[16BBall Fan]

It was just announced at the end of the sports on WKYT and also Matt Jones tweeted as well that Barnhart was all-in on this. The word is the jobs been offered and accepted working out details tonight and a formal announcement tomorrow. 

If for some reason between now and tomorrow the deal falls apart I can't say I would be disappointed. If this what we got I wish him nothing but the best! I saw one comment that said while Pope may not have the cache that Cal has but he is a better in game coach in today's games and in his offensive sets.

I hope it works out. It has been done recently by North Carolina and Duke to name a coach who played for the program. Go Cats!!

[16BBall Fan]

That Pope has been offered a five-year deal at an average of $5.5 million per season, before incentives. An official announcement is expected Friday.

[rookie57]

How do you go from,,, HOPEFULLY Hurley, PROBABLY Drew, COULD BE Drew,,, THEN, Pearl, Pitino, Wright,,,, to Mark Pope?!!!!!!
From the guy who have Cal a lifetime contract,,, this tops that!!
SHEEEEEEZ!

[Old School Hound]

Barnyard has agreed to pay Mark Pope more than the salaries of each of these guys:

Dan Hurley
- Nate Oats
- Scott Drew
- Tom Izzo
- Matt Painter
- Mark Few
- Hubert Davis
- Tommy Lloyd

Surely, Southland Christian Church's most famous parishioner is gonna get some odd looks this Sunday. What a goof!!! You had an interested Donovan and wouldn't even pick up the phone to talk to him.

[jetpilot]

Barnyard has agreed to pay Mark Pope more than the salaries of each of these guys:

Dan Hurley
- Nate Oats
- Scott Drew
- Tom Izzo
- Matt Painter
- Mark Few
- Hubert Davis
- Tommy Lloyd

Surely, Southland Christian Church's most famous parishioner is gonna get some odd looks this Sunday.  What a goof!!!  You had an interested Donovan and wouldn't even pick up the phone to talk to him.

They probably keep sports and religion separate like you try to tell everyone to do but are powerless to do yourself.

[Strikeout King]

After sleeping on it and seeing people that were against the hire start to rally behind Pope. Let’s give him a shot. Surely he can’t be worse than Payne at UofL.

Probably a good chance Reed comes back too….not heard anything just a hunch….being as close as Pope is with Reeds family….

[RunItUpTheGut]

I should probably start a new thread on this, but I’ll just post it here. I’ve been asked by a few what I’ve been hearing or what I heard.

I wanted to get my facts straight first.

Not the choice anybody wanted but it’s done and it’s better than watching cal continue to fail miserably.

Pope will have to prove himself and do it fast.

Sources confirmed that a booster pledged 4 million dollars to NIL money today. And it wasn’t the crafts. So people were on board. Total NIL money for next year will be in the 6-8 million range so Pope will be able to build his team with pretty much whoever he wants. He’s just gotta coach em.


It’s been a few days since I’ve dropped any eggs around here, simply because there was too much bad information getting out and a lot of it.

What I do know for sure is we first went to Hurley and he said No. then our focused switched to Drew and we offered an obscene amount. His family came without him to Lexington and checked it out. They flew home and Drew declined the next day. Oats buyout was a non starter and Alabama made it clear they weren’t willing to negotiate so the talks ended before they began there.
Then we went back to Hurley and literally offered him a 100 million dollar 10 year contract. But his wife wears the pants and pretty much made him say no. We don’t need that type of energy here anyways so it worked out for the best.
Then it went quiet.
There were false rumors and red flags (as they’re always is with big time hires) and bad information purposely being leaked to throw people off.

Norlander of cbs is Mitch’s go to source. He tells him exactly what to say and when to say it. And norlander is pretty much the only person who didn’t miss the entire time.


Now, as far as the second tier coaches that were interviewed….
Mark Pope was Mitch’s choice and he wanted him. No baggage and a UK guy. However, Shaka Smart and one other who I simply can’t figure out yet were talked too and interviewed. I expect that info to come out pretty soon.

So Pope is the guy. It really let you know who’s in the know and who isn’t because there was a lot of people who were dead wrong.

Also, because I know people were interested, Pearl, Donovan, Pitino, etc were never contacted nor considered.

[16BBall Fan]

Matt Jones will have Mitch Barnhart on KSR at 11 am today.

[-STAT-]

Well, we are officially in a new era of Kentucky Basketball.

Time will obviously tell if this will work or not. It will be either a tremendous hire, or an epic fail. There will be no in between with it.

It will be great to have someone who played, understands the tradition, and re-create a culture that has been sorely missed for years. The knock is definitely the experience, that he hasn't proven that he can coach at a big time level. well this is the biggest of big time right here, he's in the pressure cooker now. At least he had the vantage point of seeing Pitino go through it everyday, and can definitely lean on him for any sort of guidance.

He will have the passion, energy, dedication and commitment to be successful. The main thing will be if he can recruit, how well he can do in the portal, but most importantly the staff he puts together, and player development, with NIL being the factor it is in the sport now, that will be a huge motivation for players, the more you develop? The more money you can earn. Seen reports where alum & boosters are funneling in plenty of NIL money now, so Pope will have plenty of resources to work with for recruiting. Will facilities get upgraded now?

I am definitely going to support the hire, I sure hope that it works out!

[Westside]

This move is either going to make Mitch look like an absolute genius or an absolute fool.  Time will tell.

[rookie57]

Ok, had time to decompress, I’m over the shock. One thing I’m absolutely sure of, IM GLAD CALAPARI is gone, and I’ll say that if Arkansas beats our butt at home! So it’s time to get in the POPE TRAIN and support this young man he is definitely going to pour everything he has into UK, not primarily sending kids to NBA after 1 year. What else you gonna do, become a Duke fan? I’m ready for a new vibe, it’ll probably take a few years but hey, he only has to win 2 games in the NCAA tournament in the next four years to beat Cals last four, I say he’ll do that, and more.

[plantmanky]

This moving is either going to make Mitch look like an absolute genius or an absolute fool.  Time will tell.

Why?

Are you saying it is the AD's fault coaches said no to the job?

[Spud6]

I didn’t like this at first but now I’m all on the train!

[Bluecat]

To steal from KSR today, it isn't like the names we went after was big time coaches starting out. Heck who would have thought Hurley would be the coach he is now. Let's hope Pope is just about to break through and why not let it be UK. Success or not I am UK first.

[Granny Bear]

Pope deserves the support and dedication that the fans afforded to Cal for the last 5 years. If he doesn't pan out; fire him. But at least give him an opportunity to fail on his own.

[Westside]

This moving is either going to make Mitch look like an absolute genius or an absolute fool.  Time will tell.

Why?

Are you saying it is the AD's fault coaches said no to the job?

Well, you complete missed on that one.  No, what I'm stating is that most people didn't see this hire coming.  It's not a name a lot of people were mentioning in the beginning.  If it works out, Mitch is going to look like a genius.  If it does workout, people will be saying that it was a very dumb move, and that Mitch should have known better.

[cherokee]

Pope's blood runs blue that's good enough for me, Pitino gave him a good recommendation. I can see the student section all dressed like priests it will be wild. I'm IN LETS GO COACH POPE GET'R DONE

[plantmanky]

This moving is either going to make Mitch look like an absolute genius or an absolute fool.  Time will tell.

Why?

Are you saying it is the AD's fault coaches said no to the job?

Well, you complete missed on that one.  No, what I'm stating is that most people didn't see this hire coming.  It's not a name a lot of people were mentioning in the beginning.  If it works out, Mitch is going to look like a genius.  If it does workout, people will be saying that it was a very dumb move, and that Mitch should have known better.

 You cant hire people that dont want to be the coach.  Kentucky Fans are the reason no one wants to coach there and everyone said no.  Most people didnt see it coming because they think Kentucky is a basketball God, and its nothing more than, just another program, specifically in todays basketball world.

[Westside]

I didn’t like this at first but now I’m all on the train!

Pope deserves the support and dedication that the fans afforded to Cal for the last 5 years.  If he doesn't pan out; fire him.  But at least give him an opportunity to fail on his own.

I agree.  At first, I wasn't thrilled about that hire.  The more I think about it, the more I like the hire.   He is much different than Cal, and I had my fill of him.  Pope was always a smart player.   He had played for BBN and understands the ins and outs of the program.  He may no t get all the one-and-done's,  but that is great.  I am sick of those too.   I can't wait to see what Pope can do.

[Westside]

This moving is either going to make Mitch look like an absolute genius or an absolute fool.  Time will tell.

Why?

Are you saying it is the AD's fault coaches said no to the job?

Well, you complete missed on that one.  No, what I'm stating is that most people didn't see this hire coming.  It's not a name a lot of people were mentioning in the beginning.  If it works out, Mitch is going to look like a genius.  If it does workout, people will be saying that it was a very dumb move, and that Mitch should have known better.

 You cant hire people that dont want to be the coach.  Kentucky Fans are the reason no one wants to coach there and everyone said no.  Most people didnt see it coming because they think Kentucky is a basketball God, and its nothing more than, just another program, specifically in todays basketball world.

LOL!  Did I state that you could?  As usual your post makes no sense.  You a constantly trying to argue with people on this site, yet most of the time, you make no sense.  LOL!!!

[Truewords]

Pope will put his heart and soul into Kentucky. No one would have put more pride into it as Pope will. Only question will be can he recruit against the top teams for high school and portal players. He knows basketball but this is a big stage to fail on just ask Cal.

[Old School Hound]

Wonder how many Mormon players we get from Provo?  I bet several.   Here's a pledge all BYU athletes have to take, prior to playing sports there:

[Image: https://kentucky.forums.rivals.com/proxy...2298869bdc]

I bet they smell FREEDOM !!!!   Welcome to a secular university, fellas. Good luck with your deconversion.  lol

[jax]

I'll guarantee Pope's teams will be a whole lot more fun to watch, than Cal's teams. High power offense. GO CATS!!

[Wildcat_blue]

I am going to talk myself into this being a good choice so let’s roll with it. I figured pope would be a thought after I seen exactly what I already knew, no high/established coach would entertain this un winnable job. I think popes good out weighs the bad! I found myself tuning into BYU out of curiosity this year and was impressed with the style of play. Pope has done good things and worked himself in a position with so much less. With the BBN behind him with more resources than he can imagine as a head coach and with his deep down passion for the university first, someone who has eat,slept, and breathed it while hanging a banner as a player, I’m all in!!! Let’s go big blue and hail the pope! This is one of those things hopefully 3 years from now we are very very happy with the choice or we will run another one out….

[Strikeout King]

Looks like he could be getting couple BYU players to follow him too.

Plus Boosters kicked in at least $4MIL.

Let’s F’n roll

Now we just need Zaga and RunItUpTheGut for assistants

[Old School Hound]

Looks like he could be getting couple BYU players to follow him too.

Plus Boosters kicked in at least $4MIL.

Let’s F’n roll

Now we just need Zaga and RunItUpTheGut for assistants

BYU is a basketball dynasty. Let's go!!!!

[Old School Hound]

I should probably start a new thread on this, but I’ll just post it here. I’ve been asked by a few what I’ve been hearing or what I heard.

I wanted to get my facts straight first.

Not the choice anybody wanted but it’s done and it’s better than watching cal continue to fail miserably.

Pope will have to prove himself and do it fast.

Sources confirmed that a booster pledged 4 million dollars to NIL money today. And it wasn’t the crafts. So people were on board. Total NIL money for next year will be in the 6-8 million range so Pope will be able to build his team with pretty much whoever he wants. He’s just gotta coach em.


It’s been a few days since I’ve dropped any eggs around here, simply because there was too much bad information getting out and a lot of it.

What I do know for sure is we first went to Hurley and he said No. then our focused switched to Drew and we offered an obscene amount. His family came without him to Lexington and checked it out. They flew home and Drew declined the next day. Oats buyout was a non starter and Alabama made it clear they weren’t willing to negotiate so the talks ended before they began there.
Then we went back to Hurley and literally offered him a 100 million dollar 10 year contract. But his wife wears the pants and pretty much made him say no. We don’t need that type of energy here anyways so it worked out for the best.
Then it went quiet.
There were false rumors and red flags (as they’re always is with big time hires) and bad information purposely being leaked to throw people off.

Norlander of cbs is Mitch’s go to source. He tells him exactly what to say and when to say it. And norlander is pretty much the only person who didn’t miss the entire time.


Now, as far as the second tier coaches that were interviewed….
Mark Pope was Mitch’s choice and he wanted him. No baggage and a UK guy. However, Shaka Smart and one other who I simply can’t figure out yet were talked too and interviewed. I expect that info to come out pretty soon.

So Pope is the guy. It really let you know who’s in the know and who isn’t because there was a lot of people who were dead wrong.

Also, because I know people were interested, Pearl, Donovan, Pitino, etc were never contacted nor considered.

VERY sexist remark. On a scale of 1-10 , with 10 being bad,  that comment is a 150 .   Yeah, we don't need strong women anywhere near our BB program. Keep 'em barefoot and pregnant, right  RIUTG ? That terrible "energy" has been a disaster in Storrs hasn't it, Gut ? Horrible!!!

[RunItUpTheGut]

Looks like he could be getting couple BYU players to follow him too.

Plus Boosters kicked in at least $4MIL.

Let’s F’n roll

Now we just need Zaga and RunItUpTheGut for assistants

I imagine he will get up to 3-4 from byu. He will keep Perry in this class. I still think Reed goes nba. And he will sign one or two portal guys.

[16BBall Fan]

I heard a great line today about the hiring of Mark Pope.

I saw a great line about the hiring of Mark Pope. Most people believe in his X's and O's but can he get the Jimmy and Joes.

[RunItUpTheGut]

^

Biggest problem Pope is facing is fans want a coach that can come in and do what Cal did his first year with recruiting. It simply won’t happen, and to be honest, it can’t with the kids today. They’re just not good enough. Too much AAU ball and not enough practice.

He’s not getting a wall Bledsoe and cousins but he will get some guys that will also be here two years from now which is what we want.

All I know is that it’s already better than having that garbage that’s in arkansas