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What is wrong with this fan base??

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Popesdenimshorts

Redshirt
Jul 3, 2025
16
44
13
We have a homegrown coach. He is still relatively new here as well. He is super smart ,charismatic and humble. He works really hard. 3 of our starters and better players are out. We lost to 3 ranked teams, not crap teams. It's also only Dec 3rd

Yet it appears more than half the board has already given up on Pope. It's a sad world we live in today. I work on patience daily and it's a struggle for me in the real world. But I'm nowhere near ready to give up on Pope. It's to soon to pass that harsh of judgement.

I know our fan base well yet I'm surprised here if 50-75% already want the dude fired. That's insane even for UK basketball. Not having 3 starters who are maybe your 3 best players is a big deal.
 
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U

ukjeepin

Redshirt
Aug 5, 2025
26
49
12
On the bandwagon for life but this team was hyped by Pope and he set high expectations. The injuries and the bigger need for JQ have derailed Pope and the fans. We just need to adjust expectations and pray all players return by January. We underestimated the need for another PG and a scoring big. Jelavic could be a solid 4 and be a saving grace. BG is underperforming and Pope took a risk thinking he could hold down the 5 spot until JQ plays. Still opportunities ahead. A win Friday would help and I will be there. Go Cats.
 
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kuhlkat

kuhlkat

All-Conference
Nov 17, 2003
2,935
3,277
98
Popesdenimshorts said:
We have a homegrown coach. He is still relatively new here as well. He is super smart ,charismatic and humble. He works really hard. 3 of our starters and better players are out. We lost to 3 ranked teams, not crap teams. It's also only Dec 3rd

Yet it appears more than half the board has already given up on Pope. It's a sad world we live in today. I work on patience daily and it's a struggle for me in the real world. But I'm nowhere near ready to give up on Pope. It's to soon to pass that harsh of judgement.

I know our fan base well yet I'm surprised here if 50-75% already want the dude fired. That's insane even for UK basketball. Not having 3 starters who are maybe your 3 best players is a big deal.
Click to expand...
I think most love UK basketball so much they just use this board to vent, and say stuff they don't truly mean. It helps to vent.
 
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JakeKx

JakeKx

Senior
Oct 5, 2023
378
576
92
It is okay to admit he sucks.
most smart fans wanted cal gone after 2019 when it was apparent he wasn’t winning anymore titles but we let him linger around another 5/6 years and wasted time getting a replacement that could have been winning.
Same situation here. We’ve seen enough to know this isn’t going to work. Bet to move on after this season (where we will prolly miss the tourney) and just cut ties and wish him well on his way back to a scrub school.

Im not convinced the only reason he’s here is because we couldn’t get better. Need to start putting out feelers now to see who we can actually get.
 
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Cats4321

All-Conference
Nov 18, 2025
366
1,044
93
Pope got one of the best receptions in sports history 24 hours after he was hired, even though there was very little evidence that he was the best coach for the job. Everyone wanted this to work. That's what makes this fanbase great. I still 100% want this to work, but the concerns at this point are valid.
 
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A

Anony Moose

Senior
Dec 2, 2025
340
512
93
Popesdenimshorts said:
We have a homegrown coach. He is still relatively new here as well. He is super smart ,charismatic and humble. He works really hard. 3 of our starters and better players are out. We lost to 3 ranked teams, not crap teams. It's also only Dec 3rd

Yet it appears more than half the board has already given up on Pope. It's a sad world we live in today. I work on patience daily and it's a struggle for me in the real world. But I'm nowhere near ready to give up on Pope. It's to soon to pass that harsh of judgement.

I know our fan base well yet I'm surprised here if 50-75% already want the dude fired. That's insane even for UK basketball. Not having 3 starters who are maybe your 3 best players is a big deal.
Click to expand...
We can hurrah all we want about him being smart, nice, former player and all that feel good BS, but we want a coach who wins. Do most of us expect to win every game? Nope! But we sure as he'll expect to look competent, competitive and giving max effort. We do none of those except against quad 4 teams. We have been ran off the court against Gtown, UL and Mich St. Among those, only UL is legit. We also let a garbage UNC team beat us at home after not scoring a field goal for 10 minutes and looking like **** all night. That's after allegedly spending 22 million for the roster, which is evidently the most of any team.

The whole BS of Lowe, Dioubate or JQ being saviors or the missing pieces is simply that...BS. Dioubate and Lowe are glorified role players that have never been amazing scorers/shooters. Lowe isn't a great defender either. He is clearly injured and will have that should attacked over and over in screens if he does return this year. JQ is coming off an ACL injury and surgery, and while I don't think he plays, even if he does, we aren't likely getting the 100% healthy version. Aside from blocks, he really didn't put up amazing numbers at ASU in any category.

If Aberdeen, Lowe and recovering JQ are our "best" players, that's a bigger problem than I imagined and we are F'ed.
 
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Coach777

Senior
Dec 19, 2022
327
870
93
Agree 3 starters were out but I saw no in-game adjustment on either side of the ball. Our players are taking hard contested shots and NC was not. Returning players have not gotten better but have regressed. You have to be able to recruit and he lost of all major targets. (Stokes won't be coming here after this seasons start of after the Louisville lose alone) There nothing close to a set rotation when you get to the 2nd half. Lastly he had the most NIL money and built this team. It was suppose to have depth but take Lowe out and we can't beat anyone ranked. So who is responsible for everything I just stated?
 
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CrimsonCats_rivals

CrimsonCats_rivals

All-Conference
Mar 22, 2022
1,491
2,997
61
The issue isn’t that we’re losing games. It’s that we’ve yet to beat anyone with a pulse, and looked like we didn’t even belong on the court with our opponent for most of 2 out of those 3 games.

I’m also a little tired of hearing about the 3 starters being out. The only big game that Mo missed was last night, and having Lowe against Louisville didn’t help either. We haven’t seen JQ yet, but we knew he wouldn’t play until January at the earliest when we signed him. If we’re really that dependent on him to even be decent, then that was incredibly stupid planning to completely punt on the non-conference schedule.

I’m not quite ready to fire Pope yet because I thought he actually did a good job under the circumstances last year, but the way he seems completely lost while the team continues to have demonstrably bad play this year is now a major concern. He won’t last nearly as long here as we all hoped if he doesn’t show some inclination for getting this turned around soon.
 
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S

stucknbig10country

Sophomore
Oct 21, 2016
75
132
32
Not sure what the OP wants. I'm pretty reasonable as far as UK basketball fans go, but this is an abomination. Can't win a single game of consequence, all of the things that were supposed to be strengths (shooting, free flowing offense, master tactician) are not, and we spent more on this roster than any other team did. Sorry, but if the fanbase can't panic over this, not sure when you'd permit a panic to occur.
 
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L

loublue22_rivals308424

Heisman
Jan 30, 2004
104,827
10,877
78
Quaintance is not a "starter"! Stop with this! He has never played a single second, you know nothing about him. And by the way, we have two other McD AA centers on the roster, we should be able to get by not being a complete embarrassment, but I guess that's too much to ask.
 
Ukwazoo3

Ukwazoo3

Senior
Jul 6, 2025
219
516
93
Agree with all of the above. Except the injuries excuse. That is a common theme every game with Pope. Not an excuse
 
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Kentucky15

Kentucky15

All-Conference
Mar 29, 2013
2,033
4,220
108
buc puppet said:
For starters who really cares that Pope is home grown? Like does it really matter? It's great for nostalgia but it doesn't translate to success. Pope could easily end up being our Matt Doherty

I don't care if he went to UK or if he grew up on Mars. Who cares? I WANT TO WIN!
Click to expand...

I think it’s best if you have a guy who’s part of the family especially the 90’s guys who add weight and can create influence. But not every former player will be Roy Willams. If he can’t win then you entirely cannot do it, obviously. So I guess it’s one of those “at the end of the day” situations. Winning is all that matters. Plus if someone coaches here 15 years and kills it, he is Kentucky, didn’t have to play here to become us. But I do think there are advantages behind the scenes IF you can pull off a former player. Also takes out the huge learning curve and you don’t have to worry that he is getting into something he knows nothing about which is a problem, or can be a problem, at a place like Kentucky.
 
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M

meteordealer

All-Conference
Nov 20, 2004
11,495
2,153
113
loublue22_rivals308424 said:
Quaintance is not a "starter"! Stop with this! He has never played a single second, you know nothing about him. And by the way, we have two other McD AA centers on the roster, we should be able to get by not being a complete embarrassment, but I guess that's too much to ask.
Click to expand...
Garrison is just awful.

Moreno has potential. But he's still a work in progress.

I think JQ is probably our best option, IF he ever sees the floor.
 
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Kentucky15

Kentucky15

All-Conference
Mar 29, 2013
2,033
4,220
108
JakeKx said:
It is okay to admit he sucks.
most smart fans wanted cal gone after 2019 when it was apparent he wasn’t winning anymore titles but we let him linger around another 5/6 years and wasted time getting a replacement that could have been winning.
Same situation here. We’ve seen enough to know this isn’t going to work. Bet to move on after this season (where we will prolly miss the tourney) and just cut ties and wish him well on his way back to a scrub school.

Im not convinced the only reason he’s here is because we couldn’t get better. Need to start putting out feelers now to see who we can actually get.
Click to expand...

Id almost bet it would be Oats. It’s the obvious choice for both. He wasnt offered last time due to baggage. Barnhart wanted someone he could control inside of the program as he had been shut out for 15 years. Oats is a control freak, it would have been similar to Calipari. Very obvious especially when you consider Oats’ comments of late. He claims he wasn’t offered but did think about it had he been. He is basically saying when you’re ready I’m ready. Also to create a bidding war for his services I’d bet. But Barnhart didn’t offer him due to baggage and he wanted control back over the basketball program. Similar to Calipari 2006 when he went instead with a guy he could control. Then **** hits the fan and the boosters force the hire that’s necessary. Couldn’t be more obvious that’s what’s going on. He was allowed to look past oats due to his recent shooting issue. Blamed it on the baggage. Went with the guy he can control instead of our next Calipari. Wel 2 years later we had Calipari, so 2/3 years later we have oats.

Still hanging in there with Mark right now. He’s wicked smart and I believe injured and something inside has happened. He might turn this quick. Remember last season, that team shouldn’t have won all those games. This year he made a mistake and went away from what he does best and the egos aren’t blending.
 
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B

buc puppet

All-Conference
Mar 22, 2004
678
1,221
92
Kentucky15 said:
I think it’s best if you have a guy who’s part of the family especially the 90’s guys who add weight and can create influence. But not every former player will be Roy Willams. If he can’t win then you entirely cannot do it, obviously. So I guess it’s one of those “at the end of the day” situations. Winning is all that matters. Plus if someone coaches here 15 years and kills it, he is Kentucky, didn’t have to play here to become us. But I do think there are advantages behind the scenes IF you can pull off a former player. Also takes out the huge learning curve and you don’t have to worry that he is getting into something he knows nothing about which is a problem, or can be a problem, at a place like Kentucky.
Click to expand...
The UK coaching tree is uber successful. We have won titles with 5 different coaches, more than anyone else. Who among them were part of the kentucky family when they took over? Tubby a little, maybe Joe B? Give me a hungry Italian any day of the week because that worked out the best. I think we were blinded by the Blue smoke when Mitch chose Pope. If he had never set foot in Rupp arena would we even have given him the time of day? No we would not.

Look if you gave me that job today I promise you that no one would try harder, work harder, bleed blue, and care more than me. No one would love the colors more than me. But I would suck and we would lose because I'm not qualified for the gig. Now what does my blue family ties do for anyone? At the end of they day my bosses would just wish they hired a more talented and qualified outsider.
 
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FireWentOut

FireWentOut

All-Conference
Jul 2, 2025
555
2,295
93
Boo hoo hoo, extremely high paid person is failing at his job and the OP can't understand why people are pissed. I don't care if Pope is from Mars. He is paid to win. He is not winning, in fact, the current state of the program is an embarrassment. He either gets it together by season end or he hits the road and we try again. If that fails we try again, and again, until we get a winner. Life is to short to wait.
 
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katwest

katwest

Heisman
Feb 16, 2003
39,466
13,130
113
Well as harsh as it seems, you can’t spend what Kentucky spent on NIL and lose to 3 rivals, one at home and blown out in another on a neutral court. Also the near future with Games against ST John’s, Alabama and Gonzaga it doesn’t look good. That much money demands better than this so far.
 
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C

CatBearPig

All-Conference
Apr 26, 2024
560
1,082
93
Yeah you’re right. It’s not the guys fault who has a 22 million dollar roster and we should be happy with mediocrity. He’s failing dude. Doesn’t mean we’ve quit or given up but it’s not looking good. You’d be blind to say this is working right now.
 
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K

KYWC36

All-Conference
Jul 11, 2013
1,093
1,598
113
Popesdenimshorts said:
We have a homegrown coach. He is still relatively new here as well. He is super smart ,charismatic and humble. He works really hard. 3 of our starters and better players are out. We lost to 3 ranked teams, not crap teams. It's also only Dec 3rd

Yet it appears more than half the board has already given up on Pope. It's a sad world we live in today. I work on patience daily and it's a struggle for me in the real world. But I'm nowhere near ready to give up on Pope. It's to soon to pass that harsh of judgement.

I know our fan base well yet I'm surprised here if 50-75% already want the dude fired. That's insane even for UK basketball. Not having 3 starters who are maybe your 3 best players is a big deal.
Click to expand...
I can get behind everything you said, except the not having 3 starters as an excuse, its not. For one, one of those starters has been out all year, for two, Lowe played and we were no better with him and honestly the 3rd has been a flop... with all of that being said. Even without those 3, and despite what this board says... This team has tons of talent, TALENT IS NOT THE ISSUE. This board keeps talking about it, because most of you are ruined by the Cal one and done mentality, but this team is way to good to be playing this bad. They do not play well together, and until they gel and play as a unit, it wont matter who they have on the floor. Also, to everyone who says we need Wilson... Caleb Wilson did not play well last night and we largely took him out of the game- he went 5-19. Uk went 11 mins without making a basket and still almost won,,,, no one on UNC's roster is why we lost. This team cannot shoot, they do not play well together, they do not play smart and Pope in no way controls them,,,, that is our issue
 
O

One2Three

All-Conference
Nov 15, 2025
785
1,841
93
What’s up with these pick-me fans who crap on the rest of the fanbase, honestly? There’s always someone who jumps the gun to poo-poo on fellow Kentucky fans.

People aren’t going to like you more just because you think you “aren’t like other UK fans.” You’re still some sub-human redneck from Kentucky to most other fanbases, despite college sports being mostly redneck and cranky old wild guys to begin with.
 
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BlueWorldOrder74

BlueWorldOrder74

Heisman
Oct 9, 2015
13,391
34,995
78
Kentucky15 said:
Id almost bet it would be Oats. It’s the obvious choice for both. He wasnt offered last time due to baggage. Barnhart wanted someone he could control inside of the program as he had been shut out for 15 years. Oats is a control freak, it would have been similar to Calipari. Very obvious especially when you consider Oats’ comments of late. He claims he wasn’t offered but did think about it had he been. He is basically saying when you’re ready I’m ready. Also to create a bidding war for his services I’d bet. But Barnhart didn’t offer him due to baggage and he wanted control back over the basketball program. Similar to Calipari 2006 when he went instead with a guy he could control. Then **** hits the fan and the boosters force the hire that’s necessary. Couldn’t be more obvious that’s what’s going on. He was allowed to look past oats due to his recent shooting issue. Blamed it on the baggage. Went with the guy he can control instead of our next Calipari. Wel 2 years later we had Calipari, so 2/3 years later we have oats.

Still hanging in there with Mark right now. He’s wicked smart and I believe injured and something inside has happened. He might turn this quick. Remember last season, that team shouldn’t have won all those games. This year he made a mistake and went away from what he does best and the egos aren’t blending.
Click to expand...
Thank God for Mike. He saved us. You are spot on about Mitch and his need. No doubt Oats would have listened to an offer. I know he had a little baggage at the time, but he really didn’t do anything seriously wrong other than get his players back - which turned out to probably be the right thing. Cal would have done the same. What this program needs is exactly what Mitch is afraid of / he’s a beta and knows what he can handle - and a winner isn’t it.
 
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