Barnhart comments and praise for Pope

bluedog79

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Mar 4, 2008
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Which is exactly what Cow would do.
Cow-ardness would miss on top targets and take whatever he could get as long as they were high ranked.
Didn't matter if they could play defense, didn't matter if they could shoot, and it didn't matter if they fit together.... No they just needed to be in the top 50 and he would take them. Top 15 was a starter no matter what.
 
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rick64

Heisman
Jan 25, 2007
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Which is exactly what Cow would do.
Cow-ardness would miss on top targets and take whatever he could get as long as they were high ranked.
Didn't matter if they could play defense, didn't matter if they could shoot, and it didn't matter if they fit together.... No they just needed to be in the top 50 and he would take them.
NBA Draft > UK wins
 

EliteBlue

Heisman
Mar 27, 2009
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NBA Draft > UK wins
Yep. When Cal came up short in 14 and 15…and 17 to an extent; he realized he missed his opportunity to Pass K, Rupp, and Wooden and he would never be the GOAT college coach or even the GOAT UK coach….. that’s when he went ALLLLL in on his legacy being purely tied to how many NBA players “he produced” and “I want the whole all star game to be Calipari guys”

It’s always been about Cal’s Ego. He once thought he could go down in the college basketball GOAT convo and that is what drove him to win in college. After reality hit that ship had sailed, then his ego was only fed by being an NBA factory and we stopped trying to build a cohesive team and he stopped coaching any real adjustments or strategy beyond “get better at 1v1 skills and showcase your individual ability”
 

jeffky

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Which is exactly what Cow would do.
Cow-ardness would miss on top targets and take whatever he could get as long as they were high ranked.
Didn't matter if they could play defense, didn't matter if they could shoot, and it didn't matter if they fit together.... No they just needed to be in the top 50 and he would take them.
Green room express
 

LmdCat

Heisman
Jan 8, 2006
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This guy needs to go too our football program is gut wrenching to watch and cal saved his *** by breaking his contract last year or he would still be here no fan here of barnhart
You don't have to be a fan of someone in order for their statement to be correct. The same ones killing Barnhart for giving Cal the contract are the ones who would have been angry at him if Cal left because of not getting the contract.
 

TCurtis75_rivals88839

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You don't have to be a fan of someone in order for their statement to be correct. The same ones killing Barnhart for giving Cal the contract are the ones who would have been angry at him if Cal left because of not getting the contract.
Not to mention Mitch is the athletics director who is responsible for the entire department. Top to bottom, that department is the best it has ever been. Stoops is the most successful coach the football program has ever had with results most fans never thought possible. It’s easy to look back and question Cal’s contract now but at the time (using the information at that time) that contract was also the right decision. No one would have ever imagined Cal would lose it like he did. Hindsight is great but you have to remember what was actually going on when decisions get made.
 

jeffky

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Not to mention Mitch is the athletics director who is responsible for the entire department. Top to bottom, that department is the best it has ever been. Stoops is the most successful coach the football program has ever had with results most fans never thought possible. It’s easy to look back and question Cal’s contract now but at the time (using the information at that time) that contract was also the right decision. No one would have ever imagined Cal would lose it like he did. Hindsight is great but you have to remember what was actually going on when decisions get made.
Dummy Feeling Dumb GIF
 
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I really don’t think recruiting or evaluating talent was Cal’s problem. Sure, there were some misses, but apparently everyone who scouts missed on those same players. (I.E. guys like Bradshaw & BJ Boston being rated so high).

My main problem with Cal was his lack of game plan or player development. Lazy.
 
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jeffky

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That’s the way I looked at your post for sure. Such a well thought out response. No wonder you posted what you posted. Makes total sense now.
No offense you startled me that you're still praising cal and barnhart for that diabolical contract he got unbelievable you're justifying it but that's your opinion but I disagree wholeheartedly
 

LmdCat

Heisman
Jan 8, 2006
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I really don’t think recruiting or evaluating talent was Cal’s problem. Sure, there were some misses, but apparently everyone who scouts missed on those same players. (I.E. guys like Bradshaw & BJ Boston being rated so high).

My main problem with Cal was his lack of game plan or player development. Lazy.
Evaluation was certainly his problem. Just because a player is a 5-star athlete doesn't mean he is right for your system. So yes, Cal failed to properly evaluate recruits before signing them. Cal was guilty numerous times of trying to insert a square peg into a round hole. As stated by Barnhart, any good recruiter can bring in great players, but if they are not right for your system, what good are they to you?
 

LmdCat

Heisman
Jan 8, 2006
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No offense you startled me that you're still praising cal and barnhart for that diabolical contract he got unbelievable you're justifying it but that's your opinion but I disagree wholeheartedly
Without knowing the future, would you have been pleased with Barnhart if Cal left because of not getting the contract?
 
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jeffky

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Evaluation was certainly his problem. Just because a player is a 5-star athlete doesn't mean he is right for your system. So yes, Cal failed to properly evaluate recruits before signing them. Cal was guilty numerous times of trying to insert a square peg into a round hole. As stated by Barnhart, any good recruiter can bring in great players, but if they are not right for your system, what good are they to you?
Add can't coach either
 

Wildcats Fan Board

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May 5, 2006
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Without knowing the future, would you have been pleased with Barnhart if Cal left because of not getting the contract?
I for one would have been fine if he went to UCLA at the time. I was over the one and done, and complete rebuilds by then. Everyone remembers 2013 loss to Robert Morris immediately following a championship!!!
 
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UKWildcats1987

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Sep 9, 2021
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I for one would have been fine if he went to UCLA at the time. I was over the one and done, and complete rebuilds by then. Everyone remembers 2013 loss to Robert Morris immediately following a championship!!!

That game was a who gives a crap game n to season where we lost our whole championship team essentially and our best player got hurt. I remember the 2014 and 2015 runs way more than a meaningless game no one on UK, including us fans, cared about.

I remember the Oakland and st Peter's and 9 and 16 way more. Maybe it's recency bias. Idk.
 

TCurtis75_rivals88839

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No offense you startled me that you're still praising cal and barnhart for that diabolical contract he got unbelievable you're justifying it but that's your opinion but I disagree wholeheartedly
Im not praising anyone. I said at the time based on the events then it was understandable. It’s easy to look back now and question it but when it was done, I would think every single AD in the country would have done the same as Mitch to keep Cal.
 
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Rockfly78

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I really don’t think recruiting or evaluating talent was Cal’s problem. Sure, there were some misses, but apparently everyone who scouts missed on those same players. (I.E. guys like Bradshaw & BJ Boston being rated so high).

My main problem with Cal was his lack of game plan or player development. Lazy.
I think he struggled with roster construction. His highly talented pieces rarely complimented each other.
 

G-PIP

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Not to mention Mitch is the athletics director who is responsible for the entire department. Top to bottom, that department is the best it has ever been. Stoops is the most successful coach the football program has ever had with results most fans never thought possible. It’s easy to look back and question Cal’s contract now but at the time (using the information at that time) that contract was also the right decision. No one would have ever imagined Cal would lose it like he did. Hindsight is great but you have to remember what was actually going on when decisions get made.
I agree that Barnhart appears to have been a really good athletic director for UK in other ways. But in my opinion, the “lifetime” contracts were a terrible decision even in the moment, not just in hindsight. They still are whether your name is Calipari, Stoops or Saban – or Pope. Agreeing to this was/is a very short-sighted and emotionally driven decision – something one might expect of a jock-turned-athletic-director of the past, but not acceptable for someone being paid seven figures to run a huge college sports department today. You have to be smarter and have more foresight than that.

Pay a premium currently if necessary, or figure out other inducements that make a coach want to stay. But to tie your hands long-term like that is an obvious mistake regardless of how “hot” a coach is or his threat to leave for another program.
 

TCurtis75_rivals88839

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I agree that Barnhart appears to have been a really good athletic director for UK in other ways. But in my opinion, the “lifetime” contracts were a terrible decision even in the moment, not just in hindsight. They still are whether your name is Calipari, Stoops or Saban – or Pope. Agreeing to this was/is a very short-sighted and emotionally driven decision – something one might expect of a jock-turned-athletic-director of the past, but not acceptable for someone being paid seven figures to run a huge college sports department today. You have to be smarter and have more foresight than that.

Pay a premium currently if necessary, or figure out other inducements that make a coach want to stay. But to tie your hands long-term like that is an obvious mistake regardless of how “hot” a coach is or his threat to leave for another program.
I think the lifetime portion is overstated. The lifetime was only for the 1 million per year after the actual coaching part ran out in 2027. The better argument would be over the way the buyout was structured. The buyout had nothing to do with the “lifetime” contract.
 

gbl97

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Getting a commitment from a 4 Star was a disappointment under Cal simply because they weren't his usual 5 stars. But with Pope, you can trust that if he's after a 4 Star (or even a 3 star), it's because he has a plan for the kid. He's not just wasting scholarships.
 

Titpwhami2014

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Here we are talking about the lazy AD again…. Didn’t Stoops recruit himself for the UK job? I thought I always heard that Stoops came to MB for the job?
I was joking…sort of. Stoops should not have a job after this year. Absolutely no reason to be excited about UK Football moving forward. It’s in the same place UK Basketball was in after the Oakland loss.
 
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G-PIP

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I think the lifetime portion is overstated. The lifetime was only for the 1 million per year after the actual coaching part ran out in 2027. The better argument would be over the way the buyout was structured. The buyout had nothing to do with the “lifetime” contract.
Yeah, I understand the "lifetime" terminology did not literally mean a coach's lifetime. I think in Calipari's case the contract ran to 2029 (I don't know Stoops ending period - assuming it's not automatically extended by some event).

Regardless, whatever component of a contract inextricably ties (from a practical standpoint) an organization’s success to a single individual’s motivation, effort or whims – and guarantees payment without any performance measurables – is management malpractice. In Calipari’s case it seems both the length and buyout fixed by the contract were mistakes. That type of contract is (and will always be) a mistake because the organization (UK athletics) can’t get out of the agreement without severely harming the entity. It’s one thing to have to pay some money to get out of a bad contract, but it’s another thing to agree to a contract with a single individual that handicaps you financially to the point that you’re tied to it regardless and the organization is damned if they do and damned if they don’t when performance falls off.
 
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I was joking…sort of. Stoops should not have a job after this year. Absolutely no reason to be excited about UK Football moving forward. It’s in the same place UK Basketball was in after the Oakland loss.
I totally agree with you. Cal and Stoops are going down the same road they’re so eerily similar that it’s pathetic!
 
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revcort

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Feb 20, 2003
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There is zero doubt that was a shot at Cal.
Agreed. It was definitely a reference to Calipari. Pope did a masterful job finding guys who fit his system out of the portal. Calipari would often adjust his entire system based on his incoming players. Player rankings and NBA potential were always more important to Cal because sending guys to the NBA was always more important than winning games for UK. So, we often ended up with athletes instead of players.
 
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yoshukai

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Dec 21, 2002
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I really don’t think recruiting or evaluating talent was Cal’s problem. Sure, there were some misses, but apparently everyone who scouts missed on those same players. (I.E. guys like Bradshaw & BJ Boston being rated so high).

My main problem with Cal was his lack of game plan or player development. Lazy.
Roster construction was an afterthought for him though.
 

rick64

Heisman
Jan 25, 2007
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I was joking…sort of. Stoops should not have a job after this year. Absolutely no reason to be excited about UK Football moving forward. It’s in the same place UK Basketball was in after the Oakland loss.
Agree. UK football in similar condition as basketball used to be. Needs a breath of fresh air and major shake up. New OC and or DC won’t do it. Has to be a new HC with an offensive mindset.
 
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Cleatortoises

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Dec 24, 2018
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Agreed. It was definitely a reference to Calipari. Pope did a masterful job finding guys who fit his system out of the portal. Calipari would often adjust his entire system based on his incoming players. Player rankings and NBA potential were always more important to Cal because sending guys to the NBA was always more important than winning games for UK. So, we often ended up with athletes instead of players.
Cal adjusted something? Whaaaat?
I never saw that. He just ran Goooo, Fiiiight, and Ruuuuun in a different order.
 
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