Grade Mark Pope Thus Far

[Farsight]

I would like you to vote based off the entirety of the season. Include everything in your decision.

For an example:

Massive Wins
The Bad Loses
Injuries
Sub Patterns
Etc.

Tell us why what you voted.

I voted for B, because he is over achieving with his fantastic wins. He also won at TN without key players. However, there has been consistent issues that has not been addressed. I don't base off my decisions off one game, rather off frequency and consistency. Those issues include: Defense, terrible sub patterns, playing chandler more than he should, stale offensive sets, the frequent ISO plays for Oweh. Its the way we lose in these games we should win. We lose nearly the same way every time, without or without injuries.

 

[UK90]

He still gets very high marks from me.

He’s had some smashingly big wins …more so than I thought he could get this year. And the injuries to Butler, Carr and Kriisa largely help explain the recent struggles. The injuries ain’t his fault, right?

 

[Farsight]

He still gets very high marks from me.

He’s had some smashingly big wins …more so than I thought he could get this year. And the injuries to Butler, Carr and Kriisa largely help explain the recent struggles. The injuries ain’t his fault, right?

Nope not his fault.

 

[oldsports_]

A

 

[tylerwoods22]

Dropped from A to B with last nights loss. That’s how bad it was.

 

[kywildcat41035]

I gave him a C was a B until last night. I love Pope but here’s my problem 6 big wins against the top 15 but has 5 head scratchers. The Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, Vanderbilt and now Arkansas ( this one for a lot of reasons). You have to be able to get the team ready to go for all games!

 

[Farsight]

Who was that one person who voted F? Cal shill, where are you?

 

[Aike]

A. The injury issues are a thing. We never had the top end talent to completely overcome that. Winning at UT was nearly miracle work, and honestly had as much to do with how poorly they played as with how well we played.

That being said, if he figures out how to patch this together down the stretch he could rise to an A+. Could also slip to a B or worse if he isn’t able to come up with solutions.

 

[Farsight]

I gave him a C was a B until last night. I love Pope but here’s my problem 6 big wins against the top 15 but has 5 head scratchers. The Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, Vanderbilt and now Arkansas ( this one for a lot of reasons). You have to be able to get the team ready to go for all games!

For me, its the way we lost than rather we lost.

 

[NociHTTP]

A = Excellent (3), B = Okay(2), C = Poor(1)
A = 99 -> 67
B = 66 -> 34
C = 33 -> 0

Halftime Adjustments: A
Underdog Mentality: A
Team Spirit: A
Offense Genius: A
Homecourt Advantage: B
Innovation: B
Motivator: B
In-Game Adjustments: C
Game Preparation: C
Fundamentals: C
Defense Genius: C

26 / 11 = 2.4 / 3 = 78.8% or A-

 

[the nail at the foul line]

I like how many of you act like we have a completely healthy team.

 

[VAWildcat15]

Gave him an A. He had to cobble together a team of randos, unlike Cal who had a good chunk of his roster already built. He’s led that roster to more big wins than any of us could have hoped for. Injuries have been an issue and you’re delusional if you disagree, even with that he got a huge road win against Tennessee.

Is everything perfect, no. I’ll wait until Pope has had more than zero normal offseasons to start holding those imperfections against him. Last night was annoying but we are winning the break up (to be fair, that isn’t the standard).

 

[cathouse]

Need to add A+.
I voted A, but that's not good enough for the job he has done trying to rebuild from Cal's total destruction of the program on his way out of town.
A++

 

[ManitouDan]

I'd say B or B- ....... You cant lose games to Tosu , Clemson, Ga , Ark, and Vandy and say he's a A student . Plus he has ran some totally sub par lineups out there and has been giving Chandler a ton of rope even before the Carr injury .. and if Carr is healthy enough to play then why has he disappeared .. like vanished from the offense ? And not getting Brea looks is a ? ... so B for for the great wins . He's going to be great IF .. IF we can buy some talent .. I mean we look a grade school team athletically compared to some teams .

 

[maysvilleky]

Butler would have made a 10 pt difference easily. So you can’t downgrade him a whole grade based on one game!

 

[Farsight]

I like how many of you act like we have a completely healthy team.

That's why this is a big picture, of the whole year thus far, which includes us being healthy and not healthy. This is not meant to be a tunnel vision thread.

 

[JumperJack]

If he can’t teach and coach defense better than this, he won’t be here long.

 

[TOMCATS1990]

Gave him a B. I think Coach Pope’s biggest mistake to date isn’t any of the losses or his Coaching it’s a Coach he let walk that wanted to stay badly. If he would have keep Coach O I think at least one of last season’s KY players stays. I also think we would have landed 5* Will Riley.

 

[ukjenning44]

I went with an A.
Threw a roster together of mid major talent and has won some big games.
If not for all the injuries we would probably only have 2-3 losses.

Pitino went 13-13 in his first season and was actually left a few players to start with.

 

[OneBadCat]

I voted B, if A- was an option I would have voted it.
I knew the conference was going to be brutal and didn’t expect a great record. I also didn’t expect to beat Duke, Gonzaga or Tennessee in Knoxville.
I’m willing to give him time to get more athletic and skilled players to see what he can do.

 

[JwUKFan11]

I gave him a C was a B until last night. I love Pope but here’s my problem 6 big wins against the top 15 but has 5 head scratchers. The Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, Vanderbilt and now Arkansas ( this one for a lot of reasons). You have to be able to get the team ready to go for all games!

You’re allowed a few of these but you’re right we’ve had too many. But I’d still give him a B.

 

[CatFanInIlliniLand]

It was A. Last night took the grade to an A-.

This place isn’t reality. Walk the streets of Lexington. Most of the fanbase is as united and energized as I’ve seen it in years. We beat Duke for the 1st time in 15 years. We have a guy who uses Analytics. He’s respectful of the job and as Anti-Cal as possible. We are banged up and he got punked in a must win game last night. That doesn’t erase the great wins over Duke, FL, Gonzaga, UT, A & M and UofLittlebrother. Cal lost those games last year & this year at Arkansas.

A-

 

[catben]

Throwing together a team in basically 6 weeks
Beating Duke, UofL and UT in the same season
Having to deal with NUMEROUS injuries and one to the most important player(PG) on your team AND his backup
Playing in the toughest SEC in the history of the league from top to bottom
Dealing with ALL that comes with coaching at UK in your 1st season
Having to shuffle different lineups because your players are mostly one dimensional because of the short time you had getting them here

Look at all of those things together and he SHOULD be getting a B+ and not an A only because of the effort and unforced errors his kids have made this season in the losses.

 

[crestcat]

A

 

[cats#1again]

I gave him a C was a B until last night. I love Pope but here’s my problem 6 big wins against the top 15 but has 5 head scratchers. The Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, Vanderbilt and now Arkansas ( this one for a lot of reasons). You have to be able to get the team ready to go for all games!

I don't understand why so e think last night was so big of a loss
It's time to move on from California
And if you didn't know Arkansas is a lot better than their record.... That's on you
It wouldn't surprise me if they go on to make a big postseason run

 

[cats#1again]

Throwing together a team in basically 6 weeks
Beating Duke, UofL and UT in the same season
Having to deal with NUMEROUS injuries and one to the most important player(PG) on your team AND his backup
Playing in the toughest SEC in the history of the league from top to bottom
Dealing with ALL that comes with coaching at UK in your 1st season
Having to shuffle different lineups because your players are mostly one dimensional because of the short time you had getting them here

Look at all of those things together and he SHOULD be getting a B+ and not an A only because of the effort and unforced errors his kids have made this season in the losses.

Agree. Only thing I'm concerned with is lack of effort on loose balls and getting out after the shooter

 

[FitchandMurray29]

I gave him a C was a B until last night. I love Pope but here’s my problem 6 big wins against the top 15 but has 5 head scratchers. The Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, Vanderbilt and now Arkansas ( this one for a lot of reasons). You have to be able to get the team ready to go for all games!

Not just being a homer but those “head scratchers” are all top 50 teams in the NET ranking.

I think the lack of them being brand names with stars we know on the roster makes them feel more perplexing than they really are.

In KenPom NetRtg we are closer to team 85 than we are to the top 3. Think that framing can really put into perspective the possibility of losing to anyone, especially in the SEC

 

[JFCats22]

Need to add A+.
I voted A, but that's not good enough for the job he has done trying to rebuild from Cal's total destruction of the program on his way out of town.
A++

This is ridiculous

 

[RunninRichie]

B-

 

[catben]

Agree. Only thing I'm concerned with is lack of effort on loose balls and getting out after the shooter

Oh yes!!!

It's those 2 things that have KILLED us all year. It was rebounding too, but Coach Pope has fixed that for the most part.

 

[Farsight]

Oh yes!!!

It's those 2 things that have KILLED us all year. It was rebounding too, but Coach Pope has fixed that for the most part.

Its like when we miss shots we get in our own heads and it affects the rest of the game and their effort.

 

[Cold Stout Beer]

I voted B, if A- was an option I would have voted it.
I knew the conference was going to be brutal and didn’t expect a great record. I also didn’t expect to beat Duke, Gonzaga or Tennessee in Knoxville.
I’m willing to give him time to get more athletic and skilled players to see what he can do.

The first season is not even over yet, lol. Anyone that isn't willing to"give him more time" is a worthless idiot if they are a true UK fan.

 

[permdaddy]

B-/C+
Some really great wins but the losses to unranked teams are piling up just as fast.
Fix that it's an A.

 

[KAB Cats]

Would’ve voted A yesterday at this time

 

[catfan220]

I voted A but I would've voted A-/B+ if I had the option. When you consider the quality of our wins it's just hard to understand some of the losses to mediocre teams, and I'm not even talking about last night. As Cal used to say we just ran into a buzzsaw.

 

[JimboBBN]

B. A until last night. We beat Tennessee on the road without Butler. Can’t use it as an excuse when we lose at home to an inferior team. Let’s see how we respond the rest of the year.

 

[UKFanNIndiana]

I gave an A simply because he had to piece together a team late and had little time to do so. He got several good pieces but missed out on Johnell Davis (who looked great against us), Chaz Lanier, and one kid who visited (can't remember his name) who ended up West Coast coast. I think he missed out on them because he got in the game late at Kentucky. However, he has taken this team and won games that he should not have, especially considering the injuries we have endured. We had no business beating Duke, Gonzaga away from home, nor Tennessee on the road without Carr and Butler. Sure, we have some bad losses by some standards, but remember last night we didn't have Butler and Carr still isn't back to himself.

In addition to that, the team Pople pieced together can shoot the ball, but we don't have what I would call an elite scorer. Someone who can go get a basket anytime one is needed. We don't have Broom, Sears, or Flagg. Also, not only do we not have that elite scorer we have 2 kids athletic enough to truly defend. Butler, who is hurt, and Oweh. Yes, we are horribly defensively, but that improves itself with the right kids.

My only concern is that our weak-side defense and recovery to shooters is a weakness and needs to be improved and it hasn't. I also believe that happens because they cheat towards their man because they know they are not athletic enough to recover. The same goes for our recovery to shooters. It is like they don't want to close out too quickly and get beat off the dribble because of their lack of athletism.

I honestly believe Pope has done as well as he can do with this roster, and the great thing is ... We can score. If we get hot in March, who knows what could happen? If we don't it will simply be like the last 5 years.

 

[Stoneule]

I think it's been a great season for what we are overall. However last night's loss is an automatic grade level drop. I think it's that bad of loss. It's a loss that defines a season unless you make a massive run.

So a B-

 

[Catfanlou]

A++

 

[L.O.D.]

Solid A untill last night now a C. The one game he couldn't lose he lost.