2026-2027 Roster discussion thread

[Pobilly]

Does a coach coming from the Pro's back to college have a harder time? I am guessing staff would be a major part of the recruiting. It just seems that UK takes longer to do what they need to do to get back on top. Cal almost, Cal had good but how many years did it take for him? Took 3 years and a solid couple of guys back with a great high school class. Then how many times after that did he do it again, 0. He had good years, one almost great year but failed. He did less with more as well going to the last 5 years.

Can Billy D, get back in the college game and turn it around quick enough. That is yet to be seen. Hope this is all moot and UK wins this year. But good conversation for sure.

[UKHoops01]

Does a coach coming from the Pro's back to college have a harder time?

On the surface, I'd say that they actually have an easier time. You can point to coaches like Rick Pitino and John Calipari leaving the pros and returning to college and having tremendous success, with both winning national championships in college after coaching in the pros. Even Hall of Fame basketball coach Larry Brown won a national title coaching at Kansas after he had coached the New Jersey Nets in the pros 5 years earlier.

Considering how much young players these days want to play in the pros, having a coach who coached in the pros and knows what it takes to be a professional and has contacts with the NBA is a huge advantage. Why do you think Pope is struggling to recruit so much these days? Because he doesn't have that experience or those type of contacts.

[Catsrock]

Yes all in the past. There are no Pitino's or Rupp's wanting this job. Few has turned down many a time already, heck even the bumpkin in Tennessee orange has turned it down many times. Billy the Kid has turned it down many times. Why do you think someone wants a job where fans are ready to roast a coach that when he took over had 0 players and went to a sweet 16 year one, then got caught up in thinking I need to get guys over guys that are good for my style of play in year 2, and those guys did not get along so you had a very bad year for UK standards. 2 years and 2 tourney appearances and people are ready to put him on a pole and run him out of the bluegrass. Now year 3 is a make it or break it year. You think if we have another year like last year, UK fires Pope that a new coach will have a player to build from? You think we are back in the same boat for a couple of year? You think Michigan's coach would want to leave there for here? You think Arizona coach would want to leave there for here? I do not think so. Times are different. There is no patience in KENTUCKY by the fans what so ever.

I hope he does well, surprises the world, wins #9 this year. Do I expect it, nope.

I think this is a tough statement to make. Whereas it’s obviously enormously difficult to predict future success for up and coming coaches—Rupp was hired from Freeport High School in Iowa. Seriously. Yes Pitino was a really hot name at age 40. But that was based on taking Providence to a FF and the Knicks to the playoffs. Lots of guys out there have that degree of success on their resume. Someone out there could get UK back to relevancy assuming the donors continue to give.

Perhaps even Pope with a healthy roster. I’d like to get Momcilovic, stay healthy, and see what happens. If it’s more of the same—try someone else. Until it works. If NIL and transfer portals stay around a couple years pretty much tells the story. Unless a third of your team is injured or sitting out waiting for the NBA combine.

My main point here is that there may be plenty of Rupps and Pitinos who would love a shot at UK. If they have to have Hurley’s resume before you consider them a Rupp or Pitino then they are easy to identify and everyone is after them.

[EKYCat]

Does a coach coming from the Pro's back to college have a harder time? I am guessing staff would be a major part of the recruiting. It just seems that UK takes longer to do what they need to do to get back on top. Cal almost, Cal had good but how many years did it take for him? Took 3 years and a solid couple of guys back with a great high school class. Then how many times after that did he do it again, 0. He had good years, one almost great year but failed. He did less with more as well going to the last 5 years.

Can Billy D, get back in the college game and turn it around quick enough. That is yet to be seen. Hope this is all moot and UK wins this year. But good conversation for sure.

Cal went 35-3 his first year and lost in the Elite 8. His first three years included an Elite 8, a Final Four, and a title along with a combined 102-14 record with 2 SEC titles. People need to quit acting like he wasn't successful here. He was. He had the talent to win more championships and I'll readily admit he probably should have won 2 or maybe 3 more. But to act like Cal wasn't the right coach here at the right time just isn't fair to him. And, I wanted him to be gone as well at the end. But by any measure of success, he was successful. If we're basing success on national titles and the ability to quickly turn a program around, then we have to grade Pope as a failure, right?

[Pobilly]

Cal went 35-3 his first year and lost in the Elite 8. His first three years included an Elite 8, a Final Four, and a title along with a combined 102-14 record with 2 SEC titles. People need to quit acting like he wasn't successful here. He was. He had the talent to win more championships and I'll readily admit he probably should have won 2 or maybe 3 more. But to act like Cal wasn't the right coach here at the right time just isn't fair to him. And, I wanted him to be gone as well at the end. But by any measure of success, he was successful. If we're basing success on national titles and the ability to quickly turn a program around, then we have to grade Pope as a failure, right?

Not my intention to say or make you think he did not do good here.

I was against him ever being here. He was a used car salesman back then an he still is now. I just do not like the guy. Never have, never will. That is just a personal thing.

[Bluehausen]

Does a coach coming from the Pro's back to college have a harder time? I am guessing staff would be a major part of the recruiting. It just seems that UK takes longer to do what they need to do to get back on top. Cal almost, Cal had good but how many years did it take for him? Took 3 years and a solid couple of guys back with a great high school class. Then how many times after that did he do it again, 0. He had good years, one almost great year but failed. He did less with more as well going to the last 5 years.

Can Billy D, get back in the college game and turn it around quick enough. That is yet to be seen. Hope this is all moot and UK wins this year. But good conversation for sure.

I don't think a coach coming back to college from the Pro's would necessarily make it harder for them. I think if the UK Job were to open (just to use as an example) and Billy D decided to take it, I think having the NBA Credit to his name would only help him in the recruiting arena because kids still want to get there and he would know how to make that happen more so than he did while at Florida. Also with the college game being more like Pro in the aspect of money being involved now, I think a Pro coach could possibly navigate that a little bit better as well even though it seems to me a lot of coaches don't have nearly the say on the NBA level about team/roster building as they would on the college level. I think Billy D would fair just fine if he came back to the college ranks.

[Pete Hogwallop]

When Billy Donovan finally retires from coaching, I hope someone asks him very directly if he would have ever come to UK to be the head coach. If he answers truthfully and in detail, it would be very interesting no matter which way the answer went.

[UKHoops01]

Not my intention to say or make you think he did not do good here.

I was against him ever being here. He was a used car salesman back then an he still is now. I just do not like the guy. Never have, never will. That is just a personal thing.

Here's the irony. I wanted Cal in the 90s. Every year, there was talk about Pitino leaving for the NBA... and Cal's last year at UMASS I told everyone that if Pitino ever leaves, Cal was the guy I wanted. Cal left for the pros a year before Pitino did...so we ended up with Tubby.

Fast forward 10 years and Tubby leaves, and once again I wanted Cal....when everybody else wanted Donovan (the irony there is now I'm the guy wanting Donovan). Barnhardt hires Billy Clyde, and two years later it's deja vu all over again. Again, I wanted Cal and this time we got him! And I was very happy with that choice.

But then the 2015 loss to Wisconsin happened. And the next 3 or 4 years felt a little like a slow decline. Then, around the time I'm willing to turn the page from the Calipari era ole Mitch gives him the lifetime contract. So we suffered through the last 5 years until finally we got some reprieve. And it was from 2015 until 2024 that it was a slow burn with Cal....my dislike of the guy growing more and more with each passing year. I think after he took the knee for BLM I was officially out of the closet and unafraid and very vocal to let any and everyone know that I wanted him gone.

So....it turns out that you were right about the guy all along...it's just that I had to find out over a period of time. But hey, at least we got a national championship for our troubles.....

[UKHoops01]

When Billy Donovan finally retires from coaching, I hope someone asks him very directly if he would have ever come to UK to be the head coach. If he answers truthfully and in detail, it would be very interesting no matter which way the answer went.

We may know the answer to that in less than a year. Word has it that Donovan plans to take a year off and then return to coaching. If Pope has a repeat of last year there may be an opening at UK.

So we may know the answer to that sooner rather than later.

[EKYCat]

Here's the irony. I wanted Cal in the 90s. Every year, there was talk about Pitino leaving for the NBA... and Cal's last year at UMASS I told everyone that if Pitino ever leaves, Cal was the guy I wanted. Cal left for the pros a year before Pitino did...so we ended up with Tubby.

Fast forward 10 years and Tubby leaves, and once again I wanted Cal....when everybody else wanted Donovan (the irony there is now I'm the guy wanting Donovan). Barnhardt hires Billy Clyde, and two years later it's deja vu all over again. Again, I wanted Cal and this time we got him! And I was very happy with that choice.

But then the 2015 loss to Wisconsin happened. And the next 3 or 4 years felt a little like a slow decline. Then, around the time I'm willing to turn the page from the Calipari era ole Mitch gives him the lifetime contract. So we suffered through the last 5 years until finally we got some reprieve. And it was from 2015 until 2024 that it was a slow burn with Cal....my dislike of the guy growing more and more with each passing year. I think after he took the knee for BLM I was officially out of the closet and unafraid and very vocal to let any and everyone know that I wanted him gone.

So....it turns out that you were right about the guy all along...it's just that I had to find out over a period of time. But hey, at least we got a national championship for our troubles.....

I blame a lot of Cal's decline on Mitch and giving him that bogus contract. That, and it was obvious he and Mitch despised one another and so maybe Cal laid down on him a little bit. He did some things that were asinine. But he did a lot of good things for the state and the people in the state, as well. His tenure was almost two tenures rolled into one. He had a really great several years and then he had a really average several years.