SEC Standings as of Feb 9
- Thread starter Smashcat
- Start date
I want to be completely fair.
I love Pope and wish him the absolute best.
But the fact remains...there was overt interest, from our side, in the coaches of the current #1 and #2 teams in the league.
Due to a combination of factors, we were rebuffed by both. They've had continued success at their chosen institutions that has exceeded ours.
Sure, we can say "it's only year 1!" But Pearl or Oats could've had a stronger team here for year 1, without any doubt. Barnhart, as usual, failed to attract high-end candidates.
I'm not expecting miracles overnight. Pope had a harder road to climb...he came here from BYU, after all.
But Pope HAS to do better than this if he wants to stick around.
I already am forced to accept the complete shit we get as UK football fans...I refuse to accept it as a UK basketball fan.
Mitch, listen up. Do better or you're out.
I love Pope and wish him the absolute best.
But the fact remains...there was overt interest, from our side, in the coaches of the current #1 and #2 teams in the league.
Due to a combination of factors, we were rebuffed by both. They've had continued success at their chosen institutions that has exceeded ours.
Sure, we can say "it's only year 1!" But Pearl or Oats could've had a stronger team here for year 1, without any doubt. Barnhart, as usual, failed to attract high-end candidates.
I'm not expecting miracles overnight. Pope had a harder road to climb...he came here from BYU, after all.
But Pope HAS to do better than this if he wants to stick around.
I already am forced to accept the complete shit we get as UK football fans...I refuse to accept it as a UK basketball fan.
Mitch, listen up. Do better or you're out.
I know injuries happen.
But the number we’ve had this year, AND having BOTH PGs out for a 3 game stretch is an outlier.
Add in the circumstances he took over.
I’m not saying this year he should get a pass; but this year these other things should be considered.
But the number we’ve had this year, AND having BOTH PGs out for a 3 game stretch is an outlier.
Add in the circumstances he took over.
I’m not saying this year he should get a pass; but this year these other things should be considered.
The coaches that are #1 and 2 did not put a brand new team together in 6 months and had no returning starters. And the coaches are also POS. If they had been our coaches i would have hated watching their games. I still wouldve watched but they are really horrible people.
Speak for yourself. I wanted Oats but after the way he handled the murder case I was done with him!!
Well that's your opinion. Don't be a Pope fanatic in a couple of years when he has an experienced core of way talented players though.
Love when someone starts with a false positive disclaimer like “oh gee I luv Pope and support him but” and then the next crap in your post makes it abundantly clear you do not support Pope. Just say you didn’t support the hire instead of wearing a paper mask dude.
I really don't agree with this take. Unless Sears/nelson follows oats. Or Broome/PG (forgot his name). Follows Pearl!
If they take what's available from the portal it would've been worse IMO.
Way off base. There is some truth to the fact that we didn't attract a high profile coach. But that has nothing to do with Mitch and everything to do with the current state of college basketball. Didn't we offer Hurley like $10+ million a year? What more do you reasonably expect an AD to do?
The reason why we didn't land a high profile coach is because in 2024 you don't need to be at a blue blood to have success. It's quite frankly more trouble than it's worth considering the fan expectations and pressure it puts you under. Pearl and Oats are perfectly capable of winning titles where they already are, so why start over in a higher pressure environment? Drew already won a title at Baylor and is beloved there. Oats and Pearl have been to Final Fours. Bennett won a title at Virginia. With NIL and the transfer portal you simply don't need the brand name of a blue blood to be successful. There's a reason Duke, UNC, and UK all have coaches who previously played at said schools. The brand name of a big program is largely only attractive to people who spent time in the program and value it for that reason alone.
In regards to Pope needing to do better: nonsense. He threw together this team in a few weeks with transfer portal pieces. When it was healthy it was a no questions asked top 10 team. With a healthy roster it was a top 10 offensive team and top 30 defensive team. And that was before the team really had a chance to gel. Injuries have taken a huge toll on this team, but guess what? The offense has continued to get better. Without a single PG available to play for multiple games the offense played itself into being the second best offense in the country.
The defensive issues are about 95% caused by the injuries we've suffered lately. Butler returns and we jump like 20 spots in defensive efficiency. Yes, SC isn't the best team, but defensive efficiency stats are adjusted for opponent. So after taking into account that SC isn't great it still jumped a great deal in a single game.
There's no reasonable analysis of this season, taking into account the realities of the injuries we've had, that doesn't conclude that this season has been a greater success than almost anyone had expected.
So you can fire Mitch if Pope doesn’t do well? You must be a powerful person.
Pope easily deserves 3 years to get it together. I am frustrated that his positivity approach, and emphasis on the outside three, may not be turning his group of nice guys into dogs. I want floor divers, back tippers, box outers, stay in front of their man-ers. But he has beaten some of the best teams in America when our shot falls. I'm a tough critic but if the season ended tomorrow, would have to say the glass was more than half full this year. If his third year can't improve on the record from his first and we aren't going past first weekends in the tourney, then it's time to make a move.
Unfortunate the thread gets hijacked for an farrrr Pope post. SAD.
The logjam at 4 and 5 losses shows you we can move up., Interesting that after 5 losses, then theres 7.
win and everything will take care of itself.
The logjam at 4 and 5 losses shows you we can move up., Interesting that after 5 losses, then theres 7.
win and everything will take care of itself.
You want to be completely fair then compare his team that he had to build from scratch in 6 months to the two top teams whose coaches have been building their team at their respective schools for years?
And you think that’s fair?
Oats went 16-15 and pearl 15-20 their first years
The portal had been already open for a bit when Pope came on board. He got what he could in short order. How can you gloss over all those great wins before the injury bug bit us? You don't like CMP. Just say it.
Did they cancel.the remaining games?
I hadn't heard.
this is such bs.. u know nate’s a horrible guy? i know him very well and he is a great person .. such silliness
I think Pope is the guy and I'm very excited about the future of Ky Basketball 🏀. He's done a lot with this roster. We're the least athletic team in the SEC.
Before NIL and portal era. Taking over broken programs.
Should we compare Nick Saban’s first year to Ryan Day as well?
Are you pretending like Ryan Day was left a bare cupboard? Dude was the OC and had dozens and dozens of elite players returning his first season. That lacks any shred of common sense.
False premise. Pope was left a bare cupboard but he also had players lining up to go to Kentucky. Not like he took over Auburn or Alabama.
If ever there was a table that you could look at and see it as :
Half full
or
Half empty
then this would be it.
trust in Pope. Go Big Blue. That is all.
Half full
or
Half empty
then this would be it.
trust in Pope. Go Big Blue. That is all.
You're dead wrong. Our worst fans want to win at any cost. Sadly, they never shut the F up and make us all look like goofs.
NOPE. A disgrace wud be your Dukies losing to the 10th place team in the SEC. LOL !!!!
You fawned over Calipari and said our fans were stupid for doubting him.
What place is he in?
Your clown act never, ever disappoints.
Technically we are tied for 8th. Tiebreakers are irrelevant at this point since all the games haven't been played.
And we are 2 games out of 3rd and have beaten 3 of the teams above us.
Any other year 8-10 would be bad ... this year the league is super tough.
I think you have to give Pope a pass for this year. He had to start from scratch from the get-go. He hit the ground running and managed to build a pretty good team.
Got to give Pope time. Even in the Portal era, it takes time to build a program.
Look at the best programs in the country and most of them have several guys who have been around 3-4 years.
Counting on the Portal and Freshmen every year won’t cut it. You win with guys who come back for multiple years.
Look at the best programs in the country and most of them have several guys who have been around 3-4 years.
Counting on the Portal and Freshmen every year won’t cut it. You win with guys who come back for multiple years.
