To be fair, I remember when Billy Gillispie was introduced. Folks went from scratching their head in confusion over the hire to being pumped after the press conference. Just the way it goes. People want to feel excitement and hope for something new.
Recruit better players
- Thread starter CAWOOD FAN
- Start date
I saw the headline and assumed the post (rightfully) would be slamming Pope about his inability to recruit talent. Instead, the post gives Pope an excuse for losing because the players are not talented.
If he doesn’t resign after this year, next year will probably be the worst year of his life. He’ll never be able to look at UK fans the same way again.
That video should have been a major red flag (head coach at different school pulls of a clown stunt). When I saw, I knew he didn’t have the moxy to lead UK.
I call it as I see it. And yes I would say Pope is an elite offensive coach. I don’t think this roster ended up working out that way…
Some good, some bad.
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I’m talking scheme. I wouldn’t expect midmajors to have top offensive efficiencies. BYU was a midmajor prior to 2024. I love Pope’s offensive schemes and so does most of the country. John Scheyer has basically started running it himself if you pay mind to Duke.
If Pope could coach defense, I could believe again. That’s a massive problem.
This team plays an offense predicated on shooting threes. We don't have ANYONE who can consistently shoot them. I lost count of the times we could have fed the post today but didn't do so. These guys simply can't score enough points in our current offense to beat good teams. The problem this year isn't defense it's OFFENSE.
Chandler can't dribble left handed baseline to baseline w/o losing the ball. Catch and shoot moon balls is all he's got in the bag.
It isn't just the losses. It's the manner and margin in which we are taking them. Majority of defeats are belt to ***.
Yeah...we can't shoot lol
Honest question…What would it take? Does he survive a 6-12 SEC record and an opening round SECT loss? Thats 15-17. Surely that frees us all from this crap show? I don’t THINK he’s getting fired, but I do think there’s a solid chance if the record is that piss poor. And I think there’s a world where it could be that bad.
I would think a losing record in the SEC and missing the tourney would do it. But who knows and do we need to hire anyone else if Barney is still in charge?
Is it just me or does he feel like he’s trying to guide those moon balls recently? Doesn’t look confident on release to me
When are people going to realize he doesn’t have common sense. Some intelligent people don’t. There’s no other explanation.
All our guys are guiding the ball and hoping to make it. Shoot with confidence.
I just don't understand how a D1 player with all these resources at their disposal can't shoot a lick.
I thought it was dumb then too. This is pretty typical though. You see it in politics a lot. It’s public mind shaping.
Even that won’t do it. He will get a third year regardless. Unless he winds up in a scandal
Biggest lesson I think Pope will take away from this season is you cannot take a gamble with injuries in the portal. If you do because the talent is worth the risk you have to have a back up plan to hold the fort.
That is a hard pitch in the portal though. “Hey JQ and JL are the guys, I’ve built everything around them…they will get more and more minutes as they heal up and get into shape…you wanna come run things for about 10-12 games then fall back?!”
This squad is essentially 10 games, a third of the season, behind.
Two best players literally just started playing. They’re great, when they’re out there but everyone else is hitting post X-mas mid season stride.
Upside for us, if everyone stays healthy, we’ll hit about midway through conference heading into post season.
That is a hard pitch in the portal though. “Hey JQ and JL are the guys, I’ve built everything around them…they will get more and more minutes as they heal up and get into shape…you wanna come run things for about 10-12 games then fall back?!”
This squad is essentially 10 games, a third of the season, behind.
Two best players literally just started playing. They’re great, when they’re out there but everyone else is hitting post X-mas mid season stride.
Upside for us, if everyone stays healthy, we’ll hit about midway through conference heading into post season.
This is a great assessment. No idea what happened to early-season Chandler who was just confidently shooting the ball, owning his shot. Now it moonball after moonball.
I dont know what the stats said about recruits last year, but I dont think anyone thought they would be this poor at shooting the three. If you cant make threes, it nullifies drivers and big men. Basically the whole offense shuts down. Pope cannot make these guys convert on open 3 point attempts. The players have to figure that out. I think it is in their heads for sure.