Kentucky coaching situation

#278
#278
It seems to be a solid but not spectacular hire. Can the UK brand help him get to the next level of coaching or will he be what we've seen historically from him as a coach?
 
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#279
#279
VolCalls said:
All kidding aside, I think Pope will do well there. He’s extremely smart and understands the program. Whether he will do well enough to appease them remains to be seen.
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He’s definitely very intelligent. He was a Rhodes Scholar candidate, which is very impressive even if he wasn’t actually chosen as a Rhodes Scholar recipient.
 
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#280
#280
BreatheUT said:
It seems to be a solid but not spectacular hire. Can the UK brand help him get to the next level of coaching or will he be what we've seen historically from him as a coach?
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Yeah, I think they’re going to be ok, honestly. I laughed at first but the more I’ve read about him and his system, I think it’s not horrible. I also think about the different type of talent he can get at UK as opposed to BYU, with the strict codes/admissions rules for BYU. I think he will be fine there.
 
#281
#281
Bunch of hypocrite dummies...UK fans were crying about the hire 72 hours ago, now fill up an arena for a press conference with him. They are too dumb to realize this hire is going to be the death of the program. They should have pulled a Schiano. Pathetic hire. Guy has never won a tournament game. If you can't handle the pressure at BYU, you aren't likely to handle it well when you are Kentucky and have a blue blood target on your back.
 
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#282
#282
LittleCat said:
North Carolina and Duke hired in house dudes with no resume and it's worked so far. At least Pope has a resume I guess? I just hope he's surrounded with a good staff and plenty of nil help. The boosters had high expectations and this hire might piss them off.
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Biggest difference imo is that duke and North Carolina pretty much groomed a replacement. Hubert Davis spent several years under Roy Williams and Jon Scheyer was the same way under Coach K. I'd imagine its alot easier to replace a legend when they've taught you everything and it helps the fans knowing they were hand picked two be the replacement.

Imo it's not a slam dunk hire but qqa decent one. Biggest question is will he be able to deal with the expectations now? Kentucky can recruit itself but will he struggle in that area.

Tbh I thought they'd be able to get pretty much anyone they'd want. It's a shock to see coaches turn it down.
 
#283
#283
Whether or not this hire proves to be good or bad depends on the expectations of that looney fan base. If it's final 4's or at least 8's every season and a chip or two, then they are likely to be disappointed and calling for his head sooner than later, because those days are over for anyone in CBB, UConn aside.

The SEC is too competitive, and the NCAA's are too much of a crapshoot because of the added parity in the sport to expect those kinds of finishes every season, even at a place like UK. He'll likely win there, but to what extent and will it ever be enough?
 
#284
#284
The craziest thing about the hire to me was the salary - $5.5 million which I read would’ve been the 6th highest in college basketball last season. BYU doesn’t publish their salaries, but can’t imagine he was making much more than $2 million. Can’t imagine his market value being more than $3 million? Why needlessly over pay?
 
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#285
#285
walkenvol said:
The craziest thing about the hire to me was the salary - $5.5 million which I read would’ve been the 6th highest in college basketball last season. BYU doesn’t publish their salaries, but can’t imagine he was making much more than $2 million. Can’t imagine his market value being more than $3 million? Why needlessly over pay?
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It's not about outbidding BYU but rather about surpassing the threshold to make it worth it. He knows he's not their first choice and there will be some pain from the fans, so you have to offer enough pay that it'll be worth the pain.
 
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#286
#286
walkenvol said:
The craziest thing about the hire to me was the salary - $5.5 million which I read would’ve been the 6th highest in college basketball last season. BYU doesn’t publish their salaries, but can’t imagine he was making much more than $2 million. Can’t imagine his market value being more than $3 million? Why needlessly over pay?
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Sounds like he had a good agent who realized that his client had leverage.

Knew UK was striking out and couldn’t let this go on much longer
 
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#287
#287
walkenvol said:
The craziest thing about the hire to me was the salary - $5.5 million which I read would’ve been the 6th highest in college basketball last season. BYU doesn’t publish their salaries, but can’t imagine he was making much more than $2 million. Can’t imagine his market value being more than $3 million? Why needlessly over pay?
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The above replies are both spot on.

UK was essentially bidding against itself to ensure they landed him knowing that being turned down again, by one of their own no less, would be brutal towards their efforts.

And in order to do that, they had to overpay to make it worth the potential heartache for Pope. If he fails, his career takes a significant hit, as does his future earning potential.

In terms of his actual value, you're right, he got tremendously overpaid. But the situation dictated it.
 
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#292
#292
I think Pope has a high floor at Kentucky. He is a good coach and Kentucky recruits itself. He also seems to be rallying the donors in a way Cal couldn’t. So, that will help. Only question is how high is his ceiling, which remains to be seen.
 
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