What's your biggest concern with Pope moving forward?

[Hoskins91]

I don't really have any. He's already done way better than I expected or hoped for. I know it's been talked about ad nauseum, but it's true. He had almost no time to put together an entire staff and team, with no top HS talent, and none of the top guys in the portal except maybe Brea, who has proven to be not much more than a streaky shooter.

And on top of that, we lose out backup PG early in the season, our starting PG midway thru the season and a starting forward who is in and out of the lineup due to nagging injury. And despite all of that, we have a handful of very good wins, including one over one of the favorites to win it all. There is not a coach in the country that could be doing much better with those circumstances.

You were doing okay until you said nobody could have done better. We’ve had coaches here who have been in similar situations do better.

 

[Hoskins91]

Recruiting and getting guys to play hard consistently.

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

My biggest concern is he will struggle dealing with the brain dead IDIOT faction of our fan base.

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

You were doing okay until you said nobody could have done better. We’ve had coaches here who have been in similar situations do better.

No we haven't. In point of fact he broke Rupps record for top 10 wins in a season so you are wrong.

 

[megablue]

Mark Pope's biggest strength might also be his biggest weakness

Mark Pope, the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, is renowned for his deep appreciation of analytics in basketball. During his tenure at BYU, he emphasized th

wildcatbluenation.com

 

[The_Answer1313]

Mark Pope's biggest strength might also be his biggest weakness

Mark Pope, the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, is renowned for his deep appreciation of analytics in basketball. During his tenure at BYU, he emphasized th

wildcatbluenation.com

No I don't agree with this.

We lost moreso because we are hammered with injuries. Has nothing to do with using or not using analtyics lol

 

[Estil]

Guys still leaving after only one year...I mean that was my top grievance with Cal after all...though at least His Holiness isn't all about "get guys in the NBA above all else"...right?

 

[megablue]

Guys still leaving after only one year...I mean that was my top grievance with Cal after all...though at least His Holiness isn't all about "get guys in the NBA above all else"...right?

Do you think Oweh, Garrison, Chandler, Perry and Noah all return ??

 

[NociHTTP]

Can he get a team full of D1 talent. Bruce Pearl does it at Auburn, a team full of athletes that can also play the game. Surely we can do it at UK.

Bruce also gets up in their grill and does it in such a way that they WANT to give 100%.

 

[NociHTTP]

That fall at UT probably cost us Saturday.

I'm shocked that something wasn't broken. Couldn't believe he got up that quick, he had to be loaded with adrenaline.

 

[MakinMusic]

Defense and can he get the guys we really need from the portal and high school each year. A good balance.

 

[katkraze]

Needs some top tier talent - fans need to kick in millions more to buy the best

 

[Zuma75]

I think Pope is too nice and that could end up being a bad thing. Not having an intense coach can be bad for a team especially in the SEC. I think it shows this year because the team plays soft.

I’m not buying the “too nice” thing- Scott Drew, Tony Bennett, Jay Wright … plenty of guys with rings who don’t behave like Dan Hurley.

 

[white10]

Popes biggest problem is Kentucky FANS!!

Their toxic and never happy with any coach long.

Their like raccoons on crack after every loss!

Go Cats!!

 

[Terrapin_Station]

My concerns:

1. Not sure he can recruit at the level necessary to win championships.

2. He doesn’t have any tournament success to speak of.

3. His style is heavily reliant upon outside shooting, but when the shots don’t fall - does he have the defense (or defensive players) to make up for that?

4. He’s quite proud of his religious beliefs. But Mormons and Christians are not the same thing. And secular people laugh at Mormons. I think there’s a potential to lose recruits from both Christian backgrounds and secular ones on account of the Mormon beliefs. Obviously, there’s nothing he can do about that.

 

[yes_takeaside]

Lunatic fringe? Losing to your former coach and a shit team has nothing to do with the lunatic fringe

Good job at proving his point. Kudos

 

[yes_takeaside]

He's gotta be a little tougher. Getting on his players will help them correct mistakes, play defense, and set the tone for how things are done. Hes shown to be a little too nice.

This is problematic because it's something you can't really change. That's who you are as a person. So I'm really hoping we just haven't seen it yet or it's something that we haven't seen because this is his first year.

Fourth and fifth year seniors are not going to be improved by the toughness of the coach. It takes some time to learn which players need coddling and which need a kick in the ass. This season is what it is. JR is the only one thriving a bit under CMP and that may be because he he played for coach at BYU

The fan base is starved for success and many are just flat unrealistic perhaps fueled a bit by early wins over Duke and Gonzaga

Calipari is gone and the season is already a smashing success.

Don't you just love the hubris of some of the clowns on here saying things like "I'll give him x years blah, blah, blah"