Early take on the Pope era

[olehosk]

Public relations and program building: A

Player recruitment: B cobbled together a decent collection of talent in a transition year. Closing a fourth player like Ament would position us very well in combination with another good transfer class. Opportunity to move up.

In game coaching/scheme: B+ seems solid, his offense in particular has yielded good results with less than stellar talent. Noticeable adjustments made in game, such as early action inside the paint in the second half of the Vandy game.

Player development: C the freshmen have improved noticeably. But some of the upper classmen seem to be volatile and not delivering consistent production.

Bottom line, he is doing better than I expected (B). However his ability to work with the administration to invest in talent will determine if we contend for Final Fours. I also believe he will need to toughen up a bit and be a bit more demanding of players and with officials. This is just opinion with no inside information.

ps: but I would go with Pitino every time.

 

[Jsp65]

Public relations and program building: A

Player recruitment: B cobbled together a decent collection of talent in a transition year. Closing a fourth player like Ament would position us very well in combination with another good transfer class. Opportunity to move up.

In game coaching/scheme: B+ seems solid, his offense in particular has yielded good results with less than stellar talent. Noticeable adjustments made in game, such as early action inside the paint in the second half of the Vandy game.

Player development: C the freshmen have improved noticeably. But some of the upper classmen seem to be volatile and not delivering consistent production.

Bottom line, he is doing better than I expected (B). However his ability to work with the administration to invest in talent will determine if we contend for Final Fours. I also believe he will need to toughen up a bit and be a bit more demanding of players and with officials. This is just opinion with no inside information.

ps: but I would go with Pitino every time.

Player development is an A for me while healthy.... Butler/Oweh/Williams were/are playing the best basketball of their career. Robinson was playing at an all SEC level before the wrist injury. Carr is a good player when his back isn't acting up.

Brea is who he is.

Only disappointment is Garrison.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

 

[jace2012]

Can’t judge recruiting yet since he hasn’t had time to build relationships and postseason hasn’t happened yet. Let’s see if he can win a couple games in the tournament

 

[BBNinSC]

I just don’t get the Pitino love. He was good when he was here but after that proved to be a horrible person. I guess time heals old wounds but Rick Pitino is still an asshole, refurbished in his old age or not.

 

[olehosk]

Player development is an A for me while healthy.... Butler/Oweh/Williams were/are playing the best basketball of their career. Robinson was playing at an all SEC level before the wrist injury. Carr is a good player when his back isn't acting up.

Brea is who he is.

Only disappointment is Garrison.

I feel Oweh is losing it mentally, not sure what is going on but seems to have lost confidence. Carr has been up and down, some of which I'm sure is the injury. We have games in which Almonor is great, and others in which he gives us nothing (maybe matchups). Robinson seems unpredictable as well - even when healthy.

The freshmen seem to be getting better though.

 

[NociHTTP]

I just don’t get the Pitino love. He was good when he was here but after that proved to be a horrible person. I guess time heals old wounds but Rick Pitino is still an asshole, refurbished in his old age or not.

Including, possibly, poaching players.

 

[olehosk]

Can’t judge recruiting yet since he hasn’t had time to build relationships and postseason hasn’t happened yet. Let’s see if he can win a couple games in the tournament

Certainly true on recruiting - he closes on this last guy and gets a solid transfer class we are cooking.

If he wins a couple games in the tournament that would be impressive.

 

[PersianCat387]

There was a reason KY was basically unranked to start the season, and it wasn't because Pope was disrespected as a coach I think, it was because he got a bunch of mid major Allstars who won't be going pro and made them into a team that didn't look good on paper. The freshmen (while I love them personally) were nothing to write home about either. All the guys have massive holes in their game and years of ingrained habits that either come from playing with subpar teammates or getting subpar coaching and/or lack of opportunities, some have busted shots and others still havent physically developed after years in college, the rest have athletic ceilings much lower than our SEC opponents. Maybe Lamont being the only guy who has a bit of a good coaching and big game experience pedigree that matters.

The only judgement that can be made about player development is that he made the 3 freshman and Almonor serviceable enough to plug into the system and not embarrass us with everyone else out which is actually VERY impressive and that he turned Amari into a dollar store Jokich even though the guy can't shoot and isn't physical. All which are very impressive feats of development to me, plus his overall commitment to a rotation and building depth with has me excited for next year if we can get 2-3 good portal guys.

 

[shaudyshaud]

It’s easiest to judge player development on the younger guys than it is the older guys . I’d say that the younger guys are getting better(which they are) then Pope and the staff is a good job there .

I think the player development for most of the older guys have been pretty good also .

 

[Jsp65]

I feel Oweh is losing it mentally, not sure what is going on but seems to have lost confidence. Carr has been up and down, some of which I'm sure is the injury. We have games in which Almonor is great, and others in which he gives us nothing (maybe matchups). Robinson seems unpredictable as well - even when healthy.

The freshmen seem to be getting better though.

Oweh isn't losing it mentally. He is our best player. He has had one bad game all season lol.

Almonor is a good role player. Nothing more, nothing less. He was a fine player at his old school but nothing special. He has had big moments for thid team.

Robinson was disappointing in non conference but was playing quite well in SEC play.

 

[megablue]

The test for CMP will be if his recruiting philosophy, coupled with his scheme, can produce acceptable results.
He is under the gun more than ever and he knows it. He understands "the assignment" and has accepted this challenge.
To my view, how he does in the portal will be the make-or-break for him. Recruiting Freshmen, while necessary to a degree, is not the answer to winning, as I'm not sure "building a program" is even much of a thing anymore. It's year-by-year. We'll see ...

Having said all of that, I think he has done a pretty good job this year, especially with the injuries we've suffered. I give him a B.

 

[Supafuzz75]

Player development is an A for me while healthy.... Butler/Oweh/Williams were/are playing the best basketball of their career. Robinson was playing at an all SEC level before the wrist injury. Carr is a good player when his back isn't acting up.

Brea is who he is.

Only disappointment is Garrison.

Yep me too,, A.. The grad transfers are what they are being 5th year players..

 

[gbl97]

I just don’t get the Pitino love. He was good when he was here but after that proved to be a horrible person. I guess time heals old wounds but Rick Pitino is still an asshole, refurbished in his old age or not.

We probably should have brought him back to UK in 2007 when Tubby left.

 

[jedwar]

Pope gets an A from me in all areas except one, in game subbing and rotations. Yes players need rest but having 3-4 subs in has given up several leads in several games. Stagger the subs a bit and always have at least 3 threats in the game.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

The future for success for pope is
-getting top tier talent and mixing it with guys like oweh and butler
- getting more athletic and physical aspects to his teams
- continue to run and adapt his style of offense
- win games against lower parts of the conference combined with some big wins

 

[shaudyshaud]

The future for success for pope is
-getting top tier talent and mixing it with guys like oweh and butler
- getting more athletic and physical aspects to his teams
- continue to run and adapt his style of offense
- win games against lower parts of the conference

How he uses Jasper , Lewis and Moreno will be key for the future .

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

How he uses Jasper , Lewis and Moreno will be key for the future .

For sure. Next year I would like to see a transfer PG, jasper, oweh, and Lewis be the guys. And get a shooter out the portal. Along with a good wing and a good center

 

[shaudyshaud]

For sure. Next year I would like to see a transfer PG, jasper, oweh, and Lewis be the guys. And get a shooter out the portal. Along with a good wing and a good center

The more I see of Jasper the more excited I get . He had 14 assist the other night .

 

[bigbluefan81]

What is everybody's take on the lack of defense? I know some of it is lack of athleticsm, but what is the issue with leaving people wide open?

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

The more I see of Jasper the more excited I get . He had 14 assist the other night .

Imagine a jasper, Javon small/bruce Thornton, and Oweh backcourt

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

What is everybody's take on the lack of defense? I know some of it is lack of athleticsm, but what is the issue with leaving people wide open?

You said it lack of athleticism to recover in time and bad positioning

 

[wildcat_nation28]

Public relations and program building: A

Player recruitment: B cobbled together a decent collection of talent in a transition year. Closing a fourth player like Ament would position us very well in combination with another good transfer class. Opportunity to move up.

In game coaching/scheme: B+ seems solid, his offense in particular has yielded good results with less than stellar talent. Noticeable adjustments made in game, such as early action inside the paint in the second half of the Vandy game.

Player development: C the freshmen have improved noticeably. But some of the upper classmen seem to be volatile and not delivering consistent production.

Bottom line, he is doing better than I expected (B). However his ability to work with the administration to invest in talent will determine if we contend for Final Fours. I also believe he will need to toughen up a bit and be a bit more demanding of players and with officials. This is just opinion with no inside information.

ps: but I would go with Pitino every time.

player development well most of the guys on the team are 4th yr or 5th yr seniors and they are what they are not much more development they can do

 

[bigbluefan81]

You said it lack of athleticism to recover in time and bad positioning

I'm hoping it'll improve in time

 

[Ron Mehico]

For his second ever year coaching in a power 5 conference I think he’s done phenomenal. I would say just being more consistent and ability to handle intense pressure games (the Arkansas game) will be key points to improve on.

 

[megablue]

How he uses Jasper , Lewis and Moreno will be key for the future .

How many minutes do you see each receiving ??

 

[UKBB4Ever]

Pope gets an A from me in all areas except one, in game subbing and rotations. Yes players need rest but having 3-4 subs in has given up several leads in several games. Stagger the subs a bit and always have at least 3 threats in the game.

I was thinking like that too. But I’m giving him an A across the board.

I don’t understand his subbing many times but he, and the staff, see these guys every day.

They want to win. So they are doing what they think is best to win.

I just have to trust their judgement until and unless they show me you can’t.

I think Pope has earned the benefit of the doubt.

 

[shaudyshaud]

How many minutes do you see each receiving ??

It’s hard to tell since we don’t know what we will get out of the portal . I think Johnson will play the most out of all of them them though .

If I had to guess I’m order who will play the most I’ll go
Johnson
Moreno
Lewis( judging by his father on Twitter they don’t seem like they would cause problems if he isn’t getting minutes out of the gate .

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

I'm hoping it'll improve in time

Same. The athleticism upgrade will help

 

[Mike_Edwards]

Public relations and program building: A

Player recruitment: B cobbled together a decent collection of talent in a transition year. Closing a fourth player like Ament would position us very well in combination with another good transfer class. Opportunity to move up.

In game coaching/scheme: B+ seems solid, his offense in particular has yielded good results with less than stellar talent. Noticeable adjustments made in game, such as early action inside the paint in the second half of the Vandy game.

Player development: C the freshmen have improved noticeably. But some of the upper classmen seem to be volatile and not delivering consistent production.

Bottom line, he is doing better than I expected (B). However his ability to work with the administration to invest in talent will determine if we contend for Final Fours. I also believe he will need to toughen up a bit and be a bit more demanding of players and with officials. This is just opinion with no inside information.

ps: but I would go with Pitino every time.

You sir are an obvious troll and idiot. For your efforts you have earned an ignore. I’d like to thank you for being obvious.

 

[bigbluefan81]

Same. The athleticism upgrade will help

The athleticism upgrade will help for sure. What frustrates me, is how they leave 3 point shooters wide open. When a shooter out there gets the ball, they just stand there.

 

[ukcatz12]

What is everybody's take on the lack of defense? I know some of it is lack of athleticsm, but what is the issue with leaving people wide open?

I think the lack of defense is largely inaccurate. When healthy we were statistically a top 30 defense. People complain about leaving 3 point shooters open, but part of that is playing percentages and guarding against an easy two by leaving non-great 3 point shooters open. Opponents are only shooting 29% from 3 against us on the year, which is actually 9th best in the entire country. I think people saw Arkansas shoot the lights out and let it color their view of our 3 point defense because that was such an important game for a lot of our fans. Statistically our 3 point defense is very good.

Our current defense's main issues are we don't force turnovers at all (we're ranked 345th) and we give up easy two point shot (262nd in 2 point percentage defense). That second has a lot to do with the lack of athleticism.

Or defense has jumped like 40 spots in efficiency the last few weeks. Given a healthy roster I don't think this team would be just fine on defense. And if we're able to have more athletic teams in the future I think our defense will be quite good.

 

[catfan220]

Public relations and program building: A

Player recruitment: B cobbled together a decent collection of talent in a transition year. Closing a fourth player like Ament would position us very well in combination with another good transfer class. Opportunity to move up.

In game coaching/scheme: B+ seems solid, his offense in particular has yielded good results with less than stellar talent. Noticeable adjustments made in game, such as early action inside the paint in the second half of the Vandy game.

Player development: C the freshmen have improved noticeably. But some of the upper classmen seem to be volatile and not delivering consistent production.

Bottom line, he is doing better than I expected (B). However his ability to work with the administration to invest in talent will determine if we contend for Final Fours. I also believe he will need to toughen up a bit and be a bit more demanding of players and with officials. This is just opinion with no inside information.

ps: but I would go with Pitino every time.

How can you grade player development a C? The freshmen were borderline unplayable at the beginning of the season and are all contributors (out of necessity). Amari is lightyears better than the start of the year. In general you would expect less growth from seniors. I think Garrison is the only guy who hasn’t shown much improvement

 

[NerlensCat]

I just don’t get the Pitino love. He was good when he was here but after that proved to be a horrible person. I guess time heals old wounds but Rick Pitino is still an asshole, refurbished in his old age or not.

He is unquestionably one of the top 5 coaches(NCAA) ever in my opinion. The dude has won big everywhere he has been.

That doesn’t mean he has not had his share of personal problems. Most great coaches are assholes(Pitino, K, Hurley, Calhoun, Knight, etc).

 

[UKBB4Ever]

What is everybody's take on the lack of defense? I know some of it is lack of athleticsm, but what is the issue with leaving people wide open?

It’s just that. We are simply not athletic enough to guard athletic offensive players one on one.

We have to help each other. And I thought 5th year guys would do that.

They have to done extent. But our defensive problems really have a root in poor defensive rebounding.

Our first shot defense is not that bad. It’s more than adequate to compete at a high level considering how good our offense is.

But we just give up far too many 2nd and 3rd shots.

The defense is scrambling on an offensive rebound.

We are just a terrible defensive rebounding team.

And that should be fixable. But it hasn’t been.

You can’t turn a player into an offensive rebounder if he’s not. But you can improve defensive rebounding. And Pope was a terrific rebounder. If he can’t get through to these guys then they are hopeless.

Getting away from SEC athletes and SEC officials in the tourney is going to help this team more than most.

Depending on matchups I see this as an E8 team at least. Then with some luck maybe the FF?

 

[Rockfly78]

My only concern is the concern I had when we hired him. It’s recruiting. I really want to see him land a couple big time guys NOT from the state of Kentucky. MM and JJ was low hanging fruit. I know I know, the portal and all that. Yes the portal is probably more important these days. But pope is throwing hella time and resources at blue chip freshmen so clearly he sees it as a priority. I think he needs a big fish in this area.

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

I feel Oweh is losing it mentally, not sure what is going on but seems to have lost confidence. Carr has been up and down, some of which I'm sure is the injury. We have games in which Almonor is great, and others in which he gives us nothing (maybe matchups). Robinson seems unpredictable as well - even when healthy.

The freshmen seem to be getting better though.

What utter nonsense!!! The only problem Oweh has is he doesn't have a point guard to play with. He is being asked to do things of late he hasn't done before. He is a great player in his ORIGINAL role but asking him to carry the offense is not feasible. Once again WHY can't people understand we are missing our point guards! It changes everything. Idiot fans that think we go into 4th ranked Alabamas house and beat them with our 2 point guards and 2nd leading scorer hurt , and starting Perry at the point. I really should stay away from this board for a few days after a loss, as the board just reeks of NONSENSE when we lose

 

[bnewt]

I just don’t get the Pitino love. He was good when he was here but after that proved to be a horrible person. I guess time heals old wounds but Rick Pitino is still an asshole, refurbished in his old age or not.

Agree on his personal life, but he is a great coach, one of the best

 

[bnewt]

There was a reason KY was basically unranked to start the season, and it wasn't because Pope was disrespected as a coach I think, it was because he got a bunch of mid major Allstars who won't be going pro and made them into a team that didn't look good on paper. The freshmen (while I love them personally) were nothing to write home about either. All the guys have massive holes in their game and years of ingrained habits that either come from playing with subpar teammates or getting subpar coaching and/or lack of opportunities, some have busted shots and others still havent physically developed after years in college, the rest have athletic ceilings much lower than our SEC opponents. Maybe Lamont being the only guy who has a bit of a good coaching and big game experience pedigree that matters.

The only judgement that can be made about player development is that he made the 3 freshman and Almonor serviceable enough to plug into the system and not embarrass us with everyone else out which is actually VERY impressive and that he turned Amari into a dollar store Jokich even though the guy can't shoot and isn't physical. All which are very impressive feats of development to me, plus his overall commitment to a rotation and building depth with has me excited for next year if we can get 2-3 good portal guys.

True, not a top player on the roster

 

[UKWildcats1987]

I'd say B+ overall.