The groupthink/herd mentality shift in 24 hours on this hire should be taught in every college sociology class
Stop rationalizing this. This is a terrible hire and Barnhart needs to go
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It'd be an interesting peek at emotional intelligence for sure.
You have a coach who has potential to be really good. He's not going anywhere for a few years minimum. So if you want Kentucky to be successful, there is basically zero value at this point being a contrarian.
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Me expressing my opinion that I didn't think UK should hire a guy who has been to two NCAA tournaments in 10 years has nothing to do with my desire for him to be successful
I'm still not sold it was the best decision but at this point it is what it is. I hope I'm proven wrong
Mitch didn’t seem worried. And until they have their day in court I’m not going to speculate on that other than if the coach was taking advantage of his female athletes I would think Riley Gaines would’ve said something by now.
If it gets proven in court, fair play. But if it really was a rushed hire I don’t think Pope would have the full support of the boosters. We shall see.
Overall it's not that bad of a hire BUT, the way Mitch went about it was bonkers. You HAVE to wait and see what Billy Donovan says to you. Mark Pope was going to be out there for the taking all spring long. There were plenty of bigger fish out there to try ang get. Maybe this was the best hire all along, we'll find out in a few years. I still think Mitch is a lunatic but I'm definitely willing to get behind Mark because Cal was so god awful the last 4.
You have to ask yourself, if you were one of our rivals and you saw that we just hired pope, what would your reaction be? I’m just trying to have perspective and temper expectations. Pope is still the same guy that made everyone gag Thursday night. He has done and said all the right things and the hype machine is real. But you can’t ignore the poor resume.
I’m pleading with the universe to make this work. I’m dying to be proven wrong. But this was risky man. I feel like they have played us like a fiddle with the hype. Please be right.
Go cats.
I’m pleading with the universe to make this work. I’m dying to be proven wrong. But this was risky man. I feel like they have played us like a fiddle with the hype. Please be right.
Go cats.
Couldn't disagree with this more. You can't make decisions based on the reaction of the masses, especially when many of them don't even understand Pope's background.
What an ignorant spin. The WCC has only been a mult-bid conference since 2019. Ever heard of Gonzaga?
Yes and in that league he had at least 11 losses twice in 4 years...
The point of that was to shed light on the fact that we are conditioned as humans to find affinity with things we cling to for happiness. We gravitate to likeminded ideologies. There is power in groupthink y’all. We saw that in full force and it only took a couple days. I just try to step outside the echo chamber for a minute and assess my own opinion.
I keep saying too, everyone deserves the right to change their mind when new evidence is presented.
You’re arguing against yourself. You said previously we should make our coaching decisions based on the perceptions of other programs and now you’re saying you’re above it
It’s all BS to me though. Reality is that Pope is our coach. I think he’s good. But even if you’re skeptical, I see no reason to cast doubt on his abilities if your interest is him succeeding.
That's alright. It will be fun to revisit these takes in a year or two
Many folks here bashed Mr Pope and said some harsh stuff. Can't wait for him to exceed expectations, give us our program back and make a whole bunch of people eat some crow
Oates said no, Wright said no, Hurley said no. You don't wait in Donovan who has backed out on this job b4, he hasn't coached college in a decade and has never done the portal or NIL. Waiting weeks on him and he says no gets you real screwed. Also no time for him to build a roster if he even did come. So I get no waiting on Donovan
So after that who is left?? Lloyd, Smart or Beard. Yeah no thanks, I'll take Pope
This played out exactly like it was supposed to and we just didn't know it...no quit bitching and get behind our coach
Many folks here bashed Mr Pope and said some harsh stuff. Can't wait for him to exceed expectations, give us our program back and make a whole bunch of people eat some crow
Oates said no, Wright said no, Hurley said no. You don't wait in Donovan who has backed out on this job b4, he hasn't coached college in a decade and has never done the portal or NIL. Waiting weeks on him and he says no gets you real screwed. Also no time for him to build a roster if he even did come. So I get no waiting on Donovan
So after that who is left?? Lloyd, Smart or Beard. Yeah no thanks, I'll take Pope
This played out exactly like it was supposed to and we just didn't know it...no quit bitching and get behind our coach
Kentucky has a Kentucky national champion team captain who learned his craft under Pitino-who is a Rhodes Scholar candidate--who spent 3 years in medical school before tossing it aside and choosing to coach college basketball--and some idiot think there's a better candidate out there to coach the premiere college basketball program in the nation. He's known for a fact paced style of play which emphasizes the "3".
If You drew up a resume' for a Kentucky basketball coach it would fit Mark Pope like a glove.
Pope is going to bring old school, muscled up, hard nosed basketball back to the Bluegrass. He'll set a standard that other coaches will study.
Big time division one college basketball has been on the ropes since the "one and done" has hit it. Pope is going to break through that by finding those recruits with potential who are willing to work to put themselves in NBA condition.
Kentucky basketball is no longer going to be composed of skinny High School boys who are looking for a place to camp out while they await their time in the NBA.
Pope isn't going to just "house" NBA prospects. He's going to build them.
It's going to be fun to watch. Get on the bus.
If You drew up a resume' for a Kentucky basketball coach it would fit Mark Pope like a glove.
Pope is going to bring old school, muscled up, hard nosed basketball back to the Bluegrass. He'll set a standard that other coaches will study.
Big time division one college basketball has been on the ropes since the "one and done" has hit it. Pope is going to break through that by finding those recruits with potential who are willing to work to put themselves in NBA condition.
Kentucky basketball is no longer going to be composed of skinny High School boys who are looking for a place to camp out while they await their time in the NBA.
Pope isn't going to just "house" NBA prospects. He's going to build them.
It's going to be fun to watch. Get on the bus.
That's just the thing... Pope isn't a young up and comer. I had to pinch myself a couple of times but Pope is 51! In fact, unless I'm mistaken, he's the OLDEST men's basketball coach we've ever hired. With no Tournament Wins! Maybe his ship will come in at UK..fingers crossed. Very concerning, though.
For all the excitement we have and should have for Coach Pope and the future of UK Basketball under his leadership, we have to remember the task before him, especially for next year, is monumental. Unlike at UNC and DUKE, where the new coach replacing the long-tenured Hall of Fame coach was an assistant and able to retain the highly-ranked recruiting class plus most of the team, Coach Pope is having to create a new roster almost from scratch. That’s one major concern and why I still think it’s fair to criticize Barnhart’s handling of the coaching search. We are in good hands, yet year one has one of our hands tied behind our backs per the roster.
I was initially like WTF. Then I realized that if Hurley and drew were not interested then the next year is full of guys with baggage of one type or another and/or too old to be considered. Then Billy d who already turned us down and had tons of ground to make up in the portal just to field a roster. Given all of that pope started looking good after watching his offense, seeing his team beat Kansas and Baylor, etc. and seeing his enthusiasm/love for the program. I would have thought other would too after years of people loaning about one and done, ne on the back of the jersey, etc. the man literally address all major complaints people on here have about cal.
Just like Indiana, but at least Mark Pope has coached at the college level.
It's hard to really say this without knowing exactly what went on behind the scenes. We know for sure that Hurley and Drew turned down official offers. Jay Wright was a pipe dream. Mitch reached out to Donovan and the combination of lukewarm interest and needing to wait on him made it unrealistic. Oats put out a very public statement and at some point we have to take guys at face value when presented with all of the facts. That plus his AD was unwilling to negotiate down the buyout.
I'm very unconvinced there were any other choices that would have been 100% better options. Pearl is a stopgap and has been in talks to have his son, who is currently associate head coach, take over at Auburn. I highly doubt he'd leave. Then we get to guys like Lloyd and Otzelberger who have a very limited sample size. Flashy for a few years but nothing other than that.
I think given the information we have about who wasn't interested Pope wasn't any worse of a choice as anyone else would have been. Especially given his love for the program.
This isn’t a bad hire until he proves it to be by failing like BCG. UNC hired assistant Davis and we all thought it was a joke and he went to the title game already. But the dumb thing was not waiting a week on Donovan …
What you want everyone to do? If we are negative then it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Getting behind him and coming together is our ONLY chance.
We all mocked UNC AND Duke and so far it’s working out for them.
Dan Hurley only had 2 NCAA appearances in his first 12 years of coaching. Both ended in a first round loss.
Coach K had zero NCAA appearances, and only one NIT bid in 5 years of coaching, when Duke hired him.
Jay Wright had 2 NCAA appearances in 7 years at Hofstra, when Villanova hired him. Both ended in losses the first game of the tourny.
Good for you, Lou ! I can't say that I "wanted Pope from the beginning", but he did occur to me as a good possibility from the beginning ... and I'm totally satisfied with Coach Pope l
I, too, think a lot of folks on this thread will be eating crow next season. And I have to say, three or four of them surprised me. But, hey ... not nearly the first time I've been surprised !
Go 'Cats !
Why give it time? You signed ur check with ur silly comments. Snuggle up to them now.
I actually think this hire has no chance go y route. It will be tremendous or a flop.
Unlike the Tubby and Cal eras the hope is you build towards something.
It won’t take more than a few years to know one way or the other. The problem Mitch has is that Pope is a Ky boy. A legend. You can’t move off him as quickly as Billy G if it’s not working. Mitch won’t fire Pope while he’s the AD. So we better hope it’s tremendous.
Unlike the Tubby and Cal eras the hope is you build towards something.
It won’t take more than a few years to know one way or the other. The problem Mitch has is that Pope is a Ky boy. A legend. You can’t move off him as quickly as Billy G if it’s not working. Mitch won’t fire Pope while he’s the AD. So we better hope it’s tremendous.
These are some of the same folks that were for years brainwashed by Calipari and finally only broke loose after losing to the likes of St Peters and Oakland. This herd mentality with Pope now is not surprising at all.
Whose being toxic in this thread?
I don’t give a shit about what most people think. It’s not relevant and it’s something you’re telling yourself to justify how special your thoughts are. You aren’t special.
Do you want UK to win? If yes proceed.
Is Pope our coach? If yes proceed
Does advocating Pope is an inept coach who can’t succeed help UK or Pope succeed? If no, stfu
Notice I didn’t mention once anything about “sheep”.
What are we supposed to do? Whine about it like children even though that won’t prevent the hire from being made. Contract is signed.
You didn’t get your way. Are you going to complain about it eternally or maybe take a wait and see approach like the rest of us?
It’s impossible to guarantee Pope’s success or failure right now.
If you are such a Big Kentucky Basketball Fan how is it you never found this board, the major one for people who are fans of the Wildcats, until 3:03 pm today? Maybe you just reached the age your parents would let you go online.
We'll find out how it works out in a couple of years...yes, a couple of years.
I'm not expecting a title run next year so I'll wait and see how CMP does...hell, I have ZERO control over any of it anyway, just like everyone else on here. Oh, and how many times have people yapped about a title run over the last several years only to be disappointed by Cals coaching skills? Lets see what happens before building gallows.
Thankfully His Highness is now calling sue piggy in Arky which is fine with me.
I'm not expecting a title run next year so I'll wait and see how CMP does...hell, I have ZERO control over any of it anyway, just like everyone else on here. Oh, and how many times have people yapped about a title run over the last several years only to be disappointed by Cals coaching skills? Lets see what happens before building gallows.
Thankfully His Highness is now calling sue piggy in Arky which is fine with me.
You spelled “posses” wrong new guy. Maybe you overlooked it while you were looking down your nose at my fan base calling us sheep and toxic. 🤷♂️
Ok last post. I still don’t believe you’re a Kentucky fan. In fact, I’d bet you aren’t. But, my friend, if you are, you need to go outside and get some air. Like 5% of the above post actually makes sense.
When you find one post from me anywhere making up rumors, trashing facilities or NIL, you are permitted to respond.
This is that clown from last week, won’t be here long.
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