Pope isn’t like tubby who could win with bottom 100 recruits. We just have to wait out pope. He’s not the long run solution. A Barney special. I hope pope has something he hasn’t shown but. Don’t think so. And poor season results will equate to poor recruiting. Guys want to play where there is a familiar culture and I know it’s taboo but Mormonism in the Bible Belt is not a winner. It is a culture clash and recruiting hates culture clash.
How can this coaching staff be so poor at recruiting?
- Thread starter Pensacola_Cat
- Start date
What makes you say the recruiting is poor?
We have very good players. The kind of players that win in college basketball today.
And our 2 best recruits haven’t played yet.
Well, one hasn’t played at all and one has barely played and not at 100% when he did.
Where I see a problem with Pope’s recruiting is not recruiting to his system.
But I don’t know that he didn’t until I see the whole product out there.
Even if Lowe and JQ don’t fit his system we have to be better with them than without.
I’m concerned with how we are playing. Not who’s playing. Even undermanned, if one thinks we are, there’s no excuse for not giving 100% effort and not being prepared.
We didn’t go down against UL, Mich St and Georgetown fighting. We went down without a fight.
That has nothing to do with recruiting. And if that continues it won’t make a difference with JQ and Lowe. Well, I guess it would make some difference? We wouldn’t lose as bad.
How we play against UNC Tuesday will tell us far more than the outcome.
Even if we beat UNC with a poor effort it will be a bad sign.
We need shooters that can also play defense.
"Hell, Jesus Christ could win if he didn't have talent !! "
--- Johnny Orr (Iowa State) in a post-game interview
Honestly, I think you're being a bit unfair on Matt. He tells it like it is. If you're doing a great job, he's going to say that, but if you're doing a bad job, it's his responsibility, as a radio show host, to call it out.
Mitch deserves to be called out. Mark Stoops deserves to be called out and Mark Pope deserves to be called out. I don't see how anyone can deny that.
But at the same time, all three of those guys have done some great things.
Now, if you listen to his show, you would know, it's impossible to keep this fanbase satisfied. One guy will call in and say MJ is too negative. The next guy tells him he's too soft and needs to call these guys out.
I don't get the criticism of MJ. He’s a radio host that has had to navigate the extreme highs of each coach (Cal, Pope and Stoops), quickly followed by some embarrassing lows by all 3. I don't know how anyone could navigate those slopes without getting critisized.
Mitch Barnhart has done some great things, but he’s also put the university, donors and fans in a **** position multiple times and he deserves everything he's getting from Matt.
I would love to see anyone on this board try to host a daily KY sports radio show starting in 2008 through today. You have the 2 BCG years, followed by a really epic run by Cal, followed by a ha5d crash, where he crapped on the KY kedia, fans and university, followed by his termination and Pope's first 2 years.
In addition, look at the roller coaster that has been Stoops' tenure. How can a radio host say anything at all without getting critisized? He literally cannot win.
Cal declined to play in the PK80, which was a slap in the face to Phil Knight. We haven't had the same relationship with Nike since.
How many of these NBA talents were freshman phenoms that were sure fire lottery picks?
There's a difference between guys like Walter Clayton and Cooper Flagg. Clayton climbed his way to the NBA by earning it in college, Flagg was a generational talent that doesn't come along very often.
Then you have the lower tiered 5* guys, most of them never sniff the FF.
The thing that I have noticed is the schools winning titles, are built with seasoned college players that are very good at college basketball. Those are the guys I want if a generational talent isn't available.
Look at the 2 teams that played in the title game last year. A bunch of blue collar guys. Same with the 2 UConn and the 2 Villanova title teams.
I remember that. Hopefully since he’s gone they don’t hold that against us anymore
I’ve maintained that it doesn’t matter how old they are as long as they are studs. There has to be some star power on your team if you are going to go all the way. Whether it’s a freshman Caleb Wilson or a senior Walter Clayton I don’t care. But pope has to start getting his first choice to say yes.
No not well done. It's only "well done" if you want to win a non-existent game of moral high ground.
Not well done if you every team has more top level talent than we do.
Every team doesn't. We are missing two of our five best players. Do that to any team and they struggle. So yes, well done. And well done for not promising a starting job to a freshman instead of letting him earn it. All day
Pope is going to have to do some serious apologizing. I get the feeling Phil Knight is at a point in his life where he doesn't GAF and once he's done with you, it's over. He doesn't need UK, we need Nike.
Right, but there are different types of studs. Walter Clayton and the other 2 guards on that Florida team, were blue collar guys that thrive in college and grab a cup of coffee in the NBA. Houston had Roberts, Cryer and one other blue collar guy whos name escapes me, but none of these guys are lottery pick NBA guys, they are just really good college seniors.
Flagg, Ament, Dybansta and Wilson are NBA lottery pick studs and yes, they are very good, but you usually don't see those guys get to the FF. Flagg was generational and he played on a team that was completely stacked, but they lost to a team full of blue collar guys.
Give me WC over those guys any day.
Thing is, we have guys on our roster that can show out like the guys on 2024 Florida and Houston. Or any of the guys on those 2 Villanova teams. They just have to play with effort, right now, they are not.
Man if they can’t play with effort at this stage in their career on the biggest stage then we don’t have guys. That’s appalling to me. I don’t look forward to this season at all. I know it’s early but so far these kids are unbecoming of the Kentucky name. There is no WC to save us and there is no freshman phen to generate buckets. That’s a problem too because I don’t see the recruiting getting any better.
I’ll recalibrate my views if new data becomes available. I will eat my crow in a rated R type of way, happily. But my outlook is not rosy right now.
Good enough to do what? The players we had last year were better when everyone was hurt at the end of the year. I think people are just lying to themselves at this point. Use your eyes. If we are in the middle of the Louisville game, most of you are saying the same thing. Why did you forget and I didn't?
JQ is a power forward that can’t make threes or make free throws which doesn’t bode well in a Pope system… and the knee he just had repaired is tbd
You hope, Dukie. JQ is projected top 5 overall by most and #1 overall by some. Im sure he will be no help whatsoever
This is
.No media is reporting N.E.thing but rumors and fastasy because there's nothing else to report and your genius butt swallowed it whole
Also my "cope" lives in your little cope world where I only started saying this once we did poorly this year on the court and in recruiting. I and others have been saying this since spring because we never played your gullibility game and because Pope and staff deserve credit for hauling in a low-budget recruiting class people thought cost twenty-two million dollars. Cope away, brother. Cope away
We're all in the same boat here. All of us are questioning this team and what is going on with them. Something is definitely wrong and we will probably never know what the issue actually is.
I have my reservations about Pope and whether he can fix the issues, or if he's too soft to do it, but I'm going to take a wait and see approach for now.
At some point, the paid professionals on the court have to answer for their lack of effort and failures. Right now, Pope is the one feeling all the pressure and that's gotta change, that pressuee needs to be felt by the players, and when I say that, I'm talking about the leaders of the team.
We have seen this go both ways. We have seen teams totally collapse and fail as soon as things went sideways and we have seen teams regroup and go on a run. Hopefully this one goes on a run.
We clear up around $8 million in NIL salary after this year. Hopefully they reduce Garrison's salary or let him walk. The future is Johnson, Moreno, Chandler, and hopefully Stokes. Everyone else is expendable on this roster.
Pope absolutely has to sign Stokes. It's a "does he have it in him" type recruitment, similar to when Tubby landed Keith Bogans or when Pitino landed Rodrick Rhodes. Got to get the big fish to prove that he can actually do it.
Pope absolutely has to sign Stokes. It's a "does he have it in him" type recruitment, similar to when Tubby landed Keith Bogans or when Pitino landed Rodrick Rhodes. Got to get the big fish to prove that he can actually do it.
Buy they are all the same and so m any people have selective memories. Pope signed last years team in 3 days. Besides these kids don’t care bout titles. It’s shoe deals and nIL now.Its stupid to say pope doesnt know defense.
Without Lowe playing - and playing WELL - I have concerns about whether the pieces fit well enough to ever be a top 10 to 15 team. I'm not even sure the pieces fit all that great even with a healthy Lowe, but without him . . .
Do you have sources who indicate what the NIL actually is? If so, what is it?This is
No media is reporting N.E.thing but rumors and fastasy because there's nothing else to report and your genius butt swallowed it whole
Whatever it is, we clearly overpaid for this 8 seed level roster.
Willing to make an official wager with you right now…if you’re gonna call this team an 8 seed roster, put your icon on the line. I’ll bet you a full month of Hello Kitty as my icon on this website that will be better than an 8 seed. You want to put your prediction to the test?
Your post is spot-on. JJ has disappointed me a lot this year, too much hero ball. Chandler on the other hand has far surpassed my expectations. I'd be willing to cut bait on JJ and let him transfer if it meant $$ for another high end player. Agree with this train of thought 100% though.
Alot of NIL for this year was front loaded before the house settlement landed.... I doubt we have anything close to 20 mil next year. That being said, I would really like to see what criteria the NIL clearinghouse is using to determine fair market value, and how many deals they have said no to.
By the way, the 8 seed roster wager is good for anyone who wants it. The hyperbole about the roster has gotten so stale that I’m willing to put up or shut up. Anyone who’s convinced we will be 8 seed or worse, let me know. If no takers, then hush about 8 seed roster. Pick a new hyperbole. You either stand by your words or it’s yap.
Do you honestly think with a twenty-two million dollar budget we missed on every single A-list recruit this staff has ever gone after except the one who happened to be injured and also had a prior relationship with the school?
With respect, I'll answer your question when you answer the question that I posed first.
Give me room for a 6 seed minimum, and you're on. I'll give you a month of Hello Kitty if UK finishes with a 5 seed or higher. Surely you have confidence in this team being at least a 5 seed, or is it just yap?
Don't know about his recruiting ability but something puzzles me
Last year, with little time and not much available, he put together a roster that fit his scheme; in particular, Amari Williams surrounded by some shooters. Say what you will about AW but he was capable of making a three, was a good passer, could drive it on you from the top, and could defend his position and board
IMO that's what's missing from this team and I don't know if there wasn't someone available or JQ coming prevented others .. Still don't think JQ fits that mold as far as high post play is concerned but he does bring some much needed low post presence.
If you have a system you have to work extra hard to recruit to it
Last year, with little time and not much available, he put together a roster that fit his scheme; in particular, Amari Williams surrounded by some shooters. Say what you will about AW but he was capable of making a three, was a good passer, could drive it on you from the top, and could defend his position and board
IMO that's what's missing from this team and I don't know if there wasn't someone available or JQ coming prevented others .. Still don't think JQ fits that mold as far as high post play is concerned but he does bring some much needed low post presence.
If you have a system you have to work extra hard to recruit to it
I actually like the terms there, but I’ll do you one better. Double or nothing…two months of Hello Kitty.
I win if Kentucky is a 5 seed or better
You win if Kentucky is a 6 seed or lower
Agreed?
@I'm The Village Idiot, you've got yourself a deal. I hope I'm wrong.
My friend, let's bet in a similar light, but on the tourney outcome. NCAAT Sweet 16 or better (same or better than last season), you win, anywhere from no NCAAT to NCAAT Round of 32 loss, I win.
I think it's a fair bet given I think the roster is worse than last year's. Obviously JQ's play upon return is a wildcard that may put UK in the FF and make me a board laughingstock (moreso than I already am).
$1k, payable by Zelle?