Move on from pope if we have to do all of this. I don’t want pope making major moves in year 3 except staff and team. Forget a gm pope needs to focus on proving he can handle the job. All these changes especially a gm none of it addresses our problems. We need pope go to a week long coaching camp and bring in players. That’s it. These others things no more distractions. And JMI isn’t preventing us from getting players. Pope is too much in Barney’s pocket to follow what he thinks Barney wants. We need a coach who goes back to JMI and tells them we need to land x players and we need to do whatever it takes. If at JMI doesn’t help then we have a problem. Right now pope is our problem because he doesn’t have the chops to push and push for the nil we need for elite players. There is a low level of persistence with pope. He walks the line.
Jaland Lowes Father speaks
- Thread starter Catfan in Tn.
- Start date
Look, I like Lowe but... you really think in year 3 of Mark Pope, with no more gimmie years and no more second chances, they should take the chance on Lowe AGAIN and run it back? After having the first season derailed by injuries and the second season almost fall apart catastrophically? That's playing with fire and could result in Pope getting fired.
Last edited:
I can see the future…..3rd game, next season…...
~Mark Pope says that Jayland Lowe will NOT play but they are "super optimistic" he'll be back soon.~
Stupido.
~Mark Pope says that Jayland Lowe will NOT play but they are "super optimistic" he'll be back soon.~
Stupido.There are rules, bro. Pay for play is illegal under the current NIL structure. Whether or not universities adhere to the rules, and whether or not the NCAA does anything about it, is a whole other discussion.
I feel like UK really needs to have 3 guys who can actually play the PG spot. Two who are true PGs (whether pass-first or lead Guards) and maybe one combo Guard. Johnson could be a lead Guard option at PG if he improves his handle to put pressure on the defense, and Lowe could be the 2nd one. But I agree with those who say you can't go into next season with only that. It's too risky. I think Pope should get the best PG in the portal he can convince to come regardless and let the chips fall where they may. And if that scares off Lowe or if Johnson decides to transfer then he needs to pick up additional options - maybe one from remaining non-OAD high school ranks and a 2nd one from the portal.
Now for those who actually care, we did try to create a workaround for Gwath to come here in the last portal cycle knowing he was injured and might be limited in his usage this season, but his camp didn't go for it. Small amount of NIL upfront in year 1, large NIL offering in year 2. We lost him back to his original school because we didn't want to pay their NIL asking price up front with the injury concerns, and they didn't like the 2 year commitment. This was pre-JQ signing and pre restructured JMI deal so it matters little now. Wasn't technically illegal, but sure smelled of pay for play. I'm sure Mitch and the Holy Rollers would have stroked out had that deal been inked out of fear of the big bad NCAA coming down on the program.
yeah there's a chance we will have to fill about 7 spots
all those being portal guys wouldn't be ideal
Chandler is much more than a spot up shooter. The Missouri., LSU and Tennessee he may last second place that put us in a position to win the game.. people forget about Missouri where that guy was about to do a breakaway dunk and he slapped it out of his hands, threw it all away and what should've been an easy layup. He also has very good court vision.
Building around doesn’t mean he’s the main option. Role players will make up 80%+ of your team. Hence why I said bring in one high level recruit and a stud portal player or two. Do that and return the right pieces and we are a top 5 team. Players can make huge jumps year to year, we’ve become to used to the Cal days of reload every year. It’s okay to build around a core base.
Assuming you can keep Jasper, Collin, Hawthorne (who people forget out), Noah, Jelavic, Kam, Moreno and Potter... The roles will be pretty well known, learned and set for that group. It makes it clear that PG1 and PG2 (true point guards and not combo guards) is open for portal/recruiting and a wing/stretch four spot is open, and a backup center development piece is open. It's hard to say where Pope stands with these guys returning and accepting their roles, but if they all come back, portal needs aren't that steep and maybe we can go all in on 2 studs.
Hopefully
If by value you mean starter minutes and production then no, they don't. Potter literally can't as he's redshirting. But they both do add value as depth pieces that don't require much NIL in case of injuries. They add bodies for the scout team in practice, and are willing to fill roles. They are exactly the type of 4 year Kentucky born players willing to play cigar minutes types fans have been screaming for. You can't have five stars fill spots 12-15 on the roster. Somebody has to do it, why not in state kids who want to be here?
You have to expect UK will lose some to the transfer portal – maybe some by mutual agreement. But 7 is still a pretty high number in today’s game, don’t you think?
The best recipe for a championship run includes a core group of returning players - I’d say on average 5. And that base needs to provide a few solid role players, a dependable perimeter shooter(s), and a really good All-Conference type (or two). If you’re really lucky you get a returning player that’s an All-American type.
If you don’t have that you’ve generally got to find your most dependable, best offensive player in the portal. That’s the best place to find shooting as well. You rebuild the base with 4 or 5 freshmen, an OAD if you can coax him to play the role you need, and rinse-repeat year after year. Last offseason it seems Pope went really high on getting players capable of retuning for a 2nd year. I think that was purposeful. Now whether it works to give him a contender will depend, in my opinion, on adding a proven dependable offensive star from the transfer portal – preferably a Guard - and a couple of other pieces (which could be, but need not be, the freshman I think you want).
i mean the answer to that first paragraph is that just because someone is eligible to come back doesnt mean they will, matter of fact i think guys like hawthorne jj and noah might look elsewhere
I would suspect you could not sign a single player that says if you are injured while playing in a game, try two times afterwards with reinjury and finally have surgery for that injury you won’t be paid. Get real. These damn shoulder dislocations just show how much contact is now allowed in this sport. Kind of like the calls for walking, double dribbling, etc.
You know, if we could string together a few more wins, get ranked again, compete for say a 4-seed and maybe an Elite 8.. coupled with fixing whatever the f*ck JMI is doing... we could turn recruiting around.
We have the information it seems, as to what has gone wrong getting these guys. Maybe Pope's recruiting pitch needs work, maybe we need to prioritize talent over depth, and maybe we need JMI to have less strict contracts.. but these are all things we have heard about, and that can 100% be fixed as early as the very next recruiting visit. I dont see a reason why this can't get fixed as soon as next season and we are back to landing 2 or 3 5-star guys as needed.
Don’t hate the playa
It should be fixed but we have a worthless AD and a coach who appears in well over his head. The staff doesn’t seem much better. So will it be fixed? I’m super skeptical.
He's going to be hear for a third year. Most reasonable folk would assume that. You just hope he won't because you didn't get your
He's going to be hear for a third year. Most reasonable folk would assume that. You just hope he won't because you didn't get your "elite players" and "super studs".
well yes because those "elite players" is what brings excitement and wins
unless your an elite coach like hurley that doesnt need guys like that
I still don't know what ultimately is the bigger problem. I'd like to think that Pope as a coach could work with a better AD who prioritizes winning, and on the flipside, I just don't know if any coach can win with Mitch at the helm mucking things up. I'd really like to see Mitch gone after this year and see what Pope can do. He probably could use an assistant coaching shake-up as well. Which is where an AD or President of Basketball could come in.
Good lord omg. Man, you don’t care anything about being elite do you?
Not saying this is him.. but I swear some fans would be just as pleased to max out at Sweet16s if it means having Kentucky players whose names they can remember, and playing the game "the right way".
I want them to want to be here, but priority #1 for the program who leads most of the NCAA categories in men’s basketball should always be to sustain the program at the top.
If they want to think of it that way, “want to be here”, why not think of the men who spent their lives building this place and showing them the respect of keeping their life’s work for the state where they left it? At the top.
These guys are going to win here or they aren’t going to be here, whether or not they want to be here has no bearing.
Those eight plus Lowe and another point good enough to challenge him for the starting position plus another lesser rated pg for depth and a big time forward talent like Collins and we'd have a definite top five team.
And let me tell you, Lexington KY isn't exactly a place young adults are pining to move to. We have to remember that UK Basketball still needs to draw recruits in, they aren't coming here just because of our legacy in the game or our fans.
Definitely not 18 year olds. Nah. Not unless they’re from super rural areas where nothing is.
Now young adults with families yea. Triangle city area with the mountains and pigeon forge, love it. Decent proximity to Lake Michigan and other cities. Honestly to me it’s much better than areas like Nashville. Low crime rates compared, area seems like the 90’s compared to others today.
But 18 year olds want Miami Beach so.
That is true, Mitch seems to be a roadblock to success in major sports.
“Pope had those Kentucky boys playing good, people said ole Max Kelly from Meade County would never be a Wildcat and look at him now.” 4ppg on a sweet 16 team boy!
Lowe isnt capable of leading a team to a title, he's just never going to be a good shooter.
I do. You don't care anything about being loyal to kids that we recruited, played through injury and want to stay here. My way will win us a championship quicker than your way
