How much of this criticism a carryover?

[theKybluedude]

I’ve been a UK fan a long time. Always felt the UK fanbase pushed the team forward. Tough and demanding sure but always supportive in bad times. Not seeing the support at least on here. Never heard UK fans booing. Upset yeah but there was a level of hostility in Nashville. I couldn’t boo. UK bball has given me too many great moments over my long time fan-ship. I can ride out the poor games. We have been without 2 of our top guys and 3 if you count Quaintenance. I’m looking forward to seeing if CMP can land this plane. Not gonna give up on them after 9 games. We looked good vs Purdue.

Honestly, name me another team could absorb those absences? Starting PG PF and a lottery caliber C when available.

Kinda think the extreme frustration, short fuses, harsh criticism, made up negativity and inability to back the team until we get to full strength is a carryover of the Cal fatigue that dragged on. Unfortunately has been dropped on this group. Impatience seems to be so prevalent. CMP is certainly in a learning curve but he inherited zero. Now injuries again. Thought he did fine last year. Tried to fix it with nil this time. Might work if we get healthy. .

We’ve had some rough times in the past. Always bounced back but the UK fan support seemed to try and lift the team not flipping them off like I saw in Nville. I get it - that was awful. I drowned my sorrow afterward and voiced my concerns and displeasure. Only advice I can give as a 60 year fan -don’t give up… the same exact trait you want to see in this UK team!

 

[akaukswoosh]

 

[gbl97]

For me, Pope has some equity after year 1. He got every ounce out of a subpar roster. He proved his system can beat eight top 15 teams.

Now if this were his first year, with these results, I would be far more pessimistic about the hire.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

I’ve been a UK fan a long time. Always felt the UK fanbase pushed the team forward. Tough and demanding sure but always supportive in bad times. Not seeing the support at least on here. Never heard UK fans booing. Upset yeah but there was a level of hostility in Nashville. I couldn’t boo. UK bball has given me too many great moments over my long time fan-ship. I can ride out the poor games. We have been without 2 of our top guys and 3 if you count Quaintenance. I’m looking forward to seeing if CMP can land this plane. Not gonna give up on them after 9 games. We looked good vs Purdue.

Honestly, name me another team could absorb those absences? Starting PG PF and a lottery caliber C when available.

Kinda think the extreme frustration, short fuses, harsh criticism, made up negativity and inability to back the team until we get to full strength is a carryover of the Cal fatigue that dragged on. Unfortunately has been dropped on this group. Impatience seems to be so prevalent. CMP is certainly in a learning curve but he inherited zero. Now injuries again. Thought he did fine last year. Tried to fix it with nil this time. Might work if we get healthy. .

We’ve had some rough times in the past. Always bounced back but the UK fan support seemed to try and lift the team not flipping them off like I saw in Nville. I get it - that was awful. I drowned my sorrow afterward and voiced my concerns and displeasure. Only advice I can give as a 60 year fan -don’t give up… the same exact trait you want to see in this UK team!

There are no other teams that could survive it to a satisfactory level. You were right on every point from my view.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

I’ve been a UK fan a long time. Always felt the UK fanbase pushed the team forward. Tough and demanding sure but always supportive in bad times. Not seeing the support at least on here. Never heard UK fans booing. Upset yeah but there was a level of hostility in Nashville. I couldn’t boo. UK bball has given me too many great moments over my long time fan-ship. I can ride out the poor games. We have been without 2 of our top guys and 3 if you count Quaintenance. I’m looking forward to seeing if CMP can land this plane. Not gonna give up on them after 9 games. We looked good vs Purdue.

Honestly, name me another team could absorb those absences? Starting PG PF and a lottery caliber C when available.

Kinda think the extreme frustration, short fuses, harsh criticism, made up negativity and inability to back the team until we get to full strength is a carryover of the Cal fatigue that dragged on. Unfortunately has been dropped on this group. Impatience seems to be so prevalent. CMP is certainly in a learning curve but he inherited zero. Now injuries again. Thought he did fine last year. Tried to fix it with nil this time. Might work if we get healthy. .

We’ve had some rough times in the past. Always bounced back but the UK fan support seemed to try and lift the team not flipping them off like I saw in Nville. I get it - that was awful. I drowned my sorrow afterward and voiced my concerns and displeasure. Only advice I can give as a 60 year fan -don’t give up… the same exact trait you want to see in this UK team!

I’ve only been a fan a little over 60 years.

But this is different. I’ve never seen a UK team quit under any coach before.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

I’ve only been a fan a little over 60 years.

But this is different. I’ve never seen a UK team quit under any coach before.

That's the disturbing thing. That 9-16 team stunk to high heaven but I still felt they tried but this team just doesn't care.

 

[TFCat11]

I’m sure most, if not all of you are aware, but the regional/ national sports media are having a FIELD DAY watching this train wreck barrel of the tracks, into the gorge below!

If UK loses to IU by even a point, and has even remotely close to the lack of passion as they did against MSU and Gonzaga, Pope needs to resign or be shown the exit! No exceptions!

 

[BlueBomb]

There's a fine line with booing.

On the one hand, these young men are now paid handsomely to perform. And coaches are paid ridiculous sums to produce results. And fans pay a pretty penny to get tickets, travel to games, rent hotel rooms, etc. So, if the product is this bad, then some boos can be expected and are deserved IMO.

On the other hand, UK fans booing their own team will be covered by national media and could impact recruiting...what little there is of it right now.

If I was at a game, I don't think I would boo. But I'm doing my fair share of it from my recliner.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Blaming the last coach for your own mental angst with the program, and your general inability to have some fortitude, is some wild stuff.

Maybe our expectations are too high, especially in this era of NIL that we are still figuring out. Changing coaches often takes time in sports, so maybe we need to step back and realize that moving on from Cal was unlikely going to be a quick fix, especially when we didnt land one of our A or B coaching options.

 

[Buckwheat Otay Is Dead]

I’ve only been a fan a little over 60 years.

But this is different. I’ve never seen a UK team quit under any coach before.

10 years or 75 like me makes no difference. NIL has changed everything. It like giving someone from the 50s a cell phone. College football and basketball is no longer about an education.

 

[UKbrassowTipIn93]

10 years or 75 like me makes no difference. NIL has changed everything. It like giving someone from the 50s a cell phone. College football and basketball is no longer about an education.

It never was about education. They just dont lie about it anymore

 

[ORCAT]

It never was about education. They just dont like about it anymore

Don't agree completely with that though. Some players in the past most likely received some cash from big supporters but it was pocket change compared to what players receive today with NIL. The going to the highest bidder is getting out of control. Players before (not talking recent one and done era either) played for pride and accomplishment and most definitely received an education. Today, guys who are bench players are getting NIL deals. That's what I feel the other poster was referring to.

 

[Kyhoward1]

Also long time fan of nearly 60 years. Have never booed any UK team, but also have never seen ZERO effort from more than 1 player in the Gonzaga game And previous games also.

The season may be rescued but I don’t think it will without drastic action from Coach Pope to include benching, suspension, and dismissal if warranted. These problems cannot be solved with extra practice. Address the malcontents and do the right thing.

These players are now getting paid! If I didn’t give effort at my job, I would be disciplined or dismissed. Pope and staff have to know who or what are the problem(s). Take action now! BBN is so supportive and deserve at minimum players giving maximum effort. I can accept losses with effort but not when the loss is due to a lack of effort,

 

[UKJenning]

My frustration is with Barnhart.
If he would step down that would fix a lot of my anxiety.
I mean he rewarded Pope with an extra year on his contract just for making the sweet 16.
Come on! Should you really be rewarded for that at UK? Are we going to start hanging Sweet 16 banners?
And then you have the Stoops buyout, and the Cal lifetime contract! We got lucky on that one.
Joker, BCG, and Kyra Elzy.

You can’t tell what kind of mess he’s going to get us into with any coach’s contract.
Pope can be allowed to fail and fail and fail under Barnhart. That’s Barnhart’s MO.

If he would get out of here I would have more patience with Pope!
But I can’t help but think he’s just another lazy hire by Barney and we’re going to end up getting screwed.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Blaming the last coach for your own mental angst with the program, and your general inability to have some fortitude, is some wild stuff.

Maybe our expectations are too high, especially in this era of NIL that we are still figuring out. Changing coaches often takes time in sports, so maybe we need to step back and realize that moving on from Cal was unlikely going to be a quick fix, especially when we didnt land one of our A or B coaching options.

Everything is Cals fault to some. People will be blaming him for next coaches issues too lol.

 

[WeWant9_rivals]

I really wish people would stop bringing up a practice game against Purdue. The game meant zilch.

 

[bigblueinsanity (the real)]

For me, Pope has some equity after year 1. He got every ounce out of a subpar roster. He proved his system can beat eight top 15 teams.

Now if this were his first year, with these results, I would be far more pessimistic about the hire.

That roster wasn't subpar at all. When healthy, they would beat this squad at least 20 points. They were just subpar talent wise in comparison to recent uk history.

Pope got everything out of that depleted roster he could. Kudos to him and them for neither giving up on that season.

This year needs to turn quickly while he's still working with some fan capital. I saw some media quotes from Aberdeen about being the team leader. Maybe that was the friction? Either way, someone needs to step up and take control.

 

[theKybluedude]

That roster wasn't subpar at all. When healthy, they would beat this squad at least 20 points. They were just subpar talent wise in comparison to recent uk history.

Pope got everything out of that depleted roster he could. Kudos to him and them for neither giving up on that season.

This year needs to turn quickly while he's still working with some fan capital. I saw some media quotes from Aberdeen about being the team leader. Maybe that was the friction? Either way, someone needs to step up and take control.

Maybe Aberdeen is stepping up. Good for him talking it into being. We need a leader. If he wants it take it.

it’s been tough for him being asked to play out of position. You can tell he loves Lowe being back. Called him elite. Will allow DZ to move to the wing and relax. Play much better.

 

[One2Three]

For me, Pope has some equity after year 1. He got every ounce out of a subpar roster. He proved his system can beat eight top 15 teams.

Now if this were his first year, with these results, I would be far more pessimistic about the hire.

Except last year there were numerous games where Kentucky came out similarly lethargic as we have this year. This isn’t just something that began with this team. It’s like everyone conveniently forgets we lost by 29 to Alabama in the SEC quarterfinals. Or got blown out by Tennessee in the Sweet 16.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Except last year there were numerous games where Kentucky came out similarly lethargic as we have this year. This isn’t just something that began with this team. It’s like everyone conveniently forgets we lost by 29 to Alabama in the SEC quarterfinals. Or got blown out by Tennessee in the Sweet 16.

For the millionth time, why don’t both sides of this imaginary clash stop cherry picking? One side only mentions how we beat top teams. The other side only talks about amount of losses or letdown games. The FULL BODY OF WORK was worthy of a three seed in the NCAA tournament. Is that exemplary? Not in a vacuum, but absolutely impressive given the situation. If you disagree, provide me a link to show me where you predicted better than that prior to the 2025 season.

 

[davtay]

For the millionth time, why don’t both sides of this imaginary clash stop cherry picking? One side only mentions how we beat top teams. The other side only talks about amount of losses or letdown games. The FULL BODY OF WORK was worthy of a three seed in the NCAA tournament. Is that exemplary? Not in a vacuum, but absolutely impressive given the situation. If you disagree, provide me a link to show me where you predicted better than that prior to the 2025 season.

Because certain posters have an agenda. And, if they say it often enough they will eventually be correct.

 

[One2Three]

For the millionth time, why don’t both sides of this imaginary clash stop cherry picking? One side only mentions how we beat top teams. The other side only talks about amount of losses or letdown games. The FULL BODY OF WORK was worthy of a three seed in the NCAA tournament. Is that exemplary? Not in a vacuum, but absolutely impressive given the situation. If you disagree, provide me a link to show me where you predicted better than that prior to the 2025 season.

Last season was a wash because of the good wins clashed with the bad losses. I don’t think it was bad, but people really need to stop exaggerating last year. It was an “OK” year at best by Kentucky’s standards.

But my comment was mostly to point out that Pope has consistently had problems with the amount of effort his teams give, it didn’t just start this year. He simply doesn’t appear to have the ability as a coach to motivate his players.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Last season was a wash because of the good wins clashed with the bad losses. I don’t think it was bad, but people really need to stop exaggerating last year. It was an “OK” year at best by Kentucky’s standards.

But my comment was mostly to point out that Pope has consistently had problems with the amount of effort his teams give, it didn’t just start this year. He simply doesn’t appear to have the ability as a coach to motivate his players.

I’ve heard a lot more of you exaggerating about last year than most people tbh. Most people recognize it for what it was —- a good year considering the circumstances, nothing more and nothing less. Almost every post you make, you highlight those losses. Notice when I talk about last year you don’t hear me harping about the Duke win, the Florida win and so on? There’s a reason for that — it’s disingenuous. Full body of work is what matters, not individual games. If you want to make good arguments, you need to cover more ground than cherry picking games. Here’s why: one person may argue the effort was bad in the Ole Miss game. Another person may argue the effort was outstanding in the Duke game. Both are true. And by the way, that is expected for college teams —- no teams have the same level of effort every game. That’s why you use something that encompasses the whole body of work. I work twice as hard to address my own biases when arguing with others than I do addressing theirs —- there’s a reason for that —- arguing should be for learning, not winning.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

The expectations for last season were so low and I have wondered if Pope was more comfortable with the underdog role. It felt like we were the hunter against the big guys last season but this season we came out with big expectations and Pope doesn't seem as relaxed being the hunted.

 

[Aike]

Last season was a wash because of the good wins clashed with the bad losses. I don’t think it was bad, but people really need to stop exaggerating last year. It was an “OK” year at best by Kentucky’s standards.

But my comment was mostly to point out that Pope has consistently had problems with the amount of effort his teams give, it didn’t just start this year. He simply doesn’t appear to have the ability as a coach to motivate his players.

This is completely fair, imo. He pulled a few rabbits out of hats last year. Often starting out slowly and using the entire 40 minutes to deliver a win.

Good for him, and good for the team. They all deserve credit.

Also laid a colossal egg in NYC against OSU. Choked even harder when Cal came to town. And you already mentioned getting run out of the gym by Bama in the SEC Tournament, and by UT to end the season.

So it was a mixed bag. More positive than negative, imo, but trending in the wrong direction.

This season the pace of decline has just accelerated. There’s no underdog role to play. No sneaking up on anyone. We were supposed to be a contender. We are a laughingstock.

It’s indefensible. Truly.

Yes, we’ve been missing some guys. It’s probably had an effect. Does anyone think it had a 35 point effect in a virtual home game vs. Gonzaga? Backs to the wall, as big a must win game as we’ve had in years, and we put forth that level of effort?

 

[Lime-Kat]

I’ve been a UK fan a long time. Always felt the UK fanbase pushed the team forward. Tough and demanding sure but always supportive in bad times. Not seeing the support at least on here. Never heard UK fans booing. Upset yeah but there was a level of hostility in Nashville. I couldn’t boo. UK bball has given me too many great moments over my long time fan-ship. I can ride out the poor games. We have been without 2 of our top guys and 3 if you count Quaintenance. I’m looking forward to seeing if CMP can land this plane. Not gonna give up on them after 9 games. We looked good vs Purdue.

Honestly, name me another team could absorb those absences? Starting PG PF and a lottery caliber C when available.

Kinda think the extreme frustration, short fuses, harsh criticism, made up negativity and inability to back the team until we get to full strength is a carryover of the Cal fatigue that dragged on. Unfortunately has been dropped on this group. Impatience seems to be so prevalent. CMP is certainly in a learning curve but he inherited zero. Now injuries again. Thought he did fine last year. Tried to fix it with nil this time. Might work if we get healthy. .

We’ve had some rough times in the past. Always bounced back but the UK fan support seemed to try and lift the team not flipping them off like I saw in Nville. I get it - that was awful. I drowned my sorrow afterward and voiced my concerns and displeasure. Only advice I can give as a 60 year fan -don’t give up… the same exact trait you want to see in this UK team!

I’ve been thinking this and talking about this exact thing. I think it was the whole issue up until a couple of weeks ago. But then it got so bad that we’ve added new layers. But initially it was mostly carryover from Cal. I mean folks were exhausted from covid Cal. But now I think we have genuine Pope fatigue. It’s the things he says and doesn’t say.

I also think the ridiculous injuries have been an incredible weight. After a while I just don’t want to hear it anymore. I just think it’s part of the failure. Something is wrong with strength or something. At some point it’s also a failure.

people have definitely been different with this. I’m listening to pope now and it’s same stuff.

 

[Guyute]

Troll

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

The expectations for last season were so low and I have wondered if Pope was more comfortable with the underdog role. It felt like we were the hunter against the big guys last season but this season we came out with big expectations and Pope doesn't seem as relaxed being the hunted.

This is something I still have questions about as well. No idea, it’s one of those unanswered questions for me that I’ll only feel like are answered with time. If you held a gun to my head and made me guess, I’d say he doesn’t like being the hunted, but it’s early.

 

[FredmanthecatfanAnon]

I’m really not liking what I’m seeing. I’m still hopeful that we will get significantly better. I feel like the injury to Lowe has been very significant. I know he played in the debacle Friday, but first game back after being out so long may not be a good indicator. I thought DA would be better at the pg than he is, but he’s been very bad. I would almost rather have Jasper at point, but I don’t think that would go great either.
Rumor has it that JQ will be ready for the St John’s game. I’m optimistic that while he won’t necessarily turn out shooting woahs around, he can give us a solid inside presence at both ends. On the offensive end, it may lead to having a better quality of shots—whether or not we hit them is another story.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

I’m really not liking what I’m seeing. I’m still hopeful that we will get significantly better. I feel like the injury to Lowe has been very significant. I know he played in the debacle Friday, but first game back after being out so long may not be a good indicator. I thought DA would be better at the pg than he is, but he’s been very bad. I would almost rather have Jasper at point, but I don’t think that would go great either.
Rumor has it that JQ will be ready for the St John’s game. I’m optimistic that while he won’t necessarily turn out shooting woahs around, he can give us a solid inside presence at both ends. On the offensive end, it may lead to having a better quality of shots—whether or not we hit them is another story.

I predict it will help with shooting, at least some. One factor that gets overlooked when it comes to shooting is this: comfort. If guys don’t know when they will getting looks, where they will be getting looks, how they will be getting looks and how much time they have to shoot all affect a shooter’s confidence, patience and rhythm. Gotta beat IU for anything to matter imo though

 

[Kyhoward1]

Last season was a wash because of the good wins clashed with the bad losses. I don’t think it was bad, but people really need to stop exaggerating last year. It was an “OK” year at best by Kentucky’s standards.

But my comment was mostly to point out that Pope has consistently had problems with the amount of effort his teams give, it didn’t just start this year. He simply doesn’t appear to have the ability as a coach to motivate his players.

I did not know that he had problems with effort at BYU.

 

[theKybluedude]

I did not know that he had problems with effort at BYU.

They didn’t.

 

[davtay]

I did not know that he had problems with effort at BYU.

He didn't. This poster likes to make stuff up to support his rants.