I feel so sorry for Mark.

[BigBlueFanGA]

Its almost impossible for him to turn down the offer but Barney should never have put him in this position.

There is nothing in Mark's coaching history to support hiring him at UK. I hope I'm wrong but I expect this to work out about this well;

 

[howitis]

Mark knows he isn't ready for this. hes just as bad as mitch. he comes here all we can do is work to fire him.

 

[track42]

Why didn't he say no?He has to know he's not ready after never even winning a tourney game.

 

[kyboy1998]

He’s a smart guy and knows offense.

 

[bucsrule8872]

The phrase, “thrown to the wolves” comes to mind.

I hate it for him. I will support him, but yeah, he’s pretty much doomed from the start.

 

[Wildcats1st]

Its almost impossible for him to turn down the offer but Barney should never have put him in this position.

There is nothing in Mark's coaching history to support hiring him at UK. I hope I'm wrong but I expect this to work out about this well;

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Exactly he’s being set up to fail. He shouldn’t be in this position even considered. Our AD was the problem with cal that’s what all this shows

 

[lpkilla7]

If Pope just pays attention to social media....he will Back DOWN

 

[ThunderMash]

I do, too. There will be so much pressure on him to do well, some fans being disappointed in the hire, NIL money being pulled... For Barnhart to consider AND hire someone who has no tournament success from BYU is just setting Pope up for disaster. Not fair to him at all.

 

[FiveStarCat]

I imagine the call went like:

Mitch: “So Mark, how would you like to coach at Kentucky?”

Pope: “Well the demotion to assistant isn’t ideal, but just happy to be back! Who will be the head coach?”

 

[TOMCATS1990]

Guy can Coach was a NC and learned from the best in Pitino. He will be fine I hope 🤞

 

[ukcatz12]

Mark knows he isn't ready for this. hes just as bad as mitch. he comes here all we can do is work to fire him.

This is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen posted on this board. He hasn't even signed a contract yet and you say you will work to get him fired. Absolutely braindead.

 

[kats23]

I hate it for him. He’s basically in the same boat Cal would have been in this season. Stepping into a hornet’s nest of angry fans.

 

[MidseasonTweak]

Mark knows he isn't ready for this. hes just as bad as mitch. he comes here all we can do is work to fire him.

God, you're turning on Pope? Seriously blaming him for turning down a job from a school he won at?????

He's not exactly new to coaching, you know. For all we know he reached out and wanted the job of coaching UK instead of us trying to entice guys that turn their noses up at us.

 

[TriCountyCat]

Show me this spring you can put together a team and I’ll be ok with it. The guy is a genius coach but can he get dudes.

 

[Snarks0]

I will not support him, hate to do this to a former Cat.

 

[BlueRunner11]

All we can do is get behind one of our own at this point and hope for the best.

Mitch knew what he was doing. He was going to make a bad hire so he makes one that UK fans feel obligated to support out of emotion and nostalgia. POS move.

 

[JFCats22]

By all accounts Pope is a great dude, good coach and maybe in a few years could have been considered for this job.

It’s not his fault Mitch screwed this up so bad but he knows what he is walking into.

 

[DCFseattle]

What part of his resume says he's the caliber of coach Kentucky needs?

This is an awful hire. If he hadn't played here, he'd never get a sniff at the job.

 

[permdaddy]

I do too. Man gets his dream job but will never be accepted unless he wins huge year 1 with no roster. Shame on Mitch

 

[Wildcats1st]

If Pope just pays attention to social media....he will Back DOWN

He’s an idealist he thinks we ll get behind him eventually. Barney is the one who needs to pay attention because he is throwing one of ours under the bus because he can’t sell.

 

[Elliott Tim]

If Pope just pays attention to social media....he will Back DOWN

If everyone paid attention to social media, mankind would cease to exist.
can you imagine life if we all were judged by social media?

 

[deplion]

Its almost impossible for him to turn down the offer but Barney should never have put him in this position.

There is nothing in Mark's coaching history to support hiring him at UK. I hope I'm wrong but I expect this to work out about this well;

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Agreed.

A coach who has never been on the big stage paired with a boss who is a complete moron = disaster waiting to happen.

For old timers like me, there is a decent chance we will not recover in my lifetime.

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

Defense is so crucial to winning big and that looks like Popes biggest weakness, along with recruiting. He has only been in a top 50 defense one time.

 

[RexShepcat]

Mark knows he isn't ready for this. hes just as bad as mitch. he comes here all we can do is work to fire him.

Hurley came from Wagner to UConn. He was 35-31 his first two years at UConn and had done nothing spectacular until last year.

 

[Skyguyb27]

Its almost impossible for him to turn down the offer but Barney should never have put him in this position.

There is nothing in Mark's coaching history to support hiring him at UK. I hope I'm wrong but I expect this to work out about this well;

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It’s wrong for the players that will give him a chance due to the standard they will be judged by, it isn’t fair for the fans, or Mark for the matter.

 

[Woodrow_Call_1998]

Mark knows he isn't ready for this. hes just as bad as mitch. he comes here all we can do is work to fire him.

I don’t understand that logic. If you put in for your dream job and got it over more qualified candidates, you would take it. If you wanna be mad as anyone, it should be the man that hired him.

 

[JwUKFan11]

Hurley came from Wagner to UConn. He was 35-31 his first two years at UConn and had done nothing spectacular until last year.

News flash, We are not UConn! Let this man go 35-31 in his first 2 years and we’ll make him leave to accept a middle school cheerleading position.

 

[Elliott Tim]

Agreed.

A coach who has never been on the big stage paired with a boss who is a complete moron = disaster waiting to happen.

For old timers like me, there is a decent chance we will not recover in my lifetime.

Hope you;'re wrong. This reminds me Of North Carolina's hire after Dean Smith.

 

[RexShepcat]

News flash, We are not UConn! Let this man go 35-31 in his first 2 years and we’ll make him leave to accept a middle school cheerleading position.

Cals last five didn’t send him to middle school

 

[ok-cats-computer]

Pope is going to be making $5.5 Million per year. He'll be set for life financially. No matter how this turns out, he won't need us to feel sorry for him.

 

[Deli owl]

Give me 5 mil and you can feel sorry for me.

 

[king of cali]

What part of his resume says he's the caliber of coach Kentucky needs?

This is an awful hire. If he hadn't played here, he'd never get a sniff at the job.

Exactly right. If he were a University of Washington alumnus with the exact same credentials, no one would think this is a good idea. Will be rooting for the guy, but he’s starting off behind the 8 ball.

 

[fatguy87]

He is making over 5 mil a year at his dream job. Why should I feel sorry for him?

 

[MrHotDice]

Its almost impossible for him to turn down the offer but Barney should never have put him in this position.

There is nothing in Mark's coaching history to support hiring him at UK. I hope I'm wrong but I expect this to work out about this well;

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He knows what Kentucky on the Jersey really means. I feel sorry for anyone that doesn’t.

 

[kygent2]

MITCH IS A AZZ FOR HIRING HIM, SO MANY OTHER COACHES DESERVING

 

[Spica Orbit]

I guarantee you Barnfart made this hire so quickly because he knew he was going to be named in that terrible lawsuit on Friday. If the search went on any longer the heat from the lawsuit would have likely pushed Barnfart out of the hiring process & UK might have then been able to hire a legitimate coach.

 

[natchezrule]

I will not support him, hate to do this to a former Cat.

D bag

 

[kafka0117]

News flash, We are not UConn! Let this man go 35-31 in his first 2 years and we’ll make him leave to accept a middle school cheerleading position.

And if UConn had idiots like you as fans, they wouldn’t be trying to 3-peat next year

 

[NociHTTP]

What part of his resume says he's the caliber of coach Kentucky needs?

This is an awful hire. If he hadn't played here, he'd never get a sniff at the job.

 

[megablue]

If he fully understands and appreciates what Kentucky basketball means to fans, he knows what he’s getting into. Plus, he’s getting paid incredibly well. There is no need to feel sorrow for him. It is a challenge that he wants !!