Guy who wasn't the first choice for coach picked through the leftovers in the portal some of whom weren't anyone else's first choice. Depending on who you listen to, he might have been the fourth or fifth choice. He got a late start building a team from scratch thanks to previous management.
Didn't think UK would be in the top 10 this year. Wasn't expecting to be much above .500 honestly.
Didn't realize how much joy had been sucked from watching games by previous management. When the team gets behind in the first half, I expect a come back now. When the game is close at the end, I expect the team to hang on to a lead, or pull ahead if behind. I'm actually disappointed when UK loses again.
He's doing this without a wealth of high star players. He's doing this with players who hadn't played together before the 2024 tournament was over. He's doing this with players, except for Jaxson, who didn't know his approach, his schemes, his expectations. He's doing this with players who are playing hurt or sitting out due to injury or both.
He gets UK fans. He wants what we want. Just based on statistics, he's smarter than about 98% of the population and 2-3 standard deviations smarter than previous management. And I haven't heard one time where he talked down to ANYONE, no condescending crap whatsoever.
This stuff won't hang another banner, but he stays late after after games and signs autographs for everyone. Who buys ice cream for a crowd because he can't sign all the autographs before he has to leave?
Got my start with UK listening to games on the radio with my dad when Rupp was coach. Lots of ups and downs over the decades. Most of the UK coaches have put banners in the rafters. Pope may not ultimately add any banners in Rupp as a head coach, but I hope he gets plenty of leash to try.
A+
