Georgetown Pre-Game Presser (Pope)
- Thread starter mcwildcats04
- Start date
One of the coolest guys in history. It’s like a tiny little punch in the gut whenever he stops talking.
Yep, a breath of fresh air. And, on top of that, he's a pretty darn good coach and has us back in contention too!
He's so relentlessly negative. debbie downer!
Also, and this is I think a big deal in coaching, he is brilliant. I do believe that the smartest coaches are the best coaches for the most part; of course there are other qualities a coach needs. Pope has those qualities as well.
I only worry about his squinting. He looks like he's fighting back a migraine or he can't see. I hope he's taking time to keep up with his health.
Cool? Lol. Pope is a lot of things. Forward thinking. Calculated. Intelligent. Caring. Positive. Empathetic. But cool? Come on now.
“Cherry picking details”.
“Looking for little slices”.
“What’s your name? Nicole?”
“congrats on the newborn”
“what a great story”
“wearing UK jerseys for Halloween is a family tradition”
“It’s a rich persons problem, love the depth”.
“we’re really blessed”
“you keep that award winning potato salad away from me”.
“Sage, that’s a beautiful name”
I can listen to this sht all day.
“Looking for little slices”.
“What’s your name? Nicole?”
“congrats on the newborn”
“what a great story”
“wearing UK jerseys for Halloween is a family tradition”
“It’s a rich persons problem, love the depth”.
“we’re really blessed”
“you keep that award winning potato salad away from me”.
“Sage, that’s a beautiful name”
I can listen to this sht all day.
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We never left, but we were in transition. Obviously, Calipari had lost his fastball here due to the age increase and he being slow to adapt. He fell into a weird spot and from some reports was at war with the AD’s office and some of the boosters. So we did hit a 5 year period of slow growth, which led to a transition period.
I get irritated at rivals fans that act as if Kentucky isn’t winning the league 9/10 times, and in finals fours 2/3 years, then we’ve fallen off. They hold this program to a ridiculous standard. Truth is, Kentucky doesn’t hire from within, we are well past that era that UNC and Duke are in. We have to row with the ocean and mistakes are going to happen. The point is we rebound like no other program. One thing is certain at this point, Kentucky might have a transition but we’ll find the right recipe eventually. No other program can say that.
We were a 2 seed 2 of Cal’s last 3 seasons.
Cal’s last 5 seasons here?
‘20-won the SEC by 3 games. Primed for a FF run with SEC POY Quickley plus Maxey. No chance to show because of Covid.
‘21-just terrible. Worst UK of my lifetime. Even worse than Sutton’s last season.
‘22-2 seed.
‘23-4 seed? Not sure on that
‘24-2 seed
We got upset. Never should have happened here and especially more than once. But that doesn’t take away from how good those teams were.
The ‘22 team trounced Kansas and UNC. The eventual finalists.
Of course March is our barometer. But the seasons are damn important too.
I want us to kick Georgetown’s *** tomorrow night even though it doesn’t count.
There was a lot more bad in there than just losing as 2 seeds. And the losses were 2 of the all time worst losses in UK history. Calipari had an atrocious record vs. the top 25 his last 5 years too. Bad enough to warrant his immediate firing. He was record setting for UK in the worst possible direction. The statistics bore that out. The main issue was he didn’t make adjustments he just told everyone to like it anyway. But the vast, vast majority of UK fans wanted him out, they didn’t want him out for having good teams that stumbled. They wanted him out for dreadful coaching and a program consistently headed in the wrong direction. Calipari was getting manhandled toward the end of his tenure and wasn’t much better a few years before that either. Final four droughts, #1 seed droughts, flameouts to unheard of programs, getting killed by other top 25 teams, NIT’s. This is at Kentucky, not Arkansas, not Memphis.
Cals last 5+ seasons were bad. And we had to transition from it, 100%. But just because we transition doesn’t mean we’ve fallen off. That’s where my issue comes in with the rest of the league. If we’re not winning the conference year to year they call us Notre Dame. It’s ridiculous. All great franchises transition. We’re going nowhere and never did.
Pope winning #9 is an inevitability. He may get fat and sassy after that like you know who, but we've seen this kind of hunger before and it always leads to a banner.
Just my 2 cents but...the most humble of coaches...just might have some swag going! Just how I read the presser.
You know it's not really a requirement to be a great guy to be a good coach.............
...........but it does make it a whole lot easier to root for and hope they have success.
...........but it does make it a whole lot easier to root for and hope they have success.
Yea I see little chance this guy isn’t brining in #9. Since the program can buy the players now, he’s going to eventually get the right group. I’m sure without the NIL it would have made it harder to hire him, if we did then it would have been a longer road to that point. But he’s already got a S16 and a hella good roster this year. He’s going to push it with all that depth and players are going to love it. He’s a perfect modern age coach for these guys.
For all we know he’s going to push to pass up Rupp. I think he definitely wants to be the guy who can be kentuckys modern goat. Get 2 titles and pretty much pass Pitino. I think it’s coming.
I love that Mark Pope is our coach. I went to his presser, I celebrated his first year. He is doing everything right.
UK won't be on an island for long in terms of NIL. They are waiting to see if UK is the Los Angeles Dodgers of Basketball and if Pope wins it all, then multiple programs will have 18m or more in NIL money buying the best team available. Like Calipari with one and dones - if it works (which really it didn't) then others will follow and the talent pool will be diluted even more than it is. Purdue is already a wake up call, returning two high caliber players and got run out of the gym by the highest payroll in college ball. Then you have Little Brother down the road - in an effort to stay relevant and compete, they are bringing in former pro's who have eligibility. Its about landing talent that is for sale.
Hopefully in the tradition of Tubby Smith and John Calipari, Pope wins a title early in his tenure as coach and unlike either of them, then stays hungry, humble and ready to innovate.
UK won't be on an island for long in terms of NIL. They are waiting to see if UK is the Los Angeles Dodgers of Basketball and if Pope wins it all, then multiple programs will have 18m or more in NIL money buying the best team available. Like Calipari with one and dones - if it works (which really it didn't) then others will follow and the talent pool will be diluted even more than it is. Purdue is already a wake up call, returning two high caliber players and got run out of the gym by the highest payroll in college ball. Then you have Little Brother down the road - in an effort to stay relevant and compete, they are bringing in former pro's who have eligibility. Its about landing talent that is for sale.
Hopefully in the tradition of Tubby Smith and John Calipari, Pope wins a title early in his tenure as coach and unlike either of them, then stays hungry, humble and ready to innovate.
This is EXTREMELY misleading.
At one point we were 8-17 against the T25. That's beyond horrible.
Yeah but isn't that a bit misleading as well. I'd venture to guess that was in large part because of the awful 21 season.
I think the main point is I think people divide Cal's tensure into pre 15 and post 15. And if we are being honest here, we may have gotten a little fornuate in say 2011 and 2014 and maybe a bit unfornate in say 22 and 24.
Things happen in one and done tournaments.
I do think overall Cal did run out of gas but I don't think there was this large gap that most people seem to be think.