So happy that Pope doesn't read this board...

[CrossPlainsCat]

Call a spade a spade. His played 3 quality opponents and I’d argue UNC isn’t that good and we’ve looked abysmal. What would you like people to say?

I'd like for them to remember that Pope/UK set a record last year for beating top 15 teams but now they want to run him out of town. I'd want them to realize that right now our players are not jell'ing together very well. Oweh is not playing the same, Three starters are hurt. Pope proved last year he is a hell of a coach but, like Cal, he can't execute it for them. He's clearly struggling with egos and players not playing well together. Bruce Pearl may wind up being right that there are too many guys. Builds contention and makes it hard to really pull them together as a unit.

If people can't see that Pope is a great coach but his guys are just not playing the way they are supposed to be playing then my original point still holds -- I'm glad Pope doesn't read this cess pool of a board.

 

[theKybluedude]

I'm sick of hearing excuses. We're running out of runway. Hope u enjoy March at this rate.

It’s still real early

 

[Ash Williams]

I'd like for them to remember that Pope/UK set a record last year for beating top 15 teams but now they want to run him out of town. I'd want them to realize that right now our players are not jell'ing together very well. Oweh is not playing the same, Three starters are hurt. Pope proved last year he is a hell of a coach but, like Cal, he can't execute it for them. He's clearly struggling with egos and players not playing well together. Bruce Pearl may wind up being right that there are too many guys. Builds contention and makes it hard to really pull them together as a unit.

If people can't see that Pope is a great coach but his guys are just not playing the way they are supposed to be playing then my original point still holds -- I'm glad Pope doesn't read this cess pool of a board.

LOL that's HILARIOUS, the contradiction. How old are you, 12?

 

[fisherscatfan]

I'd like for them to remember that Pope/UK set a record last year for beating top 15 teams but now they want to run him out of town. I'd want them to realize that right now our players are not jell'ing together very well. Oweh is not playing the same, Three starters are hurt. Pope proved last year he is a hell of a coach but, like Cal, he can't execute it for them. He's clearly struggling with egos and players not playing well together. Bruce Pearl may wind up being right that there are too many guys. Builds contention and makes it hard to really pull them together as a unit.

If people can't see that Pope is a great coach but his guys are just not playing the way they are supposed to be playing then my original point still holds -- I'm glad Pope doesn't read this cess pool of a board.

I believe Pearl also said he brought in a bunch of backups and paid them starter money.

 

[bbnkat02]

I'm also so thankful that the posters on this board do not represent most UK fans. All you hear on this board is that if we don't beat every opponent by 30 we suck a** and Pope needs to be run out of town. Absolutely juvenile posts....

Bite Me.

 

[BBN-N-WI]

pure fantasy, there's nowhere to "get". we aren't getting any significant OOC wins and even .500 in the SEC seems like a tall order. This team will likely finish with a losing record.

You might be right loublue. I hope you are wrong but very well might not be. I want my cats to win and think they have the pieces, just gotta mesh together. I stayed up later than I should’ve just to see them play, like most everyone. Being pessimistic doesn’t help me any. End of year will tell us what we need to know. So I will let it play out then make my judgement. Go CATS.

 

[Tim0808]

I'm also so thankful that the posters on this board do not represent most UK fans. All you hear on this board is that if we don't beat every opponent by 30 we suck a** and Pope needs to be run out of town. Absolutely juvenile posts....

I am not saying run him out of town, but you can call a spade a spade. It is hard to watch UK beat up on directional schools and talk about how they are improving and it is the same crap when they play a decent team. Let's face it. This is not a good North Carolina team. If you think it is bad now, wait until the end of the regular season.

 

[Cats_2010]

Down 3 potential starters. We will get there. Hate losing especially against UNC which my buddy is a big fan of. But we will go further than they will. We good.

We had 2 of those 3 against Michigan state and was not in the game for the last 30 minutes. Sorry but blue tinted glasses need be taken off by a lot of you boys. This is a horribly constructed roster and is not a tournament team.

 

[theKybluedude]

I'd like for them to remember that Pope/UK set a record last year for beating top 15 teams but now they want to run him out of town. I'd want them to realize that right now our players are not jell'ing together very well. Oweh is not playing the same, Three starters are hurt. Pope proved last year he is a hell of a coach but, like Cal, he can't execute it for them. He's clearly struggling with egos and players not playing well together. Bruce Pearl may wind up being right that there are too many guys. Builds contention and makes it hard to really pull them together as a unit.

If people can't see that Pope is a great coach but his guys are just not playing the way they are supposed to be playing then my original point still holds -- I'm glad Pope doesn't read this cess pool of a board.

I like your passion. You make some good points however this was a very winnable game and our execution was missing. It is early. Time to improve. Can’t give up 20 offensive rebounds and go 9 plus minutes without a basket and 1-13 on 3s. Just can’t.
Pope needs to get into these guys hard.

 

[ToniTonyToneDelkDelkDelk]

This ain't the time for copping pleas. This team is wack.

 

[CrimsonCats_rivals]

And they don't hang banners for November or December wins. Get our starters back and figure out some better lineups and this team will be fine. The problem is that so many on this board think you have to beat everyone by 30 and go undefeated or your coach is trash and needs to be run out of town. Anyone who thinks that is realistic is the real "mental midget" and needs to grow up a little. If we Lowe and JQ do not come back, we may struggle all year. But if we get our starters back, we will be competitive in a _very_ strong SEC and will make the tournament.

UL is #6 in the country and we beat them in nearly every single category. we lost because they shot 31 FT and we turned the ball over 14 times. But we _out played_ them. And we played right. with UNC tonight.

To slightly alter a phrase from someone we’re all familiar with, you don’t have to win them all, you just can’t lose them all.

They don’t hand out banners for November and December, but we’re now 0-3 against teams with a pulse, which does matter for tournament seeding which directly impacts our chances when it does come time to claim a banner. And not only are we losing, we’ve generally looked bad doing it. There’s nothing about the way this team plays so far that gives any confidence that our upcoming marquee games will go any differently.

I’m not sure I’m quite ready to call for Pope to be fired yet, but I’m now very concerned whether he’s up to the task. This isn’t about failing to meet an impossible expectation. We’re just plain playing like a bad team right now, and he doesn’t seem to have any real handle on how to fix it.

 

[Goingfor9]

I'm also so thankful that the posters on this board do not represent most UK fans. All you hear on this board is that if we don't beat every opponent by 30 we suck a** and Pope needs to be run out of town. Absolutely juvenile posts....

We lose and the “if we don’t win by 30” hyperbole is in full swing. Pope knows bettter than what you say. He set the standard last year as nattys. We have regressed and the season may be over Dec 2

 

[Guyute]

Troll or not, at what point do we criticize Pope and staff? How many games now where there is over a 2+ minute scoring drought? What about rebounding in general? The fact UK had this up until the last shot BG made is very troubling. UNC was not a great team and still loss at home. How does it get better during the start of conference when the players are even more beat down. Moreno and CC are going to be good but to be in a role for meaningful plays on a 22 million budget is crazy. Over paid on players.

He is 100% a troll and the dead giveaway is his alluding to this quote “beat people by 30…” strawman.

 

[CrossPlainsCat]

Make up your mind. First you say the end of the season matters, now you're pointing to the regular season.

Huh? No, I'm saying that we had less talent last year and Pope set a UK record for beating top 15 teams. Nearly all of it incredible coaching. Sure, you can blame him for bringing in too many guys but the coach's main job is to manage egos and he is failing at that. But this nonsense that Pope is a terrible coach is nonsense. he's got some players who are hurt and he's got some that are simply not very good. BG is not very good. Trent is _ok_ but a role player. Oweh has regressed.

UK is 5th among sec schools in FG%. Arkansas is 8th. You think Ark fans on their board are ripping Cal because the guys can't shoot? Arkansas is also 0-2 against quality teams this year. Florida has played 2 ranked teams this year and lost to them both. There is strong parity in college basketball. Lots of good teams. The guys on this board who think you suck a** because you lose a 2-3 games against ranked opponents are just not very smart.

 

[BBN-N-WI]

Diabate sucks. I’d argue Moreno is better. Lowe was the leader of a terrible Pitt team. He’s mid. JQ is a beast, but we need help at guard, and more shooters. But go ahead please explain how these additions are going to solve

Wake up! They ain't gonna play, either! Shaedon Sharpe and Jerrod Vanderbilt set the precedent. Not to mention the midget we got from Georgia.

Maybe not. Only information I have is that they signed up and are looking to play. If they don’t, I haven’t spent any money on NIL and no skin off my nose. Don’t EVER expect me to defend wheeler or shaedon. I like to give ben fit of the doubt. May very well be wrong. Worst case is I have spent a couple hours watching a GAME. But I want my cats to win. Irritates me when they lose.

 

[Tim0808]

And they don't hang banners for November or December wins. Get our starters back and figure out some better lineups and this team will be fine. The problem is that so many on this board think you have to beat everyone by 30 and go undefeated or your coach is trash and needs to be run out of town. Anyone who thinks that is realistic is the real "mental midget" and needs to grow up a little. If we Lowe and JQ do not come back, we may struggle all year. But if we get our starters back, we will be competitive in a _very_ strong SEC and will make the tournament.

UL is #6 in the country and we beat them in nearly every single category. we lost because they shot 31 FT and we turned the ball over 14 times. But we _out played_ them. And we played right. with UNC tonight.

You act like we beat Louisville. Check the box score. WE LOST!
You say they do not hang banners in November or December. Well guess what? They do not credit wins for anything but the final score on the scoreboard. It does not matter what categories we beat them in except the scoreboard.

 

[CrossPlainsCat]

I believe Pearl also said he brought in a bunch of backups and paid them starter money.

Yes he did. He didn't mean they aren't very good. He meant there lots of guys and some of them will have to be backups and they won't be happy about that. Which just supports my point.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

The only game they really got beat was MSU. They out played UL but lost because of turn overs. UNC is a good team and UK has played right with them. Yes, we could be better and we will be better by the end of the year. But three of our starters are injured.

What games are you watching?

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

And they don't hang banners for November or December wins. Get our starters back and figure out some better lineups and this team will be fine. The problem is that so many on this board think you have to beat everyone by 30 and go undefeated or your coach is trash and needs to be run out of town. Anyone who thinks that is realistic is the real "mental midget" and needs to grow up a little. If we Lowe and JQ do not come back, we may struggle all year. But if we get our starters back, we will be competitive in a _very_ strong SEC and will make the tournament.

UL is #6 in the country and we beat them in nearly every single category. we lost because they shot 31 FT and we turned the ball over 14 times. But we _out played_ them. And we played right. with UNC tonight.

You have to be trolling.

 

[CrossPlainsCat]

I am not saying run him out of town, but you can call a spade a spade. It is hard to watch UK beat up on directional schools and talk about how they are improving and it is the same crap when they play a decent team. Let's face it. This is not a good North Carolina team. If you think it is bad now, wait until the end of the regular season.

I agree. We are not very good right now. Pope would agree. It could be lots of things. Could be egos clashing in the locker room. Could be NIL making players lazy and they are not getting in the gym and working. Lots of coaches are learning how to navigate the NIL world. Pope may be learning that he needs _fewer_ really good dudes rather than two full teams of _ok_ dudes. Clearly he thought some of these guys would develop a little faster.

 

[BBN-N-WI]

We had 2 of those 3 against Michigan state and was not in the game for the last 30 minutes. Sorry but blue tinted glasses need be taken off by a lot of you boys. This is a horribly constructed roster and is not a tournament team.

I’d rather have the blue tint than watch what I consider a meaningless game. I have hope. Maybe naive but I go into every game thinking we will win. Otherwise, what is the point? Same as you deep down, I want my cats to win. .

 

[fisherscatfan]

Yes he did. He didn't mean they aren't very good. He meant there lots of guys and some of them will have to be backups and they won't be happy about that. Which just supports my point.

Pearl meant UK doesn't have a go to guy. And that is painfully obvious. Pope could not close on those players. This isn’t 1980 where a 5 year rebuild is the norm. Pope had the resources and either screwed up the evaluation or that he lacks the ability to close.

 

[JakeKx]

I'm also so thankful that the posters on this board do not represent most UK fans. All you hear on this board is that if we don't beat every opponent by 30 we suck a** and Pope needs to be run out of town. Absolutely juvenile posts....

We are most Uk fans. It’s you delusions ***** that always seems sunshine and rainbows.
Hope you see it when we’re playing in the damn NIT this year

 

[jedwar]

Yes. Fans are the problem OP. Always the fans. Pope is way over his head. Blame the fans.

 

[CrossPlainsCat]

I like your passion. You make some good points however this was a very winnable game and our execution was missing. It is early. Time to improve. Can’t give up 20 offensive rebounds and go 9 plus minutes without a basket and 1-13 on 3s. Just can’t.
Pope needs to get into these guys hard.

I agree. Man, reasonable and well thought out responses are so few on this board. This game was winnable but I wonder what the UNC board would be like if we had squeaked out the victory. Some fans understand the season is long and they appreciate improvement rather than have juvenile positions like we must beat every time by 30 or we are terrible.

 

[Tim0808]

Was he the guy last year when we set a UK record for beating top 15 teams? Nothing but fair weather fans. Beat everyone by 30 or you're not the guy. give me a break...

You keep saying beat everyone by 30, but that is not true. The truth of the matter is we have played 3 games (not counting the cupcakes) and in two of them, we were down by 20 points. Those games were not close and UNC was beat by 16 by one of those teams too. So you have to question how good UNC really is. That is nothing but facts.

 

[CrossPlainsCat]

I judge a team/coach after the season is over. Remember how many games Ark lost last year? Every team is different and every team needs different coaching to try and get them where they need to be. And that's only if the players egos _allow_ them to come together.

If people had the take that this team is not playing very well and Pope hasn't yet really got them going that's a reasonable take. But "fans" who watch what Pope did last year and then think he's not a good coach and should be "run out of town" are simply not paying attention. They only pay attention to the W/L column. And, yes, I know that's what matters most but as Ark showed last year sometimes it takes quite awhile to work that out.

 

[CrossPlainsCat]

Pearl meant UK doesn't have a go to guy. And that is painfully obvious. Pope could not close on those players. This isn’t 1980 where a 5 year rebuild is the norm. Pope had the resources and either screwed up the evaluation or that he lacks the ability to close.

He literally mentioned that Pope would have trouble keeping players happy. And it seems he may be right about that.

 

[MidseasonTweak]

Pope absolutely reads this board. It is why he is so beaten down while coaching. After a loss, he hops on to read the hard truth about himself

 

[Tri-Countycat]

Some have forgotten that nothing makes the NCAA happier than to leave UK out of their tournament. People think it’s early and they will figure it out but we are literally running out of runway and we aren’t likely finishing in the top half of the SEC. UK fans have gotten soft: we haven’t even sniffed a conference championship in years. Pope isn’t the guy, you know how I know. He has never been the guy and any place he has been. This hire was forced on Mitch by JP Blevins, Sheppard and other close to the program and it was wishful thinking on their part:

 

[Tri-Countycat]

I'd like for them to remember that Pope/UK set a record last year for beating top 15 teams but now they want to run him out of town. I'd want them to realize that right now our players are not jell'ing together very well. Oweh is not playing the same, Three starters are hurt. Pope proved last year he is a hell of a coach but, like Cal, he can't execute it for them. He's clearly struggling with egos and players not playing well together. Bruce Pearl may wind up being right that there are too many guys. Builds contention and makes it hard to really pull them together as a unit.

If people can't see that Pope is a great coach but his guys are just not playing the way they are supposed to be playing then my original point still holds -- I'm glad Pope doesn't read this cess pool of a board.

Pope is a one trick pony, his offense has already been figured out. How many open shots are we getting this year compared to last. Even if he was a good coach, he can not get elite talent.

 

[TFCat11]

We’d be happy if you would leave, and let the door hit you in the ***

 

[kywildcat1021979]

Hope the OP follows Pope to his next stop like the Cal fans did to Arkansas....... This is UK and the **** that is playing basketball isn't UK basketball plain and simple. Pope didn't have the resume to get this job and Mitch is too stupid to realize and hired him anyway. Now we need to make a change before we continue to sink!

 

[SPOOK 67]

What a load of horseshit.

I'm also so thankful that the posters on this board do not represent most UK fans. All you hear on this board is that if we don't beat every opponent by 30 we suck a** and Pope needs to be run out of town. Absolutely juvenile posts....

 

[blackcat714]

What games are you watching?

Indiana is undefeated this year any chance they can beat Louisville this weekend

 

[UKAlum84]

The way I see it, UNC is playing their best ball right now. UK is not.

Need more time to improve before jumping ship.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

Indiana is undefeated this year any chance they can beat Louisville this weekend

Yeah they can for sure.

 

[CrimsonCats_rivals]

I judge a team/coach after the season is over. Remember how many games Ark lost last year? Every team is different and every team needs different coaching to try and get them where they need to be. And that's only if the players egos _allow_ them to come together.

If people had the take that this team is not playing very well and Pope hasn't yet really got them going that's a reasonable take. But "fans" who watch what Pope did last year and then think he's not a good coach and should be "run out of town" are simply not paying attention. They only pay attention to the W/L column. And, yes, I know that's what matters most but as Ark showed last year sometimes it takes quite awhile to work that out.

To extent, I get not wanting to jump the gun on a couple of early losses, but did Arkansas have a good season by your standards last year just because they ended up winning a couple of tournament games as a 10 seed? To me, the tournament is a pretty fluky event due to the single elimination format, and I don’t necessarily consider a season successful just based on that unless it results in a Final Four or better. I want a team that’s competitive in big games all year long and contends for a conference title, not just a bubble team hoping to get hot at the right moment. We don’t look capable of any of that the way we’re playing right now.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

The way I see it, UNC is playing their best ball right now. UK is not.

Need more time to improve before jumping ship.

UNC is mid AF. We should have easily won that game. Pathetic second half.

 

[ZaytovenCat]

Maybe he SHOULD read this board..