I'm all-in on Pope.

[CatsFanIL]

Yep, I'm not really happy about it. In fact, at first I thought it was a joke and then I was pretty ticked off. I was never mad at Mark Pope. He's a UK guy and I know his heart is all in when it comes to being here. I was ticked off at Mitch Barnhart. This was his 3rd option, apparently. I don't understand the thinking on that. I don't think anyone could convince me that Pope should have been the 3rd option. I'm thinking he could have been the 10th option, maybe as high as 7 or 8 if you just absolutely love the guy. But he hasn't even won an NCAA-T game.

Ok, enough of that. This is where we are. I am all in. I do see some positives there. His offense is very good. Managing to squeeze 23 wins out the group he was working with this last season is impressive. He beat Kansas. He beat Baylor.

So, can he recruit? We really don't know yet. Utah Valley St? Who is gonna go there? BYU? They have to sign a no sex agreement, a no alcohol agreement, AND they have to take a 1-year (or 2-year) Mormon mission. When you consider that, the fact that he got any good players to play and win 23 games in the Big12 is impressive. So, I'm all in on Mark Pope. I know he's a smart guy and has a great mind for basketball. Let's see how the coaching staff looks and how the team looks and go from there.

He played on 4 different NBA teams across a 7-year NBA career
He spent time on staffs at Georgia and Wake Forest before heading out west
Currently has 6 players on BYU roster from the portal - and at least early on, I see him grabbing more transfer guys than I do incoming freshmen - but I could be wrong for sure
He's not the only guy recruiting - he'll need a solid staff to help him out. They can't sell Cal, they can't sell the NBA (yet), so what will be their go-to pitch?

 

[CatsFanIL]

0 tournament win..(0-2)

I'm curious, how many tournament wins did Jay Wright have before Villanova? How about Scott Drew, another national champ, before Baylor?

 

[CatOfDaVille]

I'm all in because I don't really have a choice. I was born a UK fan and will die one. Disagreeing with a hire isn't going to suddenly make me stop being a fan.

I really hope he does well here.

 

[wildcatwelder]

And I hope you guys give him a chance as well. Is he my first pick, or even my 10th? Hell no. But he is who we have, and I'm going to ride with him. His teams at BYU are fun, and the man can coach. Can he recruit to the level we need? That remains to be seen. But I'm willing to give him a chance before I completely give up on him.

Let's f**king go.

He wasn't out first pick but, he's now our coach and we have no choice but to get behind him or bitch and complain about it.

I'm willing to give him time to build his roster and see where we are then.


Cal is gone!!!!!!!?

Let's all unite BBN!!!!?

 

[59coop]

30 games next season?Is this for real?

Is 8 wins for real?

 

[IL Wildcat]

He played on 4 different NBA teams across a 7-year NBA career
He spent time on staffs at Georgia and Wake Forest before heading out west
Currently has 6 players on BYU roster from the portal - and at least early on, I see him grabbing more transfer guys than I do incoming freshmen - but I could be wrong for sure
He's not the only guy recruiting - he'll need a solid staff to help him out. They can't sell Cal, they can't sell the NBA (yet), so what will be their go-to pitch?

I think he needs to bring in a couple big recruiters who have helped get guys to the NBA, not because that should be the same focus it was under Calipari, but just because these players need to know we can get them there when the time comes. And he needs to bring in a coach who can coach defense well. Pope can coach defense as well, but he's not known for his defense.

I think he will be able to bring in good recruits based on the UK brand alone. It will be nice to have a coach who is focused on UK more than NBA. It's been a while.