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I’m sick of hearing about 3 years

G

Goingfor9

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UK fans have this notion because our fb program has always sucked and we have gone through coaches like water and every one “3 years”. Well this is a new day. A day in which college sports are pro sports. You can buy a team overnight to compete for a title. I see a guy like Pete Carroll fired after 1 season. It was evident he was a terrible match and they didn’t waste time. We know we have a terrible match.

The guy isn’t working on landing players for next year he isn’t prepping the team for big games and so many other things. In a day where programs are no longer built programs are more like franchises where you build your team overnight. If we had the right match we wouldnt perpetually strike out. We would have a team that can defend and stroke it.

We know how this movie ends. This offseason will be much more difficult for pope and it’s more likely we have a losing season next year than go to a final four. There is no longer a 3 year rule. NIL knocked that out. Of course our terrible AD is still operating like it’s 2003 instead of embracing change. If pope is around another season he will become the butt
Of jokes and it will become real ugly because Barney is going to force us to eat our own instead of recognizing he screwed up. If Barney doesn’t deal with pope at the end of the season well after next season I doubt pope comes back to Kentucky for a while. But the program is far greater than him and if that’s what it takes to move him out bbn will do it.
 
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TFCat11

TFCat11

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I was watching The Field of 68 a day or two ago, and Goodman, in classic Goodman fashion, said if Pope lost the rest of the remaining games, he still deserved a 3rd year!🤯

Point being, anyone arguing in this new professional collegiate era, that coaches deserve a certain amount of time, because that’s the way it used to be, are exactly the same reason why UK is falling behind the rest of the Blue Bloods!

With folks like Goodman, it’s simply wanting the program at the top of the MCBB pyramid to fall, as they dwell in our demise!

Adapt, and advance, or, don’t, and get left behind! Accept it, because it’s never going back to the “good ole days”!
 
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BlueBomb

BlueBomb

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A good coach can overcome a bad year, because they had previous successful seasons. Recruiting doesn't suffer after that bad season because players understand the coach has "been there, done that."

But Pope isn't in that situation. He's not proven he can do anything yet, and he's already on the hot seat. So, why would anyone sign up for that? Most won't. Which means, if he doesn't turn it around this season, he's not likely to attract the talent needed moving forward.

The sky isn't falling, but I just looked up, and I can see the cracks.
 
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TFCat11

TFCat11

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I’ll also add…

If Pope’s current situation was happening to ANY other rival coach, say Duke/ Scheyer for example, the same “3rd season” people would be rolling on the floor laughing their butts off, that anyone would be suggesting such a preposterous idea of a 3rd season!

But since it’s “one of our own”, some feel the obligation to show grace, even at the program’s and fan’s expense. Wild stuff😂
 
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preston-lemasterpiece

preston-lemasterpiece

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BlueBomb said:
A good coach can overcome a bad year, because they had previous successful seasons. Recruiting doesn't suffer after that bad season because players understand the coach has "been there, done that."

But Pope isn't in that situation. He's not proven he can do anything yet, and he's already on the hot seat. So, why would anyone sign up for that? Most won't. Which means, if he doesn't turn it around this season, he's not likely to attract the talent needed moving forward.

The sky isn't falling, but I just looked up, and I can see the cracks.
Click to expand...
exactly
 
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Dr.LutherSan

Dr.LutherSan

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Sep 6, 2019
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The elite coaches are winning games, not the programs. Nate Oats, Dusty May, Bruce Pearl, Tommy Lloyd, etc. don't need UK to win big. Those guys can win big at their non-blue blood school and without the pressure.
 
1

1UKCatFan

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Mar 14, 2025
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Dr.LutherSan said:
There's no coach in America worth their salt that would want to come to this school if Pope was fired after year two.
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that's ridiculous. Do you think other coaches aren't confident that they can do more with the resources Pope has? Good coaches can see what a horrible job Pope is doing in getting his team ready, making adjustments, playing to his strengths, and most of all recruiting... it's not like his firing wouldn't be justified.
 
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D

Damage_inc

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preston-lemasterpiece said:
to me it would've been like bringing Cal back after Oakland.
sure, we could bring him back but what's the point? we all know what's going on here. i wish we could acknowledge it
Click to expand...
The point was it would cost us 35 mil to NOT bring him back. Cal himself bailed us out on that one. Although this is how we ended up with Pope and I was in favor of keeping Cal if it meant we would end up with Mark Pope. So damn you Cal again.
 
preston-lemasterpiece

preston-lemasterpiece

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Damage_inc said:
The point was it would cost us 35 mil to NOT bring him back. Cal himself bailed us out on that one. Although this is how we ended up with Pope and I was in favor of keeping Cal if it meant we would end up with Mark Pope. So damn you Cal again.
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you may be right. so if you're looking just solely at the amount of the buyout as the hurdle, how many years do you expect him to last? 3 or 4, i guess?
 
D

Damage_inc

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CELTICAT said:
genuinely curious here. Why was that not the case in 2009 but is the case now?
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Apples and oranges. Remember, clyde didn't even sign his damn contract here. He also tried to bail on Kentucky a few days in. He was also a drunk and he publicly accosted female media members on national television. These are the reasons he was fired and this was public knowledge. This was exactly the opposite situation we are in now as in in 2009 Kentucky would have looked even worse by keeping Clyde. Kentucky was a sympathetic figure in 2009 and Clyde the villain. In 2026 Pope would be the sympathetic figure and Kentucky the villain.
 
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B

Broker

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Damage_inc said:
It's not a question of "what he deserves", its always going to be "what will happen". He will not be fired after year 2.
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The likelyhood of Pope resignng is much greater than him being fired. Coach Pope seem like a truly humble gracious man who would leave on his own rather than continuing to hurt or basketball program. I do believe he will not be here next year.
 
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WildcatDJ

WildcatDJ

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The mentality "he should get a third year" is definitely from the older crowd.

If your significant other cheats on you today, are you gonna stick around another year because they've earned it? When you know, you know. If there is a year 3 of Pope we are 21 months away from starting a new season without him, aka having hope again.

If he makes the tournament this year and kills recruiting he'd maybe have earned another year. The poor recruiting is the thing that gets me, because even Gillispie had some recruits to look forward to. I don't think his current players or the players he is recruiting respects him...and that's a big deal.
 
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D

Damage_inc

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Broker said:
The likelyhood of Pope resignng is much greater than him being fired. Coach Pope seem like a truly humble gracious man who would leave on his own rather than continuing to hurt or basketball program. I do believe he will not be here next year.
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I agree it's more likely that he would resign. But even still I's say there's like a 5% chance he does that. There will be a year 3. I'd look for KY to exploit every single loophole in finding talent ie. G league and NBA guys. Next year will be proving time
 
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BlueBlood96Cat

BlueBlood96Cat

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WildcatDJ said:
The mentality "he should get a third year" is definitely from the older crowd.

If your significant other cheats on you today, are you gonna stick around another year because they've earned it? When you know, you know. If there is a year 3 of Pope we are 21 months away from starting a new season without him, aka having hope again.

If he makes the tournament this year and kills recruiting he'd maybe have earned another year. The poor recruiting is the thing that gets me, because even Gillispie had some recruits to look forward to. I don't think his current players or the players he is recruiting respects him...and that's a big deal.
Click to expand...
Maybe he’s just coming off super inexperienced to these freshman studs because he is and the first one hasn’t decided to take a chance on him and the Kentucky brand yet. That’s why I thought Stokes was so important but that ain’t happening.
 
Eight_Banners

Eight_Banners

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Feb 22, 2016
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Dr.LutherSan said:
There's no coach in America worth their salt that would want to come to this school if Pope was fired after year two.
Click to expand...
This is the right answer. Especially after the great season he had last year.

Barnhart: I'd like you to consider coaching our men’s basketball program

Potential coach: Didn't you just hire Mark Pope less than two years ago.

Barnhart: Yes

Potential coach: Was he fired for off the court issues?

Barnhart: No. He just wasn't getting it done on the court.

Potential coach: He finished 24-12, 10-8 in the SEC, and made it to the Sweet-16 in year one. All of his losses were to power conference teams, none of which had a losing record, was 15-3 at Rupp, and has only one non-conference loss at Rupp in two seasons.

Barnhart: Yeah, last year was good but 2025-26 was abysmal.

Potential coach: Didn't he start the season with significant injuries to his point guard, as well as injuries that sidelined top contributors a few games, and Jayden Quaintance was out the first month and half of the season? Weren't his only losses to teams ranked in the top-25?

Barnhart: Yes, but there is this message board called Rupp Rafters where a lot of people on the board are impatient and fail to understand the difficulty of success in high-level sports.

Potential coach: You're made the change because of emotional fans on a message board?

Barnhart: They're scary and keep saying, "THIS IS KENTUCKY BASKETBALL!" It keeps me up at night.

Potential coach: I'm out
 
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A

Argonaut

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Joker had to at least work for his 3rd year by beating Tennessee for the first time in 30 years. Pope on the other hand got blown out by Tennessee in the Sweet 16 in embarrassing fashion.

A 3rd year with no recruits coming in and no promises of reorganizing the staff sounds absurd for anyone not named Kentucky.

I guarantee it’ll take years to recover from a 3rd year of Mark Pope. We’ll lose so many of our all-time records all in the name of fairness. And by fairness I mean giving Pope millions of dollars for guaranteed failure.
 
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NociHTTP

NociHTTP

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Mar 8, 2023
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BlueBomb said:
A good coach can overcome a bad year, because they had previous successful seasons. Recruiting doesn't suffer after that bad season because players understand the coach has "been there, done that."

But Pope isn't in that situation. He's not proven he can do anything yet, and he's already on the hot seat. So, why would anyone sign up for that? Most won't. Which means, if he doesn't turn it around this season, he's not likely to attract the talent needed moving forward.

The sky isn't falling, but I just looked up, and I can see the cracks.
Click to expand...
Who said he was on the hot seat?
 
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I’m The Village Idiot

I’m The Village Idiot

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Eight_Banners said:
This is the right answer. Especially after the great season he had last year.

Barnhart: I'd like you to consider coaching our men’s basketball program

Potential coach: Didn't you just hire Mark Pope less than two years ago.

Barnhart: Yes

Potential coach: Was he fired for off the court issues?

Barnhart: No. He just wasn't getting it done on the court.

Potential coach: He finished 24-12, 10-8 in the SEC, and made it to the Sweet-16 in year one. All of his losses were to power conference teams, none of which had a losing record, was 15-3 at Rupp, and has only one non-conference loss at Rupp in two seasons.

Barnhart: Yeah, last year was good but 2025-26 was abysmal.

Potential coach: Didn't he start the season with significant injuries to his point guard, as well as injuries that sidelined top contributors a few games, and Jayden Quaintance was out the first month and half of the season? Weren't his only losses to teams ranked in the top-25?

Barnhart: Yes, but there is this message board called Rupp Rafters where a lot of people on the board are impatient and fail to understand the difficulty of success in high-level sports.

Potential coach: You're made the change because of emotional fans on a message board?

Barnhart: They're scary and keep saying, "THIS IS KENTUCKY BASKETBALL!" It keeps me up at night.

Potential coach: I'm out
Click to expand...
Wish people would think from the perspective of the coaches on these matters because that’s what matters for the next prospective hire. Everything you said is correct.

As fans, it’s taken many of us longer to realize “THIS IS KENTUCKY” no longer works in recruiting, and yet we still think it works in hiring a coach. Even if Pope smells like dried vomit at the moment, we must be careful how we play our cards. Pope will be coach for about fifteen months unless something drastic changes.
 
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BlueBlood96Cat

BlueBlood96Cat

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Eight_Banners said:
This is the right answer. Especially after the great season he had last year.

Barnhart: I'd like you to consider coaching our men’s basketball program

Potential coach: Didn't you just hire Mark Pope less than two years ago.

Barnhart: Yes

Potential coach: Was he fired for off the court issues?

Barnhart: No. He just wasn't getting it done on the court.

Potential coach: He finished 24-12, 10-8 in the SEC, and made it to the Sweet-16 in year one. All of his losses were to power conference teams, none of which had a losing record, was 15-3 at Rupp, and has only one non-conference loss at Rupp in two seasons.

Barnhart: Yeah, last year was good but 2025-26 was abysmal.

Potential coach: Didn't he start the season with significant injuries to his point guard, as well as injuries that sidelined top contributors a few games, and Jayden Quaintance was out the first month and half of the season? Weren't his only losses to teams ranked in the top-25?

Barnhart: Yes, but there is this message board called Rupp Rafters where a lot of people on the board are impatient and fail to understand the difficulty of success in high-level sports.

Potential coach: You're made the change because of emotional fans on a message board?

Barnhart: They're scary and keep saying, "THIS IS KENTUCKY BASKETBALL!" It keeps me up at night.

Potential coach: I'm out
Click to expand...
Bull $**** this message board doesn’t have anything to do with Pope not landing recruits and getting run off the court every other game.

More like potential coach: why are you looking to fire Pope after two years?

Barnhart: we need you to do what you have been doing already at your current job but we are gonna give you more support and unlimited resources basically. Can you handle that?


Mark Pope has and will take us to program lows. Yall keep on giving the man time. Sure he’s a good dude… idgaf about that I ain’t a fan because mark Popes a good dude. At this point it’s not opinions. Hes shown us what he is.

If everything is all good with Mark Pope in BBN then why is the big question “can he turn it around”
 
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Dr.LutherSan

Dr.LutherSan

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preston-lemasterpiece said:
you are 100% incorrect. it will scare away other guys like Pope. which is good.
the elite coaches will not be deterred by demanding results.
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Those "elite coaches" are having zero issues getting results without the blue blood name and without the pressure. Hell, barring scandal, Nate Oats is probably a few years from getting the court named after him.
 
BlueBlood96Cat

BlueBlood96Cat

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I’m The Village Idiot said:
Wish people would think from the perspective of the coaches on these matters because that’s what matters for the next prospective hire. Everything you said is correct.

As fans, it’s taken many of us longer to realize “THIS IS KENTUCKY” no longer works in recruiting, and yet we still think it works in hiring a coach. Even if Pope smells like dried vomit at the moment, we must be careful how we play our cards. Pope will be coach for about fifteen months unless something drastic changes.
Click to expand...
Whoever is doing the next hire needs to start now. You don’t fire Pope then look for a coach.
 
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BlueBlood96Cat

BlueBlood96Cat

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Dr.LutherSan said:
Those "elite coaches" are having zero issues getting results without the blue blood name and without the pressure. Hell, barring scandal, Nate Oats is probably a few years from getting the court named after him.
Click to expand...
Well then they will want elite pay
 
U

UKCowboys

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Goingfor9 said:
UK fans have this notion because our fb program has always sucked and we have gone through coaches like water and every one “3 years”. Well this is a new day. A day in which college sports are pro sports. You can buy a team overnight to compete for a title. I see a guy like Pete Carroll fired after 1 season. It was evident he was a terrible match and they didn’t waste time. We know we have a terrible match.

The guy isn’t working on landing players for next year he isn’t prepping the team for big games and so many other things. In a day where programs are no longer built programs are more like franchises where you build your team overnight. If we had the right match we wouldnt perpetually strike out. We would have a team that can defend and stroke it.

We know how this movie ends. This offseason will be much more difficult for pope and it’s more likely we have a losing season next year than go to a final four. There is no longer a 3 year rule. NIL knocked that out. Of course our terrible AD is still operating like it’s 2003 instead of embracing change. If pope is around another season he will become the butt
Of jokes and it will become real ugly because Barney is going to force us to eat our own instead of recognizing he screwed up. If Barney doesn’t deal with pope at the end of the season well after next season I doubt pope comes back to Kentucky for a while. But the program is far greater than him and if that’s what it takes to move him out bbn will do it.
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Not going to debate one word you said. Just gonna say, it ain't happening. Ill take any wager anyone wants. MB will not fire him after this season, no possible way. Fire MB, different story
 
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Eight_Banners

Eight_Banners

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Feb 22, 2016
75
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Argonaut said:
Joker had to at least work for his 3rd year by beating Tennessee for the first time in 30 years. Pope on the other hand got blown out by Tennessee in the Sweet 16 in embarrassing fashion.

A 3rd year with no recruits coming in and no promises of reorganizing the staff sounds absurd for anyone not named Kentucky.

I guarantee it’ll take years to recover from a 3rd year of Mark Pope. We’ll lose so many of our all-time records all in the name of fairness. And by fairness I mean giving Pope millions of dollars for guaranteed failure.
Click to expand...
Why does he need recruits?

Assuming we lose only JQ, Oweh (Sr.), and Aberdeen (Sr.), are those three not replaceable in the transfer portal?

(I am not worried about replacing Tow and Horn)
 
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