Great article in SI on Pope

[IbnSaran]

I am in the minority, but I am not sold on him. Time will tell and I pray that I am wrong. The crazy pictures just run in contrast with successful, high level coach’s. I want him to be serious, dialed in, and not say things like this is the best “enter anything here” that he has ever seen.

Making a stand against hyperbole I guess.

I think he is the most serious coach we have had since Pitino. Pitino wasn't as serious about Kentucky as he was about winning but he appreciated what winning at Kentucky came with and he was clearly serious about winning. If Pope doesn't win big in a reasonable amount of time I would not be surprised if he showed himself the door.

Not to say you don't have a right to your opinion of course.

 

[LmdCat]

"Re-enter humility, for the first time since the Tubby Smith era."

You think?

The exorcism appears successful!! For the first time in a very long time, I am once again very proud of what UK basketball represents.

 

[LmdCat]

Making a stand against hyperbole I guess.

I think he is the most serious coach we have had since Pitino. Pitino wasn't as serious about Kentucky as he was about winning but he appreciated what winning at Kentucky came with and he was clearly serious about winning. If Pope doesn't win big in a reasonable amount of time I would not be surprised if he showed himself the door.

Not to say you don't have a right to your opinion of course.

When you refer to a place as Camelot, it sounds pretty serious to me.

 

[LmdCat]

It’s an interesting attitude to have. A passionate UK fan that was sick to death of Cal, gets a former player at UK to coach that has a different message and completely different style of play and has already secured two top 25 recruits and looks to be in good position with others before even playing a game. You would think if there is any time to be positive and optimistic this would be it, almost like saying “I wonder if this girl is marriage material” while having sex with her for the first time. I mean if there’s ever a time to just enjoy yourself and not worry too much about it 😂

But, to your point, the world would be boring if we all had the same perspective in life.

That dude seems to be really working hard to find a reason to be unsatisfied with our new coach. I guess he has become so used to partial sentences, random comments, and over used cliches that he feels lost and uneasy without them.

 

[UKortho]

If you don’t think he’s serious and dialed in, I don’t know what to tell you.

He looked like the real deal last night. I was very impressed.

 

[UKortho]

That dude seems to be really working hard to find a reason to be unsatisfied with our new coach. I guess he has become so used to partial sentences, random comments, and over used cliches that he feels lost and uneasy without them.

The resident antagonist from last year is still alive and well I see. Good to see you!

 

[chroix]

The resident antagonist from last year is still alive and well I see. Good to see you!

You’ve been poking the bear pretty good bud. You should probably expect some pushback.

 

[UKortho]

You’ve been poking the bear pretty good bud. You should probably expect some pushback.

Pushback is fine. He defaults to insults to look superior. I’ll have exhibit A when he responds to my comment.

Anyway, excited for the year.

 

[warrior-cat]

Believe Forde captured the essence of the typical UK fan with the following:

“Cal sold Kentucky to recruits as a quick-stop NBA way station, and he expected the fans to embrace that approach as well. He talked generational wealth, they talked program loyalty. He was energetic in terms of community outreach in times of trouble, but his connection to the public felt largely transactional. As the program slid after 2015, Cal’s condescension, equivocation and excuse-making became more infuriating.”

“It was Cal’s program,” Clay says. “It wasn’t really Kentucky’s program anymore.”

That is it in a nutshell.

 

[warrior-cat]

I am in the minority, but I am not sold on him. Time will tell and I pray that I am wrong. The crazy pictures just run in contrast with successful, high level coach’s. I want him to be serious, dialed in, and not say things like this is the best “enter anything here” that he has ever seen.

Cautious optimism should be the watch phrase here and I agree with your point. I just hope if things start off slow that the fans give him the time to get it going. We UK fans can be an impatient bunch. Bringing a bunch of players together who had not played together before will be difficult. Yes, experience from some of them who have already played will help, but building a cohesive team takes some time.