If Pope gets to the Elite 8
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Why is everyone so quick to list the injuries excuse, but not the $22 million.
Elite eight with the highest payroll in college basketball is not very impressive.
Cal would’ve gotten raked over the coals by fans and opposing fans alike if he only went to the Elite 8 on $22 million. But some fans just shrug their shoulders when Pope risks not even making the tournament:
With these injuries? L...M....F....A....O...
S16 and according to the contract signed by Mitch and Pope , he automatically gets another year And increase in salary.
I hope he gets to win number 9.
Obviously , isnt happening this year or next because Pope can’t recruit. The hope is to hire a connected GM . Who knows if that will happen.
With his comments on the refs, Pope accomplished nothing , just got a target on his back and Kentucky implicitly where refs will hunt him for Ts or bad calls.
The sad reality is if the same status quo goes on , UK will remain stuck in this period of mediocrity.
I hope he gets to win number 9.
Obviously , isnt happening this year or next because Pope can’t recruit. The hope is to hire a connected GM . Who knows if that will happen.
With his comments on the refs, Pope accomplished nothing , just got a target on his back and Kentucky implicitly where refs will hunt him for Ts or bad calls.
The sad reality is if the same status quo goes on , UK will remain stuck in this period of mediocrity.
No thanks. We don’t play for elite 8’s and sweet 16’s here. He’s going to have to show that he can actually get to atleast a final four before I even consider wanting him here anymore. If you’re going to lose to teams you shouldn’t every year, which Pope does every year, then you better perform in the tournament.
This. Once you lose the majority’s support or good faith then you’re likely never getting it back. From there on they will never trust you again. Even if you happen to go on a hot streak it will only take the least little hiccup to reaffirm to those fans why they lost faith in the first place.
Off the top of my head I can only think of one time a coach has lost support and then somehow managed to win big again. UNC fans were done with Roy but he somehow managed to win that 2017 title and go to another title game soon after. Even still, many of their fans were ready for him to leave when he finally did several years later.
Point being, fans aren’t dumb. If anything they tend to give coaches too much rope IMO. When the majority of a fanbase wants you gone, it’s for good reason and it’s the right move more often than not.
The issue to me is not even the $22 million at this point, because injuries do have to be factored into all of that. Instead, it's that we certainly have the talent to beat the Auburns, Missouris, and Georgias of the world, and yet Pope has found a way to lose to all three (including two home games).
That's the part that tells me he's not the man for this job. We have more talent than all three of those schools, and two of those games were at Rupp.
Inexcusable.
I would wager that about 85% of the fanbase wants Pope gone. Unfortunately, because Mitch is still around, Pope will get a 3rd year no matter what, even if we lose the rest of every games by 20+.
If Pope gets an Elite 8, it would help cushion his 3rd year.
However, some fans will think because if he got an elite 8 this year, the program is changed around and they change their mind about Pope (Which is absurd imo).
The main issue is he can't recruit, and he loses the same way. Its been like this at BYU and even last year.
If we had our same schedule, and we competed, with good effort and still lost, I bet you half of the fans that want Pope gone now, would be more inclined to give him a third year.
The problem is, he has not improved at all. He has regressed.
If Pope somehow gets an elite 8, saying we even make the tourney, it would be impressive. However, if he can't recruit, can't improve during the season next year, no matter what he gets this year, I just don't see Pope ever becoming "elite."
If Pope gets an Elite 8, it would help cushion his 3rd year.
However, some fans will think because if he got an elite 8 this year, the program is changed around and they change their mind about Pope (Which is absurd imo).
The main issue is he can't recruit, and he loses the same way. Its been like this at BYU and even last year.
If we had our same schedule, and we competed, with good effort and still lost, I bet you half of the fans that want Pope gone now, would be more inclined to give him a third year.
The problem is, he has not improved at all. He has regressed.
If Pope somehow gets an elite 8, saying we even make the tourney, it would be impressive. However, if he can't recruit, can't improve during the season next year, no matter what he gets this year, I just don't see Pope ever becoming "elite."
I don't think it should matter. It will but I don't think it should.
If we happen to win a few games in the tournament we shouldn't, it will have just masked the real issues here.
To me it would be like a baseball player who isn't known for hitting home runs, happens to hit one and then he thinks he's Babe Ruth all of a sudden.
But the real issue isn't winning a few games in March, it's having the coach that can put together a roster to consistently compete at the top level and I've seen NOTHING from a recruiting standpoint for year 3 that suggests Pope is capable of this.
If we make an Elite 8 does that save the season? Maybe. It would be similar to 2011 and 2014 in that we had meh seasons but turned it around in March. But what it doesn't do is suggest any longterm success.
If we happen to win a few games in the tournament we shouldn't, it will have just masked the real issues here.
To me it would be like a baseball player who isn't known for hitting home runs, happens to hit one and then he thinks he's Babe Ruth all of a sudden.
But the real issue isn't winning a few games in March, it's having the coach that can put together a roster to consistently compete at the top level and I've seen NOTHING from a recruiting standpoint for year 3 that suggests Pope is capable of this.
If we make an Elite 8 does that save the season? Maybe. It would be similar to 2011 and 2014 in that we had meh seasons but turned it around in March. But what it doesn't do is suggest any longterm success.
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If we make the elite 8, it does not erase the memories of the embarrassing loses to all those teams like Gonzaga, Michigan St. and Vanderbilt. It does not change the fact he can’t recruit at a high enough level due to being such a goofy odd person. I didn’t sign up for 12 loss seasons as our ceiling I don’t care what you do March. We need a much better coach and recruiter.
No. I am tired of dreading each regular season game wondering IF we will win. I want to get back to looking forward to the next game and not being the laughing stock of college basketball. No one remembers who got to the Elite Eight so that isn't even a factor. People do remember awful seasons.
All jokes aside (including my vote) if he made an Elite 8 this season it would of course mean he gets a third year. The likelihood of that happening is very small but as the annoying commercials say, “Anything can happen in March!”
I also think regardless of what happens he’ll get a third year but if next year isn’t a marked improvement in recruiting and results then I think it needs to be evaluated.
I also think the hiring of a GM would be a positive sign but if he balks at that then his own hubris will be his downfall, and frankly that would be the most shocking thing to me if he refused to follow the current trend of how this is professional sports now. I say shocking because I would’ve guessed that stubbornness wasn’t a quality he possessed but refusing to do that would prove that wrong IMO.
I also think regardless of what happens he’ll get a third year but if next year isn’t a marked improvement in recruiting and results then I think it needs to be evaluated.
I also think the hiring of a GM would be a positive sign but if he balks at that then his own hubris will be his downfall, and frankly that would be the most shocking thing to me if he refused to follow the current trend of how this is professional sports now. I say shocking because I would’ve guessed that stubbornness wasn’t a quality he possessed but refusing to do that would prove that wrong IMO.
Really, Travis? Final Four in his SECOND year? When Bozo hadn't been there for how many years before running off to Arkansas?
Goes eight or final four that shows though portal is more important than high school recruiting in this case.
Calipari went 9-16 and half of you still let him off the hook even now "because covid" so nah, you'd be here ready and willing to make any excuse possible for his complete failure.
I on the left cheek and S on the right cheek? Or the IS vertical down the ahem, midline???
Never know in 2026
That’s a good question. I actually liked his post and agreed with him but your question has me thinking. If I knew every year we would be humiliated by 20+ beat downs and then somehow show up in the tourney and make deep runs I’d still want him gone. Part of the journey is the year of ball itself and the last 2 years no matter how you justify isn’t a pleasurable experience for me as a fan. I want better for the program. There used to be a time when the other blue bloods were nervous to play us. That’s not the case now.
As the year looks now we won’t need to bother ourselves worrying about a deep run.
Of course he'd be welcomed back. Don't be silly.
But for comparison's sake...Remember what Kevin Keatts did? He was on the way out at NC State and then they make the FF. Bring him back and fire him the next year.
I think it's obvious to even the most optimistic of fans, this isn't going to work. It's going to be a slow burn though. He'll win "enough" to get a 4th yr after the third, I think. At this point, I'd have to say he'll get a 5th yr before he's fired after a 3rd yr...and that pains me to say it.
But for comparison's sake...Remember what Kevin Keatts did? He was on the way out at NC State and then they make the FF. Bring him back and fire him the next year.
I think it's obvious to even the most optimistic of fans, this isn't going to work. It's going to be a slow burn though. He'll win "enough" to get a 4th yr after the third, I think. At this point, I'd have to say he'll get a 5th yr before he's fired after a 3rd yr...and that pains me to say it.
That’s a fat non sequitur.
We’ve only got four quality players: DA and OO came from the portal while Pope took MM and CC out of high school. So even if we assumed our portal players perfectly represent the portal and our high school players perfectly represent high school (an arbitrary and ridiculous assumption), neither going EE or going FF would prove that or anything like it.
Our single team is far too tiny a sample size to begin with anyway. That’s why almost anyone that points to a single team on any discussions like this is making a 1+1=potato level argument. It doesn’t matter where you get the players ultimately, as long as they are good. I like portal better because you can more properly assess their skills. High school guys offer more variability but more upside, generally.
Exactly. The top portal players have experience plus skillz. The top high school players have less experience but most of them have too many skillz to ever be in the portal.
I would say
High school - higher risk, higher reward
Portal - lower risk, lower reward
I definitely think both are valuable and have place in roster construction but Pope is on the hot seat and he has to be certain of what he has next year. That’s gotta be a couple premium portal guys. If he goes and gets Stokes and has the whole site rejoicing and then Stokes is closer to Justin Edwards than Julius Randle, you’re updating your LinkedIn page the next day. There’s a way to get more high school type guys without that risk, but Pope will have to prove himself on the court first.
I think it's realistic that have a coach that had to start a brand new team when he got here. I had the first week 16 and five years and then were to get an elite eight then yes, he gets another year or two. Because he did that without elite recruits. It would show that he can't build the teams he needs to compete. I think if he is successful this year to an eight, which I don't think he will be but if he is, we need a GM.
I was also referring to last year's portal play players as well if you can't just disregard them and we had some good ones
I’m not sure teams that lose 6 outta 7 to finish the season will make the tournament. They better wake up if they want to make it.
Not a factor anymore. They specifically took that out of the criteria. They are safely in. Just beat SCAR and they’re at worst a 10 and probably a 9 or 8 even if they lose out.
I was being facetious. I thought the ball kicking would give it away but I realized for some people that would actually be something they’d want lol so I added a comment after.
The 22 million was verified when it was never disputed. However, it is hard to say injuries are an issue when you sign injured players. Maybe it should be expected and planned as if they will be injured and count it as a bonus if they are not.
I mean stranger things have happened I'd still honestly want a new coach. Pope ball is not exciting. You can call me a troll or not a real fan but I don't look forward to games now. Even if we do win it's never enjoyable to watch
He's getting a year 3 anyways.
We have about a negative 10% chance of making the elite 8. Weird thread.
We have about a negative 10% chance of making the elite 8. Weird thread.