at the time jq committed we needed jq in a bad way, especially since dent and yaxel committed elsewhere so he had to get a big name quick
Most of it is just bad luck for sure. I question giving JQ a huge contract coming back from a surgery like that so quickly though. We all knew Garrison wasn’t capable of being a big time player and Moreno has played well but he’s a freshman too and not AD level.
This season and Popes catastrophic bumble in the portal will have lingering effects moving forward. No elite player is going to want to come here (unless he’s way overpaid) to play limited minutes and have his career stunted by a coach who’s in over his head. Very frustrating
totaly agree
Getting a big name who is extremely raw and wouldn’t be ready to play until conference play was a huge mistake.
he had to take that gamble though, beacuse withiut jq the portal class wouldve been underwhelming
Man you gotta not sign JQ and somebody else and go get Caleb Wilson or somebody. Pope should have overpaid for better players. He overpaid regardless so why not get the ones worth it.
Pope is turning us into a Joke.
You don’t think this is a bit unfair toward a player who played after three separate shoulder separations? You think he had the restrictive shoulder brace on for a fashion choice?If I knew I had no shot at the league as a pg I would get a splinter and say I’m having surgery when I use tweezers to remove it and gain a extra year of eligibility when they are passing money around in college. Lowe is probably praying that Pope don’t get fired so he can finesse millions out of Kentucky like he did this year.
We thought Cal and his players held the program hostage
Possibly. Yea little bit unfair to say that. Halfway talking out the side of my mouth. I can’t say he’s faking or over exaggerating an injury. But I can say he’s the biggest disappointment on this team injury or not.
We never got to see healthy Lowe and it’s very possible we never will. I agree the 35% FG shell of Lowe we saw this year wasn’t good for the most part. I think he gave it all he had up to a point and then third shoulder separation— you’re right at the cutoff for eligibility. Ya decide to go for the medical RS and I think the kid earned it. He wasn’t going to get any better. Team’s gotta rally from here as a unit.
Great list! You forgot the biggest of them all, IMO, Derek Anderson! Ugh!
Very good one. Also, Jason Parker. Dwight Anderson. There’s a ton. I tried to include as many different body types as I could, coz there are some ideas that it is certain types of guys who have all the injuries and let’s just avoid those.
the injury hasn't given the fans a chance to see him at his best. Like many, I was never that excited about his signing. He was 2nd team all ACC in a very weak year. He can't shoot and isn't elite at anything else. Then again Pope had to have someone to play point guard.
I think some of us might be asking for too much from Pope. He’s clearly trying, but no one is biting. When no one is biting, the role players see blood in the water and see Kentucky as a way to get paid more as our coach becomes desperate for any win.
Mark Pope has signed four point guards as coach at Kentucky. He’s going to end year two with having been able to finish the year with only one of them making it to the end, Lamont Butler, and he was piecemailed back together after shoulder injuries himself. It’s just AWFUL luck that we have had.
Yes! Damn, Jason Parker! Dude was an absolute MAN! I hated seeing him leave UK. He got injured in the damn locker room before Madness! I’ll never forget that! That was the beginning of the “team turmoi”, in 2001-02.
That team was set to be so good. Still don’t know what happened to Bogans that year. He stunk all season.
No doubt but at the same time does a whole program and fan base have to go downhill just because we’ve somehow gotten to a point where it’s ok to not be qualified for the job and it’s ok just because he’s trying. He cares. I really don’t want to keep bashing Pope but I care more about Kentucky than just Pope. I want him to succeed. He’s not so far imo.
You don’t have to divorce one from the other. It can be both. Don’t believe the narrative that you have to choose between a coach and the program.
This! Don’t get me wrong, I would still like to have an elite freshman or two. However, it’s very difficult to say a freshman is gonna be elite at the college level, having never played a game. We’ve all been witnesses to that.
Yea it’s been bad and not looking great for the future. I’m talking about Pope. Not the players. These players might get it together and win a few games and go on a magical run in the tournament. I feel like Pope has to go before people are saying I wish we were Indiana. We are gonna fall farther than Indiana ever imagined in this new college landscape.
Yea the portal is nice. Maybe Pope goes crazy this summer and changes the whole narrative about himself. That’s about the only way I’ll get back on board. But then again I don’t think I will because as much as I love Kentucky I’m finding it extremely hard to get behind a culture of softness.
My personal beliefs:
