Does mark Pope have it?

[Rockfly78]

I am an agenda driven poster. I don’t know who invented that term but it’s awful. My agenda is simple. Win. We have fn won in the tournament since 2019 1 win. So after this season if we are an early knock out which people are now setting expectations for. Well that will be 6 years with crappy march results. I think every poster has an agenda. And another march flameout after the start we had plus popes lack of a resume I just want to win. What’s your agenda? To see a good game? To blindly follow the leader? I think pope needs a warm seat. We will be .500 in a conference where the winner has 1 loss. We are so far and the only guys returning are guys we need to recruit over. So yeah to all who let this term “agenda poster” fly yes we all have an agenda. Mine is to win consistently in match. Be able to enjoy the tourney every year. We don’t flame out first weekend. That’s not UK basketball. No defense is not uk basketball. I expect strong defense, not to get blown out so he’ll yeah I have an agenda. I don’t care who the coach is as long as he is winning our program is winning.

Your concerns are valid. But you need to chill. We are sitting on a top 4 seed line and we have more big wins than we have had in several years combined. His seat needs to be warm? GTFO with that weak shit. He’s not even been here a year. Seriously do you realize how stupid you look by saying that?

Ma’am you’re just not cut out for this. Sports is too hard for you. You are ruled by your emotions and you’re not making sense. We all want the same thing. Now in a year or two I may be agreeing with you. But at this stage you just look foolish. Just chill out and watch a movie or something.

 

[Rockfly78]

I gotta be honest, I don't think this is Cal lovers. Although thinking about your explanation, it does make sense.

But Wildcats1 was one of the bigger negative posters during the Cal days. And nothing has changed. What I'm realizing more and more is that we just have a real lunatic fringe of this fanbase that's stuck in the good old days of Kentucky basketball. The same posters who wanted to throw Cal to the curb after 2015 are the same ones who have already given up on Pope.

he hated cal too. He’s just a person throwing a tantrum because he thinks we should win every game. He’s a nutcase.

I have my concerns about pope too. He was 10th on my wishlist. But the kind of talk he’s pushing at this juncture is just dumb. We should probably all ignore him

 

[jwphelps]

Instead of making a statement. Like “he doesn’t have it” I want to see what you guys think. Simple question is does mark pope have the ability as a coach to get us back to the top of the SEC? Can he bring us a title? He was hired with a shaky resume so he’s gonna have to be evaluated on the job. It’s unfortunate but he doesn’t have a blue blood resume nor track record of success. unlike any other UK coach in my lifetime pope was unproven before he was brought in. I see people say “give him 4 years”. Boys and girls you don’t do that unless the man has a track record. I think it’s completely fair to question popes ceiling as a college coach. Life is short. What do you say? Does the man have it or are we just wasting time like we did with cal?

A definite yes

 

[USARMYWILDCAT]

Yes, I think he does. Like I’ve been saying, his offensive philosophy is what it takes to win in today’s game. With that being said we definitely need to be more athletic and talented. I think Pope understands that and we will see more athletic teams in the future. Everyone wants to say that his defense is not good enough. It’s really hard to play defense against today’s offenses when we are putting two players on the court at the same time that can’t guard a paper bag. I know people hate me saying this but when you have Carr and Brea or Almonor and Perry on the court at the same time. It’s virtually impossible to play good defense. Pope knows this is the biggest issue with defense I’m sure. It will be addressed and I think we will see better defense in your future.

 

[Someguywhodoesntlikeyou]

He could fail.

He could succeed.

The truth of the matter is no one actually knows. So everyone who argues with this extreme certainty after not even one year that there position is the correct one is, imho, foolish

I’ve been alive for 7 UK basketball coaches and there’s only one I believed almost 100% we were in trouble with from Day 1. Not from outside factors or influences but just watching and listening to him operate.

I wasn’t vocal about it. I still cheered on the Cats. I just knew he wasn’t going to succeed here and I felt it was pretty obvious early on as to why. Did I do victory laps when he got canned? Did I have some sort of smug sense of satisfaction that I was right and all the other people were wrong? No.

 

[TM2013]

He definitely does. Phenomenal first season with no time to prepare. He will only get better and better.

 

[Fox2monk]

The vultures are out after one abbreviated recruiting period and a partial season. Wow! Don't even have the decency to wait until after the season.

I can say with certainty that you don't have it.

I can’t believe all the downers after witnessing the amount of games we have lost due to injury. To go probably .500 in this conference while losing your two(of 3) best players to a lot of games. We already have more top 25 wins in a season since Cal probably in 2015. That’s pretty damn impressive. We have been ranked the entire year, all in all a damn fine first year to me. Let’s see how we do in the tourneys. We may not go far because Jaxson is out but let’s find out.

 

[Fox2monk]

2 glaring facts stuck out to me: Auburn made a bunch of 3s......we did not.... and UK made many turnovers.........that led to easy points.

Exactly, they made 12 3’s and we made 4. That’s your ball game. We usually can 8-9 a game,e fairly easy. Do that and it’s a game.

 

[ORCAT10]

Without a doubt Coach Pope has it. Look at his record this year compared with Drew and Hurley.
It’s better.
He started from scratch. They didn’t.
He is playing in the toughest conference. They aren’t.
His team has suffered with players missing games due to injuries much more than theirs.

Grateful for Coach Pope.

 

[screwduke1]

Needs to be a 3rd option of- it’s to damn early to tell, and asking this when he hasn’t been here a year is silly.

Literally this . OP is trolling (or at least I hope he is trolling...the other option is he's an idiot)

 

[LmdCat]

Agreed. That’s part of my concern. I have no clue if he can get it done or not. All I know is, his past experiences certainly don’t make me think he can. They also don’t make me think he definitely can’t either. I’d be surprised if after three years he’s got a regular season or conference tourney title or a FF. But after those three years we will all probably have a solid grasp of what he can REALLY do.

His past experiences didn't occur at a school that has resources like Kentucky. You have no choice but to wait and find out. This site would be way more enjoyable for all if you and others wouldn't litter the site with a bunch of not so well-hidden negative Pope trash.

 

[LmdCat]

Literally this . OP is trolling (or at least I hope he is trolling...the other option is he's an idiot)

I think the latter is the issue.

 

[Elliott Tim]

The vultures are out after one abbreviated recruiting period and a partial season. Wow! Don't even have the decency to wait until after the season.

I can say with certainty that you don't have it.

Good post.

 

[Elliott Tim]

I think it is obvious why we have the most hated fanbase in college sports. The fringe element of this fanbase makes us all look really bad. It makes us look like we operate in extremes.

Pope came into a challenging environment.
When Cal came in 2010 we became relevant.
By the time he left, we were no longer relevant.
I think Pope has made UK fun again.
To build a team using the portal was remarkable.
Beating top 10 teams has been fun too .
The injury bug has come down hard on this year's team.
I think he's done a remarkable job .
JMO

 

[Eagles_Ball]

His past experiences didn't occur at a school that has resources like Kentucky. You have no choice but to wait and find out. This site would be way more enjoyable for all if you and others wouldn't litter the site with a bunch of not so well-hidden negative Pope trash.

I totally agree about the resources. In fact, I’ve said as much. I’m not exactly sure how posting facts and then a reasonable opinion is “negative Pope trash”. I’m hopeful and skeptical. I’m also happy as hell Cal is gone. I got hammered a few times a couple yrs back when I called it like I saw it with Cal too. Does me ignoring 9 yrs of head coaching results make it better for you somehow? I’m just not sure I get that. It’s odd. I think it’s fun to go back and forth about what it could be like the next few yrs. Part of that is joy that it’s not what I KNEW was coming the last 3 or 4. Just because I question (with facts and history) doesn’t mean I don’t want Pope and the Cats to do well. That’s just silly.

 

[AshWilliams]

I predicted at the outset that we'd go 20-10ish. Looks like I was dead on.

The disappointing thing is that this team, HEALTHY, really could have been a powerhouse. Too many injuries, but that's UK every year, isn't it?

 

[billoliver40]

The OPs argument is he enjoyed a Calipari or Calipari clone. He neglects to mention UK reportedly was offering big money to names like Oats and Hurley in being derogatory about the Pope hire.
Pope was largely unwanted by a very vocal part of this board and others. It’s very apparent there are many that magnify his mistakes and misfortunes to an even greater degree to show how wise they were in not wanting any other coach and certainly not THIS coach.
I would advise either giving it a rest for a while or following another program that pleases you.

 

[BlueSince92]

43rd-Ranked 4-star recruit two years removed from his high school class and his playing days.

That's the highest-ranked player we had on this roster.

On this roster that beat Duke, Gonzaga, Florida, aTm, and swept UT.

Whiff on Nate Ament and we're still bringing in three guys ranked above 30 and right on top of their game.

 

[rodgersl]

He put a team together from 0 to full roster in less than a month. Second, Mark is very, very smart and well self evaluate what worked and fix it. He is also a student of the game and will learn from other people as well. He will not be out worked and that is who I want as my coach. Give him his full roster all year and I like our team, injuries happen and he is still competing. Lastly, when the fans turn on one of their own not even through year one, who the hell would want to sign up to take the job? I trust Coach Pope will battle the rest of this year and do an evaluation from top to bottom and come back even better next year.

Welcome to the world of college sports now. This is how teams get broken and rebuilt with the portal. We are not the only team that was put in a predicament like this. Will happen every year now and going forward. What other reasoning will fans have when this narrative no longer fits?

 

[Worf88]

From what I’ve seen here and based on his previous stops, no. He will win some big games each year but lose so many that we have no business losing that it wipes out the big wins. Hes yet to prove he can even win a game in the tournament and that goes back to losing when he shouldn’t. Also I’ve been surprised by how many times he’s been outcoached badly in our losses. Coaching was the one thing I thought he was supposed to be elite at, but…

He seems to fall into the “good” category of our “great, good, drunk” coaching cycle. Was hoping Cal counted as a complete cycle given his results from the start compared to how they ended and that we’d get a great one but I just don’t think he has it to win a title here. I don’t know if he can even make a final four.

 

[chevyman 50]

After Sat. game it brings doubts in my mind if he the the right man for Ky.

 

[un4getables]

Teams kinda falling apart right now after a good start. Regression throughout the season is a massive coaching red flag. And I don’t want to hear excuses.

Dude go back to the hole you came from and cheer for whatever team you choose to cheer for. Because you have lost MOST of the replys here are spot on... Just stop

 

[un4getables]

I am an agenda driven poster. I don’t know who invented that term but it’s awful. My agenda is simple. Win. We have fn won in the tournament since 2019 1 win. So after this season if we are an early knock out which people are now setting expectations for. Well that will be 6 years with crappy march results. I think every poster has an agenda. And another march flameout after the start we had plus popes lack of a resume I just want to win. What’s your agenda? To see a good game? To blindly follow the leader? I think pope needs a warm seat. We will be .500 in a conference where the winner has 1 loss. We are so far and the only guys returning are guys we need to recruit over. So yeah to all who let this term “agenda poster” fly yes we all have an agenda. Mine is to win consistently in match. Be able to enjoy the tourney every year. We don’t flame out first weekend. That’s not UK basketball. No defense is not uk basketball. I expect strong defense, not to get blown out so he’ll yeah I have an agenda. I don’t care who the coach is as long as he is winning our program is winning.

Seriously dude please.. You are not even a cats fan.. Quit with you bullshit

 

[un4getables]

After Sat. game it brings doubts in my mind if he the the right man for Ky.

TROLL ALERT

 

[un4getables]

I have an agenda and I’m going to stick to it.
*fingers in ears
“Don’t give me context”

Yeah I wouldn't say much since you are almost as bad as him on your posts.

 

[jpbky2]

You realize we could have brought a proven coach whose roster would have followed? Barney did that he hired a guy who he thought the fanbase would give 4 years to pope without question. I hope you’re right that he doesn’t those things but when I see mark fox on the bench I know where the program is headed.

I’m not sure the Danny Hurley or Scott Drew roster would be an upgrade

 

[un4getables]

Mark Pope:

Built a roster from scratch with very little time. Had a top 10 team before injuries derailed us.

Has beaten Duke, Florida, Tennessee twice.

If not for injuries, we may be in the 1 seed discussion.

Keep in mind, Bruce Pearl is in his 11th season at Auburn. He had a losing record each of his first three seasons.

Todd Golden was 16-17 his first season at Florida.

Nate Oats was 16-15 in his year at Alabama.

Rick Barnes was 15-19 in his first year at Tennessee.

Bill Self has been at Kansas for over a decade. He has a similar record to Pope and is going to get a lower seed.

Dan Hurley has been at Uconn for 7 years. He’s had a 6 year head start. He’s currently a lower seed than Mark Pope.

Scott Drew has been at Baylor for 20 years. Mark Pope in his first year has a better seed than him, as well.

Pin the F&#K out of this post.. All the OP needs to read is THIS and then shut the hell up.

 

[un4getables]

How old are you buddy? 12? Can’t you debate instead of “I’m right you’re not” an entire segment of the fanbase thought the same on cal after 2017. They were right I was wrong. Far from it. Just win that’s the assignment for uk bb. Especially at home. Win. What has pope accomplished that gives you legit hope? Seriously tell me why I should be excited for the future of uk bb? This season looked like the last several with cal and Bcg team. I want to have a former player as coach the problem is pope hasn’t done a thing to instill confidence in me that he is going to change our march fortunes. Another season and another team to regress mightily over the season. Where is it man? Where do you draw your extreme confidence?

Can't debate with TROLLS and IDIOTS..

 

[un4getables]

5th
5th
2nd
2nd
5th
5th
5th
5th

Those are his conference finishes prior to being hired at UK.

He’s never won a conference tourney title.

He’s never won an NCAAT game.

Most of his teams, per the analytics, are some of the best offensive teams at any level of basketball annually.

Most of his teams, per the analytics, are some of the worst at their level in CBB annually.

All the above are facts that can’t be disputed.

He’s done a good job so far this season. It has been a wild ride. It’s far too early to tell what his UK career will be like. To speculate , he’s not going to have the ceiling good Cal or Rick had. He won’t have Clyde’s floor, probably. The hope is the UK brand will elevate his talent on the court, and that combined with his good qualities and traits will be a success. I’m hopeful and skeptical.

Yet here is another one... Can you tell me what schools that was done at? Was it at UK.... Yeah I will hang up and listen. Some might say that any lesser coach would finish last in those seasons. HMMM... Dude just like your TROLL pals give it a rest

 

[Eagles_Ball]

Yet here is another one... Can you tell me what schools that was done at? Was it at UK.... Yeah I will hang up and listen. Some might say that any lesser coach would finish last in those seasons. HMMM... Dude just like your TROLL pals give it a rest

What's worse? Trolling or lambs to slaughter?

I am neither. Which are you?

Here's a thought. When he was at Utah Valley and BYU, he didn't have teams like those currently in the SEC to compete against either.

He has six 5th place finishes and two 2nd place finishes. Those are facts. Not a troll job.

I have said, and will say it again for overemotional sheep and lambs, I think Pope has done a solid job this season. In a way, much better than I anticipated, but at the end of the day right where I thought we'd be. I thought we would be 1-2 games either side of .500 in the league. I thought we'd also be 1-2 games either side of 20 wins. I knew the SEC was LOADED. I thought our depth was questionable. I KNEW we lacked an absolute dude that could go get us a bucket. I didn't anticipate a lot of the big wins. I also didn't anticipate all of the injuries, especially to guys who are our key players (but that stuff happens far more than some on here would care to admit).

If I learned anything from Cal's last few seasons, it's to trust the data. Ironically, Pope is a big data person as well. Pope's data suggests he's solid, but it certainly doesn't suggest he's a lock to lead UK back to glory. If he does, it will be freaking awesome.

What I won't do is not pay attention and bury my head in the sand because he played here and is a nice guy. Those are two things I just don't care about when it comes to a basketball coach at UK.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

The facts are also he's been at 2 Mormon schools and mid majors at that . He had mid major talent in the 1 year he was in the Big 12 and did pretty damn good with guys recruited to a mid major team. And BYU is able to recruit better because Pope proved the school can compete in the big 12, Pope never got to recruit with the fruits of his labor, his 1 year in the big 12 he could only recruit that year on the mid major accomplishments and by the time all his huge big 12 wins happened , recruiting was mostly over for high school players.

I just think the not winning an NCAAT game can be easily understood but he has to win some NCAAT games this year or next.

I think you're confusing facts with subjective opinions. In my subjective opinion, 5th place isn't "pretty damned good". It's just ok. But the fact is, that team finished 5th in conference and go bounced in the first round of the NCAAT. I'm not crapping on what he did, I think it was a fine job. But I also am not sure it's really anything to get too giddy over. But I agree, he needs to win some NCAAT games. And I think he will.

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

Literally this . OP is trolling (or at least I hope he is trolling...the other option is he's an idiot)

I'll take option2

 

[TFCats11]

I would think that the players would want to come out and play harder for that reason. Evidently not.

This💯💯💯

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

I am an agenda driven poster. I don’t know who invented that term but it’s awful. My agenda is simple. Win. We have fn won in the tournament since 2019 1 win. So after this season if we are an early knock out which people are now setting expectations for. Well that will be 6 years with crappy march results. I think every poster has an agenda. And another march flameout after the start we had plus popes lack of a resume I just want to win. What’s your agenda? To see a good game? To blindly follow the leader? I think pope needs a warm seat. We will be .500 in a conference where the winner has 1 loss. We are so far and the only guys returning are guys we need to recruit over. So yeah to all who let this term “agenda poster” fly yes we all have an agenda. Mine is to win consistently in match. Be able to enjoy the tourney every year. We don’t flame out first weekend. That’s not UK basketball. No defense is not uk basketball. I expect strong defense, not to get blown out so he’ll yeah I have an agenda. I don’t care who the coach is as long as he is winning our program is winning.

Saying you think pope needs a warm seat after having 3 of his 4 guards injured all conference play is one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve seen on here. And man I’ve said some stupid stuff on here.

 

[ImTheVillageIdiot]

Yeah I wouldn't say much since you are almost as bad as him on your posts.

What are you talking about? I’ve never had a single antipope post. You have me confused

 

[runt#69]

yes.

He has the right stuff. In the future, people are going to be really really happy and pleased that we got Coach Pope. That's my thought.

 

[Cawood86]

Instead of making a statement. Like “he doesn’t have it” I want to see what you guys think. Simple question is does mark pope have the ability as a coach to get us back to the top of the SEC? Can he bring us a title? He was hired with a shaky resume so he’s gonna have to be evaluated on the job. It’s unfortunate but he doesn’t have a blue blood resume nor track record of success. unlike any other UK coach in my lifetime pope was unproven before he was brought in. I see people say “give him 4 years”. Boys and girls you don’t do that unless the man has a track record. I think it’s completely fair to question popes ceiling as a college coach. Life is short. What do you say? Does the man have it or are we just wasting time like we did with cal?

One thing is for sure...you don't

 

[Cawood86]

Teams kinda falling apart right now after a good start. Regression throughout the season is a massive coaching red flag. And I don’t want to hear excuses

Nobody cares how you feel about this

 

[oldsports_]

Man up, make the votes visible.