16 minutes ago, gchs_uk9 said:

Who built the team?

Pope of course, not every  player a coach selects for his team works out perfectly, it’s on him to correct the problem and move forward, and I feel like he will do just that.

1 hour ago, nikeman49 said:

You can find stats on every coach out there that are not necessarily positive so this is just par for the course.

That is true. However, the problem is finding stats that are positive for Pope in regards to go against those bad stats. As Pope resume as whole as a head coach, wasn’t exactly UK material. He only got the job because he played here.  
 

For example with Cal as you and others would point out the bad stats with Cal. Cal also has even more good stats to back him up. Like being a winner and taking two other teams to final fours before coming to UK. Then also had the resume to support him by his success his first 10 years at UK. 
 

Which to be clear I am not saying UK should have kept Cal. It was best for both parties to have moved on. My question is with Pope and if he is the guy that should be leading this team? As great of a person as he is, and you talk about believing in him which is great, and I hope you are right. There is just nothing out there to back you up that he will get it figured out, as his resume as a head coach doesn’t support that. 

On 1/3/2026 at 2:27 PM, Voice of Reason said:

As I see it now, when we get to March the UK 5 that need to be on the floor the last 4 minutes of a close game are Lowe, Oweh, Aberdeen, Quaintance and Moreno. 

While those have been UK's 5 best players so far, I'm not sure that you want that group on the floor at the end of a close game.  With the offenses ran by the majority of the top teams, having 2 bigs out there at the same time is just inviting open 3 point looks.  I think it has to be very matchup specific to have Quaintance and Moreno out there together.  

9 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

While those have been UK's 5 best players so far, I'm not sure that you want that group on the floor at the end of a close game.  With the offenses ran by the majority of the top teams, having 2 bigs out there at the same time is just inviting open 3 point looks.  I think it has to be very matchup specific to have Quaintance and Moreno out there together.  

I hear what you are saying about Quaintance and Moreno but I think that is who UK is this year. They need to go big, physical, defense, rebound, second shots and those two will help with all that. They will win by getting stops in the last 4 minutes than they will with offense.

On 1/4/2026 at 11:05 AM, futurecoach said:

That is true. However, the problem is finding stats that are positive for Pope in regards to go against those bad stats. As Pope resume as whole as a head coach, wasn’t exactly UK material. He only got the job because he played here.  
 

For example with Cal as you and others would point out the bad stats with Cal. Cal also has even more good stats to back him up. Like being a winner and taking two other teams to final fours before coming to UK. Then also had the resume to support him by his success his first 10 years at UK. 
 

Which to be clear I am not saying UK should have kept Cal. It was best for both parties to have moved on. My question is with Pope and if he is the guy that should be leading this team? As great of a person as he is, and you talk about believing in him which is great, and I hope you are right. There is just nothing out there to back you up that he will get it figured out, as his resume as a head coach doesn’t support that. 

I’m still a believer and look forward to the changes he’s going to make as a head coach.

My interest in UK has been low this year because they just aren't playing good basketball.  I did catch some pre game radio before the Bellarmine game and I thought Pope was very short/rude to Tom Leach.  I am not sure what is going on with that...but you can't get beat bad and act like Billy G and not get canned like Billy G.

8 minutes ago, okie1 said:

My interest in UK has been low this year because they just aren't playing good basketball.  I did catch some pre game radio before the Bellarmine game and I thought Pope was very short/rude to Tom Leach.  I am not sure what is going on with that...but you can't get beat bad and act like Billy G and not get canned like Billy G.

Pope doesn’t operate like that, never heard him be rude to anyone especially Tom Leach.

31 minutes ago, nikeman49 said:

Pope doesn’t operate like that, never heard him be rude to anyone especially Tom Leach.

The pressure may be getting to him.

32 minutes ago, nikeman49 said:

Pope doesn’t operate like that, never heard him be rude to anyone especially Tom Leach.

He is not the only one calling out Pope for being short and Rude with Tom Leach. Matt Jones also has said he felt like Pope was being short and rude to Leach. 

53 minutes ago, nikeman49 said:

I’m still a believer and look forward to the changes he’s going to make as a head coach.

As I said I do hope you are right. With that said, what makes you a firm believer in him, besides being a very likable former UK player? As I have mentioned it not like he has any track record of big success as a coach. A lot of things you all complained about with Cal, we are seeing with Pope currently. Poor roster construction, poor substitution patterns, playing basically man to man defense all the time even when the defense isn't working, and then offensively not much there at all in regards to running any kind of actual offense. Now we even having an opposing coach in Bama's coach calling out UK's offense and how there is very little ball movement. 

So I truly hope you are right, and I want to believe too. So I am truly asking is there something I am missing that he he has done as a head coach, that makes you such a firm believer that he will get this right and when at the level UK fans expect?

10 minutes ago, okie1 said:

The pressure may be getting to him.

No possible way, he’s very cool under pressure, couldn’t have made it this far without calmness.

11 minutes ago, futurecoach said:

As I said I do hope you are right. With that said, what makes you a firm believer in him, besides being a very likable former UK player? As I have mentioned it not like he has any track record of big success as a coach. A lot of things you all complained about with Cal, we are seeing with Pope currently. Poor roster construction, poor substitution patterns, playing basically man to man defense all the time even when the defense isn't working, and then offensively not much there at all in regards to running any kind of actual offense. Now we even having an opposing coach in Bama's coach calling out UK's offense and how there is very little ball movement. 

So I truly hope you are right, and I want to believe too. So I am truly asking is there something I am missing that he he has done as a head coach, that makes you such a firm believer that he will get this right and when at the level UK fans expect?

I think he’s just now getting a feel for this team being with them in practice every single day, and finding out what players are capable of making changes during actual game situations, and also being a former player that has been in the trenches before will help, he’s going to get this done.

12 minutes ago, nikeman49 said:

I think he’s just now getting a feel for this team being with them in practice every single day, and finding out what players are capable of making changes during actual game situations, and also being a former player that has been in the trenches before will help, he’s going to get this done.

I hope so. As I said the thing most troublesome for me, is we are seeing a lot of the same issues that we saw last year, even though its a whole new group. Bad defense, getting down double digits early in games, etc. So we are now starting to get see trends in year two, and when those trends continue even with new players it is concerning. Which if he had a track record of a coach showing he is a coach that can get it figured out, then would be even better. However, he doesn't have the track record to back it up either. Hopefully that changes and he starts to develop that track record of figuring things out, and winning at the level expected here. 

21 hours ago, futurecoach said:

I hope so. As I said the thing most troublesome for me, is we are seeing a lot of the same issues that we saw last year, even though its a whole new group. Bad defense, getting down double digits early in games, etc. So we are now starting to get see trends in year two, and when those trends continue even with new players it is concerning. Which if he had a track record of a coach showing he is a coach that can get it figured out, then would be even better. However, he doesn't have the track record to back it up either. Hopefully that changes and he starts to develop that track record of figuring things out, and winning at the level expected here. 

Last year we weren't as athletic is some spots which led to some defensive issues...but those same players could make up for it on the offensive end.  

This year, we are more athletic...defense is still porous...but the offense is WAY worse.

Add into the fact our recruiting is stagnant and our best freshman recruit is sitting the bench...the tea leaves aren't looking real good at this point.

I think Pope is a great guy...but in this cut throat business, nice guys might get your butt beat!