Is POPE to nice

[deep3]

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, he is genuinely A VERY nice guy.
We all know you play sports you have to have some real toughness.
He, imo might be too nice and that is what we are witnessing with this team zero toughness, especially on D.

Hope I am wrong

 

[TTTblue24]

Snapping a dry erase board on occasion isn’t a bad thing lol, sometimes you gotta have a little fear of the coach and it will help you find some fire and intensity lol.

 

[IowaMuse]

He’s definitely way too Christian.

 

[Basscat1987]

I said this earlier and I’ll say it again. I bet you none of our coaches have EVER raised their voice in a mean way towards any of these players. That’s why they’re so soft. Not being held accountable. Give me the old John Calipari back. I was glad when he left but man his first 10 years he held his players to such a high standard and it was so beneficial to success

 

[deep3]

He’s definitely way too Christian.

I am a very much GOD driven man period, so I have zero problem with that but you need a little red ass mfer in you also and other than Krissa I do not see one guy like that.

 

[ABLCommenter]

He’s definitely way too Christian.

*LDS. Dabo Swinney is a Christian and look at what he says.

 

[bbncal02]

I said this earlier and I’ll say it again. I bet you none of our coaches have EVER raised their voice in a mean way towards any of these players. That’s why they’re so soft. Not being held accountable. Give me the old John Calipari back. I was glad when he left but man his first 10 years he held his players to such a high standard and it was so beneficial to success

Tubby. Man, before the sport changed? That dude was a nice man, but tough as hell on his players. The ol Tubby stare meant you were in trouble.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I think this is the question on everyone's mind. It's really the last piece. He has to be tough on the players and the refs. Being a nice guy isn't going to work for the UK head coach.

Im hoping this is just him in his 1st year, just learning the ropes, settling in. I'm also sure that he's going to start hearing these things and if he's a coach that can adapt, he can maybe start to impose his will on the team.

You know, when you're a BYU coach you're not exactly able to just bully your way to building teams. He had to recruit straight edge guys, which isn't easy. I think he has time to build that edge that's needed for a coach.

 

[deep3]

I am a very much GOD driven man period, so I have zero problem with that but you need a little red ass mfer in you also and other than Krissa I do not see one guy like that.

Oates sat Sears we need to see shit like that the problem is who is he bringing in.

 

[bbncal02]

I am a very much GOD driven man period, so I have zero problem with that but you need a little red ass mfer in you also and other than Krissa I do not see one guy like that.

I agree. There's a balance to be struck. Heck, you can even not curse. But you can still but the fear into a player. Just about toughness and expectations. This is where I'm most disappointed with Pope.

 

[WildcatUKx]

IMO Pope is way too nice, and if it doesn't change I worry he won't be successful here.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

Has nothing to do with it.

You can be a disciplinarian without being demonstrative.

Roy Williams and Dean Smith didn’t even curse.

Denny Crum didn’t act up on the sidelines. Wooten either.

Larry Bird didn’t as a coach. And Bird was probably the strictest of them all.

Cal was always too agitated on the sidelines. For my taste anyway.

Pope is not demanding enough period. Doesn’t matter if he’s loud about it or quiet about it.

He’s not holding guys accountable.

 

[Digger-Cat]

Players are an extension of their coach. Pope's personality is not what you want your players to be when the opponents all want to rip your face off.
I've been saying it for a long time, he's way too nice. I have no idea how his personality is going to drive players to play with an edge.
He's got a great offensive mind though and I bet he'll do whatever it takes to win, so if he feels he needs to hire a defensive minded coach to help, then he'll do it.

 

[jace2012]

Yep

 

[shaudyshaud]

Most of the board claimed Cal was too mean and his yelling caused guys to lose confidence and made the refs hate the team .

Now Pope is too nice to a lot of the board

 

[deep3]

Most of the board claimed Cal was too mean and his yelling caused guys to lose confidence and the refs took hate the team .

Now Pope is too nice to a lot of the board

You are correct but there is a mix imo

 

[shaudyshaud]

You are correct but there is a mix imo

I didn’t have a problem with the yelling because I felt like most coaches are probably like that at least at practice.

I’m not sure if that is the case with Pope though .

 

[thebluestripes]

We need a stormin mormon to be successful in the sec.

 

[sambowieshin]

Pope better pray for some motivational rage.

 

[FitchandMurray29]

Pope’s “niceness” has nothing to do with the defensive performance of this team. It also will never change.

Honestly it’s a narrative that’s starting to frustrate me.

Kentucky has the 111th KenPom defensive efficiency. YUCK. I checked the rankings and saw a team ranked 116th in defense. That Danny Hurley guy is too nice. No question about it. I’m sure UConn message boards are flooded with messages of his niceness this year.

 

[true blue1]

I said this earlier and I’ll say it again. I bet you none of our coaches have EVER raised their voice in a mean way towards any of these players. That’s why they’re so soft. Not being held accountable. Give me the old John Calipari back. I was glad when he left but man his first 10 years he held his players to such a high standard and it was so beneficial to success

Do you understand being competitive? You either have it or you don’t.

 

[TTTblue24]

You don’t have to act like a moron on the sidelines to be intense but it is ok to get mad and upset on occasion in time outs etc. Pearl is intense and gets in his guys and he doesn’t clown around on the bench and can’t say life seen auburn come out flat either.

 

[true blue1]

You don’t have to act like a moron on the sidelines to be intense but it is ok to get mad and upset on occasion in time outs etc. Pearl is intense and gets in his guys and he doesn’t clown around on the bench and can’t say life seen auburn come out flat either.

I do think Pearl could have done well here and could have succeeded but for some reason he wasn’t chosen to be the coach here at UK.

 

[bbncal02]

I do think Pearl could have done well here and could have succeeded but for some reason he wasn’t chosen to be the coach here at UK.

Mitch doesn't like him and thinks he's sleezy. Not gonna lie, I think he's a bit sleezy too. But so was Pitino.

I dunno man. Someone just needs to combine Tubby and Rick and we'd have the perfect coach for here.

 

[G-PIP]

You don’t have to act like a moron on the sidelines to be intense but it is ok to get mad and upset on occasion in time outs etc. Pearl is intense and gets in his guys and he doesn’t clown around on the bench and can’t say life seen auburn come out flat either.

Interesting example. Pearl is a cheerleader. Maybe an intense cheerleader, but a cheerleader rather than a disciplinarian like Knight, Pitino, or Beard. But hard to argue it doesn't work for him. Pope's demeanor seems closer to Pearl than a disciplinarian, so maybe he can just turn up the intensity and cheerlead more? Joking - I don't know that demeanor has anything to do with it. All I know is we need a defensive scheme that works.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

Hey, I am a jerk. Can I be in charge?

Pope's demeanor after the games has taken a turn. Losing affects him

 

[TrustinCal]

Nah it’s the players.

 

[SkyPrince1]

I'm sorry no coach can fix Robinson and Brea.
They are who they are.
Players taking on the personality of the coach is just a BS generalization.
If you want toughness, competitive spirit, you have to recruit it.

 

[aikenite4uk]

I wonder how all these posters know what Pope's like during practice, halftime, time outs? Maybe they enjoy deep access to the program that I don't possess. I do see him sitting players who aren't performing. I would like to see him take on the refs more assertively.

 

[TTTblue24]

Interesting example. Pearl is a cheerleader. Maybe an intense cheerleader, but a cheerleader rather than a disciplinarian like Knight, Pitino, or Beard. But hard to argue it doesn't work for him. Pope's demeanor seems closer to Pearl than a disciplinarian, so maybe he can just turn up the intensity and cheerlead more? Joking - I don't know that demeanor has anything to do with it. All I know is we need a defensive scheme that works.

Well, we come out flat most road games so whatever is going on pregame……ain’t working so if he needs to “cheerlead” as you want to call it then so be it. I don’t think Pearl is a cheerleader at all and in fact is more disciplinarian, I do think beard is one of the best coaches in the game and said his name for here during his Texas time. I don’t see elite of elite talent on ole Miss or 5 star recruits lining his bench either but they get after you on D, I know we don’t have that athleticism but you can still be a good defensive team without elite athletes. But we could care less about stopping other teams and the intensity definitely wasn’t there to start the game.

 

[RexShepcat]

We played horrible the first half but my biggest concern was Popes after game presser. He sounded like he was totally lost and didn’t have an answer.

 

[twwilliams9]

Pope has 4 daughters. Raising females, as many parents will attest, often requires a softer, more nuanced approach than raising boys. This experience undoubtedly influences how he interacts with his players.

 

[Bluesbrother]

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, he is genuinely A VERY nice guy.
We all know you play sports you have to have some real toughness.
He, imo might be too nice and that is what we are witnessing with this team zero toughness, especially on D.

Hope I am wrong

I will admit to having the same thought ... does he have the chops to push players to a championship level? Obviously, too early to tell.

 

[Smashcat]

Pope's demeanor after the games has taken a turn. Losing affects him

Noticeably. It has certainly knocked him for a loop emotionally.

 

[Kybluedude]

I will admit to having the same thought ... does he have the chops to push players to a championship level? Obviously, too early to tell.

Got to have a bench to sub in to be tough on players. The bench has to be a motivator we don’t have enough on the bench to pull guys.

I think Pope is learning about coaching at UK as well.

The injuries, combined with a thin bench, have put us in a hole.