We need to face the reality is that Duke is the premier program in college basketball. While UK and Duke were competitors for a couple of decades, they have far surpassed us in recent years. This is a hard truth for those of us who bleed blue. They are a well-oiled machine while we sputter along. Rather than reacting defensively, we need to understand their system in order to emulate their success. Kentucky needs to do a zero base review and rebuild our program from the bottom up. Otherwise, just learn to accept that we have become a mediocre program and live with it.
Perspective on Duke
- Thread starter CatBlueBlood
- Start date
Great thread. Kentucky can still be Duke or better with the right coach. Piss off OP
Mitch and Eli are fine with where our program is. As long as the money rolls in from JMI.
I was at the UK vs Duke game last year. Unbelievable fight from UK taking down mighty Duke. Injuries derailed a potential final 4 for UK. Just hoping for a year with out major injuries.
Yeah OP, you’re going to catch some heat for posting this, but not from anyone who can keep their ego from accepting the truth!
You are 100% correct, but most fans have all but stopped talking about Duke for this very reason… The truth hurts!
Duke is dominating because of two things…
1. Blue Blood status.
2. Money, because of 3 main blank checkbooks.
UK has the Blue Blood status, but UK, nor just about anyone else, can match the $$$ that Duke can, and there’s no possible way to bridge that gap in this new era.
Money is also (to a great extent) why Pope doesn’t want to get into “bidding wars”, and thus, has lost every major target to a competitor!
And no major coach with any previous qualifying resume will coach here unless they are promised a competitive NIL revenue stream.
You are 100% correct, but most fans have all but stopped talking about Duke for this very reason… The truth hurts!
Duke is dominating because of two things…
1. Blue Blood status.
2. Money, because of 3 main blank checkbooks.
UK has the Blue Blood status, but UK, nor just about anyone else, can match the $$$ that Duke can, and there’s no possible way to bridge that gap in this new era.
Money is also (to a great extent) why Pope doesn’t want to get into “bidding wars”, and thus, has lost every major target to a competitor!
And no major coach with any previous qualifying resume will coach here unless they are promised a competitive NIL revenue stream.
Lmfao AND Kentucky is STILL the better overall program, historically! Even with all the BS preferential treatment duke gets! If Kentucky got the duke treatment, we’d have 25 titles! Now, take a hike, dukie!
Edit: “Emulate” duke?! Lmfao quite the statement, considering duke has wanted to be Kentucky for at least 40 years now! Literally, duke copied everything the Kentucky program was doing during the Cal era. Even had damn near the same slogans. That POS, K, talked all kinds of smack about OAD, then did exactly what he said he was against. Hypocritical bag!
Unfortunately this has been the reality for several years now. UK needs a multi-year run of success to reclaim their status.
What about the 4-5 decades when Duke wasn't a competitor at all? Sure the past decade they've been better than us overall but that's it. One decade does not change a Century worth of history. They'd have to remain on top for 2 more decades at least and we'd have to remain just above average for those 2 decades and then maybe this post would be true. Odds of that happening are slim to none. If anything UCONN has had a more dominant 25 year run than Duke.
Duke has a great coach.
Kentucky is superior to Duke in fanbase, facilities, conference affiliation, and historical prominence.
Kentucky is bigger than Duke is almost every measure. The difference is that Duke is winning at a high level and remains at the top of the rankings year after year. This is what moves the needle in college athletics- prime time matchups, college game days, ESPN specials…..
Kentucky has not even been in the top 25 rankings most of this season.
We will become Indiana if we fire coaches to chase the next coach of the moment. Bobby Knight left Indiana 25 years ago and the Hoosiers have had 7 coaches since then.
Kentucky needs to find our guy now. Please give Schertz an interview, he’s going to go to Syracuse or Arizona St and win big.
Kentucky is superior to Duke in fanbase, facilities, conference affiliation, and historical prominence.
Kentucky is bigger than Duke is almost every measure. The difference is that Duke is winning at a high level and remains at the top of the rankings year after year. This is what moves the needle in college athletics- prime time matchups, college game days, ESPN specials…..
Kentucky has not even been in the top 25 rankings most of this season.
We will become Indiana if we fire coaches to chase the next coach of the moment. Bobby Knight left Indiana 25 years ago and the Hoosiers have had 7 coaches since then.
Kentucky needs to find our guy now. Please give Schertz an interview, he’s going to go to Syracuse or Arizona St and win big.
Some of y’all need meds and therapy and I am only half kidding.
So, you put Duke ahead of UCONN ? by your standard of recent years.
With due respect, Duke is not on top because of preferential treatment. Do they get calls, yes, but does it explain their dominance in recent years. No. Do you really think that Duke wants to be Kentucky? My guess is that they think of Kentucky as an after-thought, if at all. We can tear down Duke if it makes us feel better, but it doesn't alter the facts. We can talk about history, but I want us to be better and to dominate now, not in the past.
And remind us how that well oiled machine done last year, against our sputtering along
Again, the history rationalize
Again, the history rationale. I am proud of UK's history, but we can't rest on our past accomplishments. We haven't been relevant on the national scene for several years now. The last time UK went to a FF, today's hot prospects were in middle school. College basketball is a "what have you for me lately" sport, and, frankly, UK hasn't done much lately.
You are apparently equating success with national championships. The fact is that Duke has been in the hunt every year, which speaks to consistency and the product put on the floor.And remind us how that well oiled machine done last year, against our sputtering along
Duke vs Kentucky the past 10 Seasons plus the current season.
Duke Tourney Final Poll Kentucky Tourney Final Poll
25-11 Sweet 16 19th 27-9 2nd RD 10th
28-9 2nd RD 7th 32-6 EE 6th
29-8 EE 9th 26-11 Sweet 16 18th
32-6 EE 4th 30-7 EE 7th
25-6 Covid 11th 25-6 Covid 8th
13-11 N/A N/A 9-16 N/A N/A
32-7 FF 9th 26-8 First RD 7th
27-9 2nd RD 12th 22-12 2nd RD N/A
27-9 EE 9th 23-10 First RD 20th
35-4 FF 3rd 24-12 Sweet 16 12th
29-2 TBA 19-2 TBA
Overall past 10 full seasons Duke is 273-80 for 77.3% Winning Percentage.
Overall past 10 full seasons Kentucky is 244-97 for 71.6% Winning Percentage.
Duke average final poll ranking is 10.9
Kentucky Average final poll ranking is 14.0
Duke has 2 Final Fours, 3 Elite Eights, 1 Sweet 16 and 2 2nd RD exits
Kentucky has 0 Final Fours, 2 Elite Eights, 2 Sweet 16s, 2 2nd RD exits and 1 First RD exit.
Duke finished ranked higher 6 times and Kentucky 4 times.
They have definitely performed better than us over the past decade but the discrepancy isn't as much as it may seem. That is due to recency bias as in the past 5 years they have pulled farther ahead than the previous 5. It takes more than a good 5 years and a down 5 years for Kentucky to suddenly become the "Gold Standard." Overall they have only averaged 2.9 more wins a year and 1.7 less losses. Neither team has won a Championship in the past decade either.
Kentucky must get back on track and start competing at a higher level ASAP but throughout history we always do and I have no doubt we will again soon.
Duke Tourney Final Poll Kentucky Tourney Final Poll
25-11 Sweet 16 19th 27-9 2nd RD 10th
28-9 2nd RD 7th 32-6 EE 6th
29-8 EE 9th 26-11 Sweet 16 18th
32-6 EE 4th 30-7 EE 7th
25-6 Covid 11th 25-6 Covid 8th
13-11 N/A N/A 9-16 N/A N/A
32-7 FF 9th 26-8 First RD 7th
27-9 2nd RD 12th 22-12 2nd RD N/A
27-9 EE 9th 23-10 First RD 20th
35-4 FF 3rd 24-12 Sweet 16 12th
29-2 TBA 19-2 TBA
Overall past 10 full seasons Duke is 273-80 for 77.3% Winning Percentage.
Overall past 10 full seasons Kentucky is 244-97 for 71.6% Winning Percentage.
Duke average final poll ranking is 10.9
Kentucky Average final poll ranking is 14.0
Duke has 2 Final Fours, 3 Elite Eights, 1 Sweet 16 and 2 2nd RD exits
Kentucky has 0 Final Fours, 2 Elite Eights, 2 Sweet 16s, 2 2nd RD exits and 1 First RD exit.
Duke finished ranked higher 6 times and Kentucky 4 times.
They have definitely performed better than us over the past decade but the discrepancy isn't as much as it may seem. That is due to recency bias as in the past 5 years they have pulled farther ahead than the previous 5. It takes more than a good 5 years and a down 5 years for Kentucky to suddenly become the "Gold Standard." Overall they have only averaged 2.9 more wins a year and 1.7 less losses. Neither team has won a Championship in the past decade either.
Kentucky must get back on track and start competing at a higher level ASAP but throughout history we always do and I have no doubt we will again soon.
Agree
Duke is currently the face of college basketball. Are there other programs that have eclipsed us? Yes, UCONN being one. Other programs are passing us as we stand still. We can't even compete in our own conference. We need serious change at the administrative and coaching levels if we are to mount a resurgence.
Thank you for your analysis. I particularly like your last comment that we always find a way to climb back to the top. This is evidenced by the fact that five coaches have won titles at UK, which suggests that BBN is the program's driving force. We go through cycles. While UK gets criticism for having crazy fans, it's BBN's intensity that keeps the program going. I'm optimistic that history will repeat itself because we fans expect nothing less.
Well in my opinion something changed after Cal choked away the perfect season. It seemed all of a sudden all the Nike kids started going to Duke. Cal turned down the Phil Knight tournament kinda like he was bigger than Nike. Other than the Bam, Fox, Monk class we got the 2nd tier 5 stars and we never recovered. Now we have a coach that can’t even recruit 4 stars.
I agree in part. The blueblood thing is a wash. The money thing is a wash for the most part. Now if we got in a bidding war then they could likely eventually outbid us.
The two main things working against us are Nike and a complete lack of any competence in the athletic department at UK. If Nike decided it wanted UK to be its top program again instead of Duke then we would start landing guys again, even with Pope. As for the AD, any halfway decent AD would have never even considered hiring Pope to begin with. They also wouldn’t have given Cal that ridiculous contract but most importantly they damn sure wouldn’t roll into year 3 with Pope.
If we had an AD who knows what they’re doing AND doesn’t have Eli or the BOT sticking their big noses in telling him he can’t hire so and so, someone like a Danny White, then he would let Pope go and get a legit coach in here that would turn this around in one year. Someone like Oates/Golden/Hurley would have their first UK team in the top 3 of the SEC at minimum and make atleast the Elite 8. The problem is there’s so many morons in the way and things that have to be done to make that happen.
Don’t u guys have espn as the official PR channel for Duke?
The "thing" we must realize, accept, and know is past performance has zero impact on success today. Our success has been dismal for 10 years. Kids college age have no knowledge of Kentucky being a BlueBlood program or a top basketball school. Cal's last 6 or 7 years were failures and now Pope has sunk our program to the pits of basketball. Beating a LSU team on a Wednesday of the SEC tournament does not exude a BlueBlood program. Florida is now today's SEC BlueBlood team in the eyes high school recruits for the SEC. We have a deep hole to dig out of and Pope can't find a shovel. We need a new coach ASAP who can operate a backhoe to get our *** out of this deep hole.
I feel like Duke has been the premier college basketball program since Pitino left...no offense.
However, Duke is the absolute king of doing the least with most. Go look at their metrics and teams from 98-2004...only getting 1 title out of that run is crazy. If they don't win it this year, than that'll make last years choke job look even worse.
Duke gets whatever recruit they want, they also have had good fortune of keeping 5-stars around for multiple years. But...they will keep choking titles away.
Uconn is nowhere near as consistent as Duke. But for whatever reason, when they are good they cut down the nets and don't screw around.
Kentucky just needs to be consistently a contender every year, just like Duke. And we will find our way to #9 if we can just hang around every year.
However, Duke is the absolute king of doing the least with most. Go look at their metrics and teams from 98-2004...only getting 1 title out of that run is crazy. If they don't win it this year, than that'll make last years choke job look even worse.
Duke gets whatever recruit they want, they also have had good fortune of keeping 5-stars around for multiple years. But...they will keep choking titles away.
Uconn is nowhere near as consistent as Duke. But for whatever reason, when they are good they cut down the nets and don't screw around.
Kentucky just needs to be consistently a contender every year, just like Duke. And we will find our way to #9 if we can just hang around every year.
Most Weeks as AP #1, Duke +3 on UCLA and Kentucky in 2025-26
Most Weeks as AP #1 or #2, UK still holding on to a 1 week lead on Duke, Duke +3 on UCLA and Kentucky in 2025-26
Most Weeks as AP Top 5, UK leads, but Duke made major gains this year, Duke +14 on Kentucky and North Carolina in 2025-26
Most Weeks as AP top 10, Duke Leads, Duke +14 on Kentucky and +18 on North Carolina in 2025-26
UK has spent 19% of the AP polls as the top 2, and 36% of the AP poll as the top 5, and leads all of NCAA in those categories. But is in danger of letting Duke pass them on both of those next season. Can Mark Pope be the one to keep UK's lead next year, or will he be at the helm when it slips away.
| Rk | Team | App* | Pct* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Duke | 150 | 11.4% |
| 2. | UCLA | 134 | 10.2% |
| 3. | Kentucky | 125 | 9.5% |
Most Weeks as AP #1 or #2, UK still holding on to a 1 week lead on Duke, Duke +3 on UCLA and Kentucky in 2025-26
| Rk | Team | App* | Pct* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kentucky | 246 | 18.7% |
| 2. | Duke | 245 | 18.6% |
| 3. | UCLA | 215 | 16.4% |
Most Weeks as AP Top 5, UK leads, but Duke made major gains this year, Duke +14 on Kentucky and North Carolina in 2025-26
| Rk | Team | App* | Pct* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kentucky | 472 | 35.8% |
| 2. | Duke | 464 | 35.2% |
| 3. | North Carolina | 442 | 33.5% |
Most Weeks as AP top 10, Duke Leads, Duke +14 on Kentucky and +18 on North Carolina in 2025-26
| Rk | Team | App* | Pct* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Duke | 768 | 58.2% |
| 2. | Kentucky | 746 | 56.6% |
| 3. | North Carolina | 708 | 53.7% |
UK has spent 19% of the AP polls as the top 2, and 36% of the AP poll as the top 5, and leads all of NCAA in those categories. But is in danger of letting Duke pass them on both of those next season. Can Mark Pope be the one to keep UK's lead next year, or will he be at the helm when it slips away.
CatBlueBlood is 100% correct. The BS about who has been all time ranked #1 and most alltime wins does not mean shvt for today's kids. DUKE, whom I hate, is the premier basketball program today and no one is close. Hell, we are barely middle of the pack in the SEC but we have daily posters thinking we are still the greatest basketball program ever. What schools have done in the past 5 or 6 years is what high school studs know.**** dude and **** you too
As much as I hate Duke, they have the type of program we used to/should have now. A down year for them is a sweet 16 caliber team.
I have no idea whether OP is trolling or not but it's the truth.
On a fan passion and tradition level we blow them out of the water.
On a functional operation level, their executive and athletics departments are doing everything humanly possible to make them the most powerful basketball juggernaut on the planet, while ours are bleeding our program dry to line their golden parachutes. @ssholes.
On a fan passion and tradition level we blow them out of the water.
On a functional operation level, their executive and athletics departments are doing everything humanly possible to make them the most powerful basketball juggernaut on the planet, while ours are bleeding our program dry to line their golden parachutes. @ssholes.