Yeah, I don't have any problem at all with Pope complimenting Calipari. I would compliment Cal for the exact same things. He did do some great things at UK and for the state of Kentucky. His first 6 seasons at UK were excellent. That stretch is one of the best in program history. It rivals Pitino's stretch from 1994 to 1997. One title, a runner-up, multiple final Fours. I don't have to insult Calipari's contributions in order to also acknowledge the significant slide that happened in his last 5 years. We can blame it on whatever- I have some theories. The loss to Wisconsin with the 2014-15 team, the lifetime contract, the Covid pandemic- all of these adversely affected him.
Anyway, I commend Coach Pope for taking the high road, and really it's the only viable road he could take. He's not gonna slam Cal just like he wouldn't slam any former coach. He's gonna say good things. That's wise for multiple reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Cal brings his Razorbacks to Rupp next season and will be playing against Pope every year now. Cal has enough angst against UK without having a reason to hate Pope, too.
But I would love to hear what Pope's thoughts were, as a fan of UK, on Calipari from 2021 to 2024. I bet his thoughts are similar to ours. I also bet, knowing the game as he does, he would have been frustrated watching last season's team completely collapse with such a high potential.
