Mark Pope????
- Thread starter wi_hoosier
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Awful hire. Wow. ESPN took a shot
“Even Billy Gillispie coached in three NCAA tournaments and reached a Round of 16 before being hired by the Wildcats.”
“Even Billy Gillispie coached in three NCAA tournaments and reached a Round of 16 before being hired by the Wildcats.”
This is almost as good as Purdue losing on Monday. What a great week!
Xs and Os-wise, he can’t be any worse. The question is how well will he recruit?
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
HA.
HA.
I thought that their amazingly elite program and fanbase could get whoever the hell they wanted? I hadn't even heard of him until today, was he even their 5th choice?
I'm a BYU alum and he will be greatly missed. He did a great job navigating the conference change. He also has the endorsement of Rick Pitino. The players that he will have at UK will much different than who he could get at BYU. Will be interesting to see how that works out.
He is the current BYU coach pending his move to UK. He played at UK under Rick Pitino.
Is Richie preemptively burning another couch?
The difference between UK and IU is they will s*** can him after 2-3 years if he doesn't cut it. At least they are trying.
I'm not saying he's not a good coach or that he's not going to work out, I'm just laughing at Kentucky's list of Brad Stevens, Dan Hurley, Scott Drew, Nate Oats, hell we had Kentucky fans on here claiming that Bill Donovan was their backup once Drew turned them down.
Absolutely laughable and it puts into perspective just how difficult it is to hire basketball coaches in the modern era.
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Wow this is awesome. BYU???? I picked Duqense in round one, look it up, it's documented!!! This made my night.
BYU coach????
LOL
UNC won’t hire an alum who has never been a college HC beca… wait, what?! They hired who?
Duke won’t hire an alum who has never been a college HC beca… wait, what?! They hired who?
UK won’t hire an alum beca… wait, what?! They hired who?
Pope definatelty doesent have a Jimmer Fredette or a Russell Larson to bring with him to BYU from UK.
Depends on how you look at it. I say upgrade for sure because it’s all about ceilings, not floors. I am confident Calipari’s ceiling for the future was below an acceptable level.
What Ky fan said Donovan was a back up to Drew. You sure you might not be making that up?
Lmao
How far down the list was he? We heard Drew until he turned you down, then we heard Hurley until he turned you down, then you had runningcatfan or whatever claiming that Donovan was your guy, then Nate Oats, then Bruce Pearl ect...
I'm not not saying Pope won't be a good coach but how far down the list is he? 8th?
Running Richie in the UK search update thread.
We also heard UK fans making fun of IU during their last two searches for not landing their main targets. Humble pie is exactly what the UK program needs.
He said if Drew doesn’t take it then Donovan would be the next coach? I doubt he said that. I suspect you are taking creative liberties.
He said that and you also said that it was likely Donovan. It has to sting going from a coach from 2 national titles to one that has coached 9 years without even winning a conference title.
He didn’t say that. I said Hurley was a no, 60/40 Donovan was interested (on the assumption he was gone from Bulls) and then Pearl. I was correct on Hurley, stand by what I said on Donovan, and assume Barnhart wasn’t interested in Pearl.
If Donovan was really interested there's not a chance in hell they would be settling for Mark Pope.
Donovan is to Pope what Jessica Alba is to Rosie O Donnell.
My feelings are, he wasn’t my top 5 pick. I’m not ecstatic and am in wait and see mode. 🤷
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IU will be in great position next year for the coaching carousel when Woody exits and these other big jobs are already filled this year.
Woody was always a bandaid. We knew it when he was hired. His shelf life was 3-5 years. It’s reached its expiration date.
IU should have no issue ponying up $7-8 million a year for a proven coach.
Woody was always a bandaid. We knew it when he was hired. His shelf life was 3-5 years. It’s reached its expiration date.
IU should have no issue ponying up $7-8 million a year for a proven coach.
He's a good coach, but yes, stepping up to UK is a huge step up. At least he knows the program as a player, and has a much more logical background than CMW but still feels like a huge reach.
I'm sure Pope wasn't in your Top 50 either.
Kentucky just hired Mark Pope. Louisville just hired Pat Kelsey. Best you start preparing yourself for Micah Shrewsberry or Josh Schertz.
Total upgrade. I actually feared this hire as Pope is extremely smart, innovative, and many will underestimate him.
I fear he could be like Hurley who had less than a decade of college experience and only 2 NCAA appearances before UConn.
He will probably build it with 4 star shooters that stay, with the occasional 5 star and transfer. I am afraid he could build a program, not just a team like Wright, Drew, and now Hurley.
I'm also afraid May is that same type and IU missed out because Woody builds teams, not programs.
Alumnus, NBA experience.
Those guys are always home run hires.
No seriously, looks like about an Alford level to me. He's got a chance. He did more with less, now he has to do more with more.
No way he was their first choice, but they didn't waste much time, they must believe in him.
Those guys are always home run hires.
No seriously, looks like about an Alford level to me. He's got a chance. He did more with less, now he has to do more with more.
No way he was their first choice, but they didn't waste much time, they must believe in him.
This is the reasonable approach. I'm not about to start trashing some coach I know nothing about. Bad Karma. I don't like crow.
This is spot on. We knew Woody was 3-5 max to right the ship, the disappointment is that we are still listing after 3.
I'll believe it's 3 to 5 max when Woodson says so. Once he says 'see ya'.
Hoping that's true. Also hoping there's some signs of righting the ship this year.
The Louisville, Ohio State, and Kentucky hires give a very strong clue on a potential reason why Woody was retained. I know there's also the "Quinn stuff"...but when schools like UK and Louisville can't lure proven, no brainer, successful coaches...we aren't going to either. Makes me think Dolson tested the waters, and found what those schools just found...not many fish.
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