I didn't listen to the whole thing, but the Chicken Little reading was awesome.
We know why he chose UNC then. Academic honor roll!
Damn I doubled him up!! How did he get into UNC with that score? Oh wait…did I really just ask that?
Dang, he must have been a lot more prepared than me. I should have been copying his answers.
We did push out Cal and I’m damn proud of it.
I get what you’re saying because I’m a believer that the fanbase has power! But I also believe that Cal thought he could use Arkansas as leverage against Mitch and it backfired.
I think it was his third try...this is all the fuzzy memory (mine) from dating a girl in college that was a really good family friend of theirs...but on the third try I think he got an 18. He legit went through a ton of prep courses. It was a whole mess.
One of the best...he, ahem...pulled something out and "patted" it on the head of another student. Right in the middle of class.
Pope definitely had some attributes that would lead one to believe he could succeed, namely his offenses have been among the most efficient at any level of basketball (including the NBA) since his Utah Valley State days. Honestly, he was at the forefront of the Zoom craze that is all over the NBA now. But there were also some major concerns too, not the least of which is that he's never won a conference regular season or tourney title and that he'd never won an NCAAT game. Matt's assertion was, and honestly I still think it holds true, that Coach Pope would've never gotten the job had he not played at UK. And that's completely fair, and probably completely accurate as well.
In college, I typically tried to sit next to the hot chicks (I know that's not PC, sorry if it offends). But man, if they were hot AND smart I'd fight a dude for that seat.
I'm aware. Doesn't mean it still isn't wild to see these days after 15 years of his shit while CCC being here.
I literally struggled to process the words being said the first 30-60 secs of that video merely because Goodman was wearing that cap. Just wild.
I really enjoy reading your thoughts, Eagles .... I concur on your salient points. Although I have been openly very vocal and positive in my support for Coach Pope, I just look at everything that happened this year in the context of a 50 year memory window for me. Except one thing :
I'm ordering now as we speak. Special delivery. I'm really looking forward to my bowl of Weetabix with warm milk and pure cane sugar! (NO sugar substitute FTW !)Jesus, you were emotionally involved in that response😁I really enjoy reading your thoughts, Eagles .... I concur on your salient points. Although I have been openly very vocal and positive in my support for Coach Pope, I just look at everything that happened this year in the context of a 50 year memory window for me. Except one thing :
Coach Pope IS a GREAT hire for us already.
Not a good hire. Not a very good hire. Legitimately great, and will be viewed as being so, in the future, although I would even agree saying he was "a really good hire" right now can be legitimately withheld, depending on how you look at everything and define good/very good/great/home run definition.
----------------------------------------------------------
runt rant #3,712 ON :
It's easy to sit back and say that Cal was a home run hire to begin with for Kentucky at the time. We had "The Door" thread for lords' sakes. Told you everything you need to know. Same with Pitino as a home run hire.
But this year was a far more significant and challenging thing to pickup as opposed to when Pitino left. with what Tubby had leftover compared to the condition Cal left when he did? Geez, Louise. We've all got our questions about Mitch, but he did us right in this hire, luck or not. So he got a GOOD rating if the season ends against the Vols in the sweet sixteen. Fair enough.
At worst - Coach Pope's job would have to be seen as a "Good Hire." Unanimous approval would have to be required, and I think we can all agree on THAT around here... .for this year? Sure.
But not even a "very good" yet? OK. Fair enough.
I'm just sitting here watching all this talk continue, safe and absolutely secure in knowing my faith and trust are well founded with Coach Mark Pope. I've been out front in being positive and hanging tough with all the adversity the year brought ON TOP OF what we were facing ...
and then you throw the fact that the SEC had the single greatest season EVER in the 100 years of basketball in the NCAA this YEAR ... and that's what we would be up against ? He more than held his own.
Beat Scheyer, Few, Kelsey, Golden, Barnes twice, Buzz. I'll bet they would all say Pope holds his own.
Not only is he as bright and cunning as any coach out there in the game today, he's got a vision and we're seeing it unfold.
Making the sweet sixteen this year, in the face of everything that happened, and all the "adversity" is a vindication of his ability more than a reason to question if he was a very good hire or not. At least 3 or 4 times this year the headlines were : "Coach pope and Kentucky faces adversity" ... the next headline the following day was : "Coach Pope and Kentucky successfully navigate adversity" .... how he kept the ship from sinking with the injuries was again, even MORE of a masterful coaching job, not good, not very good - but GREAT.
I said all along getting players like Chandler, Noah and Perry to so quickly be thrust into hardcore minutes and having success with them as a team was that much MORE of an indication as to his coaching prowess. I only think someone like Coach Pitino or a Coach Izzo might've been able to so successfully navigate the kind of eyar Coach pope has had to here at Kentucky, and get at least his results so far.
Absolutely he is a very good hire. The ultimate question is, will it be GREAT (A Home Run) hire.
I already say he is a great hire for Kentucky.
I'll stand right beside him every single day. He has a great personality and is well respected amongst his peers and is very intelligent. A truly good hearted and natured man and human being.... he's a "salt of the Earth" kind of person, as my father would have said about him. He loved Cap as a player. I can see poppa sitting in his rocking chair beside me silently smoking and nodding in agreement with me, by the way .... They're watching ^^^^^ upstairs ^^^^
I feel in my heart Kentucky is on the verge of blowing up on everyone again .... Another GOLDEN ERA.
I feel it in the air. I can sense it is coming again. I'm seeing it here and there again, in the little ways and in the big ways and hear it in people's voice now and see it in their faces when they talk about Kentucky now. It's changed.
When a Kentucky basketball player that eats a (although #1 in the United Kingdom) breakfast cereal and it's unheard of here in the U.S. and suddenly becomes the hottest breakfast item in the country - overnight ? Because our big guy Amari Williams likes them? Now everyone's eating them ?
are you kidding me ?
If that isn't "the Needle" pointing the way, then I don't know what else I need to see or experience.
And this team, this family, ain't done yet !!
So far, my 1000% positive support being all in for Kentucky and Coach Pope still has me standing. I'm waiting for the bandwagon to grow - especially after this year. Just seeing the joy and happiness come back for a little ole' sweet sixteen appearance around here ...
you'd have thought Coach Pope would've had some kind of immediate post-game cutting down of the nets for making a sweet sixteen appearance, right ? Popcorn boxes already printed for next year to commemorate and rings for all the players .....
ahhhh ... it wasn't THAT BAD around here ..... nah.
So you all go on ahead and remember the Runt was here at the beginning of all this. I'm all in with Pope for the long road here. We got THE MAN now, and he loves us as much as we do him.
That's why it will not fail.
Love !
Love me some Kentucky Basketball ! Love me some Coach Pope !
Runt's rant #3,712 over
Go Big Blue !
I honestly dont understand the Matt Jones hate. Do I want to go out and hang out with him? No,But he has taken a great brand ( UK SPORTS) and built his own brand with it. I think it only helps us as fans get information.
You and I disagree that the regular season was just meh...Overall, I think the results were about what I expected. We just won games I thought we would lose (Duke, Gonzaga, UT) but lost games I thought we would win (OSU, @GA, @Vandy) but the SEC was also a lot better than anyone predicted. He exceeded my expectations in the regular season and has met them in the post season with the sweet 16 as I said from the get go that making it there makes the season a success.
I agree with everything you said, but at the end of the day his team finished EXACTLY where I said they would. The road to get there looked NOTHING like what I expected it to (basically the games and results you listed). I vividly remember saying we'd be a game or two either side of .500 in the SEC and getting hammered for it. My reasoning wasn't because I thought Pope or the team sucked, but was 100% based on knowing the SEC was going to be THAT damned good. It's "meh" only in results. T6 and 10-8 in the league is "meh" by my UK standards. But I think we all agree the path to that was anything but "meh".
The regular season was where I expected. I thought we had a chance, at the beginning of the year to get to the S16. Sunday morning I think I parlayed the game and took the Illini and gave 3. I honestly thought we could lose by 15-20. I had no clue we could defend them as well as we did.
1000% agree.
Same. Admittedly I love the show and all the information he provides. As someone who lives in MO, I love that I get to be that connected to the fan base and teams from afar. I can assure you of this, there aren't many college fanbases that get to experience something like KSR and the info and access they provide.
I'm exhausted after reading that. Lol. You've earned that screen name. Thank you for the kind words, btw. I do like to poke the bear from time to time, but I do honestly think I have some decent knowledge of the sport and team. I'm completely taking the emotions out of my not "a very good" hire and just basing it off of results and only results. I don't care how awesome, engaging and inviting Coach Pope has been five years from now if he's averaging 21 regular season wins, T6 in the SEC, and a S16 appearances. That's not to crap on this season either, btw. I'm just saying if 5 yrs from now if this is the "standard", it won't be a very good hire. But again, I think we all agree it's trending in the correct direction. I probably just don't have as much faith as others. I need to see results. Afterall, I've lived the last 38 yrs of my life in the "show me" state (btw, I HATE when people say that...LOL).I really enjoy reading your thoughts, Eagles .... I concur on your salient points. Although I have been openly very vocal and positive in my support for Coach Pope, I just look at everything that happened this year in the context of a 50 year memory window for me. Except one thing :
Coach Pope IS a GREAT hire for us already.
Not a good hire. Not a very good hire. Legitimately great, and will be viewed as being so, in the future, although I would even agree saying he was "a really good hire" right now can be legitimately withheld, depending on how you look at everything and define good/very good/great/home run definition.
----------------------------------------------------------
runt rant #3,712 ON :
It's easy to sit back and say that Cal was a home run hire to begin with for Kentucky at the time. We had "The Door" thread for lords' sakes. Told you everything you need to know. Same with Pitino as a home run hire.
But this year was a far more significant and challenging thing to pickup as opposed to when Pitino left. with what Tubby had leftover compared to the condition Cal left when he did? Geez, Louise. We've all got our questions about Mitch, but he did us right in this hire, luck or not. So he got a GOOD rating if the season ends against the Vols in the sweet sixteen. Fair enough.
At worst - Coach Pope's job would have to be seen as a "Good Hire." Unanimous approval would have to be required, and I think we can all agree on THAT around here... .for this year? Sure.
But not even a "very good" yet? OK. Fair enough.
I'm just sitting here watching all this talk continue, safe and absolutely secure in knowing my faith and trust are well founded with Coach Mark Pope. I've been out front in being positive and hanging tough with all the adversity the year brought ON TOP OF what we were facing ...
and then you throw the fact that the SEC had the single greatest season EVER in the 100 years of basketball in the NCAA this YEAR ... and that's what we would be up against ? He more than held his own.
Beat Scheyer, Few, Kelsey, Golden, Barnes twice, Buzz. I'll bet they would all say Pope holds his own.
Not only is he as bright and cunning as any coach out there in the game today, he's got a vision and we're seeing it unfold.
Making the sweet sixteen this year, in the face of everything that happened, and all the "adversity" is a vindication of his ability more than a reason to question if he was a very good hire or not. At least 3 or 4 times this year the headlines were : "Coach pope and Kentucky faces adversity" ... the next headline the following day was : "Coach Pope and Kentucky successfully navigate adversity" .... how he kept the ship from sinking with the injuries was again, even MORE of a masterful coaching job, not good, not very good - but GREAT.
I said all along getting players like Chandler, Noah and Perry to so quickly be thrust into hardcore minutes and having success with them as a team was that much MORE of an indication as to his coaching prowess. I only think someone like Coach Pitino or a Coach Izzo might've been able to so successfully navigate the kind of eyar Coach pope has had to here at Kentucky, and get at least his results so far.
Absolutely he is a very good hire. The ultimate question is, will it be GREAT (A Home Run) hire.
I already say he is a great hire for Kentucky.
I'll stand right beside him every single day. He has a great personality and is well respected amongst his peers and is very intelligent. A truly good hearted and natured man and human being.... he's a "salt of the Earth" kind of person, as my father would have said about him. He loved Cap as a player. I can see poppa sitting in his rocking chair beside me silently smoking and nodding in agreement with me, by the way .... They're watching ^^^^^ upstairs ^^^^
I feel in my heart Kentucky is on the verge of blowing up on everyone again .... Another GOLDEN ERA.
I feel it in the air. I can sense it is coming again. I'm seeing it here and there again, in the little ways and in the big ways and hear it in people's voice now and see it in their faces when they talk about Kentucky now. It's changed.
When a Kentucky basketball player that eats a (although #1 in the United Kingdom) breakfast cereal and it's unheard of here in the U.S. and suddenly becomes the hottest breakfast item in the country - overnight ? Because our big guy Amari Williams likes them? Now everyone's eating them ?
are you kidding me ?
If that isn't "the Needle" pointing the way, then I don't know what else I need to see or experience.
And this team, this family, ain't done yet !!
So far, my 1000% positive support being all in for Kentucky and Coach Pope still has me standing. I'm waiting for the bandwagon to grow - especially after this year. Just seeing the joy and happiness come back for a little ole' sweet sixteen appearance around here ...
you'd have thought Coach Pope would've had some kind of immediate post-game cutting down of the nets for making a sweet sixteen appearance, right ? Popcorn boxes already printed for next year to commemorate and rings for all the players .....
ahhhh ... it wasn't THAT BAD around here ..... nah.
So you all go on ahead and remember the Runt was here at the beginning of all this. I'm all in with Pope for the long road here. We got THE MAN now, and he loves us as much as we do him.
That's why it will not fail.
Love !
Love me some Kentucky Basketball ! Love me some Coach Pope !
Runt's rant #3,712 over
Go Big Blue !
True but we were high on his list of teams before he chose UNC. I remember seeing him at Keeneland on his visit
Yep. Also took a unc chartered plane to watch her other son play UK when he played for ND.
It was us and Carolina. I think it was always Carolina, but us and them were the only two he considered at the end. I can assure you of that.
He sure doesn’t sound like he ever wanted to be here the way he talks now. John Henson on the other hand, really cool. Doesn’t sound like a typical UNC player at all and is really fair in his takes.
I hear you and get what you’re saying. I’ve just got pretty solid first hand knowledge of it. KU and Mizzou were the other “finalists”. They were never a legit option. Roy started recruiting him when he was still at KU. Maybe Tyler’s sophomore yr. He was in on him before ANY of the P5s. I honestly believe he was always headed there. But I’m telling you, we were #2. For whatever that is worth.
I remember we recruited him and I have no reason to doubt you, I just don’t know why he hates us so bad now, seems weird.
I really enjoy reading your thoughts, Eagles .... I concur on your salient points. Although I have been openly very vocal and positive in my support for Coach Pope, I just look at everything that happened this year in the context of a 50 year memory window for me. Except one thing :
Coach Pope IS a GREAT hire for us already.
Not a good hire. Not a very good hire. Legitimately great, and will be viewed as being so, in the future, although I would even agree saying he was "a really good hire" right now can be legitimately withheld, depending on how you look at everything and define good/very good/great/home run definition.
----------------------------------------------------------
runt rant #3,712 ON :
It's easy to sit back and say that Cal was a home run hire to begin with for Kentucky at the time. We had "The Door" thread for lords' sakes. Told you everything you need to know. Same with Pitino as a home run hire.
But this year was a far more significant and challenging thing to pickup as opposed to when Pitino left. with what Tubby had leftover compared to the condition Cal left when he did? Geez, Louise. We've all got our questions about Mitch, but he did us right in this hire, luck or not. So he got a GOOD rating if the season ends against the Vols in the sweet sixteen. Fair enough.
At worst - Coach Pope's job would have to be seen as a "Good Hire." Unanimous approval would have to be required, and I think we can all agree on THAT around here... .for this year? Sure.
But not even a "very good" yet? OK. Fair enough.
I'm just sitting here watching all this talk continue, safe and absolutely secure in knowing my faith and trust are well founded with Coach Mark Pope. I've been out front in being positive and hanging tough with all the adversity the year brought ON TOP OF what we were facing ...
and then you throw the fact that the SEC had the single greatest season EVER in the 100 years of basketball in the NCAA this YEAR ... and that's what we would be up against ? He more than held his own.
Beat Scheyer, Few, Kelsey, Golden, Barnes twice, Buzz. I'll bet they would all say Pope holds his own.
Not only is he as bright and cunning as any coach out there in the game today, he's got a vision and we're seeing it unfold.
Making the sweet sixteen this year, in the face of everything that happened, and all the "adversity" is a vindication of his ability more than a reason to question if he was a very good hire or not. At least 3 or 4 times this year the headlines were : "Coach pope and Kentucky faces adversity" ... the next headline the following day was : "Coach Pope and Kentucky successfully navigate adversity" .... how he kept the ship from sinking with the injuries was again, even MORE of a masterful coaching job, not good, not very good - but GREAT.
I said all along getting players like Chandler, Noah and Perry to so quickly be thrust into hardcore minutes and having success with them as a team was that much MORE of an indication as to his coaching prowess. I only think someone like Coach Pitino or a Coach Izzo might've been able to so successfully navigate the kind of eyar Coach pope has had to here at Kentucky, and get at least his results so far.
Absolutely he is a very good hire. The ultimate question is, will it be GREAT (A Home Run) hire.
I already say he is a great hire for Kentucky.
I'll stand right beside him every single day. He has a great personality and is well respected amongst his peers and is very intelligent. A truly good hearted and natured man and human being.... he's a "salt of the Earth" kind of person, as my father would have said about him. He loved Cap as a player. I can see poppa sitting in his rocking chair beside me silently smoking and nodding in agreement with me, by the way .... They're watching ^^^^^ upstairs ^^^^
I feel in my heart Kentucky is on the verge of blowing up on everyone again .... Another GOLDEN ERA.
I feel it in the air. I can sense it is coming again. I'm seeing it here and there again, in the little ways and in the big ways and hear it in people's voice now and see it in their faces when they talk about Kentucky now. It's changed.
When a Kentucky basketball player that eats a (although #1 in the United Kingdom) breakfast cereal and it's unheard of here in the U.S. and suddenly becomes the hottest breakfast item in the country - overnight ? Because our big guy Amari Williams likes them? Now everyone's eating them ?
are you kidding me ?
If that isn't "the Needle" pointing the way, then I don't know what else I need to see or experience.
And this team, this family, ain't done yet !!
So far, my 1000% positive support being all in for Kentucky and Coach Pope still has me standing. I'm waiting for the bandwagon to grow - especially after this year. Just seeing the joy and happiness come back for a little ole' sweet sixteen appearance around here ...
you'd have thought Coach Pope would've had some kind of immediate post-game cutting down of the nets for making a sweet sixteen appearance, right ? Popcorn boxes already printed for next year to commemorate and rings for all the players .....
ahhhh ... it wasn't THAT BAD around here ..... nah.
So you all go on ahead and remember the Runt was here at the beginning of all this. I'm all in with Pope for the long road here. We got THE MAN now, and he loves us as much as we do him.
That's why it will not fail.
Love !
Love me some Kentucky Basketball ! Love me some Coach Pope !
Runt's rant #3,712 over
Go Big Blue !
