The Cats had 11 losses going into the tourney last year. Of course they had some big wins too.
BB: KenPom Projection: 6-8 in Remaining Games, Likely Wrong Side of Bubble
- Thread starter I’m The Village Idiot
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yeah it'll be fine if we beat ranked teams which we have struggled to do. you make it sound so easy, "yeah we'll just grab some wins"
right. that's what we need more of now.
i don't think IU, SJ and LSU will be enough if we happen to lose out to the ranked teams left
Fair enough. They do have plenty of opportunities ahead. Not predicting they win them but they’re there.
Call me pessimistic but if Kentucky is close to that bubble line, we are not getting any breaks from the selection committee.
Duh...I think you know me (virtually anyway) well enough to know I'll listen and try to comprehend. Sometimes I suck at comprehension though!
For me...It has as much to do with the fact he never should've gotten the job. That combined with some seriously "meh" results is what is doing it for me. The non-competitive losses against both mid and good competition are a huge concern. I also think last season is his ceiling, rather than his floor.
The initial statement released definitely leans towards JQ opting out. Said there's been swelling every game since coming back. What we do know is his camp was not happy with Pope right before this all went down...
Hard to argue with that. But then I think about the first halves and...it's just maddening.
It's not that its easy but rather if you have many many opportunities to do so, you're going to more than likely grab a couple.
It's just a numbers game.
I've seen teams get into the tournament going like 2-13 vs Q1 teams over a team that maybe played just a handful of those games and won say 1 of them lol.
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that's just it. there is a very plausible and accurate assessment, via The Answer, of course, well done, I might say... I quibble as well...
If they get UNC*** IN like they did last year, and we are anywhere NEAR that territory, we should be in
Right?
Right!>?!? haha lol
Give UK one of those play in games ? Sure. Makes sense. More money for the NCAA. Perfect sense.
Hell, if they can get us in a play in game and then setup an IU - UK rematch in round one with IU the 7 seed and us that 11 from the play-in game ?
hahahaha !
You know they've set things up far worse than that. We all know that.
whatever non sense they will come up with, we should get in, thinking we're not going to get in at this point seems far fetched. We're more like trending upward as a 9-10 seed instead of down and out. No matter what Ken Pom wants to say.
that's where its at and we still control our own destiny. For better or worse.
I say just go out there and win, whatever it takes, whoever it takes.
Go Big Blue !
For me, my philosophy about coaches is that their abilities are fluid — I do not see coaches as necessarily all good or all bad. Coaches have a responsibility to constantly re-evaluate whether or not their schematics and philosophy are in tune with their current personnel and the landscape of the sport they currently compete within. I do not think Pope has passed the grade on this one season up to this point to say the least. I remain UNCERTAIN that he is the guy for the job, but am more optimistic than most, and I’ll explain why:
Offensive Acumen: A
Defensive Acumen: B-
In-Game Adjustments: B+
Recruiting: B+
Prospect Scouting: B
Roster Construction/Vision: C-
Conceptual/Big Picture/Program Vision: A
Motivation: B+
Potential: A (My opinion, willing to further explain)
I have a lot of issues with Pope as a coach, but I believe some of his strengths are unique traits that I believe CAN result in him being successful in a major way for a long time. Everyone is going to have their own view, but I’m not committed to saying I’ve seen enough to dismiss him yet. Just a week ago, I’d have rated him a C+ or even a C defensively, but I do think he (or a staff member) have shown some ability to press a couple buttons that I think are sensible there. I’m not waving away his deficiencies but I think a large percentage of the deficiencies can be improved upon.
Ultimately, regardless of how I’d assign individual grades on these aspects, if there is no Elite Eight by March of 2028, I’m ready to move on. That’s not directed at Pope — that’s a goal that I believe every Kentucky coach should meet by year three.
I didn’t want to provide a wall of text, so this was as succinct as I could be. I can be extremely specific about anything you have questions about. I’m sure some of my grades might catch some folks off guard but I’m willing to explain, in detail, how I came to those conclusions.
Even Kenpom tho.
I mean we are ranked 27th currently. This is a fringe top 25 team despite what some might feel. That's clearly IN. The ONLY reason why that would not be in is a lack of resume.
Its like so ok..........we aren't as good as Gonzaga, Aren't as good as Alabama, or MIchigan St. Or even UL.
But still very much good enough to be in the tournament safely.
But still very much good enough to be in the tournament safely.