May I offer some advice, BBN? Just my two cents.

Good afternoon, my brothers and sisters in Big Blue Nation. I come to you this Friday afternoon with a message some of you need to hear. Not all of you, but certainly some of you, the ones tossing and turning at night because Mark Pope doesn’t have a complete roster with exceptional and experienced basketball players on April 26. 

Now, I am not here to tell you how to fan. You fan however you’d like to fan. We all fan differently, and the last thing I want to do is ask you to be someone other than yourself. However, I am worried about the well-being of many of the doomsdayers in BBN, the ones panicking because, on April 26, Pope doesn’t have a top-10 roster in Lexington. 

To me, it is unhealthy to panic this early in the process, as many Kentucky fans are doing right now, on April 26. I understand the worry in the uncertainty ahead, and that we live in a society that expects immediate results. I get it. You have every right to be on edge about a roster with three total players but only one with college basketball experience. These are not ideal circumstances for Kentucky.

But, if I may offer a piece of advice:

Take a deep breath.

Not even three weeks ago, 0% of Mark Pope thought he would be the head coach at Kentucky right now. Pope did not have one thought about Kentucky’s roster, potential targets for Kentucky’s roster, who to hire at Kentucky, where to live in Kentucky, what he should do this summer for Kentucky, etc. None of those things were on his mind. YOU had more of those thoughts than Mark Pope did. Pope was on the other side of the country, worried about Brigham Young University.

Then, SURPRISE! Not even two weeks ago, Pope was walking out of a bus with his college teammates in Rupp Arena to meet 15,000 fans. He had no staff, no concept of portal targets for Kentucky, no idea of the resources he would have to recruit in Lexington, or even how to get into his new office. On Sunday, April 14, Mark Pope was still waking up from a dream, soaking in a return to his alma mater, while the fan base was still processing the hire. This was just 12 days ago.

At the time of Pope’s surprise hire, many Kentucky fans, myself included, wondered if he had what it takes to recruit the talent needed to succeed at Kentucky. We said he would need to hire a great staff with some of the best recruiting connections to give himself a chance. Again, this was 12 days ago.

So, why are some fans disappointed Pope doesn’t have several pieces NOW? It’s been 12 days since that Rupp Arena press conference. Before he added players, he needed to find that staff with the recruiting connections. And he did precisely that, nailing the assistant coaching hires to give himself the best chance at success with the roster. He completed that staff two days ago. They haven’t even had a weekend together yet.

Still, there is an expectation that Kentucky’s roster should be further along than it is, giving Pope’s staff an impossible timeline to accomplish a task he was given less than three weeks ago.

If you want to have those unrealistic expectations, by all means, go ahead. Kentucky Basketball makes me crazy, too. I’ve done some insane things due to a love for the Cats. But, if you can, try giving Pope more time to operate. He and his assistants took an important trip out West today, and he has several available targets on his big board, many of whom are visiting Lexington this weekend.

In my brain, I’m giving Pope a lot more time to operate. UK is in good standing with several players, and the portal is still open for another five days for new entrants. There is plenty of time to build a solid roster, and they’ve already done more behind the scenes than any of us know about. Remember, Antonio Reeves, a returning player, wasn’t locked down until June last year. Tre Mitchell, too. Big Z was added in the middle of the fall semester, which, in hindsight, was a little sketchy but we got away with it.

Now, if the roster looks like it does this time next week, we’ll revisit this conversation, and I may join you in worrying. But for now, take a deep breath, drink some water, find sunshine, and give Pope a chance to put this thing together on the fly.

Or don’t. Do whatever you want. Just my two cents.

Go Cats.