How many years should we give Pope for fair evaluation, and what least performance expectations should we have during this period?

[chasingwildcat]

Mine is he should be given a three-year-span and at least should have one s16 appreance during this span

if he can not reach this, he should be fired

Thoughts?

 

[BlueSince92]

We gave the last guy fifteen years and he was an asshole with an unwatchable offense.

Mark Pope is a great guy running a fun offense so mine is at least 30 years.

 

[chasingwildcat]

Mine is he should be given a three-year-span and at least should have one s16 appreance during this span

Thoughts?

Cal won E8 in first year, FF in second year and #8 in third year

No doubt he was the king of college basketball in his first six years in UK.

Cal was winning instantly after hiring

Mark Pope needs to understand the standard, Kentucky is highest platform in college basketball and we should win we should win

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

He just built a team from scratch in Spring so I'd say 3 years and we need to make a FF by then. If not that's 12+ years without one. That's a lot for Kentucky.

I would hope this year already min of 2 Tourney win hopefully at least 2nd weekend. By year 2 at least a SS hopefully an E8. By year 3 FF. I think that's fair with our resources.

 

[chasingwildcat]

Duke's coach has E8 in year 2 and Hubert Davis has one runner-up and one S16 in two of his first three years.

We are UK, and we should have highest standard.

Pope needs to have a least S16 in first 3 years otherwise he will be fired

 

[TNCatfanforever]

We gave the last guy fifteen years and he was an asshole with an unwatchable offense.

Mark Pope is a great guy running a fun offense so mine is at least 30 years.

Had the most talented teams ever at UK and won one title and had the worst season ever in UK history and lost the two most embarrassing games ever to St Pete and Oakland.

 

[Wonky]

I’m willing to give Pope 4 years to get our program back to the FF. After that I expect an FF appearance every 5 years, and a title every 10, which is our program’s historical standard.

I guarantee you Coach Pope expects the same of himself and his players.

 

[blubo]

Cal won E8 in first year, FF in second year and #8 in third year

No doubt he was the king of college basketball in his first six years in UK.

Cal was winning instantly after hiring

Mark Pope needs to understand the standard, Kentucky is highest platform in college basketball and we should win we should win

cal also didn’t come in to a program that had zero players and have to piecemeal a team together in a matter of weeks totally with transfers. pope so far continues to outperform my expectations

 

[buster3.0]

What if he loses 12-14 games a season and still makes the sweet sixteen? What if he goes 31-1 yet gets upset in the second round? Posters on here act like the regular season doesn't matter. Regular season performance or accolades (ie SEC Champion, Top 5 in polls) matters not. Why even bother paying attention November-March? But yet, posters on here do pay attention. Look at the reactions on here for random December game.

 

[Cats192]

Had the most talented teams ever at UK and won one title and had the worst season ever in UK history and lost the two most embarrassing games ever to St Pete and Oakland.

Don't forget Evansville at Rupp!

 

[Wonky]

Don't forget Evansville at Rupp!

And UNC Wilmington.

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

He needs to recruit. We have a few nice players coming in, but he will have to get some top 10. 3 years minimum.

 

[Bluesnky]

I vote that we all stop trying to circle a date on the calendar for when we get to fire our coach who has been here 9 or 10 months and has more big wins at this point than anyone could possibly have expected.

 

[blackcat714]

Mine is he should be given a three-year-span and at least should have one s16 appreance during this span

if he can not reach this, he should be fired

Thoughts?

Sounds about right to me

 

[UKfanINcoach]

A lot of fans posted how embarrassing and unacceptable the loss. I totally agree it was embarrassing and unacceptable how the FANS reacted with their post and comments after the loss. UK finally gets a coach that puts program winning before the players getting to the NBA, wins big games, who has class, intelligence, and wants to win for BBN - not for himself! Now when he loses it's all because of how terrible a coach he is?? If these fans really know the game you would understand this isn't a very athletic or deep team and will be almost impossible to win many games in the SEC without a point guard.

Do some of you fans know you are the reason outside of BBN that UK is hated? Some of you feel entitled the UK must be the best team or the coach or officials are to blame. Did you notice coaches weren't beating down the door to get the UK coaching job? Why do you think that was? In my opinion it's because how unrealistic some fans are - just ask John Higgins. Everyone is entitled to opinions and these are mine. But to be bashing Mark Pope with what he has done in a few months with a less than desirable team that has lost 3 key players is asinine. Why would anyone want to coach here? Pope does because he loves BBN. You will know in a few years if Pope can hang some banners but at the moment some of you are a disgrace.

Go ahead and bash me and tell me how wrong I am also. I won't read them so I won't respond but for now I'm backing Pope.

 

[TeoJ]

Duke's coach has E8 in year 2 and Hubert Davis has one runner-up and one S16 in two of his first three years.

We are UK, and we should have highest standard.

Pope needs to have a least S16 in first 3 years otherwise he will be fired

They both had established players and were already in the recruiting game,Pope had none give him three years with continued improvement.I think he will meet and beat those requirements.

 

[JumperJack]

NIL makes it very hard to say. There’s a whole lot more parity, so if we’re top 10-15 but with no FFs over the next 3-4 years with a fun offense, are we going to run him off? Seems hard to imagine.

 

[Wildcats1st]

It’s 2 years to get to an elite 8 which is now be more season. If he doesn’t have a stacked team coming in a top 5 team in year 3 I think pressure mounts and pope steps aside. But I think pope gets the defense together and we play st John’s in the sweet sixteen

 

[JumperJack]

It’s 2 years to get to an elite 8 which is now be more season. If he doesn’t have a stacked team coming in a top 5 team in year 3 I think pressure mounts and pope steps aside. But I think pope gets the defense together and we play st John’s in the sweet sixteen

I also think we’re a S16 team this year, we could make E8 with some breaks.

 

[chasingwildcat]

What if he loses 12-14 games a season and still makes the sweet sixteen? What if he goes 31-1 yet gets upset in the second round? Posters on here act like the regular season doesn't matter. Regular season performance or accolades (ie SEC Champion, Top 5 in polls) matters not. Why even bother paying attention November-March? But yet, posters on here do pay attention. Look at the reactions on here for random December game.

March Madness Tournament record should be the main factor

Actually, when you recapped the 13-14 season, who remembered we sucked in most of the season and only was 8 seed, also who remembered Wichita State had no lose until facing us in second round. All we remember that we were runner up. Regular season does not matter that much. Everyone forgot about how good Wichita State was in all the season.

Cal had 2 and 3 seed in 2 of last three years, good in regular season and was bust in tournament and finally fired.

Also, Murray season we had SEC tournament champion and still be seen as bust season as we lost early.

Same should be applied for Pope. If he finally won big in regular seasons constantly but can not even get S16, he does not meet standard.

 

[chasingwildcat]

It’s 2 years to get to an elite 8 which is now be more season. If he doesn’t have a stacked team coming in a top 5 team in year 3 I think pressure mounts and pope steps aside. But I think pope gets the defense together and we play st John’s in the sweet sixteen

It is more likely we face St Johns in second round than S16 based on potential seeding

St Johns is a tough matchup for us

 

[JFCats22]

He has to win at least one SECT game and one NCAAT game this year. Next year it needs to be Sweet 16 or better, year three UK needs to be in the title hunt.

With the portal and NIL there is no excuse not to be at the top of the NCAA

 

[WildcatUKx]

He has until the end of next season to impress me.

 

[TankedCat]

Pope strikes me as the kind of man who won't have to be told what the expectations are, nor will he stay if he isn't meeting them.

That said, assuming we have a healthy team in the tournament, we will see a Sweet 16 this year. I feel certain enough to bet that UK will see at least one in the next 3 years and I think Pope will trend upward each year for the next 5-6 years with maybe one hiccup year.

I like Pope and I'm so burned on Mercenary U setup by Calipari that I'm willing to tolerate a lot more from Pope as long as the guy bleeds blue and the team , relative to the modern era of NIL loyalty being paid for , plays for the name on the front.

but I also know Kentucky fans and I realize that not everyone has the same tolerance that I do.

 

[billoliver40]

I see 15 years of John Calipari has poisoned the fan base gene pool.

 

[Emarc]

Lot of posters never seen before, recently.

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

If we play St John’s in the tourney this season it won’t go well. Hopefully we don’t get that bullshit draw.

 

[Warf2012]

“Fair” is 3 years. If he hasn’t made an elite 8 by then, he needs to feel heat. If he doesn’t make a final four after 5 years then he has to go.

That said, my patience is much less than that solely due to terrible losses that there’s no excuse for losing. Some of the bad coaching that Kal did that drove us crazy is showing up with Pope as well. Coaching was supposed to be the one thing he was great at and it hasn’t been there.

 

[Warf2012]

If we play St John’s in the tourney this season it won’t go well. Hopefully we don’t get that bullshit draw.

Yep. Rick will coach circles around Pope. We’d give all their shooters 10 feet of space for open 3’s even if they’re shooting 90% from 3.

 

[Edgarman]

He just built a team from scratch in Spring so I'd say 3 years and we need to make a FF by then. If not that's 12+ years without one. That's a lot for Kentucky.

I would hope this year already min of 2 Tourney win hopefully at least 2nd weekend. By year 2 at least a SS hopefully an E8. By year 3 FF. I think that's fair with our resources.

Coach Pope needs 3 years of his recruits before he is judged. This year does NOT count so going into his actual 5th year would be fair to be judged. Final Fours are no longer a given for ANY school with unlimited transfers and NIL. Bluebloods as so many on here want to call our program will have little or nothing to do with future success. The almighty dollar will rule college sports. Kids today value money more than winning, and certainly more than loyalty. Pope could assemble a FF caliber team and then get poached for two or more of his returning players with the NIL crap. It will be next to impossible to keep really talented depth because a kids will and can transfer to get more playing minutes. Today is a whole different animal for college sports. It will continue to suck if rules are not changed.

 

[ImTheVillageIdiot]

A lot of fans posted how embarrassing and unacceptable the loss. I totally agree it was embarrassing and unacceptable how the FANS reacted with their post and comments after the loss. UK finally gets a coach that puts program winning before the players getting to the NBA, wins big games, who has class, intelligence, and wants to win for BBN - not for himself! Now when he loses it's all because of how terrible a coach he is?? If these fans really know the game you would understand this isn't a very athletic or deep team and will be almost impossible to win many games in the SEC without a point guard.

Do some of you fans know you are the reason outside of BBN that UK is hated? Some of you feel entitled the UK must be the best team or the coach or officials are to blame. Did you notice coaches weren't beating down the door to get the UK coaching job? Why do you think that was? In my opinion it's because how unrealistic some fans are - just ask John Higgins. Everyone is entitled to opinions and these are mine. But to be bashing Mark Pope with what he has done in a few months with a less than desirable team that has lost 3 key players is asinine. Why would anyone want to coach here? Pope does because he loves BBN. You will know in a few years if Pope can hang some banners but at the moment some of you are a disgrace.

Go ahead and bash me and tell me how wrong I am also. I won't read them so I won't respond but for now I'm backing Pope.

You just summed up a lot of concerns that I’m having as well. Our fanbase can be our most attractive and least attractive feature to the brand. We have beaten Duke, Gonzaga in Seattle, Tennessee and Mississippi State on the road, and beat Florida in a shootout…all with portal scraps. Pope deserves an all in fanbase, but some people are on and off the bandwagon after the results of each game.

 

[Edgarman]

You just summed up a lot of concerns that I’m having as well. Our fanbase can be our most attractive and least attractive feature to the brand. We have beaten Duke, Gonzaga in Seattle, Tennessee and Mississippi State on the road, and beat Florida in a shootout…all with portal scraps. Pope deserves an all in fanbase, but some people are on and off the bandwagon after the results of each game.

UKfanINcoach, you could not have said or described our situation any better. i salute you!

 

[TheDude73]

Duke's coach has E8 in year 2 and Hubert Davis has one runner-up and one S16 in two of his first three years.

We are UK, and we should have highest standard.

Pope needs to have a least S16 in first 3 years otherwise he will be fired

I agree with this. S16 in first two years. I still think we have a slight chance this year, but Pope needs to ramp up his intensity. Farting flowers and positivity was nice to get going, but I think it's time he gets into his players a little more about effort and fire.

I did see Pope actually in the face of a ref for the first time all year. That was early in the 2nd half and apparently didn't do much, but maybe he's starting to feel the pressure and might get a little more "push" in his style.

 

[bucsrule8872]

We should give him 5 years, then reassess the situation.

 

[MrHotDice]

Mine is he should be given a three-year-span and at least should have one s16 appreance during this span

if he can not reach this, he should be fired

Thoughts?

Nuts

 

[billoliver40]

I think 5 years is reasonable. This year is a wash. Next season is the in depth full season of recruiting and transfer portal. That gives 4 solid years of building what he wants.

 

[billoliver40]

To summarize: 5 years and see where the program is.

 

[UKBrassowTipIN]

It's his first year and he literally threw a team together in a month, and now 3 of his top 8 are out with injuries. Yet we still have more top 25 wins then we've had in a season maybe ever

Calm down.

Basically OP is telling us he would've fired Dan Hurley before he got two championships
-no Postseason
-no Postseason
-1st rd
-1st rd

 

[Cats192]

I don't understand the need for the conversation.

Pope has some HUGE wins this year. He currently has 6 losses. He's lost 3 of his last 4. The team isn't close to being healthy. Half of our losses are games where we weren't at full strength.

If we can get a fully healthy Butler and Carr, I think we're a Sweet 16 team. And then from there, anything can happen with this team.

 

[JPFisher]

My money is on four. The freshmen this year will be seniors and the most seasoned guys in his system possible. Plus any sophomores and juniors who know the system and have stuck around. Plus freshmen and transfers.

Next year will be tough to tell anything because we don't know how many one and dones we'll have each year or how often guys will return. That'll factor into Pope's long-term success quite a bit.

And no, he shouldn't be fired unless the next year or two are .500 or worse. He's earned some time after this year's team performed way above what anyone thought they would.