Where was UK's Bold New Athletic Director during the Mitchell fiasco?

cornbreadnmilk said:

We really need to hear someone from UK to say something about this whole situation.

Click to expand...

MdWIldcat55 said:

First, I'm not blaming J. Batt for this -- but he seemed to be completely disengaged during this entire process as far as I could tell. It felt like a vintage Mitch Barnhart performance.

* Could an AD have done more either to have figured out this was a wasted effort and focus attention on a more realistic option, or have pushed harder to get this through the SEC and NCAA hurdles?

* Could he have gotten demented UK prez Eli Capilouto to wake up long enough to push back against the unanimous SEC policy pushed by Sankey? Or, if that was inevitable, could he have figured it out in time to not leave Kentucky standing naked in the wind?

From what anyone could see on the surface he was MIA throughout the entire process.

I'd like the guy to show some leadership, tell us why Kentucky pursued Mitchell and how it went wrong, and maybe even take the responsibility onto himself and off Pope. Why have an AD if during a major moment in the prospects of your MOST CRITICAL PROGRAM, you are the invisible man?

Click to expand...

MdWIldcat55 said:

First, I'm not blaming J. Batt for this -- but he seemed to be completely disengaged during this entire process as far as I could tell. It felt like a vintage Mitch Barnhart performance.

* Could an AD have done more either to have figured out this was a wasted effort and focus attention on a more realistic option, or have pushed harder to get this through the SEC and NCAA hurdles?

* Could he have gotten demented UK prez Eli Capilouto to wake up long enough to push back against the unanimous SEC policy pushed by Sankey? Or, if that was inevitable, could he have figured it out in time to not leave Kentucky standing naked in the wind?

From what anyone could see on the surface he was MIA throughout the entire process.

I'd like the guy to show some leadership, tell us why Kentucky pursued Mitchell and how it went wrong, and maybe even take the responsibility onto himself and off Pope. Why even have an AD if during a major moment in the prospects of your MOST CRITICAL PROGRAM, you are the invisible man?

Click to expand...

RobEStacy said:

What's UK brass going to do.... They where at the mercy of judges, SEC and NCAA. Pope took a chance.... SEC played hardball... UK, or Mitchells agent backed down... Pope did what he needed to do.... He got him to commit... The rest was outside his hands..... Could he gone after someone that was not going to be held up by the transfer rule..... Yes... But at the same time.... Every game any of these 2022 players play in... There is a chance those games could be vacated..... Or... The NCAA does not invite you to the tourney because you didn't follow there rules. In a way.... I'm glad he didn't come.

Click to expand...

cornbreadnmilk said:

Let's see of you say the same thing after yet another multiple loss season....

Click to expand...

loublue22_rivals308424 said:

No one knows what he was doing, i believe the situation pre-dated him taking over. But he has a chance now to make it clear this is not acceptable.

Click to expand...

cornbreadnmilk said:

Let's see of you say the same thing after yet another multiple loss season....

Click to expand...

DudahUK said:

Wasn’t Mitchell already enrolled in classes at UK too?

Click to expand...

cornbreadnmilk said:

We really need to hear someone from UK to say something about this whole situation.

Click to expand...

Haggin_Hall_1983 said:

Yes! So lets fail him in all of them, and get him academically ineligible for the spring semester!

Click to expand...

cornbreadnmilk said:

Let's see of you say the same thing after yet another multiple loss season....

Click to expand...

sk73 said:

This must be a joke, right? There is not an athletic director in the SEC that will go head to head with Sankey. Sure, voice an opinion, have your self heard but, to defy something that your own university president signed up for is nonsense. With solid coaching we will have a very good team without Mitchell.

Click to expand...

Laparkafan said:

LSU is

Click to expand...

sk73 said:

This must be a joke, right? There is not an athletic director in the SEC that will go head to head with Sankey. Sure, voice an opinion, have your self heard but, to defy something that your own university president signed up for is nonsense. With solid coaching we will have a very good team without Mitchell.

Click to expand...

NineIsOnTheWay said:

Exactly. It's like wtf happened. He was committed...wake up today and hes back at Missouri..

Did Pope have a clue? Anybody? What the hell is going on. It's almost funny. If I wasn't a UK fan.

But I'm a UK fan and the level of incompetence is crazy. This is a whiff. I don't care what anybody says. You don't spend that kind of effort in a player then this happen.

Did Mitchell use Kentucky for the court stuff or was that all on his own? Did Mark Pope have a clue Mitchell would be a member of Missouri today?

I have so many questions.

Click to expand...

wildcatdon said:

This isnt a whiff. We had him and Sankey made sure he would not play here and give an assist to that ******* Capilouto.

Click to expand...

Son_Of_Saul said:

Solid coaching?

11 years into Pope's career and he's never had a single season where he's won at UK's historic average winning percentage.

The man isn't cut out for this. The buyout will come in 2028 when Oats can be taken for free from Bama and with a limited buyout for Pope. We would owe Pope around $9 million for his last two years if we make the move in 2028.

We're probably stuck with the man for two more years.

Click to expand...

DudahUK said:

Don’t even bring that into the discussion bro.

Click to expand...

wildcatdon said:

This isnt a whiff. We had him and Sankey made sure he would not play here and give an assist to that ******* Capilouto.

Click to expand...

Im The Village Idiot said:

It has to be brought into the discussion. Assuming Pope doesn’t get it done, we can’t rush things and end up hiring someone even worse or barely better. Oats has the relationship with Batt, has the track record in the SEC and has proven chops in the current era. He’s the right guy and it’s best to ensure you land him. It’s very likely Oats is next at Kentucky if Pope isn’t coach in summer of ‘28.

Click to expand...

DudahUK said:

I was talking about having Pope for 2 more years.

Preety sure I called Oats to UK as soon as we hired our AD. The way I’ve been wrong, lord knows who we will get.

Click to expand...

Im The Village Idiot said:

It has to be brought into the discussion. Assuming Pope doesn’t get it done, we can’t rush things and end up hiring someone even worse or barely better. Oats has the relationship with Batt, has the track record in the SEC and has proven chops in the current era. He’s the right guy and it’s best to ensure you land him. It’s very likely Oats is next at Kentucky if Pope isn’t coach in summer of ‘28.

Click to expand...

RobEStacy said:

What's UK brass going to do.... They where at the mercy of judges, SEC and NCAA. Pope took a chance.... SEC played hardball... UK, or Mitchells agent backed down... Pope did what he needed to do.... He got him to commit... The rest was outside his hands..... Could he gone after someone that was not going to be held up by the transfer rule..... Yes... But at the same time.... Every game any of these 2022 players play in... There is a chance those games could be vacated..... Or... The NCAA does not invite you to the tourney because you didn't follow there rules. In a way.... I'm glad he didn't come.

Click to expand...

Im The Village Idiot said:

Yeah but that’s the point. If you want Oats, it will be in two years, not next year. His buyout is astronomical. Drops from $17M to $12M on 03/31/27 and then drops to $0 on 03/31/28.

Click to expand...