in BYU history. Oy veh.

Theoretically, the two things are not mutually exclusive, but sheesh, people, try to show some consistency in your complaints. If he's the One True Coach at BYU, he'll probably be pretty good at UK. It's not like the SEC is a step UP in quality of opposition. If he's going to completely fail at UK, then he probably wasn't going to do all that well here, either.

Look, I love Pope. I'm sad he's gone. But really, take a clear-eyed look. Pope's record as HC here was mixed. For every Covid Final Four team he put together he also had a season where he finished behind San Francisco in the WCC. He's never won an NCAA tourney game. He's never sniffed a conference championship. Would he have, eventually? I think so, but we'll never know. Regardless, I can't see that his resume is so strong that we have no hope of ever replacing him.

Nor, frankly, do I think that means he won't do well at UK. I think he'll have moderate success, just like he has at every other coaching job he's had. At UK, that will probably mean he gets fired before his contract runs out, but maybe not, and I honestly hope not. I want him to be successful.

P.S. People complaining about how Pope will now steal all the best recruits from us are delusional. UK has 15 roster spots, and not one of them is filled by a player that would ever have looked at BYU as an option. They are not a recruiting rival. I do hope that one day they will be, but that day is not coming soon, and Pope won't be the reason it gets here.