Photo: Jamie Squire
Doug Gottlieb: "North Carolina and Duke are both coached by alums, both of whom were never head coaches before they got that job. You can be critical of Mark Pope's hiring in comparison to if you were going to hire Dan Hurley, but look at what's going on at North Carolina and Duke. There is no one perfect way to thread this thing."
Dan Beyer: "I think North Carolina and Duke are unique given who their predecessors were, and that makes it tricky. For Kentucky, timing of it isn't a factor because it's Kentucky. I think it's the fact that they also couldn't get what they wanted, and the fanbase feels they were turned down by those other options."
Doug Gottlieb: "The fanbase turning on one of their own in Mark Pope is the reason why a lot of these coaches are like 'WOAHHH.' Your fans are crazy! He's one of your own."
Doug Gottlieb and Dan Beyer, in for Dan Patrick, react to Kentucky hiring Mark Pope as their new head coach. The guys examine Kentucky's decision to call upon an alumnus to follow John Calipari and wonder if the appeal to homegrown talent was simply a reaction to being passed up by bigger names at head coach. Plus, the guys call out Kentucky fans for proving how crazy they are by spitting negative reactions at the hiring of one of their own.