I’d like to share some embarrassing quotes from myself from back in April

[jrpross]

These were when I learned of Mark Pope being hired.

If he hadn’t gone to Kentucky, he would not be in the top 50 candidates and I’m not exaggerating.

No one could have seen this coming. NO ONE. And they shouldn’t have had to consider this as a possibility.

I wasn’t happy with Mitch before this but I thought those calling for his head were going overboard.

Now I get it. I have never seen such incompetence in such a high position in my life. And I’ve lived through 10 presidential terms

I mean, is this really official?

Like, by this point someone must have told him that we’re am breaking out the pitchforks and the boosters are all withdrawing their money right? Any chance that it won’t go through?

These weren’t the only ones, and I know I’m not alone. But I’d like to officially eat a huge bowl of crow right about now after this impressive display. I went from furious to upset (but maybe it’s not as bad as I thought) to cautiously optimistic prior to the season. After the first couple games I upgraded to “hopeful”, but now I’m just ecstatic. Coach Pope put together a team full of unselfish, determined players and he’s got them playing like a team. I don’t know what the outcome of the season will be, but we hired the right guy.

I don’t know if Mitch knew something we didn’t or if he just got lucky, but whatever; I’m on board the Pope train. Let’s all ride together!

 

[stuway]

Stop with the we stuff. Plenty of us here saw what Mitch saw and were ecstatic. I feel like it was 75/25 onboard with Pope right away. Maybe it's an age thing, idk. Anyone who was around pre Cal new Pope would be great here. We've seen other coaches besides Cal take us to the summit.

Basketball changed while Cal was here and he didn't change with the game. His shit is old and antiquated predictable folly at this point. Right down to his press conferences

Maybe it's not an age thing with who supported Pope initially and who didn't.....but figure that's a high percentage of it probably....Pope is also a Rhodes Scholar, smart people tend to succeed and as you saw tonight, with less talent he beat dook

Glad you're onboard now. Enjoy the ride. It's gonna be fun. Now of we can just get Sumrall lol

 

[CatFanInIlliniLand]

Stop with the we stuff. Plenty of us here saw what Mitch saw and were ecstatic. I feel like it was 75/25 onboard with Pope right away. Maybe it's an age thing, idk. Anyone who was around pre Cal new Pope would be great here. We've seen other coaches besides Cal take us to the summit.

Basketball changed while Cal was here and he didn't change with the game. His shit is old and antiquated predictable folly at this point. Right down to his press conferences

Maybe it's not an age thing with who supported Pope initially and who didn't.....but figure that's a high percentage of it probably....Pope is also a Rhodes Scholar, smart people tend to succeed and as you saw tonight, with less talent he beat dook

Glad you're onboard now. Enjoy the ride. It's gonna be fun. Now of we can just get Sumrall lol

It was not 75/25 right away.

It was all good by Sunday and the Press Conference. Let’s not rewrite history though. Plenty of people thought it was a hire Pope wasn’t ready for. I’m very glad he has proved us wrong and united the fan base! He’s one of us

 

[Bluesbrother]

These were when I learned of Mark Pope being hired.









These weren’t the only ones, and I know I’m not alone. But I’d like to officially eat a huge bowl of crow right about now after this impressive display. I went from furious to upset (but maybe it’s not as bad as I thought) to cautiously optimistic prior to the season. After the first couple games I upgraded to “hopeful”, but now I’m just ecstatic. Coach Pope put together a team full of unselfish, determined players and he’s got them playing like a team. I don’t know what the outcome of the season will be, but we hired the right guy.

I don’t know if Mitch knew something we didn’t or if he just got lucky, but whatever; I’m on board the Pope train. Let’s all ride together!

You're right when you say that you weren't alone. I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. I wasn't sure at first and was completely blindsided with the hire because I hadn't kept up with Pope. It didn't take long for me to fully buy in simply because I realized that he could coach after watching BYU tape. We have been deprived of high-level coaching at UK for so long. Add the fact that Pope is highly intelligent but just as important ... he's humble and relates to these kids in such a positive way. Given the UK program and national platform, I think recruits will very soon be lining up to play for him. Additionally, he "thoughtfully" assembles his roster to fit his system and then coaches the hell out of them. As a UK fan, I think we can all agree we're lucky to have him. I love the fact that not only did we, as UK fans, begin to learn what we truly have in CMP, but we learned at the same time as the rest of America learned, on the biggest stage. I couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect scenario.

 

[bbncal02]

Let's not do this. Anyone saying hey knew exactly how Pope would do so far is being disingenuous. No one knew. We all had hope he'd do well. So far so good!

Pope had (and still has) a lot to prove. He doesn't have a tournament win. That's just a fact.
However, what he has shown is he understands the assignment and can beat great teams. (He beat KU at KU and now Duke on a neutral floor).

Lots of season left and lots of reasons to be excited. Let's celebrate for 24 hours and then it's on to the next!

 

[kennyskywalker34]

I don't know why anyone would have doubted Pope's coaching ability.
Some that did apparently don't realize just how hard it is to win at Byu with all the restrictions.
I wasn't sure he would be able to put together a top team year one when he had to put it together completely on the fly at the last minute.
But he did it. This team is a contender year 1. Think about how difficult it was to build a entire team from scratch at the last minute.

 

[Bluesbrother]

Let's not do this. Anyone saying hey knew exactly how Pope would do so far is being disingenuous. No one knew. We all had hope he'd do well. So far so good!

Pope had (and still has) a lot to prove. He doesn't have a tournament win. That's just a fact.
However, what he has shown is he understands the assignment and can beat great teams. (He beat KU at KU and now Duke on a neutral floor).

Lots of season left and lots of reasons to be excited. Let's celebrate for 24 hours and then it's on to the next!

Before tonight, he hadn't beaten Duke ... that's also a fact. Try not to lecture because most likely no one is listening anyway and wreaks of virtue signaling. Just enjoy the win, let others do the same and move on ... sounds pretty reasonable to me.

 

[howitis]

As the president would say, he has a great brain, Beautiful brain.

 

[bbncal02]

Before tonight, he hadn't beaten Duke ... that's also a fact. Try not to lecture because most likely no one is listening anyway and wreaks of virtue signaling. Just enjoy the win, let others do the same and move on ... sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Which is what I said, thanks.

 

[TOMCATS1990]

Mitch hit a grand slam with this hire… most wanted Hurley Drew or a big time name most didn’t know the power of bringing home one of our own that loves and breaths KY basketball like we do.

 

[Bluesbrother]

I don't know why anyone would have doubted Pope's coaching ability.
Some that did apparently don't realize just how hard it is to win at Byu with all the restrictions.
I wasn't sure he would be able to put together a top team year one when he had to put it together completely on the fly at the last minute.
But he did it. This team is a contender year 1. Think about how difficult it was to build a entire team from scratch at the last minute.

Totally agree. The circumstances Pope encountered his first year with ZERO returning players and to have put together this team so quickly only bodes well for him and UK once he has time to properly plan and recruit "his" players. I honestly believe this is going to be a fun ride for all.

 

[Bluesbrother]

Which is what I said, thanks.

Good grief ... try not being the smart ass and no it's not what you said. Just stop the lecturing.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

We have every reason to be excited now after this statement win early on. Kentucky Basketball is back! Think big!! Don't let any chicken littles tell you to temper your expectations. We're Kentucky fans and live for moments like this!

 

[bbncal02]

Good grief ... try not being the smart ass and no it's not what you said. Just stop the lecturing.

"Lots of season left and lots of reasons to be excited. Let's celebrate for 24 hours and then it's on to the next!"

And on that, have a good one.

 

[gharding07]

Mitch hit a grand slam with this hire… most wanted Hurley Drew or a big time name most didn’t know the power of bringing home one of our own that loves and breaths KY basketball like we do.

Still have to win in March. Off to an awesome start though.

 

[bbncal02]

Still have to win in March. Off to an awesome start though.

Yep. We're off to the best start we could ask for. Fun win and lots of work left to do!

 

[Bluesbrother]

"Lots of season left and lots of reasons to be excited. Let's celebrate for 24 hours and then it's on to the next!"

And on that, have a good one.

Couldn't agree more. GBB

 

[Fox2monk]

These were when I learned of Mark Pope being hired.









These weren’t the only ones, and I know I’m not alone. But I’d like to officially eat a huge bowl of crow right about now after this impressive display. I went from furious to upset (but maybe it’s not as bad as I thought) to cautiously optimistic prior to the season. After the first couple games I upgraded to “hopeful”, but now I’m just ecstatic. Coach Pope put together a team full of unselfish, determined players and he’s got them playing like a team. I don’t know what the outcome of the season will be, but we hired the right guy.

I don’t know if Mitch knew something we didn’t or if he just got lucky, but whatever; I’m on board the Pope train. Let’s all ride together!

 

[Fawrules]

I mean, the first quote was probably accurate, to be fair. So far though Pope's making a strong case that he deserved to be far higher up than any of us had him on our respective coaching lists

 

[Soupbean]

These were when I learned of Mark Pope being hired.









These weren’t the only ones, and I know I’m not alone. But I’d like to officially eat a huge bowl of crow right about now after this impressive display. I went from furious to upset (but maybe it’s not as bad as I thought) to cautiously optimistic prior to the season. After the first couple games I upgraded to “hopeful”, but now I’m just ecstatic. Coach Pope put together a team full of unselfish, determined players and he’s got them playing like a team. I don’t know what the outcome of the season will be, but we hired the right guy.

I don’t know if Mitch knew something we didn’t or if he just got lucky, but whatever; I’m on board the Pope train. Let’s all ride together!

We’ll done!

 

[mebeblue2]

These were when I learned of Mark Pope being hired.









These weren’t the only ones, and I know I’m not alone. But I’d like to officially eat a huge bowl of crow right about now after this impressive display. I went from furious to upset (but maybe it’s not as bad as I thought) to cautiously optimistic prior to the season. After the first couple games I upgraded to “hopeful”, but now I’m just ecstatic. Coach Pope put together a team full of unselfish, determined players and he’s got them playing like a team. I don’t know what the outcome of the season will be, but we hired the right guy.

I don’t know if Mitch knew something we didn’t or if he just got lucky, but whatever; I’m on board the Pope train. Let’s all ride together!

props to ya

 

[crawfords corner]

Props to you for owning it, but.... **** April. This is a new beginning. The Mark Pope era. What you said then doesn't matter. What matters is you are back here with all of us ready to celebrate what is going to be a resurrgence of Kentucky basketball. GBB!!!!

 

[IL Wildcat]

I can't give you a hard time because I was very skeptical of Pope's hire as well, especially at first. I came around quickly but my initial reaction was not good. I was sold after his introductory press conference. And when he signed this class in short order, I was all in.

And there is no doubt in my mind, Pope is gonna be a great coach for UK. He knows the game. He is an excellent motivator. He is passionate about Kentucky- the Commonwealth and the University. I've gone from questioning his hire to thinking he's the best possible guy we could have found.

 

[Cleatortoises]

Pope was my first choice.
But, in my family of 5, I was alone.
20%
We all went to the intro at rupp, then they were in.
I'm busting their asses with every win.
They need to learn how brilliant I am.
Cheers
GBB!

 

[EliteBlue]

Stop with the we stuff. Plenty of us here saw what Mitch saw and were ecstatic. I feel like it was 75/25 onboard with Pope right away. Maybe it's an age thing, idk. Anyone who was around pre Cal new Pope would be great here. We've seen other coaches besides Cal take us to the summit.

Basketball changed while Cal was here and he didn't change with the game. His shit is old and antiquated predictable folly at this point. Right down to his press conferences

Maybe it's not an age thing with who supported Pope initially and who didn't.....but figure that's a high percentage of it probably....Pope is also a Rhodes Scholar, smart people tend to succeed and as you saw tonight, with less talent he beat dook

Glad you're onboard now. Enjoy the ride. It's gonna be fun. Now of we can just get Sumrall lol

I attend pope when I thought we would have to eat Cals contract. I was one of the first to advocate.

Once cal ate the contract for us…I wanted Donovan or Pearl. But pope was always a good hire

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

I think Pope was hired because he was the anti Cal. Our basketball culture was in shambles and Pope is everything Cal was not. It should be obvious to anyone watching so far that our culture has changed for the better. Some of folks are still mired in " wait till March" under Cal November and December basketball didnt matter. For us older fans we always thought that was bullshit. UK basketball is EVERY game we play,We finally have a coach that understands that. Does ANYONE believe we would have won that game with Cal coaching it. I like our chances in March as well

 

[KyCatFan]

I was calling for Pope long before he got hired. I believed he would fit in here well. I posted this back in March of 2022.

KyCatFan said:
I'd take Mark Pope at this point. Has played in the PAC10 and SEC and has worked/coached in the SEC and the ACC. Has done pretty well so far as a head coach. Still pretty young and can get better. Actually has better credentials than Hubert Davis, who had only been an assistant at UNC. If only there wasn't a huge buyout issue to deal with I'd be fine with giving Pope a shot. Just surround him with quality assistants.

 

[nssdigitalchumps]

Pope being hired was a chance taken but if you read the tea leaves of his career good enough, you could see there was coach who knew the game inside and out, and who turned a no-name basketball school into something without needing five-star players.

The latter of which is a testament to his ability to coach players into something great. I think everyone here was skeptical at the very least but some knew that he could be a great coach given the right environment.

 

[know1]

Nice thread. Good to see we have some decent posters around here.

 

[kennyskywalker34]

Let's not do this. Anyone saying hey knew exactly how Pope would do so far is being disingenuous. No one knew. We all had hope he'd do well. So far so good!

Pope had (and still has) a lot to prove. He doesn't have a tournament win. That's just a fact.
However, what he has shown is he understands the assignment and can beat great teams. (He beat KU at KU and now Duke on a neutral floor).

Lots of season left and lots of reasons to be excited. Let's celebrate for 24 hours and then it's on to the next!

I knew he would do great at UK. I wasn't sure he would be great year 1. Due to the fact he got a late start and had to put together a complete team at the last minute.
Too many people underestimate just how hard it is to win like he did at Byu with the incredible recruiting restrictions. Yet he still won and beat top ranked big 12 teams.
Yes I know 0 tournament wins but again just getting Byu to the tournament with those restrictions is a great accomplishment.

 

[BC_Wader]

These were when I learned of Mark Pope being hired.









These weren’t the only ones, and I know I’m not alone. But I’d like to officially eat a huge bowl of crow right about now after this impressive display. I went from furious to upset (but maybe it’s not as bad as I thought) to cautiously optimistic prior to the season. After the first couple games I upgraded to “hopeful”, but now I’m just ecstatic. Coach Pope put together a team full of unselfish, determined players and he’s got them playing like a team. I don’t know what the outcome of the season will be, but we hired the right guy.

I don’t know if Mitch knew something we didn’t or if he just got lucky, but whatever; I’m on board the Pope train. Let’s all ride together!

I was pumped about the hire. Then when I heard him spitting analytics and limbic systems and the guys wearing monitors in practice I was even more fired up. Talk like that just hammered home the point that we got ourselves a good one and this was before we ever played a game. This is all a COMPLETE 180 from what we were conditioned to feel about our boys and I'm not going to bash anyone for having doubts. This game was THE pivotal moment to get every single Cat fan on board.