You knew it would happen. Bet it does.
UK vs St John’s
- Thread starter wccat
- Start date
You knew it would happen. Bet it does.
What does "Looking forward to saying goodbye to Kentucky basketball" mean? Retiring after next year?
They should have the game here in 2026 and do the 30 year 96 team reunion that same game.
I think it's a great idea on many levels.
One, it's a big game with big, layered storylines. Pitino, Pope, Rupp, MSG...
Also, and perhaps more importantly it's thinking outside the box in terms of OOC opponents that we're used too.
Lastly, St. John is the exact type of team that you could see in the tournament.
Smaller school, tough, gritty, plays hard and well coached. That's what the team needs to see and experience. Those are the types of teams that have beat us recently. The Cal squads may have been used to big stage arenas, but they were not used to those very specific March type of surprise teams.
SEC isn't great prep for the Tournament, and our OOC has been hot garbage. There's a specific team that you see, most likely early rounds that plays a totally different type of ball than SEC opponents, Kansas, UNC, whoever we draw in the Champions Classic.
That's why you play a St. John's, or play in a Maui Invite, to get exposed to those types of programs.
One, it's a big game with big, layered storylines. Pitino, Pope, Rupp, MSG...
Also, and perhaps more importantly it's thinking outside the box in terms of OOC opponents that we're used too.
Lastly, St. John is the exact type of team that you could see in the tournament.
Smaller school, tough, gritty, plays hard and well coached. That's what the team needs to see and experience. Those are the types of teams that have beat us recently. The Cal squads may have been used to big stage arenas, but they were not used to those very specific March type of surprise teams.
SEC isn't great prep for the Tournament, and our OOC has been hot garbage. There's a specific team that you see, most likely early rounds that plays a totally different type of ball than SEC opponents, Kansas, UNC, whoever we draw in the Champions Classic.
That's why you play a St. John's, or play in a Maui Invite, to get exposed to those types of programs.
Pope's hiring and Cal's decline seems to have flipped everyone's opinion on Cal and Pitino.
I think Ricky P knows he will get a huge standing ovation at Rupp this time around.
The send of from BBN he craves and deserves.
Also, he's 71, can't have more than 2-3 years left
It's weird for me, but now that Mark Pope is here I have a new outlook on Pitino. Sort of a bygones being bygones sort of thing. It's time to re-embrace that period of Kentucky basketball and that includes Coach Pitino.
Instead of playing St.Johns in a home & home, maybe we could play some lower-mid level easy win teams like Evansville or UNCW or St. Peters or Richmond or maybe even an Oakland, now that we know for sure that 0-Star Gohlke has no eligibility left!!!!!
I've never understood why a lot of folks don't like Pitino the coach.
Dude saved the program and is legit one of the best of all time. Also, saved the UL program. Yeah, yeah...boo cards...but honestly, how cool is that?
No other legendary coach has saved two rival programs in the same state. That's quite an accomplishment.
Pitino has always spoken highly of UK, Kentucky the state, and the people/fans.
I think the fairy tale ending, to Pitino's career at least, is on the bench assisting Mark Pope, and winning a title.
That would be wild.
Dude saved the program and is legit one of the best of all time. Also, saved the UL program. Yeah, yeah...boo cards...but honestly, how cool is that?
No other legendary coach has saved two rival programs in the same state. That's quite an accomplishment.
Pitino has always spoken highly of UK, Kentucky the state, and the people/fans.
I think the fairy tale ending, to Pitino's career at least, is on the bench assisting Mark Pope, and winning a title.
That would be wild.
He saved UL? He had a national title vacated there. He cheated to win.
I think everyone loved his time at UK though as it's the only consistent dominant time we have seen at UK for a coaches tenure.
It was nice to add Gonzaga to the schedule and aren't we still obligated to them for a few more years of home and home? We probably get Michigan St. in the Champions classic, but still have Duke right out of the chute next year too. So our OOC could include, Duke, Mich. St., Gonzaga, Louisville, St. John's, and if it's the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, I have to think they pair us against BYU, just because. Throw in a Maui Tournament and that could make for a pretty tough OOC schedule.
This. And exactly why people were morons for even considering Pitino as a replacement.
Pitino resurrected the program. He was always complimentary of his time here and you can hear the regret he holds every time he speaks on it. He left on good terms and to my knowledge, didn’t step on any toes as he went.
The most “offensive” thing he directly did to Kentucky fans while at UL was fly the middle finger as he was getting heckled on his way to the locker room after a heated game. I’m not convinced I wouldn’t have done the same in that scenario. He wanted to get back into the college coaching ranks and if we are being honest, UL was a strong opportunity to do it. I understand the animosity over that move, but I can’t blame him for it.
I think it would be a highlight of his personal life to be brought back into the fold with acceptance from UK. It’s a new era now and I think he should get the credit / re-welcoming he deserves.
The most “offensive” thing he directly did to Kentucky fans while at UL was fly the middle finger as he was getting heckled on his way to the locker room after a heated game. I’m not convinced I wouldn’t have done the same in that scenario. He wanted to get back into the college coaching ranks and if we are being honest, UL was a strong opportunity to do it. I understand the animosity over that move, but I can’t blame him for it.
I think it would be a highlight of his personal life to be brought back into the fold with acceptance from UK. It’s a new era now and I think he should get the credit / re-welcoming he deserves.
Pitino is further along in the rebuild than Pope is obviously so I would expect a loss to them this year. That’s ok. Pitino can have one last win in rupp. He gave us enough to deserve it without getting too mad especially since it’s not UL anymore lol
Pitino became enemy No. 1 when he turncoated and decided to coach our bitter archrival when he just as well could have gone to Michigan at the time and retained his beloved status as a former coach. Nobody dislikes Pitino the coach, We all know he is and was a great one. They disliked his going to UofL and the mess that went down with Karen Sypher and then hookergate, tarnished his reputation as a person.
NCAA is essentially irrelevant. They can scrub some wins and put an asterisk on paper, but that doesn't really change reality.
Hookers and money don't make a team any less or more than what they are. They didn't make Pitino's Xs and Os any better.
A car and money didn't make Reggie Bush any faster or more dynamic than what he was, nor that USC team any better than what they were.
Whatever John Wooden had going on back in the day...doesn't affect the fact those teams were great.
If NCAA ever said Cal's 2012 title isn't legit for whatever off court issue...nobody on here would be like "yep, take it down...didn't happen...KU won it that year."
F8*k any notion that the NCAA, investigator, ruling body, federal suit, lawyer, etc can take a banner from Rupp, up the a88...
We'll announce the day they come to take one like the Pope Presser...cool, we'll meet ya there...
Michigan was a very prominent opening at the same time he went to UofL, it was the fact he chose UofL that caused us to turn on him. Had he gone to Michigan we would have wished him well.
Hookers and money before the age of the Portal and NIL, most definitely helped make that team more than what they should have been. Those were the enticements being used to gain a recruiting advantage. Perhaps a few of those guys on that roster don't attend UofL if not for certain enticements provided them.
A car and Money bought Reggie Bush to USC, had those enticements not been there does his presence on another team impact USC's run at that time?
John Wooden buying a roster full of historically great players most definitely is what made them great. if those guys scattered all over to different schools UCLA is nothing.
Of course we would be pissed if we had to vacate for some reason, but if that reason was because we obtained players unfairly to assemble that team, then we deserve it. And vacating a title doesn't award it to the runner-up.
So yes cheating does help teams gain a competitive advantage and shapes the landscape of who wins and loses in a pretty big way. These are pretty crazy arguments.
You're assuming UL, USC are/were the only schools offering something. If that were the case then yes, that's not fair.
We all know that isn't the case.
Those teams/players accepted those offers over other ones, and we all know it.
That's the whole origin for NIL. We can do it on the down low, or we can do it on the up and up and keep some kind of an eye on it and regulate it.
We all know the old Jerry Tarkanian quote..."if they're driving a Cadillac they're going to Kentucky." You think he just came up with that off cuff like he's Rodney Dangerfield...
I've had an old Lexington timer essentially confirm. Long story for another time. But let's just say old fella was well off, well connected, and a man about town and loved to tell some stories.
I stand by my statement. I don't give a f**k what happens off the court, and who got what. Those banners in Rupp are staying exactly where they are.
Thanks for proving my point. Of course they accepted those offers over other ones and their accepting changed the course of who competed for those Championships. If hookers and money brought four key contributors to UofL's title team, what would have happened if those four guys had went to four different schools offering them something else? It changes the landscape. UofL doesn't win that Championship, somebody else does. Same goes for all of Wooden's teams. Maybe Oregon wins a National Championship if Reggie Bush goes there instead of USC. So yeah, Hookers and Money definitely made UofL more than what they were.