I am watching this game. It is remarkable how both teams look like they know what to do and do it well. I don't think either of these teams has a significant tallent advantage over UK. On the other hand UK looks clueless. Last year, win or loose UK looked like it knew what to do. This leads me to believe that the rumors of turmoil in the locker room are true. So, the big question is can Pope resolve this.
Bama vs Ill
- Thread starter Cat_Man_Blue
- Start date
Bama has some studs. Philon can take over a game and go get you a bucket.
UK has no go to guy when the team is slumping. No, Lowe is not that guy either and cannot defend. Roster construction was bad.
Oats and his team are wasted on that fan base 
Oats and his team are wasted on that fan base
It’s like watching Calipari and Memphis in 2008. It feels wrong. Like he was made for this job.
Both Illinois & Alabama have players that Kentucky wanted & most played great tonight.
Time to examine why Players are going elsewhere.? In watching Michigan , U Conn. & Arizona tonight & Duke ,Michigan St & Kansas last night there is definitely something missing in Kentucky team dynamics.
Time to examine why Players are going elsewhere.? In watching Michigan , U Conn. & Arizona tonight & Duke ,Michigan St & Kansas last night there is definitely something missing in Kentucky team dynamics.
I hate to say it, but Cal was not wrong when he said this place is not for everybody. There are a lof ot players who simply do not want the pressure cooker that is Ky and I know fans don't want to hear that, but its the truth. Just take 5 minutes to look at the headlines on this board. Kids/coaches are getting absolutely roasted 3-4 games into a season. I am sure athletes and or family memebers of athletes browse these sties from time to time especially if they are looking at a school.
Maybe, but last years team, despite being limited and not great, was beloved because they were guys that felt like they truly gave it everything they had. Pope is a super nice guy who tells all his players that they're beautiful human beings and the greatest thing since sliced bread. The mood around the fan base has been overwhelmingly positive until now. Despite all those good vibes, it hasn't translated to much high school recruiting success outside of the state, and our best portal get was taking a flyer on a guy rehabbing a serious injury. And now we're getting our teeth kicked in on the court.
In fact, these same parents that might get triggered by what a random nobody on a fan forum like myself has to say don't seem to have the slightest bit of concern about sending their kids to play for a win at all costs, "I promise you I will break your kneecaps if you don't win this game for me", in your face psycho like Hurley, Oats, Pitino, Buzzkill Williams, among others (even Izzo who I think is a much nicer guy than the ones I just mentioned is a more intense and scary taskmaster than Pope), which would be far more concerning to me if I were the parent of a super delicate child.
There is probably a lot of truth in what you are saying. Honesty requires recognizing that ...
Last year's team is not typical and will be difficult to reproduce. The oldest team in college basketball, maybe in history, with four (4) 1,000-point scorers, most combined starts in the country ... all because of the fifth-year season and the portal. Yes, they were a great group, no question. But, they were not high-profile freshmen with eyes on the NBA. They were mature veterans, with tempered pro aspirations. We were very fortunate to be in the position to bring them all in. They bought into the KY tradition and the fans bought into them. It was special, but may not be able to be duplicated ... especially if we are hunting down high-profile, one-and-done, high school freshmen.
Philon reminds me a bit of Dillingham with how quick, shifty and his ability to hit shots anywhere.
It really, really makes me sad when I think about what he would do here and then reality hits me that we’ve spent the last 5-8 years with a bumbling idiot as coach who couldn’t coach his way out of a wet paper bag and now a guy who seems way in over his head.Oats and his team are wasted on that fan base
Yep ... the high-level winning formula is very difficult, to say the least, and is harder now because of the portal. More parity in that more teams are talented enough to beat the "top programs" now. Before the season last year, how many people thought Florida would win it all ??
Funny that kids didn’t mind that pressure from 2009-2017. It all comes down to relationships with coaches and having coaches that players like and want to play for. We have as much or more money to give than anyone. Problem is kids don’t seem to like or want to play for Hart/Brooks.
As for the roasting, players are going to get roasted for playing bad at any school that has any decent sized fanbase. Plus they’re making 7 figures now so I have absolutely zero sympathy for them. That was always the excuse people made for the players as to way we shouldn’t rip them. That they were just poor little kids playing and weren’t getting anything from this. They can’t hide behind that shield anymore.
I read your post and can't say I truly disagree with you but can you tell me if this is true what you say, then why does Ohio St, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, do what they do in football and their fan bases in this sport is as rabid as we are in basketball.
Everything you stated is so very true and the team was so much fun to watch and cheer for, but it truly was not a true KY talent level team and we got our teeth kicked in, in the sweet sixteen by a so so team that we had dominated twice early in the season. This is a coaching & recruiting issue that must improve for us to get where we are proud to be a Wildcat again. It is not asking too much from a fanbase to just be competitive. Against the last two teams, we have not been remotely competitive. You know it, I know it, and our entire fanbase knows it.
LoL 2009-2017 were kicking *** and making final 4's of course no one was going to roast them. Winning cures everything look at when we had a down turn even with Cal the top tier recruits dried up for the most part.
Revisionist history at its best
Last years team had the following awful losses:
Ohio St by 20
Arkansas at home by 10
@ Vandy by 4
@ Ole Miss by 14
@ Alabama by 13
@ Auburn by 16
Alabama by 29
Tennessee by 13
This was not a "great group" by any historical UK measure. They had some great wins, don't get me wrong...but they were horribly inconsistent, especically when playing on the road.
I think the initial reaction to the Pope hire was accurate. It was a another terrible decision by the worst AD in the history of UK. We all got suckered into the propoganda in the spirit of "well, what is done is done. We may as well support one of our own and see where it goes"
I think we are now all seeing where it has gone.
KSR said all last year that people had been telling them that players around the country couldn’t wait to play in Popes offense after seeing it. Umm yeah… we see how that worked out in recruiting this current team.
Bama intruder here, all I have to say is, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAOats and his team are wasted on that fan base
Your dumbass is being reported. Laugh now, but I'll be laughing right back when Kentucky's back on top and Alabama falls off to irrelevance.
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I went HAHAHA when Oklahoma beat Alabama in football.
It's not a Kentucky basketball thing. It's a society thing. The headlines on your board are no different than headlines on 25+ other boards after a loss. We all have idiots in our fanbases.
Oats would win a title or two here. He should have been hired a year ago. If Mitch is smart (he is not), he'll let Pope finish this is out, settle a reduced buyout, letting Pope walk away with diginity, and fan support, with maybe an ambassador to the program role. And hire Oats. Offer him 10 years 100m like we did Hurley.The guy would kill it here. And wouldn't be in the shadow of the greatest football program in history. Guy has a final four, 2 elite 8s, and 4-5 SEC championships in 5-6 years. Recruits extremely well too. At Alabama. Great offense, dude is tough as nails, hungry, wants to win. No title. No brainer. Dude is gonna get hired by UNC and its gonna make me sick.
Well if y'all have to fire another coach and poach Oats feel free to come back here and laugh at me, just seems like if he wanted to be Kentucky's coach he would've already been there.
Was never offered. Our AD is a choir boy. He went after, Drew, his boy who he courted. Wife said no. He then offered Hurley 10 years 100m. He said no. Then panic hired Pope. The board wouldn't let him call Pearl, Beard, etc. Due to past NCAA/legal issues.
"The job was never offered in the first place. I don't want people to think I turned it down, that wasn't the case. I took my name out of consideration before it ever got to that point," Oats told Davis.
Nate Oats "Thought About" Kentucky Job | https://tide1009.com/nate-oats-thought-about-kentucky-job/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral"
"I wouldn't mind having that pressure, to be honest with you. I just think there's part of me that would actually enjoy that to a point because I put a lot of pressure on myself, anyways." Guy would kill it at UK.
Read More: Nate Oats "Thought About" Kentucky Job | https://tide1009.com/nate-oats-thought-about-kentucky-job/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
Not disputing that the job wasn't formerly offered, but I mean common do you really think if Oats had shown even a semblance of interest that UK would've just balked at that?
I can't tell you how many times my good UK buddy was telling me how much of a perfect fit he'd be for what UK fans want, which may be true but I think at this point if he's leaving Bama it'll be for the NBA not another college, he's had opportunities.
You don't know Mitch Barnhart. He didnt' even hire Calipari, Mike Pratt/boosters did. He wont even contact a guy who has a speeding ticket.
All I know about Mitch Barnhart was that him and Calipari did not get along well, particularly the last 4-5 seasons.
But you're saying Barnhart and the boosters would not have considered Oats? That whole Brandon Miller thing got blown way out of proportion IMO, the pro Auburn media in Alabama did not help with that. He did make that dumbass comment though right after it happened but I don't think Oats was morally responsible for that, maybe clerically just for bringing Darius Miles (the actual gunman) on the team in the first place.
I guess if that's true though it would make sense the guy they went and got is a former player and Mormon lol.
Boosters would. Barnhart and the board would not. Calipari did something similar with Tyreke Evans. Evans drove his cousin to kill someone. Calipari still recruited him.
Very interesting, not that I've ever thought UK was anything close to some irredeemably immoral program, but I figured your school board would be more on the side of win at all costs as opposed to "we only hire a certain type of man here".
At least if that's the case they actually did it, and then there's Auburn who has this "holier than thou" attitude and hires Hugh Sleeze and now maybe Murdurin' Durkin.
Here's a question, for y'all is it weird that the SEC is now this powerful basketball conference when it used to be Kentucky, maybe Florida, and then a bunch of cannon fodder?
Interesting that Kentucky could've maybe been that in football too, but Bear Byrant left for A&M because he thought Rupp was building UK into a basketball school instead of one that could compete in both sports, and then of course helped build Bama into what it is today for football.
Our old AD CM Newton was. He neglected football for basketball (former player). Part of why we suck so bad in football. And not really. The SEC put tons of money into their basketball programs in 2016. I think seeing UK go 18-0 was the wakeup call. And just how pathetic the "best college sports conference" was in men's basketball. Greg Sankey helped. The SEC pumped tons of football money into the basketball programs. Attracted good coaches needing jobs. The SEC is here to stay and I love it. Not fun beating up on everyone and playing only a tursnsile of Alabama, UT, Florida for the title every season.
Barnhart sucks. His hires were Drew and Pope. Two religious guys like him.
And interestingly enough CM Newton was Alabama's basketball coach prior to being UK's AD, we had some good years with him and Wimp but nothing as consistent or high level like what Oats has done.
The conference opener for us is UK @ Bama 1st week of January, I'm trying to convince my UK buddy to go, we were at the 1st game in Rupp last season which was awesome. I may have been talking sh*t earlier but one thing I could never do that on is Rupp vs Coleman or Coleman vs most arenas for that matter. Our arena is so sh*tty in comparison to a lot of the SEC and we know it.