Pope is cooked with this quote

NociHTTP

Heisman
Mar 8, 2023
11,980
18,834
113
He's both right and wrong, but more wrong. If you find guys that want to be a part of something special, that recognize where the program used to be and want to get the program back to it, then yes those guys will be easy to teach. Problem is, like OP said, those glory days are so far removed from today. Hell, any footage you look at of those days look like it was recorded on 8-tracks (just kidding). Pope is just too damn nice to the players, IMO, and it affects how he manages the roster and how he coaches the game. Mark is wanting to relive the glory days, with guys who want to touch money.
 
May 27, 2007
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We killed Cal about the whole "players first" stuff.
We killed him when he said that draft night was one of the biggest nights in UK history............

The truth is this just the reality of the times we live in.

You need talented players to win titles.
Players who main dreams is the NBA.

You have to appeal to that type of player otherwise Pope is doing NOTHING here.
 

UKGrad24

All-American
Apr 2, 2024
2,561
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We killed Cal about the whole "players first" stuff.
We killed him when he said that draft night was one of the biggest nights in UK history............

The truth is this just the reality of the times we live in.

You need talented players to win titles.
Players who main dreams is the NBA.

You have to appeal to that type of player otherwise Pope is doing NOTHING here.
You’re missing it. Calipari was extreme. He laughed at Duke for saying program and family matter. He laughed when they said it helps long term. He went all in on players matter program means nothing. That’s not what you do and it’s not what he did early.

Pope is all “it’s Kentucky you either hit your knees or go somewhere else”. That’s wrong.

You sell how great the program is, the fame, this history and what that means to you long term. You also explain we give the platform for your NBA dreams. There is no reason in being extreme in either direction.

Man this ain’t hard I don’t know why we’re making this complicated.
 

theBlues

All-Conference
Oct 18, 2025
1,275
2,747
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What Pope said:
“I think our focus is finding guys that want to be at Kentucky because of what Kentucky is. …We’ll find the guys, there's no play like place like this”.

What I heard:
We're not going to have as much money next year and none of the top recruits want to play for me so we're going to have to get some players from minor conferences that want a chance see if they're good enough for the SEC.
 

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,035
97,323
113
Only loser head coaches who can't recruit NBA talent take digs at players who care about more things than just the "Kentucky experience."

Every one of these kids wants to be a pro someday. As @BlueSince92 said, even guys like Mashburn, Delk, Walker and even Pope himself came here to enhance their pro potential.

Mark has jumped the shark. He's turning into a caricature.

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May 27, 2007
31,835
24,867
113
You’re missing it. Calipari was extreme. He laughed at Duke for saying program and family matter. He laughed when they said it helps long term. He went all in on players matter program means nothing. That’s not what you do and it’s not what he did early.

Pope is all “it’s Kentucky you either hit your knees or go somewhere else”. That’s wrong.

You sell how great the program is, the fame, this history and what that means to you long term. You also explain we give the platform for your NBA dreams. There is no reason in being extreme in either direction.

Man this ain’t hard I don’t know why we’re making this complicated.

I think to the fans Cal was extreme. I think to the players he was still selling the program.

Cal wasn't the only guy able to get people to the NBA. There were other big time coaches. Other big time programs going after those same recruits we were. The fact that we got them especially in Cal's earlier years means to me he was definitely selling something else in addition to getting guys to the NBA.

But we aren't in those rooms. We'll never know I guess. All I know is whatever he was saying, was working as far as bringing in guys.

Pope can't bring in ANYONE at this point.

We came into this year relying on Oweh...............and listen I love Oweh but ............yeah.
 

Blueworld_3.0

Heisman
Sep 23, 2008
14,103
11,215
113
Where's he gonna find these players? He has ZERO recruits signed for next year. If he has to get guys out of the portal then they were either not good enough for this level or didn't want to come to UK to begin with.
I guess maybe some guys at Northern KY or Campbellsville would really like to be at UK. Maybe he's talking about them?
 

kfwa

Senior
Oct 12, 2014
367
686
93
Mark's bias is from his experiences as a player, and he knows that UK fans in general were fed up with Calipari's constant name on the back focus.

To be honest, it was probably a big part of why he was hired.

This is a case of Pope saying what he thinks the Kentucky fans want to hear, and I"m sure there is a segment of fans who were all in during the 80's/90's that like hearing it.
 

Stenchymouse

All-American
Jul 31, 2005
12,695
6,368
113
Popes recruiting pitch probably sounds like this:

“Hey kid, come play basketball on my team so I can base your playing time on analytics we use. Let’s not talk about the nba and all of UK’s former players there”
If he based playing time on analytics, Jasper would never see the floor.
 

Shaudylo

Heisman
Apr 2, 2011
11,403
25,519
112
Don’t care what he says at this point . Nothing he can say will get the fans feeling confident .

I just hope this isn’t how he will be recruiting players .
 
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Blue Jesus

Senior
Aug 24, 2013
338
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He's both right and wrong, but more wrong. If you find guys that want to be a part of something special, that recognize where the program used to be and want to get the program back to it, then yes those guys will be easy to teach. Problem is, like OP said, those glory days are so far removed from today. Hell, any footage you look at of those days look like it was recorded on 8-tracks (just kidding). Pope is just too damn nice to the players, IMO, and it affects how he manages the roster and how he coaches the game. Mark is wanting to relive the glory days, with guys who want to touch money.
Agreed. Tamin Lipsey was a ball boy for Iowa State when he was a kid. That guy who hit the winner for Nebraska yesterday was a Nebraska fan his whole life. There's a place for guys like that, but you can't expect to build a team out of them.
 

UKGrad24

All-American
Apr 2, 2024
2,561
5,972
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I think to the fans Cal was extreme. I think to the players he was still selling the program.

Cal wasn't the only guy able to get people to the NBA. There were other big time coaches. Other big time programs going after those same recruits we were. The fact that we got them especially in Cal's earlier years means to me he was definitely selling something else in addition to getting guys to the NBA.

But we aren't in those rooms. We'll never know I guess. All I know is whatever he was saying, was working as far as bringing in guys.

Pope can't bring in ANYONE at this point.

We came into this year relying on Oweh...............and listen I love Oweh but ............yeah.
Oweh isn’t going to take your team far. But on the topic, Calipari was extreme yes. You didn’t see coach K undersell the program importance and he still landed those guys and they rep the brotherhood stuff even today. You use all the tools you have the program is a tool. This isn’t hard. Use both, don’t go extreme in either direction. That is 100% true there is no debate.