Was Dusty May ever considered for the job here?
- Thread starter bluedom44
- Start date
He had already been hired by Michigan.
Mitch is too much of a coward to court a guy that had taken a new job 2 weeks prior.
Mitch is too much of a coward to court a guy that had taken a new job 2 weeks prior.
The only person considered and offered the job before Pope was Drew.
Mitch thought he had Drew locked up for years. He just knew that Drew was Cal’s replacement.
I think Drew had even confirmed that to Mitch.
Then he bailed at the last minute.
Mitch went straight to Pope after that.
No one else was interviewed. Pope wasn’t even formally interviewed.
I do think there was back channel feelers to Hurley. But not by Mitch.
Guess Dusty May is the hot name now along with Oats. Why? Because Mich is undefeated and ranked high?
Dusty May's took Florida Atlantic to a final four. He can coach.
Now to be fair, you can argue Shaka Smart as a counterpoint. Fine.
But May had way more justification for being pursued than Pope did.
He was never considered, but even though I’m not Barnhart’s biggest fan, I don’t think there was anything he could have done differently. May had already accepted the Michigan job a couple of weeks before Cal left, and I don’t think we were ever going to be able to pry him away from there. Sometimes the timing just doesn’t work out.
It didn’t work out because Mitch Barnhart was going to give Calipari another year before he pulled out the rug from under our AD and took the Arkansas job.
Honestly.. id take the Michigan job over UK, and its not even that hard of a decision. A TRUE football school that has football money, little expectations and fans questioning your lineup choices every night, and an endowment that dwarfs UKs. Its also a school with a very wealthy alumni base offering more NIL opportunities.
I honestly dont know where id rank the UK job at present time.. with Mitch as the AD and JMI's NIL fiasco. Im not sure this is a top 25 job until either of those are fixed. And some are gonna laugh and call me crazy, but its gonna be another empty coaching search when Pope is gone this time next year.
Kentuckt basketball is starring down the barrel right now. This thing needs to be gutted. Anything else and were just gonna be a mediocre P5 school from here on out. Cant half *** it.
I honestly dont know where id rank the UK job at present time.. with Mitch as the AD and JMI's NIL fiasco. Im not sure this is a top 25 job until either of those are fixed. And some are gonna laugh and call me crazy, but its gonna be another empty coaching search when Pope is gone this time next year.
Kentuckt basketball is starring down the barrel right now. This thing needs to be gutted. Anything else and were just gonna be a mediocre P5 school from here on out. Cant half *** it.
Kentucky needs a coach who thrives under pressure. Pitino did. So did Calipari before he let himself go. Pope is not a coach who thrives under pressure. In fact, his demeanor alone made me question the hire more than his record.
There are a number of coaches who thrives under the spotlights, we just need to find one who wants the challenge.
Mitch Barnhart is a conservative Presbyterian. Anyone thinking Pope’s Mormonism would have been more attractive to him have no idea what they are talking about. I do believe demeanor and reflection of the university and that kind of thing matter a great deal to him — not the Mormonism. Honesty, I vehemently disagree that any of that crap matters. I’d take a 40-0 season with a coach that’s gambling on the sidelines, hangs out in a bar after the game, and wears Crocs to the games. I don’t care but the idea that Mitch really couldn’t avoid hiring a Mormon coach is asinine.
Yeah well they arent going to come here to deal with a **** NIL handler and absurdly lofty expectations. We arent offering the product we think we are offering.
I can tell some of you have no clue how bad Popes resume was compared to coaches hired at other programs. Compare his accomplishments to other coaches that were hired and you’ll be disgusted. That’s why Mitch masterfully used ex players and Pitino to get fans on board with hiring Pope. That’s the sad part about all of this. One of our own was given this job (hope he proves me wrong) when he wasn’t even close to being ready for it in my opinion. From the recruiting, to in game coaching, scouting, and how he acts after a loss….the man wasn’t ready to run a major program. I really hope he can prove me wrong and the coach lovers brigade can call me out on this post, but at this point it’s not looking good in to many ways. I hate it too.
I’ll have to see how Will Stein does in the transfer portal, but fans and the media might be exaggerating the effect of the JMI deal. It depends on where we’re at with our football program in a couple weeks. Our recruiting woes may very well be mostly on Pope and his staff’s inability to convince recruits and transfers to come to UK more than the NIL deal scaring prospects off.
I’ll just say I 100% know for sure Mitch wouldn’t hire Pope because of his religious beliefs and I’ll leave it at that. Personal knowledge 100% — guaranteed. I don’t agree with Mitch about a whole of things sports-wise but he’s a genuinely good person. I think he’s an awful AD, but all the things people say about his religion and stuff is not fair. He’s not a rah-rah guy and not everyone’s cup of tea, but he’s also not the devil incarnate like many here say. I don’t want him within a thousand feet of another coaching contract but I struggle to find a way to express how idiotic the “Mitch hires religious people” narrative is, as it relates to Pope.
And destorying everyone they play. They torched the team that torched us by FORTY.
Sadly May was hired right as the NCAA tourney was winding down. We were still stuck with ol Little House.
Had Mitch dismissed Cal in February like we should've- we could've thrown a bag at May and probably be the Number 2 team in the country right now.
I still argue he should have waited 2 weeks for Donovan. Hell, we may get a crack at it again as I dont think he is long for Chicago.
This is all true. Which makes all the "next Head Coach" lists irrelevant. MB may not be competent, but he's not illiterate. He knew all the names being thrown around. He just didn't want them. So look at Drew, look at Pope, and you'll be able to find MB's next list....and it won't be good
In 4-5 years, after Darian Devries has failed at Indiana and this guy's sons have graduated Michigan, Dusty May could jump ship. Is an Indiana graduate a lifetime'r at Michigan? Ill believe it when I see it. Of course money talks, but so can homegrown ties.
"First of all, my wife and I, we have two sons at Michigan now. My middle son, Charlie, is a walk-on for us, and my youngest son, Eli, is a manager.
"And so...we've been really, really comfortable within the Ann Arbor community. Every interaction on campus with our administration has been unbelievable. Everyone here's committed to winning, and I'm surrounded by greatness and excellence every day and it's hard to leave that. And it was really, really tough to leave FAU. And when you start to plant roots and develop relationships, it's difficult and daunting to think about going and restarting that again. And so I just felt like right now, this stage, this place really, really fits me, us and and we love to be at Michigan."
"First of all, my wife and I, we have two sons at Michigan now. My middle son, Charlie, is a walk-on for us, and my youngest son, Eli, is a manager.
"And so...we've been really, really comfortable within the Ann Arbor community. Every interaction on campus with our administration has been unbelievable. Everyone here's committed to winning, and I'm surrounded by greatness and excellence every day and it's hard to leave that. And it was really, really tough to leave FAU. And when you start to plant roots and develop relationships, it's difficult and daunting to think about going and restarting that again. And so I just felt like right now, this stage, this place really, really fits me, us and and we love to be at Michigan."
Cal screwed that (and us, one last time) by lying to Mitch and hanging on just long enough before jumping in bed with Arkanfat.
I want someone to give me the cons to knock me off the Grant McCasland train.
All I know about him is that he’s won postseason tournaments at lower levels (CBI and NIT) when he was at North Texas, and his TT team was tough as nails last year.
Still fairly young. 49 I think.
Maybe a bit more gettable than some of the really established guys?
Would like opinions from someone who may know more about him (or less, I don’t care).
All I know about him is that he’s won postseason tournaments at lower levels (CBI and NIT) when he was at North Texas, and his TT team was tough as nails last year.
Still fairly young. 49 I think.
Maybe a bit more gettable than some of the really established guys?
Would like opinions from someone who may know more about him (or less, I don’t care).
It’s Mitch’s fault for refusing to fire him and instead giving him another year only for Cal to pull the rug out from underneath him and take the Arkansas job.
I think that too. I think Mitch and Drew had an agreement that he would replace Cal whenever Cal left.
Then Drew changed his mind.
Mitch didn’t do any sort of search because in his mind he had his guy.
Then Pope was a panic hire.
But I really thought that Mitch had pulled a rabbit out of the hat. I thought Pope wasn’t going to kill it here.