipari leaves. None of the younger guys have proven enough so Sampson could be a nice bridge hire. Another older guy that wouldn't be a bad hire is Dana Altman, although he's struggled here in the last couple years.
Tommy Lloyd wouldn't be bad if he does well this year at Arizona.
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