Randy Parker

2 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

The majority of the excitement is from the older generations who really remember the 96 team. Hiring Pope takes them back to that time. They can pretend that his resume excites them, but it's not true. They will disregard his resume because of who he is and what he did while he played at UK. 

Correct.  And I would add people see Pope as a "front of the jersey" kind of coach that will recruit "front of the jersey" kind of players.  That kind of thinking, in my opinion, is archaic and unrealistic.  Unless you want all Kentucky kids that likely have no NBA future, you're not going to have that kind of roster.

I completely understand, and share, the Calipari frustration.  I even felt like it was time for he and the university to part ways.  The danger in that, from my vantage point, is who replaces him.  I thought a lot of the candidates were unrealistic (namely Jay Wright, Danny Hurley, & to a lesser extent, Billy Donovan).  But I also didn't think we'd have to go this far down to get someone.  

As you said, if you look at his resume--and I mean resume only and no looking at his name or anything else--most UK fans would scoff.  Rightly so.

5 hours ago, sportsfan41 said:

BYU was also preseason top 15, roll the dice already. 

Again, not a single NCAA Tournament win.  If the guy's name was Fred Johnson and was a San Diego State alum, no one would be excited.  Because Fred Johnson wouldn't have been hired.

4 hours ago, futurecoach said:

He is not wrong in the fact that him graduating and playing at UK is the only reason why he even got considered for the job. If he never played at UK, he would not have even gotten a look. It doesn't mean he can't do a great job, but him having played at UK is the only reason he got a look. Without having played at UK, his coaching resume wouldn't have gotten him a look at all. 

100%

9 hours ago, sportsfan41 said:

Fixed it for you. 

Winning a title doesn't hurt, sure.  But people at one time were clamoring for Travis Ford, and to a lesser extent, John Pelphrey.  Neither of them won titles.

My point is, there's nothing he's accomplished as a head coach that earned him this job.

6 hours ago, FrankNicodemus said:

O OK, that's all it took for him to get the job.  

RP, don't have doubts....The bus is gassing up and we are about to roll!!!!

I hope you are right.  I really do.

5 hours ago, bugatti said:

Obviously, for UK fans we remain optimistic the Mark Pope era is a tremendous one. But I ain't drinking the Kool-Aid yet. We can convince ourselves this was a great hire, but if 60 days ago I were to tell you Calipari's time at UK is coming to a close and Mark Pope is on deck, I would have been laughed out of the building.

He may knock it out of the park. He may fall flat on his face. We shall see.

I truly hope he is sensational at UK.  It would be a great story. 

I just have serious doubts.  Nine years as a head coach and has as many NCAA Tournament wins as Scut Farkus.

He graduated from UK.  That's the sole reason he was considered for the job.

4 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

Between settling for Pope and Reed going to the NBA, that portion of BBN has gotten an overdue dose of humility in the past few weeks. 

A thousand percent, yes.

The Quaintance visit is no longer happening. 

7 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

3 players.

Perry, Chandler and just got a big out of the portal from Drexel. Another BYU player perhaps is next, Richie Sanders?

Is that the sixth man from BYU?

2 hours ago, MaddenCurse44 said:

How does the roster look so far?

Non-existent 

13 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

I haven’t seen anything about that yet. 

I wondered because big men and knee injuries...often a bad combination.

31 minutes ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Another thing to consider, he would have had unrealistic expectations placed on him by fans next year. He probably would have felt the weight of the state on his back every game.

While I love him as a player and a Kentucky kid, I completely understand his decision and wish him well.

No doubt about it.  Expectations would have been unbelievable.  And probably unfair. 

11 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

 

It’s my understanding he was hurt most of last year and plans to have knee surgery. Hence the redshirt. 

Any idea what kind of surgery?

40 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Redshirting a year - now that is interesting. I don't recall seeing that path from the transfer portal.

I thought that was bizarre.  And it's also a bad look for Mark Pope, no matter how good or bad of a player the kid is.

1 hour ago, futurecoach said:

Now the big question is does this mean he cared more about the NBA, than the name Kentucky across the chest?

Excellent question.  I'm sure many will give Sheppard the benefit of the doubt that they did not give to others.

Just now, mcpapa said:

Anyone who didn’t see this coming (my better half, for example) is wearing blue blinders. 
 

And if this news turns out to be a hoax, I’ll eat my crow served with a slab of @Randy Parker meatloaf. 

Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double beatloaf.

Pretty astounding that he's reached this milestone, considering that most of us doubted he'd make it this far.  Really happy for him.  Easy kid to root for.

QR codes are showing back up on Raw & Smackdown, hinting at the return of Bo Dallas as Uncle Howdy.  This was also teased in the Bray Wyatt documentary. 

13 minutes ago, I gotta go to work said:

Oh I don't know. 

I thought they did, but I can't say for sure.

38 minutes ago, I gotta go to work said:

Pope mentioned Maui. The field is set for 24, Could UK be back in it in 25? Does he try to renew the Indiana game?

I thought Indiana was already renewed.

2 hours ago, futurecoach said:

That’s what makes this hiring so hard to know how to feel. Just no way of knowing how it would work out. When Calipari was hired, I think everyone knew things were going to get better in a hurry. Just no way of knowing on this. The one thing we do know, is he should bring a style that in terms of how they play similar to what it was like when Pitino was here. Which is a style everyone said they loved. Offensively they should be fun to watch, defensively should be aggressive some pressing, zone, and man. So the play style should be a style people like, since similar to what Pitino did while here. Now the question is can he produce the results. 

This is sort of what I keep hearing, and I hope this goes well.  I just have a lot of reservations. 

1 hour ago, Voice of Reason said:

I am sold on Pope to the extent that he will be solid. I am interested in seeing his offense as it rates high on the analytics. He will get better talent at UK. The big question, and perhaps what you aren't sold on, is can he win a title? I am not sold on that either. But I feel confident he will win 20-22 games a year. What we all want is that next level and that we won't know till we see it.

You're one of the more reasoned voices here, hence your username, so your assessment gives me hope.  

1 hour ago, Voice of Reason said:

As I've got a chance to study Pope's resume and what next year looked like at UK with Cal, I am genuinely happy with the move. Next year was going to be ugly. Cal was still stuck in his one and done ststem. He would have played a bunch of freshmen. That would have equalled ten losses or more and the fans would have been in full revolt on every loss. Plus this season's offensive guru John Welch was not coming back. It would have been a complete downer of a season and UK would have been looking for a coach next year while paying Cal his $30M.

I agree on Cal needing to be gone because next year would likely show no improvement from this year.  I am just not sold on Pope. 

Not knowing anything about our roster, I will say 16-20.  Might change my mind once the roster is formed and the schedule completed.

I like the guy a lot and will be rooting for the Cats no matter what.  But I don't think it's a good hire at all.  Will love to be wrong.