What is your grade for Mark Pope in Year 1
- Thread starter chasingwildcat
- Start date
For getting rid of that cancer that Fayetteville has to deal with now. Thanks Mark pope good season to build on
A
There are no high draft choices on this team...maybe a second rounder. To put together a collection of solid, but unspectacular guys who've never played together and beat Duke, Gonzaga, FL, UT, etc ....and make the sweet 16, despite key injuries in the toughest conference in NCAA history. I love his analytical bent, his positive energy which helped lift a modestly talented roster to a higher ceiling than I thought possible. John Calipari couldn't sniff a winning record with this squad.
There are no high draft choices on this team...maybe a second rounder. To put together a collection of solid, but unspectacular guys who've never played together and beat Duke, Gonzaga, FL, UT, etc ....and make the sweet 16, despite key injuries in the toughest conference in NCAA history. I love his analytical bent, his positive energy which helped lift a modestly talented roster to a higher ceiling than I thought possible. John Calipari couldn't sniff a winning record with this squad.
B+
Love the love that he has (and that he instills in the team) for Kentucky. That's important.
Love the effort that he clearly put in, and there was a ton of adversity.
But I'm very disappointed in the lack of defensive / rebounding / loose ball focus. I don't even understand how a UK team that supposedly cares so much won't jump or dive. And be honest with yourselves...you saw what I did. And it's weird, right? It wasn't only the injured guys like Butler. Others just did not try hard enough at times.
If that last part doesn't change, Pope will be 3 and out. I want him to stay but he has to recognize this and make more convincing demands of his dudes (on top of all the recruiting and portal challenges, which I don't envy at all...but, then again, I'd do it for a few years if people paid me millions).
Love the love that he has (and that he instills in the team) for Kentucky. That's important.
Love the effort that he clearly put in, and there was a ton of adversity.
But I'm very disappointed in the lack of defensive / rebounding / loose ball focus. I don't even understand how a UK team that supposedly cares so much won't jump or dive. And be honest with yourselves...you saw what I did. And it's weird, right? It wasn't only the injured guys like Butler. Others just did not try hard enough at times.
If that last part doesn't change, Pope will be 3 and out. I want him to stay but he has to recognize this and make more convincing demands of his dudes (on top of all the recruiting and portal challenges, which I don't envy at all...but, then again, I'd do it for a few years if people paid me millions).
You left out Billy G.
Shouldn't we.
I meant no slight toward Mark Pope here. Only pointing out how good historical results were. Two coaches reached their peak in year one. I think Pope is going to grow and learn.
Completely new team in toughest SEC ever with injuries…I feel like A is pretty fair. A -/B+ if you really want to nitpick.
considering all the injuries and the sort time frame to put a team together I would give him an A. Lost a few games we should not have but we won some we should have lost.
A. Completely new roster, implemented an exciting style of play, beat Duke, Gonzaga, Tennessee twice, Louisville among others and made to the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2019. I see a bright future ahead for Pope and staff.
everyone is entitled to their opinion even if it differs from yours. Last nights loss leaves a somewhat sour taste. Losing is one thing…. Not being ready, not showing up for the big moment and no adjustments is another.
A-/B+...which is better than I anticipated for this season.
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I’m right where you were/are. My numbers and predictions were exactly yours. Here’s the weird thing, it was one hell of a wild ride to get there. I didn’t envision that. Almost made it way more fun in a way.
I almost look at it in two parts.
First part— assembling a team maximizing the present opportunity and exceeding expectations for the shambles we all knew Calipari would leave—Solid A.
Second part—leveraging this success from a relatively unknown coach into recruiting success for returning UK into the dominating force of the SEC—Incomplete but very promising!
First part— assembling a team maximizing the present opportunity and exceeding expectations for the shambles we all knew Calipari would leave—Solid A.
Second part—leveraging this success from a relatively unknown coach into recruiting success for returning UK into the dominating force of the SEC—Incomplete but very promising!
A "C-" grade generally signifies a passing grade that is slightly "below average", indicating satisfactory but not strong performance. Let's just say the quiet part out loud to all the C- answers on this board are delusional . There's several reasons that somebody might grade the coaches performance in such a way this season. Maybe it's because they have never coached a team in their lives and they have unreasonable expectations. Maybe it's because they're haters, maybe it's because they're trolls, maybe it's because they have not a clue or maybe it's because they're dumb as a bag of hammers. Whatever the case may be, this is what he and the players accomplished.
Built roster in 4 weeks
Multiple season-ending injuries
Multiple guys playing hurt
Most difficult conference in history
Tied NCAA record for top-15 wins
Winning record in SEC play
Got UK back to 2nd weekend
Beat Duke, UofL, and Florida
Far from a below average grade!
Built roster in 4 weeksMultiple season-ending injuriesMultiple guys playing hurtMost difficult conference in historyTied NCAA record for top-15 winsWinning record in SEC playGot UK back to 2nd weekendBeat Duke, UofL, and FloridaFar from a below average grade!
"A" as others have pointed out he beat Duke, Gonzaga, Florida, TN twice, Miss State and did this with a lot of injuries with our best players. I think the future is bright with him as our coach.
You must be a very miserable unhappy individual given Kentucky has only won 8 National Championships. I sincerely hope you don't have the same irrational perspective on your life.
A+ because of how he built a formidable team from the portal and remained relevant in spite of numerous injury setbacks.
A solid B. Met expectations with a sweet 16. The season was a mixed bag of big wins and bad losses. Giving the guy an A especially an A+ is basically saying he was perfect, exceeded expectations and on top of his game. He clearly had moments this year where he didn’t know what to do. The tournament was like our seasons. Take care of cupcakes, beat a good team turn around and take an awful loss. It’s not who we lost to rather of all the s16 matchups we were one of only 2 teams to get smoked. Even Arizona stayed reasonably close with the almighty duke.
B+
Great wins coupled with some puzzling losses. I thought all year sweet 16 was this team's talent ceiling and we got there.
Not that big of a deal for me personally, but losing to Cal at Rupp hurt a big portion of the fan base.
It's hard for me to give an A in a season where we didn't win the SEC regular season or tournament and missed the final 4. Those are the three main goals for UK every year.
Great wins coupled with some puzzling losses. I thought all year sweet 16 was this team's talent ceiling and we got there.
Not that big of a deal for me personally, but losing to Cal at Rupp hurt a big portion of the fan base.
It's hard for me to give an A in a season where we didn't win the SEC regular season or tournament and missed the final 4. Those are the three main goals for UK every year.