Kentucky to Hire Mark Pope LOL | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Kentucky to Hire Mark Pope LOL

My boss lives down the street from Billy D and is a pretty close friend of his in Florida. He got the sense that BD was never really seriously considering the UK (or any college) job with the state of NIL, transfer portal madness, etc despite the rumors.
 
Pope’s a good coach. The issue to me seems to be that he’d be available in a week if they continued to strike out but apparently Barnhart went rogue on this one. So it looks pretty embarrassing to the outside observer.

The “no tournament wins” thing is overblown to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s successful there, but the arrogance and entitlement of the fan base - Brad Stevens was not going to quit running the Celtics to coach your team - almost had me hoping he flops. And that stinks because by all accounts he’s a great dude.
 
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BigErnMcCracken said:
Pope’s a good coach. The issue to me seems to be that he’d be available in a week if they continued to strike out but apparently Barnhart went rogue on this one. So it looks pretty embarrassing to the outside observer.

The “no tournament wins” thing is overblown to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s successful there, but the arrogance and entitlement of the fan base - Brad Stevens was not going to quit running the Celtics to coach your team - almost had me hoping he flops. And that stinks because by all accounts he’s a great dude.
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Maybe if he was going to coach Rhode Island. But zero tournament wins going to Kentucky and big blue nation sounds a little underwhelming.
 
SouthBayHusky said:
Maybe if he was going to coach Rhode Island. But zero tournament wins going to Kentucky and big blue nation sounds a little underwhelming.
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DePaul hired a guy who has 7 tournament wins and Kentucky hired a guy who has zero tournament wins. It doesn't mean Pope isn't a good coach but it's Kentucky, if he never played there he would be about their 60th option.
 
SouthBayHusky said:
Maybe if he was going to coach Rhode Island. But zero tournament wins going to Kentucky and big blue nation sounds a little underwhelming.
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Yeah I just think that stat for a guy who set a school record for wins at BYU and had the most efficient offense in the country is a pretty stupid barometer. They lost to UCLA in the first round one year. Hurley’s first tournament win at UConn was Iona. It’s not the be all / end all of what makes a good coach.
 
If anything there might be just a slight what, cultural difference, between what the Kentucky donors are used to and what Pope brings to campus.

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superjohn said:
DePaul hired a guy who has 7 tournament wins and Kentucky hired a guy who has zero tournament wins. It doesn't mean Pope isn't a good coach but it's Kentucky, if he never played there he would be about their 60th option.
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Pope's a much better coach than Holtmann ever was. We'll see what Pope does with a much better talent base, but with immense amount of pressure right away. He has to recruit well (he should be able to, but not Calipari level). Steve Lavin had a bunch of NCAA tourney wins before he got the St. John's job and anyone who knows basketball could've told you he was awful.
 
This was Kentucky's 7th choice. My guess is they will be down for a few years now.
 
He didn't exactly sound overly optimistic after the Duquesne loss

 
Pope would come to Kentucky with a résumé that's light for a job generally considered the best in the sport. He does not have an NCAA tournament win, and No. 11 BYU lost to No. 6 Duquesne 71-67 in the first round this year. In the 2021 tournament, No. 6 BYU lost to No. 11 UCLA in the first round.

www.espn.com

Sources: Mark Pope nearing 5-year deal to be Kentucky coach

A former Kentucky player, BYU's Mark Pope is finalizing a five-year deal to be the Wildcats' next head coach, sources told ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Who knows if he'll be a good coach at Kentucky but his resume doesn't exactly look to be the type of coach Kentucky would hire. Kentucky fans have to be going nuts over this.
 
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aburks41 said:
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Mark Pope is a good coach, but this certainly isn't a hire that would reinvigorate or excite the fanbase, nor should it. In fact, this is a big serving of humble pie to them. It shows that they can't just throw bags of cash and think anyone and everyone would drop their current gig and speed race over to fill the Kentucky coaching job.

How is Mark Pope as a recruiter? This could be a down year for Kentucky before things get better.
They will get humbled at least twice by Arkansas next season.
 


More than I expected. That's around Hurley's current contract without incentives, right?
 
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FfldCntyFan said:
I basically despise Calipari but next year I would love to see Arkansas win only two games, both against Kentucky.
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I don't hate or even dislike Calipari like most UConn fans do. I pretty much let all of that go once he left his highly successful stint at UMass and even moreso after UConn has beaten him in twice in 2011 and in 2014. Having said all of that, unless I had some betting interest on Calipari's team, I don't think I have ever rooted for a team coached by Calipari in a particular game. I don't actively root against him, mind you. I will be rooting for Arkansas in those 2 games against Kentucky, though.
 
ihatepants said:


More than I expected. That's around Hurley's current contract without incentives, right?
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Well, if it's 5 years and averages $5.5 mill, maybe it starts out at $3.5 mill or $4 mill with the option of getting shit-canned if he doesn't win. Who knows.
 
That Guy said:
It is absolutely wild and insane that at this moment, the guy that is about to become the 6th highest paid college basketball coach in the country has not won a single NCAA tournament game.
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I don't understand why they had to pay him so much.
 
That Guy said:
It is absolutely wild and insane that at this moment, the guy that is about to become the 6th highest paid college basketball coach in the country has not won a single NCAA tournament game.
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That's crazy that they're paying him that based on his accomplishments.
 
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