IMO, people are looking at Pope the wrong way

[silentsaregolden2.0]

Rather than be upset and say he is doing a bad job, I think it's the opposite. We do not have Top 10 talent other than probably Oweh. He cobbled together a team in very short order that has a handful of quality wins. Much better than Cal would have done. We are coming back down to earth, which is understandable. Our frontcourt is extremely exploitable. We lack drive from a number of players. I love Robinson, but he gives off a very casual, almost lazy, vibe. Brea is about the same.

I think we will get a few more great wins, but any hopes of a title run are wishful thinking at best. But we had no right to expect we would have a contender, given the circumstances. Hopefully, next season we will have a more well-rounded team with the right pieces in the right places.

 

[Jamal Mercer]

Rather than be upset and say he is doing a bad job, I think it's the opposite. We do not have Top 10 talent other than probably Oweh. He cobbled together a team in very short order that has a handful of quality wins. Much better than Cal would have done. We are coming back down to earth, which is understandable. Our frontcourt is extremely exploitable. We lack drive from a number of players. I love Robinson, but he gives off a very casual, almost lazy, vibe. Brea is about the same.

I think we will get a few more great wins, but any hopes of a title run are wishful thinking at best. But we had no right to expect we would have a contender, given the circumstances. Hopefully, next season we will have a more well-rounded team with the right pieces in the right places.

This. I’ve said it a bunch….He is working miracles with the group we have. It’s actually amazing we are where we are record wise.

 

[Himmels]

Amen, gotta give the guy some time

 

[will1976]

Rather than be upset and say he is doing a bad job, I think it's the opposite. We do not have Top 10 talent other than probably Oweh. He cobbled together a team in very short order that has a handful of quality wins. Much better than Cal would have done. We are coming back down to earth, which is understandable. Our frontcourt is extremely exploitable. We lack drive from a number of players. I love Robinson, but he gives off a very casual, almost lazy, vibe. Brea is about the same.

I think we will get a few more great wins, but any hopes of a title run are wishful thinking at best. But we had no right to expect we would have a contender, given the circumstances. Hopefully, next season we will have a more well-rounded team with the right pieces in the right places.

Very well said.

 

[gbl97]

He knows he doesn't have the pieces this year, but he would never say it out loud. He's just staying positive and biding his time till next year.

 

[wildcatsincebirth]

Yeah I was just thinking that this team looks like what I thought they would at the beginning of the year.

The awesome wins we have had got everyone’s hopes up and now we are all pissed off and disappointed yet again. The nature of sports is brutal

Basically our offense was effective early in the year before teams could really scout it. Now it’s clear athletic teams can easily shut us down and we don’t play defense. Unless we hit a ton or 3’s anyone can beat us.

This team has first round exit written all over them. The most disappointing part was the clear lack of effort in the first half. I can handle just playing badly but they straight up just stopped caring for awhile in the first, got in a hole and then came out on fire in the second, and just plain old bad coaching and lack of execution doomed them down the stretch.

Not to be a basketball Benny but hey pope, can we maybe try something different than letting Amari and Garrison run our offense? It’s really not working very well, is it?

 

[catben]

Why are our fans FORGETTING that Coach Pope put this team together in about 2 months??????

When he gets better talent( and I have NO DOUBT he will), then if we lose a game like this I will be MORE upset. Losing SUCKS!!!! But putting everything in perspective makes it a little easier to accept.

Heck, This team has already proven they can beat great teams, it's just HARDER because there is NO ROOM for error. Today the STUPID mistakes gave the game away. And we still had a shot at winning.

Coach Pope's system is VERY attractive for recruits to play in. That will prove itself when we ACTUALLY get those better players in here.

 

[MegaBlue05]

I’m not upset with Pope at all.

I never expected to be a Final Four team this year. I wanted to see what the culture looked like and what the system looks like. I am happy with both.

I think the future is bright here. But, some of you just carry on. Continue the bitch first because your unrealistic expectations haven’t been met in late January of year 1.

 

[Roe07]

Very true! I’m trying not to get too mad about our losses being that this team was assembled from scratch, but this one today just stings a little more.

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

At least Pope makes halftime adjustments.

Cal would have dug a deeper hole

 

[BC_Wader]

Our fans need perspective. How can you not be excited about the future?

 

[Seth_C]

Look, what you said isn’t wrong. This game, though? It’s on Pope. We won some high profile games, and that was over achieving. I know it. You know it. We all know it. Losing today though…it was bad coaching. I’m allowed to say both.

 

[BIG BLUE GURU]

Rather than be upset and say he is doing a bad job, I think it's the opposite. We do not have Top 10 talent other than probably Oweh. He cobbled together a team in very short order that has a handful of quality wins. Much better than Cal would have done. We are coming back down to earth, which is understandable. Our frontcourt is extremely exploitable. We lack drive from a number of players. I love Robinson, but he gives off a very casual, almost lazy, vibe. Brea is about the same.

I think we will get a few more great wins, but any hopes of a title run are wishful thinking at best. But we had no right to expect we would have a contender, given the circumstances. Hopefully, next season we will have a more well-rounded team with the right pieces in the right places.

Agree 100% and have been consistently saying this even after the big wins. This team has already overachieved and I stand by this team will lose between 7 to 9 games in the SEC.

 

[BC_Wader]

Look, what you said isn’t wrong. This game, though? It’s on Pope. We won some high profile games, and that was over achieving. I know it. You know it. We all know it. Losing today though…it was bad coaching. I’m allowed to say both.

Carr out forced Pope to use some lineups we haven't seen. At least he didn't stick with Chandler after his first half turnover. Plus, Butler is ailing and has been for a bit now. I think he was trying to keep the lineup as fresh as he could. We're limited. We have been all season. We saw a drop onve Kriisa went out. We saw a bigger drop without Carr today. We don't have a lot of athelticism. Vandy has a ton of it. I know that may be hard for fans to grasp but it is what it is right now. We're Kentucky. Rosters aren't put together in a few months with regularity.

 

[Supafuzz75]

If you had any thoughts of a final four run with a bunch of basically mid major players this year then you deserve everything you're feeling right now.. Hope ya stroke out 😂

 

[wildcatsincebirth]

Look, what you said isn’t wrong. This game, though? It’s on Pope. We won some high profile games, and that was over achieving. I know it. You know it. We all know it. Losing today though…it was bad coaching. I’m allowed to say both.

I agree. Pope has been great most of this year but the lineups in the first half were terrible, that huge possession in the last 2 minutes where we yet again forced the ball to Amari at the top of the key is on him, and not fouling with 45 seconds left for 20 seconds is also on him.

Definitely his worst coaching performance of the year.

 

[michaeluk26]

Rather than be upset and say he is doing a bad job, I think it's the opposite. We do not have Top 10 talent other than probably Oweh. He cobbled together a team in very short order that has a handful of quality wins. Much better than Cal would have done. We are coming back down to earth, which is understandable. Our frontcourt is extremely exploitable. We lack drive from a number of players. I love Robinson, but he gives off a very casual, almost lazy, vibe. Brea is about the same.

I think we will get a few more great wins, but any hopes of a title run are wishful thinking at best. But we had no right to expect we would have a contender, given the circumstances. Hopefully, next season we will have a more well-rounded team with the right pieces in the right places.

That's great, level headed thinking. It just sucks cause me and my family put so much into watching UK games together. We've had a lot of fun this year, we even went to the Battle in Seattle. But I start checking out the more losses we gather, especially a game like today. The last 5 years have taken quite a toll on my enthusiasm. But I reckon I'll be here tomorrow, Monday and so on.

 

[BC_Wader]

If you had any thoughts of a final four run with a bunch of basically mid major players this year then you deserve everything you're feeling right now.. Hope ya stroke out 😂

A lot of new scripts are going to be written by therapists tomorrow. We have a lot of unstable people on here.

 

[Tprinceuk]

I'm not questioning that but he game today he should have never put Butler back in the game at the end, we were better with him on the bench.

 

[W1LDCAT22]

Rather than be upset and say he is doing a bad job, I think it's the opposite. We do not have Top 10 talent other than probably Oweh. He cobbled together a team in very short order that has a handful of quality wins. Much better than Cal would have done. We are coming back down to earth, which is understandable. Our frontcourt is extremely exploitable. We lack drive from a number of players. I love Robinson, but he gives off a very casual, almost lazy, vibe. Brea is about the same.

I think we will get a few more great wins, but any hopes of a title run are wishful thinking at best. But we had no right to expect we would have a contender, given the circumstances. Hopefully, next season we will have a more well-rounded team with the right pieces in the right places.

Aside from Oweh, Garrison is most likely the most talented player with the highest ceiling who needs the minutes to properly develop and thrive. However, we keep seeing the same thing with Amari Williams playing the majority of the game trying to run the offense. It's giving major Cal vibes, but I thought he took his ball and ran off to Arkansas?

 

[Chief Paducah]

I think the first half lineups were a thing of necessity. Butler playing banged up, no Carr, no Kerr. This game was going to be up and down. The team was already winded the last 5-7 minutes of the game. He knew he needed some time from the bench. Unfortunately, the time he got was not great.

 

[InAcorner]

Look, what you said isn’t wrong. This game, though? It’s on Pope. We won some high profile games, and that was over achieving. I know it. You know it. We all know it. Losing today though…it was bad coaching. I’m allowed to say both.

How can you blame coaching. We couldn't dribble the ball. We had 16-17 turnovers. At one point we turned it over 5 out of 8 possessions. No amount of coaching can stop that.

 

[Stretch98]

Not to be a basketball Benny but hey pope, can we maybe try something different than letting Amari and Garrison run our offense? It’s really not working very well, is it?

We are top three in the country offensively, playing in the toughest conference. All the pundits and analysts rave about our offense. Pope's system is not the problem and he has the good sense not to abandon it mid-season. Today we were on the road in the SEC without our best inside player and turned the ball over 17 times. We were down 14 but fought back to take a decent lead. It was the defense that let Vandy back in and led to this defeat.

 

[ManitouDan]

Rather than be upset and say he is doing a bad job, I think it's the opposite. We do not have Top 10 talent other than probably Oweh. He cobbled together a team in very short order that has a handful of quality wins. Much better than Cal would have done. We are coming back down to earth, which is understandable. Our frontcourt is extremely exploitable. We lack drive from a number of players. I love Robinson, but he gives off a very casual, almost lazy, vibe. Brea is about the same.

I think we will get a few more great wins, but any hopes of a title run are wishful thinking at best. But we had no right to expect we would have a contender, given the circumstances. Hopefully, next season we will have a more well-rounded team with the right pieces in the right places.

Having said that and agreeing pretty much , the choice of lineups today in half 1 when the game was lost mind boggling .. and bad !

 

[Zakk Wyldcat]

My concern is the continuing issue of falling behind in the first half out of the locker room and having to climb out of it, not sure if the players are unable to motivate themselves to play from the tip or if the staff is not preparing game plan correctly

 

[bnewt]

True, he had no time to pick from the portal, most were gone. Williams, Robinson, brea, were all over rated. Injuries have definitely hurt. My problem is lack of effort and unforced errors.

 

[Digger-Cat]

Meh, he told on himself early in the season with big wins by playing the right guys and getting his guys to play hard.

But this team has regressed, guys start out games playing lazy, Amari is a mess and still won't even put his hands up on defense to take away simple layups and Popes lineups in the first half today, should earn him a little heat.

He had a weak to prepare, we looked awful and now we're slipping.

You can't beat Duke, Gonzaga, @ MSU, Florida and aTm due to great coaching and player effort, then lose to Ohio State and now Vanderbilt the way they did and say we're good. Nope, he already told on himself, this is a bad loss and definitely not his best coaching performance.

 

[tomrain]

Very true! I’m trying not to get too mad about our losses being that this team was assembled from scratch, but this one today just stings a little more.

I said the same exact thing!! Something about this one just pisses me off!!

 

[doc4UK]

Getting Oweh to return and having him work over the summer on ball handling and three point shooting will be important for next year. Williams, Brea, Carr, and Butler are all complimentary players and are easily replaceable in the portal now that Pope has a track record to recruit on. Next year we will see whether Pope was the right choice.

 

[rolaid]

I get all the things that have been said, but for being such an experience team, we play stupid too often. We lack patience at key times to get good shots - effort should not be coached - we seldom make hustle plays or win a loose ball battle
Our 7’ center did not even contest a layup with 3 minutes left
Oweh takes a bad 3 after killing them on drives
Two of our most lackadaisical players today Butler & Williams half ass a pass twice to initiate the offense
Why does our 5 have to touch it at top of key every trip ?
Just bizarre plays from a Senior led team

 

[doc4UK]

Butler and Williams really looked bad today.

 

[Digger-Cat]

I think the first half lineups were a thing of necessity. Butler playing banged up, no Carr, no Kerr. This game was going to be up and down. The team was already winded the last 5-7 minutes of the game. He knew he needed some time from the bench. Unfortunately, the time he got was not great.

Yeah, I get it, but you can't just sit 3 of your best players at the same time, not even 4 minutes into the game and put Noah, Chandler and Perry out there. Play them one at a time, but not all together

 

[Supafuzz75]

A lot of new scripts are going to be written by therapists tomorrow. We have a lot of unstable people on here.

Not enough psychiatric hospitals in Ky to help some of these loonies lol

 

[Hoskins91]

Barring a single digit win season, this year was a write off. However, I don’t think it’s unfair to have questions about what he is truly capable of here based on what we know and what we have seen.

 

[Kuhldaddy]

UK is not good enough to win a road game against a quality team without Carr and with Butler having his worst ever game.

 

[InAcorner]

Meh, he told on himself early in the season with big wins by playing the right guys and getting his guys to play hard.

But this team has regressed, guys start out games playing lazy, Amari is a mess and still won't even put his hands up on defense to take away simple layups and Popes lineups in the first half today, should earn him a little heat.

He had a weak to prepare, we looked awful and now we're slipping.

You can't beat Duke, Gonzaga, @ MSU, Florida and aTm due to great coaching and player effort, then lose to Ohio State and now Vanderbilt the way they did and say we're good. Nope, he already told on himself, this is a bad loss and definitely not his best coaching performance.

17 turnovers = bad coaching?

 

[Digger-Cat]

17 turnovers = bad coaching?

They had a week to prepare, yeah

 

[shaudyshaud]

The problem with Pope is he got off to a very good start so those low expectations started to rise quickly .

 

[BBNinSC]

This season is about half over. I believe Pope can will win 2 tournament games and get this team to the S16. Buckle up because there will be more crazy wins and crushing losses over the next 2 months.

 

[jwphelps]

Rather than be upset and say he is doing a bad job, I think it's the opposite. We do not have Top 10 talent other than probably Oweh. He cobbled together a team in very short order that has a handful of quality wins. Much better than Cal would have done. We are coming back down to earth, which is understandable. Our frontcourt is extremely exploitable. We lack drive from a number of players. I love Robinson, but he gives off a very casual, almost lazy, vibe. Brea is about the same.

I think we will get a few more great wins, but any hopes of a title run are wishful thinking at best. But we had no right to expect we would have a contender, given the circumstances. Hopefully, next season we will have a more well-rounded team with the right pieces in the right places.

Some are just fair weather fans with no real idea, the others are trolls trying to stir things up