Tough road. 9 Quad 1 games left

Madhuvan

Sophomore
Aug 11, 2024
42
126
33
Brutal . . . I mean a decent team could get slaughtered with that schedule. UK's got to find a way to probably steal 2-3 games they "shouldn't" win.
No more slip ups at Rupp Arena because we’ll be underdogs in all the road games except one.
 

preston-lemasterpiece

All-Conference
Apr 15, 2025
1,012
1,869
111
Do you are against it...I don't minimize it...but it emphasizes why I am embarrassed for our fanbase and not our coach.
Booing the team, going after Coach Popes family, going after Cal's family...MP is a fine man and one of our own. Cal won a title for us and did a ton of charity work in the state. We are hanging on to the all time win list, but we lost the title of Best Fanbase when we started condoning behavior like that
who is going after coach’s families?
idk about Pope’s family but I haven’t heard anything like that.
and when Cal was here, nobody ever gave Ellen any grief like that, people loved her here to the end
Now Brad…maybe not so much
 
May 27, 2007
31,103
23,909
113
No we should not reevaluate. Kentucky has standards and they shall not be infringed. If a coach can’t meet the standard, then we replace them, and shall keep replacing them till we meet the standard.
Times have changed. Teams have gotten better and IMO I just think it’s silly to ignore that

we can be good. We can be very good. Compete for titles some seasons. Prob win a few before our time is up. No one is dismissing that’s the goal. But gone are the days of domination. There’s just other elite programs now
 

SBKY

Junior
Jan 20, 2011
200
301
63
Times have changed. Teams have gotten better and IMO I just think it’s silly to ignore that

we can be good. We can be very good. Compete for titles some seasons. Prob win a few before our time is up. No one is dismissing that’s the goal. But gone are the days of domination. There’s just other elite programs now
Except we haven't even sniffed a title in over 10 years. UConn, Duke, Kansas - they all continue to win. Why aren't we?
 

Noledynasty2490

All-American
Jul 31, 2022
3,948
7,334
113
Dink Pate? is he that good? Idk G league players

He's pretty damn good. Only shoots the three at around 30 percent though. But I mean..he's a take.
 

Noledynasty2490

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kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
48,837
67,703
113
Noah is not Seth Curry but I do think he may surprise some people a little bit if he starts getting 12 to 15 minutes per game
The issue is, he can't guard anybody and to this point, all he's shown us that he can’t shoot in actual game situations.
With 6 losses and one hell of a tough schedule upcoming, I don't think Noah is the guy we want to lean on here.
 

Bigbluegoo

Sophomore
Jan 6, 2024
41
102
18
Times have changed. Teams have gotten better and IMO I just think it’s silly to ignore that

we can be good. We can be very good. Compete for titles some seasons. Prob win a few before our time is up. No one is dismissing that’s the goal. But gone are the days of domination. There’s just other elite programs now
It doesn’t matter if times have changed. Time are always changing. We just have to change with it to remain the premier program. Other teams are winning at a high level and we are not. We have more built in advantages than any other team. Our results these last 10 years are absolutely unacceptable.
 

Allcats08

All-Conference
Feb 13, 2019
1,582
2,892
113
You can ***** about mythical standards (that don’t actually exist and have never been true outside of 3 short boom periods in the 50s, 90s and 2010s) or play the hand you’re dealt and adapt.

I’m choosing the latter. I could be on suicide watch because I expected a final four and likely won’t get one. Or, I can support my team that has been battered by injuries, got off to a poor start in the non conference and are starting to play better over the past 2 weeks.

Nobody is excited about 20-11 and a 7 seed, but I would rather be in the tournament than outside of it and will always support my team, win or lose. A 7 seed sounds better than an NIT bid that we were facing a couple weeks ago to me. Again, hand we’re dealt or bitching just because.
Or we can deal with the hand we’re dealt with and get a new coach. A coach who can’t recruit high level/lottery talent does not need to coach at Kentucky.
 

UKFootball78

All-Conference
Sep 1, 2013
737
1,111
56
I think you’ll find that most who complain about pope wanted cal gone. Pretty sure ukcowboys didn’t want him gone
I wanted Cak gone way B4 most others. Not ready to throw the towel in on pope just yet. The injuries have derailed both his teams so far. Has he made some bad coaching decisions? yes. Entire first halves of games have been absolutely horrible, head scratchers...like he forgot how to coach. But he can coach, he has proven that with last year and the second halves this year. I would give him 1 more year and a healthy squad for a full season and then decide his fate.
 

Allcats08

All-Conference
Feb 13, 2019
1,582
2,892
113
Man are you a troll or naturally stupid? This team is 13-6, but has won four games in a row. Still, facing the toughest schedule in the nation, missing 3 guys that have primarily been starters, and saying if we could get to 11-7 in the SEC and 20-11 FROM WHERE WE ARE would be a great job has nothing to do with UK expectations and everything to do with reality. Let Duke or Arizona or Michigan face the same schedule we are and take 3 starters away for the season and tell me whether or not they play up to their typical "standards". Ridiculous dude
Stfu. You can “what if” all day long. The reality is that they do not have injuries and they have sure fire lottery pick talent. We came in with one pg, an injured big and spent 22 million on this. It baffles me that fans like you think this **** is acceptable. I’m so f****** tired of not being Kentucky anymore. It will not change with pope at the helm. He cannot relate, he cannot recruit at the level needed.
 
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TotheMoon88

Junior
Apr 12, 2024
304
243
43
I wanted Cak gone way B4 most others. Not ready to throw the towel in on pope just yet. The injuries have derailed both his teams so far. Has he made some bad coaching decisions? yes. Entire first halves of games have been absolutely horrible, head scratchers...like he forgot how to coach. But he can coach, he has proven that with last year and the second halves this year. I would give him 1 more year and a healthy squad for a full season and then decide his fate.
I guess we’ll see what happens. I just kind of think pope is what he is, I don’t think he’s a terrible coach but I also don’t think he’s a great coach. He’s just mediocre and his track record proves it. Would love to see him prove me wrong.
 

Allcats08

All-Conference
Feb 13, 2019
1,582
2,892
113
Times have changed. Teams have gotten better and IMO I just think it’s silly to ignore that

we can be good. We can be very good. Compete for titles some seasons. Prob win a few before our time is up. No one is dismissing that’s the goal. But gone are the days of domination. There’s just other elite programs now
I mean not really. The programs at the top are the same programs that always have been.
 

Supafuzz75

Senior
Nov 30, 2014
251
424
63
Take Boozer, Foster and Brown out of Duke's lineup for the rest of the year and tell Scheyer he's fired if they don't go to the final four... Some people are hilarious with their expectations.
Puts all the eggs in the basket to get to a title game next year or next man up..
 

kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
48,837
67,703
113
Pope may not be a great coach… yet, but, I'll say this, he is turning this patchwork of a team around and has some nice wins the last couple weeks. There is noticable improvement both individually and as a team.
We were in a deep hole and we had major team issues, you don't turn things around like this if you suck as a coach.
Yeah, MSU, LSU, UT and Texas aren’t world beaters, but those are all very good wins and a couple of those teams have more talent than we have. We were also down big in both those road games.
I think Pope will be elite in time. He's learning some hard lessons right now and we know one thing is for sure, he will put in the work and always put UK first.
The question is, are we willing to give him the time it's going to take to be great? I don't know the answer to that.
 
May 27, 2007
31,103
23,909
113
It doesn’t matter if times have changed. Time are always changing. We just have to change with it to remain the premier program. Other teams are winning at a high level and we are not. We have more built in advantages than any other team. Our results these last 10 years are absolutely unacceptable.
What exactly are these advantages that we have. I keep hearing this but honestly we do not.

there’s a reason why we ended up with Pope instead of “insert big name coach”.

we aren’t the “it” school anymore
 

SBKY

Junior
Jan 20, 2011
200
301
63
What exactly are these advantages that we have. I keep hearing this but honestly we do not.

there’s a reason why we ended up with Pope instead of “insert big name coach”.

we aren’t the “it” school anymore
Money. We paid 22 million for our players - you think this is the best we could have bought for 22 million? Also, if we had 22 million for our players - you don't think we could have gotten a "insert big name couch" instead of Mark Pope?
 

peterpiper09

Senior
Mar 19, 2006
187
415
62
The issue is, he can't guard anybody and to this point, all he's shown us that he can’t shoot in actual game situations.
With 6 losses and one hell of a tough schedule upcoming, I don't think Noah is the guy we want to lean on here.
Leaning on Noah, I’m pretty sure, won’t be the plan. Having him shoot when he’s open, rebound, and play the best defense he can, will be the plan when he’s in. He did play ok defense while he was in last night. Just got excited and committed a couple quick fouls. Hell, running over that guy I was ok with anyway. Might make him not want to set that screen next time or move and get an illegal screen call.
 
May 27, 2007
31,103
23,909
113
Money. We paid 22 million for our players - you think this is the best we could have bought for 22 million? Also, if we had 22 million for our players - you don't think we could have gotten a "insert big name couch" instead of Mark Pope?

If we had that amount for our players, we had an ample amount for the head coach and apparently we still ended up with Mark Pope. So no. Sadly. I mean being able to offer the most money is great........but in terms of finding a head coach it didn't seem to help.

Also 1) the 22 million who knows if that's even accurate and 2) IWe don't know what other schools have in terms of NIL as well. I'm sure UK isn't the only school with large NIL amounts to spend.
 

kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
48,837
67,703
113
Leaning on Noah, I’m pretty sure, won’t be the plan. Having him shoot when he’s open, rebound, and play the best defense he can, will be the plan when he’s in. He did play ok defense while he was in last night. Just got excited and committed a couple quick fouls. Hell, running over that guy I was ok with anyway. Might make him not want to set that screen next time or move and get an illegal screen call.
I just don't see anything with Noah that tells me he should be playing more than cigar minutes. He's slightly better than a walk on.
He has 2 things going for him, he has great instincts and he's intelligent, but if I was an opposing coach and I saw Noah check in, I would go right to iso and make him try to guard one on one. Easy money.
 

kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
48,837
67,703
113
If we had that amount for our players, we had an ample amount for the head coach and apparently we still ended up with Mark Pope. So no. Sadly. I mean being able to offer the most money is great........but in terms of finding a head coach it didn't seem to help.

Also 1) the 22 million who knows if that's even accurate and 2) IWe don't know what other schools have in terms of NIL as well. I'm sure UK isn't the only school with large NIL amounts to spend.
You're nuts if you think UK doesn't have massive advantages.
The money UK dedicated to basketball, is more than any other program, plus, there is no other program that can match fan support and the lights are brighter here. Every game is on ESPN, every youtube channel prioritizes UK (because the fanbase) and at UK, basketball comes first. Every game, press conference, open practice and recruitment, is a major production here. There is no program like UK.

And the reason Pope is the coach, is not because we couldn't attract a higher profile coach, it's because Mitch is a huge wuss. He didn't even consider guys like Pearl, Oats, the guy at Texas Tech, the guy at Iowa state, or anyone at the NBA level. He probed Hurley, who isn't leaving UConn and he approached a guy down in Waco that is coasting, because he's his church buddy. That's it, it's not because UK couldn't get better. Bruce Pearl would crawl here.

Just the money and fan support alone, are massive advantages that UK has, I don't get how anyone can deny that.
 

UKCowboys

All-Conference
Oct 14, 2019
1,263
2,082
113
Stfu. You can “what if” all day long. The reality is that they do not have injuries and they have sure fire lottery pick talent. We came in with one pg, an injured big and spent 22 million on this. It baffles me that fans like you think this **** is acceptable. I’m so f****** tired of not being Kentucky anymore. It will not change with pope at the helm. He cannot relate, he cannot recruit at the level needed.
I dont think so little boy