For those of you who hate the hire...

[H00SIER-Cat]

Once Hurley and Oates gave us a big fat no, that left Donovan. I think it's a good chance that Donovan was contacted under the table. He would be, I think, an unknown quantity because of his time removed from college and NIL.

That leaves
1. Pearl and Sampson who have their sons as coaches in waiting,
2. Pitino who could be a PR nightmare
3. Several guys, including Pope, who are "up. and comers"
To me Pope is as good as anybody that was available.

Not trying to fight, just my 2 cents

 

[kydmb99]

You NEVER rush to hire a guy without a single tournament win when you could potentially have Billy Donovan in a week. It's also a dereliction of duty by Mitch, and evidence of his old school stuck in the past mindset that Bruce Pearl wasn't even considered or contacted. Even if those guys fell through, I don't think you hire Pope. The University of Kentucky can not hire a guy who has coached 10 years and only been to the tournament twice without a single win. It's just beneath the program imo.

I feel like I'm the only person who sees a program he loves sailing straight for the iceberg while everyone else is dancing on the top deck

 

[H00SIER-Cat]

You NEVER rush to hire a guy without a single tournament win when you could potentially have Billy Donovan in a week. It's also a dereliction of duty by Mitch, and evidence of his old school stuck in the past mindset that Bruce Pearl wasn't even considered or contacted. Even if those guys fell through, I don't think you hire Pope. The University of Kentucky can not hire a guy who has coached 10 years and only been to the tournament twice without a single win. It's just beneath the program imo.

I feel like I'm the only person who sees a program he loves sailing straight for the iceberg while everyone else is dancing on the top deck

It makes we wonder was it a roll of the dice to get the born and bred uk fans and donors back in the fold.

 

[FatestCat]

You NEVER rush to hire a guy without a single tournament win when you could potentially have Billy Donovan in a week. It's also a dereliction of duty by Mitch, and evidence of his old school stuck in the past mindset that Bruce Pearl wasn't even considered or contacted. Even if those guys fell through, I don't think you hire Pope. The University of Kentucky can not hire a guy who has coached 10 years and only been to the tournament twice without a single win. It's just beneath the program imo.

I feel like I'm the only person who sees a program he loves sailing straight for the iceberg while everyone else is dancing on the top deck

You wait for Donovan. I think Pope might be good but this experience could also ruin him.

 

[DraftCat]

According to multiple sources Donovan wasn't interested?

Pope it is.. lets go.

 

[H00SIER-Cat]

According to multiple sources Donovan wasn't interested?

Pope it is.. lets go.

Donovan wasn't interested the last 2 times anyway. Don't know about this time around.

 

[ukwazoo]

According to multiple sources Donovan wasn't interested?

Pope it is.. lets go.

Donovan is never interested and he's a flake.

 

[H00SIER-Cat]

You wait for Donovan. I think Pope might be good but this experience could also ruin him.

He'll probably have a mighty short leash.

 

[Ripcord65]

. . . .
3. Several guys, including Pope, who are "up. and comers"
To me Pope is as good as anybody that was available.
. . . .

I agree 100% with this part of this post. Go 'Cats ! ! !

 

[Catfanlou]

Mark Pope. Will turn out to be a wise selection. He is exactly what this fan base needs at this point in time. Much better pick than Drew, Oats or Donovan .

 

[frydaze]

You NEVER rush to hire a guy without a single tournament win when you could potentially have Billy Donovan in a week. It's also a dereliction of duty by Mitch, and evidence of his old school stuck in the past mindset that Bruce Pearl wasn't even considered or contacted. Even if those guys fell through, I don't think you hire Pope. The University of Kentucky can not hire a guy who has coached 10 years and only been to the tournament twice without a single win. It's just beneath the program imo.

I feel like I'm the only person who sees a program he loves sailing straight for the iceberg while everyone else is dancing on the top deck

And when Pope wins, you’ll be the first one creaming his jeans 👖 high fiving all his friends.

 

[Untouchables22]

Once Hurley and Oates gave us a big fat no, that left Donovan. I think it's a good chance that Donovan was contacted under the table. He would be, I think, an unknown quantity because of his time removed from college and NIL.

That leaves
1. Pearl and Sampson who have their sons as coaches in waiting,
2. Pitino who could be a PR nightmare
3. Several guys, including Pope, who are "up. and comers"
To me Pope is as good as anybody that was available.

Not trying to fight, just my 2 cents

Jeff Goodman (sucks I know) but is pretty tight with Pearl and said today on Field of 68 he likely would have taken the job. I personally would have wanted Sean Miller and his 4 Elite Eight Appearances and prior experience running a big time college basketball program. Heck, even somebody like Chris Mack has Sweet Sixteen experience and got Xavier to a #1 Seed. I wouldn’t have wanted Mack but it’s wild the new College of Charleston Coach has more NCAA experience and success then the Kentucky hire.

 

[rnfoster]

Once Hurley and Oates gave us a big fat no, that left Donovan. I think it's a good chance that Donovan was contacted under the table. He would be, I think, an unknown quantity because of his time removed from college and NIL.

That leaves
1. Pearl and Sampson who have their sons as coaches in waiting,
2. Pitino who could be a PR nightmare
3. Several guys, including Pope, who are "up. and comers"
To me Pope is as good as anybody that was available.

Not trying to fight, just my 2 cents

Good thoughts. I am with Pope and Kentucky!

 

[kywildcats8]

Jeff Goodman (sucks I know) but is pretty tight with Pearl and said today on Field of 68 he likely would have taken the job. I personally would have wanted Sean Miller and his 4 Elite Eight Appearances and prior experience running a big time college basketball program. Heck, even somebody like Chris Mack has Sweet Sixteen experience and got Xavier to a #1 Seed. I wouldn’t have wanted Mack but it’s wild the new College of Charleston Coach has more NCAA experience and success then the Kentucky hire.

Dan Hurley coached at Wagner and Rhode Island before UConn and his record wasn't great -6 out of 8 seasons with double digit losses and 3 seasons where he lost more than he won- only time will tell

 

[Untouchables22]

Dan Hurley coached at Wagner and Rhode Island before UConn and his record wasn't great -6 out of 8 seasons with double digit losses and 3 seasons where he lost more than he won- only time will tell

Sure….but I still objectively hate the hire and think the job was given to someone who isn’t qualified enough for the position. While there were qualified candidates available that were overlooked for both morality & time expediency reasons.

 

[trueblujr2]

A lot of people were clamoring for Todd Golden, What's he accomplished that Pope hasn't? his win percentage is worse and he hasn't won an NCAA game either.

 

[kywildcats8]

Sure….but I still objectively hate the hire and think the job was given to someone who isn’t qualified enough for the position. While there were qualified candidates available that were overlooked for both morality & time expediency reasons.

my point is I bet UConn fans said the same thing when Hurley was hired- only time will tell- go Cats !!

 

[Short-Dawg-69]

According to multiple sources Donovan wasn't interested?

Pope it is.. lets go.

Agree let’s Role….. I’m in brother….

 

[chroix]

Jeff Goodman (sucks I know) but is pretty tight with Pearl and said today on Field of 68 he likely would have taken the job. I personally would have wanted Sean Miller and his 4 Elite Eight Appearances and prior experience running a big time college basketball program. Heck, even somebody like Chris Mack has Sweet Sixteen experience and got Xavier to a #1 Seed. I wouldn’t have wanted Mack but it’s wild the new College of Charleston Coach has more NCAA experience and success then the Kentucky hire.

Nah. My buddy is connected with Auburn and said zero chance Pearl was leaving with his kid as coach in waiting. Zero.

 

[NoDef]

We could of hired Pope next week after other much more successful coaches turned us down. Pope didn't even really improve the product at BYU compared to his predecessor. He may be great and I hope he is. To make it even worse is that we overpaid the guy to come here. We more than doubled his salary from BYU and made him the sixth highest paid coach in America. He has not even shown top 25 results as a coach and we pay him top 6 money..

 

[kennyskywalker34]

And when Pope wins, you’ll be the first one creaming his jeans 👖 high fiving all his friends.

He isn't alone. If Pope does well all the naysaying cry babies will declare they were on board with the hire from day 1.
If he bombs there will be 10K posts of I told you so. F them kind of so called fans.

 

[JohnnyGreen1975]

Pope is our version of White Hope.

 

[Blueisbest]

If his hiring doesn't work out after 2-3 years, and I don't have any doubts that it won't, then he and Barnhart will both need to be shown the door.

 

[Haggin_Hall_1983]

You NEVER rush to hire a guy without a single tournament win when you could potentially have Billy Donovan in a week. It's also a dereliction of duty by Mitch, and evidence of his old school stuck in the past mindset that Bruce Pearl wasn't even considered or contacted. Even if those guys fell through, I don't think you hire Pope. The University of Kentucky can not hire a guy who has coached 10 years and only been to the tournament twice without a single win. It's just beneath the program imo.

I feel like I'm the only person who sees a program he loves sailing straight for the iceberg while everyone else is dancing on the top deck

Donovan turned us down TWICE...
He does not ever get that chance again.

 

[sefus12]

You NEVER rush to hire a guy without a single tournament win when you could potentially have Billy Donovan in a week. It's also a dereliction of duty by Mitch, and evidence of his old school stuck in the past mindset that Bruce Pearl wasn't even considered or contacted. Even if those guys fell through, I don't think you hire Pope. The University of Kentucky can not hire a guy who has coached 10 years and only been to the tournament twice without a single win. It's just beneath the program imo.

I feel like I'm the only person who sees a program he loves sailing straight for the iceberg while everyone else is dancing on the top deck

Kyle Tucker said Donovan was contacted and things didn’t move forward, and Pitino said Donovan had no interest. Believe what you want, but I doubt after Drew said no that Mitch said “f*ck it, I’m only talking to Pope”. And even if he did, the boosters are ponying up money, so they seem to be ok.

Nationally, Pope seems to garner great respect from his coaching peers. Pitino loves him. Boosters seem to at least be good with him. But since kydmb99 says this is horrible, I guess we should all proclaim the Pope tenure a fail.

 

[Rockfly78]

Don’t over look this. The job was Drew’s. His family came to tour schools. Like, are you kidding me? They came to look at schools and still
Woke up and said no?

 

[Catfanlou]

I love the hire . I wanted Pope before the search even began . My number one pick. . As well as he did at BYU he will kill it at UK. Smart great motivator great x and o’s guy and now that NIL problem is being addressed he has the best chance of any coach out there to bring us number nine .

AND HE KNOWS WHAT BASKETBALL MEANS TO US. HE IS ONE OF US.

OTHERS WANTED THE FOAVOR OF THE MONTH . THUS IS A SOLID HIRE FIR UK.

 

[Catfanlou]

Also I told my wife four months ago while watching a BYU game on tv that Pope would make an excellent coach at UK.

 

[awf]

Jeff Goodman (sucks I know) but is pretty tight with Pearl and said today on Field of 68 he likely would have taken the job. I personally would have wanted Sean Miller and his 4 Elite Eight Appearances and prior experience running a big time college basketball program. Heck, even somebody like Chris Mack has Sweet Sixteen experience and got Xavier to a #1 Seed. I wouldn’t have wanted Mack but it’s wild the new College of Charleston Coach has more NCAA experience and success then the Kentucky hire.

I am glad it wasn't that sweat hog Pearl.....

 

[Snarks0]

You NEVER rush to hire a guy without a single tournament win when you could potentially have Billy Donovan in a week. It's also a dereliction of duty by Mitch, and evidence of his old school stuck in the past mindset that Bruce Pearl wasn't even considered or contacted. Even if those guys fell through, I don't think you hire Pope. The University of Kentucky can not hire a guy who has coached 10 years and only been to the tournament twice without a single win. It's just beneath the program imo.

I feel like I'm the only person who sees a program he loves sailing straight for the iceberg while everyone else is dancing on the top deck

You can get Pope at any time. Wait for Donovan and call Sampson, Beard or Pearl first. Those guys aren’t a long term solution, but maybe Pope would have a better resume by then.

It’s a gamble with Pope and I hope it works. UK also severely over paid for him. He’s the 6th highest paid coach and has zero tournament wins.

 

[jeffky]

The same idiots who hate the hire are the same idiots who condoned the shitshow we had to endure the last 7 years under one and out cal who cares what they think they are toxic

 

[notelvis]

Once Hurley and Oates gave us a big fat no, that left Donovan. I think it's a good chance that Donovan was contacted under the table. He would be, I think, an unknown quantity because of his time removed from college and NIL.

That leaves
1. Pearl and Sampson who have their sons as coaches in waiting,
2. Pitino who could be a PR nightmare
3. Several guys, including Pope, who are "up. and comers"
To me Pope is as good as anybody that was available.

Not trying to fight, just my 2 cents

I agree that there was probably some sort of back channel contact made with Donovan's people. There may have even been some back channel contact with some others.

I would imagine that there were probably some signals coming back indicating that there was not serious interest from Donovan or others and that is why UK turned so quickly to Mark Pope. They needed an emphatic yes from someone with the skills and background to unite a divided fan base and Pope might be the best person available who could do that .

 

[UKBrassowTipIN]

You can get Pope at any time. Wait for Donovan and call Sampson, Beard or Pearl first. Those guys aren’t a long term solution, but maybe Pope would have a better resume by then.

It’s a gamble with Pope and I hope it works. UK also severely over paid for him. He’s the 6th highest paid coach and has zero tournament wins.

What was Dan Hurleys resume before he was hired? You're saying you wouldn't have hired him. Major gamble for a school that at the time had 4 championships in 20 years. You def would've wanted him fired before his 1st championship at uconn.

Donovan had already turned us down twice..after tubby left and after Billy G was fired. Screw him. He also hasn't coached college in a decade....thats a gamble.

Pearl has one final four and gets 5 stars on his roster and coaches no defense. He's the same thing as Cal pretty much. Are we hoping he just got a couple more 5 stars here and that would put him over the hump? What else has he done but lose in the 1st and 2nd rd?

Sampson is old. Good coach, but are you hoping you can just buy some wins? I don't understand this "temporary solution" thing...we're UK. Not a temp agency.