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Rick Pitino with a message for BBN

Nice message and perspective. He did push for Ford and Pelphrey for previous openings though.
True, but this one is different in sense that Rick's not trying to sell the national media-they are already on board. Think it's the cool thing--they are all telling UK fans "Give this guy a chance he can coach" and it's not the other way around-where Pitino is trying to tell the media why this is a good hire.
 
I don't think Rick has voluntarily said many positive things publicly about UK in recent years. I think him feeling the need to make a public statement like this affirming the decision and showing support for a guy he cares about speak volumes about how awful the fan response was last night toward Pope. A lot of people should be embarrassed with how they've been acting.

That said, I think Rick is 100% right here and I'm excited for Pope next year. I don't think this is just a normal "program guy" type of hire like what happened at Michigan or Indiana. Pope really gets it, and he's intelligent enough to figure out whatever he's gotta figure out to be successful here.

Like Rick said, a Rhodes scholar candidate and Columbia med school student. He's got a good head on his shoulders.
 
Nicely done Mr Pitino. Pope might be able to heal some old wounds in a lot of ways. You can tell Pitino is truly glad for Mark Pope to get this opportunity.

I do think the players from Pitino and Tubby will be around a lot more and more supportive.
 
If Mark can get the recruiting aspect right, he will do fine here. I’m not talking about actual stars by the kids names, I mean finding the kids that fit his style of play skill wise. For his system to work with that kind of spacing, he needs elite shooters and skill guys for it to work. Big men that can shoot will flourish in this system. Big Z would be crazy to leave. This offensive system, he would be a star.
 
That is quite possibly the happiest and proudest I've seen Rick Pitino since he left Kentucky back in 1997. And what an inspiring message!

Hell, I guess I am now fully onboard too. Let's do this! Succeed or fail, we now have a coach that represents what we hold dear, not some sleazy, snake oil salesman promoting his "brand" over the things that actually matter.

Mark Pope has a system that will allow him to take a group of unheralded players like "The Unforgettables" and kick John Calipari's ass and his roster full of "draft picks".
 
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I spent about 2 hours last night in a deep comparison between Danny Hurley, Who every Kentucky fan was about write a personal check to get, And mark pope. I realized it took Danny Hurley 12 years before he found any success. Year 13 and 14 were back to back titles which is impressive but before that it was NIT and first weekend exits. His first 4 years at UConn were abysmal. In fact pope is on a faster trajectory and imo is a better offensive mind than Hurley although I think Hurley has a better defensive acumen. I don’t see any reason why pope won’t have the same type of success at Kentucky given the time. So I started looking at this more as an investment. It could be a rough couple of seasons but he’s gonna have the tools and the passion to get the program there. The more exited we are as fans to support this dude the more players are gonna wanna play for him. That’s coming from someone who’s been super negative about this entire process.
 
What a nice and inspiring message from Coach Pitino... I attended UK during the Unforgettables, graduating in 94. We loved those Pitino teams and Pitino. Many of us were heartbroken when he left and then he goes to Louisville... Traitor Rick... But that was a great message and it will resonate with many like it did with me.
 
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