very excited about Mark Pope. I've been watching some BYU games, and 100% changed my mind. as long as he can recruit and get players we need, we will be in good shape.
How long did it take Scott Drew to really win at Baylor ? It took Jay Wright 11 years before he won a single NCAA tournament game . Who was Dan Hurley before he got to UONN ? What did Billy Donovan do at Marshall before he got how hired at Florida? Who was Nate Oates before Alabama ? Give Pope a chance .
Pope has the chance to bring back the 90s swag. Fill the bench with some of the champions as assistants, use Pitino on speed dial for advice. Pope can get it done in style if he uses it all and does it efficiently
BYU and UK fan here. You don’t know how good of a coach you are getting. Your culture is going to get better and Pope will get more out of your players than Cal.
I'm all for the optimistic attitude but Pope has been a head coach for 9 years and has no NCAA tourney wins. I'm not knocking the guy but most UK fans were hoping for a big name hire. A coach that needed no introduction. If you told me a week ago that BYU fans would be trying to sell the new coach to UK fans, I would have laughed at you. The negative reaction many fans are having should not be a surprise to anyone and it doesnt mean they are bad fans. Shawn and Jack sound like propagandists. This has gone from a disappointment to a home run hire overnight.
The interview with Mitch this morning was great -- he explained why he is bringing Mark Pope. That was inspiring to me. Then I saw Rick's video endorsing Mark. We need to get behind Mark and the team.
Iam definitely in on Mark Pope he knows the stress of wining at ky because hes experienced it through Playing for BBN .I think he is a good fit for BBN.he runs a game thats what we are use to at Ky .I love to get back to our roots with Mark Pope.Go BBN 😊😊😊😊
40 year fan here, Big honer to land Mark Pope, I so hope we will support him and love him! The other hard core fans will come along especially if he recruits the right players and win win win. The more time passes the better I feel about hiring Pope maybe even over Scott Drew! Give me the underdog all day long, that's who we were back in the day with the unforgettables and the comeback cats. those years was special and I believe Pope brings some of that magic back to UK! I think we are lucky to land a future great coach like Mark Pope!
@@mike7419 I see a perfect fit and a great X's & O's very basketball smart coach, and someone who really loves UK and the people, only time will tell, I am saying we have a winner and a soon to be Dan Hurley level coach.
I went through all of the same emotions last night too. But I’m all aboard the Pope train!! It’s exciting to have him back at Rupp. And he bleeds blue, through and through. So a big congratulations to Coach Pope!! Can’t wait to see what you can do 💙
BYU has zero NCAA tourney wins. One of the biggest issues with Cal was his lack of postseason success the past five years. Do you see how someone might be skeptical of hiring a guy with no postseason success?
I hope the people in charge of hiring the UK basketball coach have a lot higher expectations than you apparently have. 11 years? This is UK. If Pope goes into a third year with zero tourney wins, the pressure will be on and rightfully so.
@@SugeAvery-s8y No…it’s going to take 22 years🤨🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️ Imagine believing that just because it took that long for one…then it’s going to take that long for Coach Mark I’m going to bet his first year will make it past the first round of both SEC & NCAA tournaments
I never wanted Hurley and Drew!! We should have spoken to Bruce Pearl, though. But I know Mark will bring the passion and I truly think he will be great!! Teams will not want to play us. I saw Shawn's tweet, and it did piss me off. He isn't a risk!! It will work!!
@@pmontyjaaaymes488no, you’re right. It’s a plus, but it won’t get wins. A great X’s and O’s coach and a buttload of NIL money will!!! Hahaha sucker!!!
@@mike7419 true that’s optimistic for the first year. But I think if you asked self, drew, and otzelberger if they wanted to play byu last year they would’ve told you the same thing seeing as how they all lost to them
As a UK fan who became a fan in 1992, and was a fever pitch fan in 1996, it will be great to hear the Rupp announcement “…and the head coach, MARK POPE!!!”
Will be honest I was upset too that the trigger was pulled quickly on Mark Pope out of no where seemingly. But after looking and listening to everything the whole picture it was the right move that needed to happen after Drew turned it down and I knew in my gut Hurley was not coming period he is set at UConn. Out of any possible candidate that was there he loves and cares more about Kentucky Basketball than any of them. He wants this job more than any of the rest as well. I haven't been this excited in a very long time that one of our own is our leader and can do wonderful things here just given a chance. Am totally on board for next season and can't wait.
Some of our players for next year have went pro, some are undecided and others have went in the portal. Listen because you put your name in the portal doesnt mean you cannot come back to where you had intended on going. Go Big Blue and Go Coach Pope
Rick Pitino giving Mark praise and congratulating him for the new job gives me a lot of confidence that Mark really is a good choice. There are a lot of pros when you really start to break down his future career at Kentucky. I mean, who better to give a recruiting pitch than a guy who played at Kentucky and won a national championship? I’m going to be carefully optimistic about this next season just because I won’t expect it to be some amazing undefeated run to the championship game. I get that this could take a bit of time, but I also think this is a great direction in the long run. Cal brought in great recruits but has lacked ambition in these last few years. Mark has all the ambition you could ask for and then some. Like you guys said, half of the battle is that you gotta want it. He wants it more than anyone else than could coach at Kentucky, and I’m very confident in that. His excitement makes me excited
18:24 What a great way to right your wrong. I have a lot of respect for you saying this Shawn. Because you guys do influence a big part of our fan base. Class act man. Good job sir!
Lol…Not anymore , that would be UConn, with 6 Natty’s in the last 25 years! No worries though! I mean heck, UCLA sits at the top with 11 Titles, but only has 1 (1995) since 1975. 1 in 49 years!! Kent is not at the very top anymore, and that’s ok! Dynasties rise and fall! Congrats on your new coach, BTW! Good luck!
@ccpbux you still only have 6 so you are effectively under us. Im not great at math cause im just a country boy from kentucky but 8 is more tban 6 right? Or are you one of those that brags about womens banners like ive already seen from your small fan base? Ive never laughed louder.
The man had BYU ranked....... BYU..... A team that has a comically constrained recruiting pool due to having to essentially be a monk while there and fairly strict academic standards. Their pool is even lower than legit ivy League schools when considering the monk factor. He beat Kansas last season..... How did Cal do?
The amount of people that was dumping on this hire is insane to me. There is no better candidate in the coaching ranks right now that would love Kentucky more than Coach Pope. This dude will win. He can coach. He will bring in kids that will want to play for the name across the chest. This is what we truly wanted. Some pride
@@mike7419Sure, but it's just not a reality for every kid. Pope will bring in the NIL players, but I also believe he will bring in kids that truly want to play there. Look at kids like Travis Perry. He did not sign at UK because of coach Cal.
We had 5 five star Players and still didn't win in the NCAA tournament I think if he can make the Portal work for him then I think we can have a good team that will compete for tournament championships
After watching this live, I went back and watched the BYU-Kansas game on UA-cam. The full game is available. If Mark Pope can win at Kansas with those mostly unimpressive players, he would have blown them out with the players he'll be able to get here!
💙🏀 Go Big Blue Forever and I am very excited about our Wildcats Basketball new head coach and a former wildcat Basketball who won a national championship 🏆 for Kentucky and Now he can come back to Kentucky basketball and coach Kentucky Basketball team back to NCAA National Championship s
This is a solid hire, with the potential to be great. Its a good move. Not as expensive as the last guy, but the return can be much higher. Pope won a title at UK, under Pitino. If he gets players, he could win it all next year. No pressure...... But its possible(uh anything is right now). And players can still go to the NBA.
Ok, I will give him a chance. BUT! I want John Pelphry on the coaching staff!! I really wanted Pitino as 4-5 year interim coach, giving! Billy Donavan enough notice to be ready for the job. I hope Pope brings back tradition, showcasing our history, and repairing all our records that was allowed to be broken the past 15 years. Bring back Senior Day coverage on TV ! No more multi colored shoes ! And the players should be required to stay on the court after the game, for the playing of, My Old Kentucky Home. Welcome back Mark, I would like to see some of that Pitino defense back. Need players like The Unforgettables, Jeff Brasso, Winston Bennett, Reggie Hanson, by the way , his name should be hanging in the rafters. It will be nice to have a coach that can design a play.
@aaronarnold011278 The dude(Kampe) from Oakland used Cals dribble drive all season to get to the tourney. Which yall said didnt work anymore at UK. Cal lended that to him. He said that. So apparently Cal can coach. You can say the players got out played. But Cal didnt get out coached.
Possibilities are there. Mark Pope knows exactly where he's coming to, and exactly what the fans expect. He has his eyes wide-open, and he knows exactly what he's walking into. But wanting and doing are 2 different things. Pope as a player played on the best UK team of the last 50 years, with guys like Tony Delk, Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer, and Derek Anderson- along with a lot of guys like himself- really good college players who were fringe NBA talents. He knows what he needs to do. He needs guys like he was as a player mixed with the undeniable stars like Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer. Now he needs to make it happen.
I was behind Mark Pope from the beginning. He has started some good things at BYU. (Wish he didn't do the Cats video in front of the BYU emblem. But he got energy we need..)
No joke, rumor has it that Jeff may be coming on as an assistant, I hope he does bcuz Reed should come back. We didn't want Bruce, I know I didn't, I liked the hire bcuz Hurley wasn't coming and Mark can get a team together with the same mentality of winning as UConn, it's not gonna be a one n done door now it's gonna be guys coming in and staying like the good old days, where we have guys that stay and win a Chip. UConn had/has great college players and we've got the best in the NBA so thank you Cal for all you did but instead of ripping Cal it was time and we should appreciate that regardless how long ago it was , Joe B, Rick, Tubby, Cal all got 1 Chip so I appreciate all our coaches and we got to see some great players through the past 15 years, several ex players have NBA Championships, as our new coach, glad to have ya home Champ, welcome home Coach. Go Big Blue ✌️💙#BBN
#41 needs to started recruiting the players on 2023 ( correcting ) team and show them he will make them better player at Kentucky . #44 , #33 , #2 , # 3 , #21 , # 23
I think Mark will eventually recruit top huge talent, but I think it’s going to look like a more complete team year in and year out. A good balance of freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior.
I am so stoked, may not recruit as well as Cal... but the pros outweigh that I feel. Pitino guy who is much better at x and o basketball. Would not surprise me if we're relieved in a few years we hired him instead of any of the people that was mentioned for this job Go Big Blue!!!!
On 3/21/24, SMU fired Rob Lanier, who now coaches for Rice, and hired Andy Enfield from USC on 4/1/24. USC hired Eric Musselman from Arkansas. Arkansas hired John Calipari from UK. UK hired Mark Pope from BYU on April 12th. That’s 5 coaches in 22 days.
Sure glad Hurley didn’t come. I couldn’t have watched. Pope is gonna be perfect for us if the fans will stay behind him through thick and thin. 4-5 year a final 4 if the fans get behind him.
Not the same at all. One is a proven head coach that was ranked and beat Kansas- at a school that has a hard time recruiting anybody, due to strict academic and "monk" standards of behavior there. Though I love me some Kenny, he's not on same tier as the Pope for this type of comparison. Still, point taken.
Big difference he’s been coaching that wasn’t our last results to make him the head coach in the middle of the season give the man a chance I believe we are going to be good.
Love how the young guy (who wasn't even alive in the 90s) is explaining how it was in the 90s. The older guy at least admits he was super young and had just started following UK basketball in the 90s.
Pope will be a great coach at Kentucky. He will take our program from Cal's "gold standard" (yeah right) to the vatican of college basketball.... we need players with the last name Priest and Bishop
@@Theywaswrong we never had a choice in the actual hiring. That is why schools have ADs and Boards. We absolutely have a choice WRT how we treat people and whether we promote positivity or negativity.
Fun offense & Pope loves this place and wants to be here for the right reasons. I’m fired up. I hope Shep and Z stay. They could flourish in this offense.
The really good thing, from my POV at least, is we will develop and have Seniors again. Not just Seniors transferring, but Freshman-Senior wearing Blue and making Senior night a tradition again. home grown talent is something I miss. Dontaie Allen wouldn't have been treated the way he was with Cal and would have a chance.
Think about this , was Tubby Smith a better coach than Rick Pitino, I don’t think so but Tubby beat Rick head to head more than Rick beat him , it’s about the school guys He won at BYU , he will win at KENTUCKY
Honest question, does Joey Hart fit in with Pope’s style of play? I haven’t seen him play much but to me he sounds like a Pope style player. Are my thoughts (albeit based on opinion and articles of others) of him being a good shooter that maybe needs some development off on that?
It's great to be excited about UK basketball again. I feel like a kid again!
Welcome home pope! Let’s get that old Kentucky home a shiny new trophy 🏆! Go big blue
Thank you Shawn, give the man a chance. He's one of ours.
very excited about Mark Pope. I've been watching some BYU games, and 100% changed my mind. as long as he can recruit and get players we need, we will be in good shape.
Trying to remain optimistic? He’s not a great coach, he’s good, but that’s it.
@@nawnaw1749try doing what Pope did at BYU. Not to mention, BYU’s strict rules.
@@Honkey_Tonker, Pope even sucked in the WCC, playing weak schools.
How long did it take Scott Drew to really win at Baylor ? It took Jay Wright 11 years before he won a single NCAA tournament game . Who was Dan Hurley before he got to UONN ? What did Billy Donovan do at Marshall before he got how hired at Florida? Who was Nate Oates before Alabama ? Give Pope a chance .
Pope has the chance to bring back the 90s swag. Fill the bench with some of the champions as assistants, use Pitino on speed dial for advice. Pope can get it done in style if he uses it all and does it efficiently
They don't want to hire Rick Pitino but you ask him for advice come people get real.
Choose to be supportive. Choose to be positive. Choose to be a true fan! Let's GO!!
BYU and UK fan here. You don’t know how good of a coach you are getting. Your culture is going to get better and Pope will get more out of your players than Cal.
Hear hear
Respect brother 👍🏿
I'm all for the optimistic attitude but Pope has been a head coach for 9 years and has no NCAA tourney wins. I'm not knocking the guy but most UK fans were hoping for a big name hire. A coach that needed no introduction. If you told me a week ago that BYU fans would be trying to sell the new coach to UK fans, I would have laughed at you.
The negative reaction many fans are having should not be a surprise to anyone and it doesnt mean they are bad fans.
Shawn and Jack sound like propagandists. This has gone from a disappointment to a home run hire overnight.
I will be Happy with a UKMBB Natl Championship by Yr 7!!! #KSR #BBN #kyjoe
Ha…I already knew that😜
The interview with Mitch this morning was great -- he explained why he is bringing Mark Pope. That was inspiring to me. Then I saw Rick's video endorsing Mark. We need to get behind Mark and the team.
Sure love seeing the negative comments about coach pope diminish. I’ve been pumped from the start!
Iam definitely in on Mark Pope he knows the stress of wining at ky because hes experienced it through Playing for BBN .I think he is a good fit for BBN.he runs a game thats what we are use to at Ky .I love to get back to our roots with Mark Pope.Go BBN 😊😊😊😊
Shawn you said it exactly right...I felt like a kid again today
I think that Mark will be great at UK.
40 year fan here, Big honer to land Mark Pope, I so hope we will support him and love him! The other hard core fans will come along especially if he recruits the right players and win win win. The more time passes the better I feel about hiring Pope maybe even over Scott Drew! Give me the underdog all day long, that's who we were back in the day with the unforgettables and the comeback cats. those years was special and I believe Pope brings some of that magic back to UK! I think we are lucky to land a future great coach like Mark Pope!
Are you kidding? Underdog? At UK? Pope has zero tourney wins. What signs of magic do you see there?
@@mike7419 I see a perfect fit and a great X's & O's very basketball smart coach, and someone who really loves UK and the people, only time will tell, I am saying we have a winner and a soon to be Dan Hurley level coach.
I was not happy at all last night, however, today it makes sense. I believe!
I went through all of the same emotions last night too. But I’m all aboard the Pope train!! It’s exciting to have him back at Rupp. And he bleeds blue, through and through. So a big congratulations to Coach Pope!! Can’t wait to see what you can do 💙
My goodness if pope can get big Z and Reed Shepard to stay!! 👀 They would thrive in Mark popes style. That would be huge
Travis Perry was born to play for Pope!
I was just happy to get rid of Cal. Now I'm estatic and can't wait for next season. Everybody who has seen BYU play under Pope should be excited .
BYU has zero NCAA tourney wins. One of the biggest issues with Cal was his lack of postseason success the past five years. Do you see how someone might be skeptical of hiring a guy with no postseason success?
@@mike7419, Pope will lose against better coaches
As Rick Pitino said Jay Wright took 11 years to get his first NCAA tournament win
So we got about 11 years to go woo wee let's go big blue fuck this shit
Bad attitude dude Villanova is not Kentucky, if Joe B Hall can get 3 final 4s and a national championship at Kentucky why can’t mark pope
I hope the people in charge of hiring the UK basketball coach have a lot higher expectations than you apparently have. 11 years? This is UK. If Pope goes into a third year with zero tourney wins, the pressure will be on and rightfully so.
@@SugeAvery-s8y
No…it’s going to take 22 years🤨🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
Imagine believing that just because it took that long for one…then it’s going to take that long for Coach Mark
I’m going to bet his first year will make it past the first round of both SEC & NCAA tournaments
I honestly transitioned from the lowest end of the spectrum scale to soaring to the highest end of the spectrum scale in one day. Wow
I never wanted Hurley and Drew!! We should have spoken to Bruce Pearl, though. But I know Mark will bring the passion and I truly think he will be great!! Teams will not want to play us. I saw Shawn's tweet, and it did piss me off. He isn't a risk!! It will work!!
Passion not getting you wins. Lol.
@@pmontyjaaaymes488no, you’re right. It’s a plus, but it won’t get wins. A great X’s and O’s coach and a buttload of NIL money will!!! Hahaha sucker!!!
Teams will not want to play us? This kind of optimism is nonsensical. Teams will be chomping at the bit to play UK next year.
@@mike7419 true that’s optimistic for the first year. But I think if you asked self, drew, and otzelberger if they wanted to play byu last year they would’ve told you the same thing seeing as how they all lost to them
As a UK fan who became a fan in 1992, and was a fever pitch fan in 1996, it will be great to hear the Rupp announcement “…and the head coach, MARK POPE!!!”
Will be honest I was upset too that the trigger was pulled quickly on Mark Pope out of no where seemingly. But after looking and listening to everything the whole picture it was the right move that needed to happen after Drew turned it down and I knew in my gut Hurley was not coming period he is set at UConn. Out of any possible candidate that was there he loves and cares more about Kentucky Basketball than any of them. He wants this job more than any of the rest as well. I haven't been this excited in a very long time that one of our own is our leader and can do wonderful things here just given a chance. Am totally on board for next season and can't wait.
Go watch the Title run by the 96’ Cats. I’d put that on replay in the locker room all year 😂 #untouchables
LOVING THIS💙LET’S RALLY BEHIND COACH POPE #FRESHRESTART#BBN💙
GO BIG BLUE BABY !!!!!
Let’s have Rupp full Sunday!
Let's have it rockin', tell me who's in the house tonight...UK
I’m so pumped to have Mark Pope as our new head coach! Finally, I’ll know that our boys are going to be prepared to take the court each game!
Great show today boys. You guys are legends and always honest and up front about news. Thanks for being the best UK podcast out there!
I was shocked at first now im good 😂
Looking forward this season.
Some of our players for next year have went pro, some are undecided and others have went in the portal. Listen because you put your name in the portal doesnt mean you cannot come back to where you had intended on going. Go Big Blue and Go Coach Pope
Im glad coaches are finally being loyal to their programs regardless of much more money being thrown at them.
He will be great! I love the way he uses multiple defenses during games. They also are fun to watch on offense. Hope the players stay.
ALL IN!!! MARK IS THE NEW RUPP
😂😂
All in
Rick Pitino giving Mark praise and congratulating him for the new job gives me a lot of confidence that Mark really is a good choice. There are a lot of pros when you really start to break down his future career at Kentucky. I mean, who better to give a recruiting pitch than a guy who played at Kentucky and won a national championship? I’m going to be carefully optimistic about this next season just because I won’t expect it to be some amazing undefeated run to the championship game. I get that this could take a bit of time, but I also think this is a great direction in the long run. Cal brought in great recruits but has lacked ambition in these last few years. Mark has all the ambition you could ask for and then some. Like you guys said, half of the battle is that you gotta want it. He wants it more than anyone else than could coach at Kentucky, and I’m very confident in that. His excitement makes me excited
All in!! Love that we have a true Wildcat leading the way!!! Go Pope!!!
I don’t care if it takes 2 or 3 years to get decent I think a smart guy will also b a smart coach
Cats 4 life
18:24 What a great way to right your wrong. I have a lot of respect for you saying this Shawn. Because you guys do influence a big part of our fan base. Class act man. Good job sir!
Kentucky is basketball capital of the world period!!!
Lol…Not anymore , that would be UConn, with 6 Natty’s in the last 25 years! No worries though! I mean heck, UCLA sits at the top with 11 Titles, but only has 1 (1995) since 1975. 1 in 49 years!! Kent is not at the very top anymore, and that’s ok! Dynasties rise and fall! Congrats on your new coach, BTW! Good luck!
@ccpbux you still only have 6 so you are effectively under us. Im not great at math cause im just a country boy from kentucky but 8 is more tban 6 right? Or are you one of those that brags about womens banners like ive already seen from your small fan base? Ive never laughed louder.
@ccpbux 6 in 25 yrs is crazy. N im a UK fan. But Mark will win games. But hes not winning multiple chips.
@@jaredmason439 The point I was making went right over this dude’s head.. lol..
@@pmontyjaaaymes488 Yep
Now Hire John pelphrey As Top Assistant ...
Yes!! 😂
Just what I said would happen watch and see it's part of this plan that saved Mitch Barnharts ass that's all this is.
I can see that happening 💙🏀 let's do it
The early top 25 had byu at 15th so imagine what he will do with the tools he has at Kentucky.. Like Patino said he will be great!!!
Have not been excited about the Kentucky Men and Women's basketball in a long time. The sun is shining bright on my Old Kentucky Home of 75 years.
I’m watching who he gets for his assistant coaches and how they recruit
KENTUCKY!!!!!
Definitely all in ❤🎉
All in..go cats.
The BBN spin is wild lol
@mikelike4584 - Your fascination with the BBN is equally so. LOL
Kick rocks troll...
The man had BYU ranked....... BYU..... A team that has a comically constrained recruiting pool due to having to essentially be a monk while there and fairly strict academic standards. Their pool is even lower than legit ivy League schools when considering the monk factor. He beat Kansas last season..... How did Cal do?
ALL IN
Unstoppables Jack
The amount of people that was dumping on this hire is insane to me. There is no better candidate in the coaching ranks right now that would love Kentucky more than Coach Pope. This dude will win. He can coach. He will bring in kids that will want to play for the name across the chest. This is what we truly wanted. Some pride
What are you smoking? The kids are looking at NIL dollars, not the name on the front of the jersey.
@@mike7419Sure, but it's just not a reality for every kid. Pope will bring in the NIL players, but I also believe he will bring in kids that truly want to play there. Look at kids like Travis Perry. He did not sign at UK because of coach Cal.
We had 5 five star Players and still didn't win in the NCAA tournament I think if he can make the Portal work for him then I think we can have a good team that will compete for tournament championships
Yall need to stop talking with the portal. Alot goes in to finding player that work with the portal.
Give him time it could end up being a great hire
Excited to see how he does! I know it’s early but if he can make a hard push After jasper johnson from woodford county I will be sold 🔥
Given Mark Popes style. What are the chances that big Z stays?
He seems like he would be a perfect fit
Shawn Smith I absolutely agree with you about the 90's. Great Era.❤
Pope my classmate in undergrad...very smart eloquent dude....will definitely give him a chance
This is what we been asking for for years now!! Go big blue
“It was super fresh when I decided to breathe it” captures my feeling perfectly
All In
After watching this live, I went back and watched the BYU-Kansas game on UA-cam. The full game is available. If Mark Pope can win at Kansas with those mostly unimpressive players, he would have blown them out with the players he'll be able to get here!
Depends, some lower star guys play with more heart.
I hate one and done. You gotta give. Players time to grow together and it can't be done over and over every year. Welcome home Coach Pope.
NIL will keep players staying longer
All in!
💙🏀 Go Big Blue Forever and I am very excited about our Wildcats Basketball new head coach and a former wildcat Basketball who won a national championship 🏆 for Kentucky and Now he can come back to Kentucky basketball and coach Kentucky Basketball team back to NCAA National Championship s
This is a solid hire, with the potential to be great. Its a good move. Not as expensive as the last guy, but the return can be much higher. Pope won a title at UK, under Pitino. If he gets players, he could win it all next year. No pressure...... But its possible(uh anything is right now). And players can still go to the NBA.
Funny show. Last 3/4 days non stop entertaining.
He can’t do it buy his self ! He needs some top notch assistant coaches !
Ok, I will give him a chance. BUT! I want John Pelphry on the coaching staff!!
I really wanted Pitino as 4-5 year interim coach, giving! Billy Donavan enough notice to be ready for the job.
I hope Pope brings back tradition, showcasing our history, and repairing all our records that was allowed to be broken the past 15 years. Bring back Senior Day coverage on TV ! No more multi colored shoes ! And the players should be required to stay on the court after the game, for the playing of, My Old Kentucky Home. Welcome back Mark, I would like to see some of that Pitino defense back.
Need players like The Unforgettables, Jeff Brasso, Winston Bennett, Reggie Hanson, by the way , his name should be hanging in the rafters. It will be nice to have a coach that can design a play.
The upside potential is so great with Mark Pope. BYU did something this year that we didn’t accomplish, his team beat Kansas and Baylor.
Great hire
He might not out recruit Cal. No doubt he will out coach Cal 😂
Kentucky isn't the Kentucky of old and won't be.
Do you always say "no doubt" when there is plenty of doubt?
He could out coach cal in his sleep. The dude from Oakland out coached Cal.
@aaronarnold011278 The dude(Kampe) from Oakland used Cals dribble drive all season to get to the tourney. Which yall said didnt work anymore at UK. Cal lended that to him. He said that. So apparently Cal can coach. You can say the players got out played. But Cal didnt get out coached.
@aaronarnold011278 exactly dribble drive AKA open gym
Lets go...excited....Pope's cats
Good luck BBN
Possibilities are there. Mark Pope knows exactly where he's coming to, and exactly what the fans expect. He has his eyes wide-open, and he knows exactly what he's walking into.
But wanting and doing are 2 different things. Pope as a player played on the best UK team of the last 50 years, with guys like Tony Delk, Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer, and Derek Anderson- along with a lot of guys like himself- really good college players who were fringe NBA talents. He knows what he needs to do. He needs guys like he was as a player mixed with the undeniable stars like Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer.
Now he needs to make it happen.
I was behind Mark Pope from the beginning. He has started some good things at BYU. (Wish he didn't do the Cats video in front of the BYU emblem. But he got energy we need..)
No joke, rumor has it that Jeff may be coming on as an assistant, I hope he does bcuz Reed should come back. We didn't want Bruce, I know I didn't, I liked the hire bcuz Hurley wasn't coming and Mark can get a team together with the same mentality of winning as UConn, it's not gonna be a one n done door now it's gonna be guys coming in and staying like the good old days, where we have guys that stay and win a Chip. UConn had/has great college players and we've got the best in the NBA so thank you Cal for all you did but instead of ripping Cal it was time and we should appreciate that regardless how long ago it was , Joe B, Rick, Tubby, Cal all got 1 Chip so I appreciate all our coaches and we got to see some great players through the past 15 years, several ex players have NBA Championships, as our new coach, glad to have ya home Champ, welcome home Coach. Go Big Blue ✌️💙#BBN
#41 needs to started recruiting the players on 2023 ( correcting ) team and show them he will make them better player at Kentucky . #44 , #33 , #2 , # 3 , #21 , # 23
I am Ready to Write and Sing Some More Great UK basketball Songs!!! #KSR #BBN #kyjoe
I think Mark will eventually recruit top huge talent, but I think it’s going to look like a more complete team year in and year out. A good balance of freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior.
I am so stoked, may not recruit as well as Cal... but the pros outweigh that I feel. Pitino guy who is much better at x and o basketball. Would not surprise me if we're relieved in a few years we hired him instead of any of the people that was mentioned for this job Go Big Blue!!!!
On 3/21/24, SMU fired Rob Lanier, who now coaches for Rice, and hired Andy Enfield from USC on 4/1/24. USC hired Eric Musselman from Arkansas. Arkansas hired John Calipari from UK. UK hired Mark Pope from BYU on April 12th. That’s 5 coaches in 22 days.
He was going to be a doctor. So, he must be a smart guy. Smart enough to play his best players, hopefully.
Sure glad Hurley didn’t come. I couldn’t have watched. Pope is gonna be perfect for us if the fans will stay behind him through thick and thin. 4-5 year a final 4 if the fans get behind him.
Louisville took achance on one of thier own in Kenny
Not the same at all. One is a proven head coach that was ranked and beat Kansas- at a school that has a hard time recruiting anybody, due to strict academic and "monk" standards of behavior there. Though I love me some Kenny, he's not on same tier as the Pope for this type of comparison. Still, point taken.
Big difference he’s been coaching that wasn’t our last results to make him the head coach in the middle of the season give the man a chance I believe we are going to be good.
@rushmore3927 It is the same. Kenny didnt have the opportunity in Louisville he should have.
Love how the young guy (who wasn't even alive in the 90s) is explaining how it was in the 90s.
The older guy at least admits he was super young and had just started following UK basketball in the 90s.
Great Hire . He was the captain of the greatest team that ever played college basketball !!!
Pope will be a great coach at Kentucky. He will take our program from Cal's "gold standard" (yeah right) to the vatican of college basketball.... we need players with the last name Priest and Bishop
The first 24 hour nil support was great to hear but it was probably more interesting that Kelly Craft tweeted that
All F'ing In.
BRING BACK THE DENIM AND ICICLE JERSEYS BAABBBYYYYY!!
Absolutely all in
you have no choice now do you.
@@Theywaswrong we never had a choice in the actual hiring. That is why schools have ADs and Boards.
We absolutely have a choice WRT how we treat people and whether we promote positivity or negativity.
People around Barnhart said Billy Donavon was never contacted
Dont' believe it.
Who cares ? You got a coach that absolutely LOVES Kentucky Basketball. The man bleeds blue , through and through ! He has the passion to win !
I could tell that Billy was being vague so that he could negotiate with the bulls for a better contract like he did in the past.
@@ebhsports6251Passion from the coach dont wim games.
Fun offense & Pope loves this place and wants to be here for the right reasons. I’m fired up. I hope Shep and Z stay. They could flourish in this offense.
The really good thing, from my POV at least, is we will develop and have Seniors again. Not just Seniors transferring, but Freshman-Senior wearing Blue and making Senior night a tradition again. home grown talent is something I miss. Dontaie Allen wouldn't have been treated the way he was with Cal and would have a chance.
Cal wasn't wrong about allen. He couldn't guard anybody and went to WKU and averaged 8 pts a game
Yes
Think about this , was Tubby Smith a better coach than Rick Pitino, I don’t think so but Tubby beat Rick head to head more than Rick beat him , it’s about the school guys He won at BYU , he will win at KENTUCKY
Honest question, does Joey Hart fit in with Pope’s style of play? I haven’t seen him play much but to me he sounds like a Pope style player. Are my thoughts (albeit based on opinion and articles of others) of him being a good shooter that maybe needs some development off on that?
I think it’s possible that, in hiring Mark Pope, we have our own version of Dan Hurley.