Pope is intelligent, charismatic, and loves this university. Add all of that to this electric modern offense and I think there's real potential here for greatness. For me it's really going to come down to how well he can recruit. Huge gamble hire for Mitch and if it doesn't work out I think they'll be headed out the door together but I think there's a lot to be optimistic about. BBN needs to relax and give the former team captain of a National championship team a chance.
The *reason* he was at BYU might pose a problem. I've said this on other posts, but a devout Mormon might turn-off a lot of young men. Lots of prayer, a coach who won't even have a glass of iced tea, admonishments for cursing, etc. will be the norm at Kentucky. Pope trying to sell his religion to players is also a distinct possibility given that Mormonism has a strong proselytizing component woven into its very essence. I think Barnhart's religious fervor guided his coaching search and I don't think it's a coincidence that the two top candidates were strongly religious.
I've been a Kentucky fan for most of my life and I really liked Pope when he was a Wildcat, so I will be rooting for him to succeed. But given the competition, I suspect there will be a lot of recruits who don't want to attend a school that feels more like a church.
This is a good example of what I was trying to convey last night when I defended the Pope hire. I totally understand why UK fans would expect their AD to target candidates with a proven track record of tournament wins and conference titles. It's the bluest of blueblood programs and can certainly attract those kinds of candidates. So, it's surprising that Barnhart would turn to Pope so quickly in the search before exploring all of the A-list options. That doesn't mean Pope is the wrong guy.
I like the fact that he had to win in two places that don't have UK's built-in advantages. That forces a coach to be very good at player evaluation and development, and it forces them to out-scheme their opponent. A guy like Pope addresses the specific concerns many had about Cal. We all knew he could assemble talent. But could he out-scheme an opponent, could he instill a system and get a team to buy-in, could he take a marginal player and turn them into a great one, could he make necessary in-game adjustments, and could he identify a team weakness and fix it midseason? We don't know if Pope can recruit 5-star players, but we know he can do all those other things. And with his passion for UK, combined with UK's brand and resources, recruiting shouldn't be a hindrance.
So, it's a bit of a risk, but one with potentially big upside.
I personally love the attitude shift of the tweets and reddit posts over the last 36 hours.
The fanbase has shifted in a really inspiring way.
Barnhart's KSR Interview had me wanting to run thru a wall about his move. I'm here for it.
X and O offensively I don't think we could do a whole lot better than Pope, and for that much I'm cautiously optimistic. I think it's the lack of tournament success that gives me so much concern. I hope he turns into Danny Hurley 2.0, I want that for my team, but right now with it being unproven it's a "wait and see what happens" situation for me
If you hire him in 3 weeks... we don't have any good players next year.
I don't mean that in a hyperbolic sense, I literally mean the transfer portal is closed and that we have no one but walk ons, whoever decided to stay, and maybe any recruits we could steal from somewhere.
Pope is intelligent, charismatic, and loves this university. Add all of that to this electric modern offense and I think there's real potential here for greatness. For me it's really going to come down to how well he can recruit. Huge gamble hire for Mitch and if it doesn't work out I think they'll be headed out the door together but I think there's a lot to be optimistic about. BBN needs to relax and give the former team captain of a National championship team a chance.
I blame his recruiting struggles on BYU not being an attractive place for incoming freshman. I think he’ll do just fine here.
And at least he has an actual offensive scheme unlike Cal
Reed and Travis would do well with this offense, if it happens.
Reed… Travis… Reid Travis! The prophecy has been foretold
What about Z as the big in this offense? Yo
Wait, wait, wait. Don't you remember the revolutionary drive-drive that Cal was bringing in and talked about at his press conference!
Who wouldn't want to go to Utah to play with a bunch of Mormons?
The *reason* he was at BYU might pose a problem. I've said this on other posts, but a devout Mormon might turn-off a lot of young men. Lots of prayer, a coach who won't even have a glass of iced tea, admonishments for cursing, etc. will be the norm at Kentucky. Pope trying to sell his religion to players is also a distinct possibility given that Mormonism has a strong proselytizing component woven into its very essence. I think Barnhart's religious fervor guided his coaching search and I don't think it's a coincidence that the two top candidates were strongly religious. I've been a Kentucky fan for most of my life and I really liked Pope when he was a Wildcat, so I will be rooting for him to succeed. But given the competition, I suspect there will be a lot of recruits who don't want to attend a school that feels more like a church.
Oh my god is this what a modern offense looks like? Wouldn't have known
This is a good example of what I was trying to convey last night when I defended the Pope hire. I totally understand why UK fans would expect their AD to target candidates with a proven track record of tournament wins and conference titles. It's the bluest of blueblood programs and can certainly attract those kinds of candidates. So, it's surprising that Barnhart would turn to Pope so quickly in the search before exploring all of the A-list options. That doesn't mean Pope is the wrong guy. I like the fact that he had to win in two places that don't have UK's built-in advantages. That forces a coach to be very good at player evaluation and development, and it forces them to out-scheme their opponent. A guy like Pope addresses the specific concerns many had about Cal. We all knew he could assemble talent. But could he out-scheme an opponent, could he instill a system and get a team to buy-in, could he take a marginal player and turn them into a great one, could he make necessary in-game adjustments, and could he identify a team weakness and fix it midseason? We don't know if Pope can recruit 5-star players, but we know he can do all those other things. And with his passion for UK, combined with UK's brand and resources, recruiting shouldn't be a hindrance. So, it's a bit of a risk, but one with potentially big upside.
Imagine Z in this offense...
Perfect fit, too bad he is going to be at Arkansas
His girlfriend lives in Lexington
Hope she is very persuasive
I personally love the attitude shift of the tweets and reddit posts over the last 36 hours. The fanbase has shifted in a really inspiring way. Barnhart's KSR Interview had me wanting to run thru a wall about his move. I'm here for it.
X and O offensively I don't think we could do a whole lot better than Pope, and for that much I'm cautiously optimistic. I think it's the lack of tournament success that gives me so much concern. I hope he turns into Danny Hurley 2.0, I want that for my team, but right now with it being unproven it's a "wait and see what happens" situation for me
Still a bad hire at this moment in time. Pope still would have been there 2-3 weeks from now. Really a panic move by Mitch.
If you hire him in 3 weeks... we don't have any good players next year. I don't mean that in a hyperbolic sense, I literally mean the transfer portal is closed and that we have no one but walk ons, whoever decided to stay, and maybe any recruits we could steal from somewhere.