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If Pope manages to win it all his 1st yr at UK

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HerrosHeroes

Heisman
Aug 16, 2018
27,234
38,039
0
That would put him right there with Joe B as the only player/coach at UK to win a championship at UK as a player and as a coach.

Difference is it took Hall about 5 yrs as a Coach to win one.

Pope winning it his 1st yr plus being a part of the Greatest College Basketball team of all time would make Pope an instant legend, not only in Ky but in the US as well.
 
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UKSanders_rivals37733

All-American
Jan 1, 2003
8,634
8,736
0
To be fair, the title does say "IF"... we all agree that's a big if, but considering it doesn't say when, there are no expectations stated...so, for now, we can all just enjoy the thought since the team is currently undefeated and all early reports seem to indicate this team is focused on winning as a team above all else.
 
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S

so_obvious

All-Conference
May 26, 2017
1,683
3,107
0
UKSanders said:
To be fair, the title does say "IF"... we all agree that's a big if, but considering it doesn't say when, there are no expectations stated...so, for now, we can all just enjoy the thought since the team is currently undefeated and all early reports seem to indicate this team is focused on winning as a team above all else.
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“IF” isn’t the problem. It’s the OP. Dude has rainbows coming out of his blown out, cursed holes.

🕳️
 
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P

Panthur

Heisman
Aug 5, 2008
9,225
12,780
0
If Pope wins two titles at any point at all in the next twelve years he will hands down be our second best coach after only Rupp. With no realistic room for argument. Funny that that’s all it should take after all this time. But that’s all it would take.
 
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B

bthaunert

Heisman
Apr 4, 2007
29,518
21,619
0
HerrosHeroes said:
That would put him right there with Joe B as the only player/coach at UK to win a championship at UK as a player and as a coach.

Difference is it took Hall about 5 yrs as a Coach to win one.

Pope winning it his 1st yr plus being a part of the Greatest College Basketball team of all time would make Pope an instant legend, not only in Ky but in the US as well.
Click to expand...
Joe B did not win a title as a player. He was playing for Sewanee when UK won the title.
 
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BBNinSC_rivals62411

All-American
Jan 2, 2015
2,788
5,695
0
Snarks0 said:
Guy who hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game is going to win the title his first year? Yeah, right.
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You wont have that narrative for much longer. Kentucky has an offensive minded, motivated coach with a deep and experienced roster. Mark Pope will be nationally known very soon into his first season at UK.
 
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LineSkiCat14

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
38,355
60,012
113
Zissou87 said:
I would seriously lower any possibility of that in his first season.
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I would only lower it because there's simply too much randomness with the tournament. But watching us already have solid chemistry in the summer scrimage, and seeing Perry prove hs ability to shoot.. I see no reason why Pope can't put himself, and this team, in the top15 teams to win it this season (Granted, I want to see more of this team of course).

But assuming Pope is at least a solid coach, the only difference now and 5 years from now, is just learning the ropes of being UK's coach and having some more roster experience playing together.
 
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W

Wildcats1st

Heisman
Sep 16, 2017
18,949
28,911
0
HerrosHeroes said:
That would put him right there with Joe B as the only player/coach at UK to win a championship at UK as a player and as a coach.

Difference is it took Hall about 5 yrs as a Coach to win one.

Pope winning it his 1st yr plus being a part of the Greatest College Basketball team of all time would make Pope an instant legend, not only in Ky but in the US as well.
Click to expand...
Go away
 
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Son_Of_Saul

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
44,471
94,864
113
I think BBN would be happy with a Sweet Sixteen finish and a 25ish win season.

In time, Pope will land premier freshmen in additional to elite transfers. He put together this entire roster in a few weeks, and managed to carve out a top 20 team. Plus, that process started later than many other programs nationally.

People overlook the fact that he gained a ton of experience in the portal, maybe more than any coach in the nation in a one-year span. Bringing in 12 guys from around the country put him in contact with hundreds of people, and dozens of other coaches and inner circles.

He's only going to get better every year in managing the portal. Plus, next year I think we'll have two or three incoming freshmen, in addition to 4 or 5 returners. He won't have to target as many portal guys (we might need 5 or so), and he can presumably spend more money on them than he did this year.
 
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P

Panthur

Heisman
Aug 5, 2008
9,225
12,780
0
Snarks0 said:
Guy who hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game is going to win the title his first year? Yeah, right.
Click to expand...
If this will ever happen in history this here is probably the best chance for it. Very hard to recreate either the recruiting disadvantage at BYU or the recruiting advantage at Kentucky. Plus Pope being a favorite son of ours has given him a lot of extra fan and booster financial support—right at the one time in all of history when that can be the most use: the confluence of NIL ballooning (hit another level with the players recent class action win over TV rights) and the end of the bonus covid years. All when Kentucky signed a kid who broke the HS scoring record after 70 years and another in-state native who has been pushing him and they are both pushing everybody else. Silly to say it’s guaranteed. But also silly to say it’s off the table.
 
K

kennyskywalker34

All-American
Jan 22, 2013
4,528
7,453
0
Would this be the greatest feat in the history of sports?
40-0 Bay-Bay imagine being 57 almost 58 years old and saying Bay-Bay.
OP is one of a kind.
 
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C

Cats192

Heisman
Apr 22, 2011
14,646
17,091
93
Son_Of_Saul said:
I think BBN would be happy with a Sweet Sixteen finish and a 25ish win season.

In time, Pope will land premier freshmen in additional to elite transfers. He put together this entire roster in a few weeks, and managed to carve out a top 20 team. Plus, that process started later than many other programs nationally.

People overlook the fact that he gained a ton of experience in the portal, maybe more than any coach in the nation in a one-year span. Bringing in 12 guys from around the country put him in contact with hundreds of people, and dozens of other coaches and inner circles.

He's only going to get better every year in managing the portal. Plus, next year I think we'll have two or three incoming freshmen, in addition to 4 or 5 returners. He won't have to target as many portal guys (we might need 5 or so), and he can presumably spend more money on them than he did this year.
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This.

1st year--I just need to get back to the 2nd weekend. Everything else will be gravy.

I think we have a top 15 roster. We have a coach that actually believes in analytics and...coaching.
 
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O

oldsports_

Heisman
Dec 18, 2010
22,823
38,962
113
HerrosHeroes said:
That would put him right there with Joe B as the only player/coach at UK to win a championship at UK as a player and as a coach.

Difference is it took Hall about 5 yrs as a Coach to win one.

Pope winning it his 1st yr plus being a part of the Greatest College Basketball team of all time would make Pope an instant legend, not only in Ky but in the US as well.
Click to expand...
40-0
 
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Dr.LutherSan

Dr.LutherSan

All-American
Sep 6, 2019
3,622
6,755
113
lakercat said:
This is such a bad argument. Tubby went to the Sweet 16 in 1996, but lost to 14 seed UT-Chattanooga in 1997, came to UK, won the title in 98.
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From 1994 to 1996 Tubby reached the Sweet 16 though. He also inherited several players off a national runner-up team. Mark Pope doesn't have that resume, nor tournament experienced roster. Regardless, thinking any coach to win the championship in their first season is setting yourself for disappointment.
 
B

BucN1Cat

Junior
Jan 21, 2013
334
399
0
HerrosHeroes said:
That would put him right there with Joe B as the only player/coach at UK to win a championship at UK as a player and as a coach.

Difference is it took Hall about 5 yrs as a Coach to win one.

Pope winning it his 1st yr plus being a part of the Greatest College Basketball team of all time would make Pope an instant legend, not only in Ky but in the US as well.
Click to expand...
Well that's not going to happen. Should be a decent team though. Probably around 10-12 loses I'm guessing.
 
W1LDCAT22

W1LDCAT22

All-Conference
Jan 10, 2013
1,101
1,339
113
BlueSince92 said:
If this will ever happen in history this here is probably the best chance for it. Very hard to recreate either the recruiting disadvantage at BYU or the recruiting advantage at Kentucky. Plus Pope being a favorite son of ours has given him a lot of extra fan and booster financial support—right at the one time in all of history when that can be the most use: the confluence of NIL ballooning (hit another level with the players recent class action win over TV rights) and the end of the bonus covid years. All when Kentucky signed a kid who broke the HS scoring record after 70 years and another in-state native who has been pushing him and they are both pushing everybody else. Silly to say it’s guaranteed. But also silly to say it’s off the table.
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It doesn't seem that there is too much of a disadvantage recruiting at BYU.
 
B

Broker

All-Conference
Aug 29, 2012
1,507
1,500
113
Slowwalker said:
If he wins 17 titles, he will be the greatest coach ever.
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If we have a winning SEC record this year, Pope will have had a great first season based on what he had when he arrived in Lexington. For us to discuss winning it all is just a BS dream. Don't disappoint yourself by actually thinking winning it all is possible.
 
C

caneintally

Heisman
Oct 1, 2002
27,455
17,056
0
The goal at least this year should be to make 2nd weekend of NCAA Tourney . I think we do and lose something like 8-11 games on the season total. Maybe 3rd seed in SECT or something like that. But I do think we will be fun to watch and that will give hope to recruits so Pope can sign some good players in 2025-2026. I have excepted that most of our signees this year will be transfers which is fine as Pope is unproven quantity on every level so big time guys aren't going to come here til he shows he isn't in over his head.
 
S

Slowwalker

All-Conference
Nov 10, 2015
2,555
3,974
0
Edgarman said:
If we have a winning SEC record this year, Pope will have had a great first season based on what he had when he arrived in Lexington. For us to discuss winning it all is just a BS dream. Don't disappoint yourself by actually thinking winning it all is possible.
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I think you missed my overwhelming sarcasm. I thought the same which I assumed most people would be able to deduce based on my comment.
 
K

kennyskywalker34

All-American
Jan 22, 2013
4,528
7,453
0
I see something like 6- 8 losses. 2-3 seed. I think they definitely win one and likely 2 NCAAT games. However it plays out. I think the season will be exciting and UK will be a tough team to beat

But let's face it. We are all just guessing. Nobody knows how it will play out. I would be very surprised at a elite 8 or final 4 but I wouldn't be shocked.
They don't have a superstar that I can see. But they don't have a bad player on the roster either. Lot depends on how they play together and gel as a team.
They could get hot in March like a NC state team did and make a deep run.
 
B

Butters' Dad

Senior
Jul 23, 2011
543
460
0
caneintally said:
The goal at least this year should be to make 2nd weekend of NCAA Tourney . I think we do and lose something like 8-11 games on the season total. Maybe 3rd seed in SECT or something like that. But I do think we will be fun to watch and that will give hope to recruits so Pope can sign some good players in 2025-2026. I have excepted that most of our signees this year will be transfers which is fine as Pope is unproven quantity on every level so big time guys aren't going to come here til he shows he isn't in over his head.
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The goal this year, realistically should be to make the tourney. Having expectations beyond that is a recipe for disappointment.
 
U

Ukbrassowtipin

Heisman
Aug 12, 2011
82,109
89,931
0
I'm guessing 1st/2nd rd...and we'll be playing a better opponent in the first rd than st Peter's or Oakland simply bc I don't expect to go into the tournament as a 2 seed.
 
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Dr.LutherSan

Dr.LutherSan

All-American
Sep 6, 2019
3,622
6,755
113
UKBrassowTipIN said:
I'm guessing 1st/2nd rd...and we'll be playing a better opponent in the first rd than st Peter's or Oakland simply bc I don't expect to go into the tournament as a 2 seed.
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That's my expectation and think that is acceptable for his first year.
 
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