Kentucky ruins College basketball

[GooseMutt]

It is very disturbing how they dominate recruiting . I find it unbelievable that no improprieties have been exposed over the years regarding gifts and academic standing. How do ALL his players( many wouldn't even attend college if not for hoops) qualify academically every year ( most are one and done and doubt they take academics seriously). There has to be shenanigans somewhere and massive circumvention of flawed system. This NBA breeding ground is ruining the purity of college (amature) basketball and turning into a farce. Guess money is root of all evil and Calipari is the master manipulator. He would fail in NBA and he knows it.

 

[Chicago44s]

 

[SUforme]

It's fine it's the way kids are and recruiting is. Kids want to be given something instead of earning it and schools like Kentucky are more than willing to give...

 

[NKR1978]

No they don't. We lost a recruit. It happens. No one here cried for Beilein when we got Battle after he committed to Michigan. The sky isn't falling and SU basketball will be fine.

 

[GooseMutt]

No they don't. We lost a recruit. It happens. No one here cried for Beilein when we got Battle after he committed to Michigan. The sky isn't falling and SU basketball will be fine.

It's frustrating. It's like dating for two years and then guy drops loyal girlfriend to take head cheerleader to the prom. Cal got his offer in late and waltzed him in

 

[NKR1978]

It's frustrating. It's like dating for two years and then guy drops loyal girlfriend to take head cheerleader to the prom. Cal got his offer in late and waltzed him in

It is frustrating. Seems our staff screwed up a bit. Even the most elite coaches and athletes make mistakes and they've earned our trust. We're coming off a great year, should have a great regular season this year and will have a ton of PT to offer ont the grad transfer transfer market.

 

[EastCoast2]

What goes up must come down. Kentucky will get theirs in due time. Might be in a year. Might be in 10 years. That program will back to irrelevance some day in the intermediate future.

 

[DoctorBombay]

No they don't. We lost a recruit. It happens. No one here cried for Beilein when we got Battle after he committed to Michigan. The sky isn't falling and SU basketball will be fine.

This.
We spent years chasing the pretty girl who would never commit despite numerous opportunities to do so.
As we got closer to the prom and she got more attention, we rented our tux, booked the limo, and bought a bouquet. At no point does she say no, but she never says yes.
2 days before prom she stops answering your calls, ignores your texts, and you hear rumors about the studly, somewhat "sleazy with a bad reputation" football player she's been talking to on the side. Prom night eve you get confirmation that she's just not that into you anymore.
All the signs were there- YOU rejected other suitors, and chose to see only what you wanted to see.
I hope the staff learns from this mistake, and in the future, doesn't keep putting all their eggs in one basket.

 

[Eric15]

At the end of the day, Kentucky has one national championship in the past 19 seasons.

 

[NKR1978]

This.
We spent years chasing the pretty girl who would never commit despite numerous opportunities to do so.
As we got closer to the prom and she got more attention, we rented our tux, booked the limo, and bought a bouquet. At no point does she say no, but she never says yes.
2 days before prom she stops answering your calls, ignores your texts, and you hear rumors about the studly, somewhat "sleazy with a bad reputation" football player she's been talking to on the side. Prom night eve you get confirmation that she's just not that into you anymore.
All the signs were there- YOU rejected other suitors, and chose to see only what you wanted to see.
I hope the staff learns from this mistake, and in the future, doesn't keep putting all their eggs in one basket.

And I don't buy that there's no one out there who can fill important roles who will leave their date behind when Syracuse comes calling. While Kentucky might be bigger than us, we're bigger than just about everyone else.

 

[AlaskaSU]

In order to get to the top echelon in recruiting we need to win it all this year and we need to create an over-the-top residential facility. Since players cannot be paid, the competition is about who offers the best fringe benefits. Go to Kentucky and get a personal chef, a personal barber, game room etc. This is unpalatable, but if you do not like the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Academic reputation might have some meaning for some recruits.
Our pluses include history, coaching and fan support, but weather is a negative.
We cannot afford to fall behind in the facilities arms race!

 

[doc05]

At the end of the day, Kentucky has one national championship in the past 19 seasons.

And anyone can guess -- but that may just be because of our buddy Fab Melo.

 

[AZOrange]

Nah they'd have to win more to ruin hoops. Like Uconn on the women's side. They are the top dog recruiting but are average (talent considered) on the court. You can't have 7 new guys every year and have it work.

 

[AZOrange]

And anyone can guess -- but that may just be because of our buddy Fab Melo.

There's no doubt in my mind. That team was more of a lock than Arinzes team imo

 

[doc05]

There's no doubt in my mind. That team was more of a lock than Arinzes team imo

I agree -- bc Kentucky had the freshman hype machine going for them, people forget how scary that Cuse team was.

 

[dasher]

This.
We spent years chasing the pretty girl who would never commit despite numerous opportunities to do so.
As we got closer to the prom and she got more attention, we rented our tux, booked the limo, and bought a bouquet. At no point does she say no, but she never says yes.
2 days before prom she stops answering your calls, ignores your texts, and you hear rumors about the studly, somewhat "sleazy with a bad reputation" football player she's been talking to on the side. Prom night eve you get confirmation that she's just not that into you anymore.
All the signs were there- YOU rejected other suitors, and chose to see only what you wanted to see.
I hope the staff learns from this mistake, and in the future, doesn't keep putting all their eggs in one basket.

She did say yes. She changed her mind or had her mind changed for her.

 

[doc05]

She did say yes. She changed her mind or had her mind changed for her.

She left the dude standing at the altar basically.

 

[dasher]

In order to get to the top echelon in recruiting we need to win it all this year and we need to create an over-the-top residential facility. Since players cannot be paid, the competition is about who offers the best fringe benefits. Go to Kentucky and get a personal chef, a personal barber, game room etc. This is unpalatable, but if you do not like the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Academic reputation might have some meaning for some recruits.
Our pluses include history, coaching and fan support, but weather is a negative.
We cannot afford to fall behind in the facilities arms race!

Which of those things does Nova have? UConn has 4 titles. Do they have chefs?

 

[dasher]

There's no doubt in my mind. That team was more of a lock than Arinzes team imo

I disagree. both teams were great but beating Duke in 2010 was an easier bet than beating Kentucky in 2012. We would have been in the title game both years though.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Which of those things does Nova have? UConn has 4 titles. Do they have chefs?

Nova had a lucky confluence of talent. They cannot recruit with Kentucky, Duke or Kansas. They will fall back into the pack.

The best recruiter does not always win, but it sure helps. Cal is not a good game coach. Coach K or JB would have won with their talent.

UCon does not have the facilities and it is now taking a toll on their recruiting. Special dorms are a new category in the arms race. A few years ago, they did not exist. I would not underestimate their importance to a typical inner city recruit

 

[crazyqx83]

I'm gonna try to do this without flaming, but step back and listen to yourselves.

1. Kentucky cheats to get top 25 recruits. Really? UK is like 25 out of 30 getting players drafted since Cal got here. That's not just 5 stars. that's every player he recruited. Why would we have to pay these players? The NBA will and we get them there better than anyone.

2. Kentucky has one championship in 19 years. First of all... That's an odd cut-off point. Secondly, we have 4 Final Fours in the past 6 years. We're not exactly struggling.

3. Syracuse would have been a lock over Kentucky in 2012. Seriously doubt it. That UK team is one of the top 2 or 3 in the KenPom era when it comes to statistical rankings. Lost 2 games all year (one on a last second shot in the most hostile college environment the last 20 years and another on the 3rd game in 3 days against a team that pitted their season on that one game). Had arguably the best college player since Laettner. Basically blew everyone out in the tourney.

Just get ahold of yourselves. It's one player and he's not even a super-elite prospect.

 

[dyedorange]

At the end of the day, Kentucky has one national championship in the past 19 seasons.

It seems like that kind of thing should matter, but I'm not sure it matters as much to the one-and-done types as does the general allure of UK/Cal. Rightly or wrongly, UK is perceived as being the best at getting guys into the NBA. They get a TON of exposure from ESPN, et al, and any recruit knows they'll benefit from that and elevate their own profile. Then you have the top-notch facilities as another selling point. Other, more nefarious, factors (cough, cough, bags, cough, cough) may be involved as well, but UK already has a lot going for them as a brand without that.

But more than anything, UK/Cal have created this idea that they select--and GET to select--only the best recruits for their team every year. That reads as POWER to these kids, and by going to UK they're associating themselves with that power. Being chosen by UK means they're special. Of course, at this point it's all self-perpetuating: the best kids go there because the best kids go there.

 

[NKR1978]

I'm gonna try to do this without flaming, but step back and listen to yourselves.

1. Kentucky cheats to get top 25 recruits. Really? UK is like 25 out of 30 getting players drafted since Cal got here. That's not just 5 stars. that's every player he recruited. Why would we have to pay these players? The NBA will and we get them there better than anyone.

2. Kentucky has one championship in 19 years. First of all... That's an odd cut-off point. Secondly, we have 4 Final Fours in the past 6 years. We're not exactly struggling.

3. Syracuse would have been a lock over Kentucky in 2012. Seriously doubt it. That UK team is one of the top 2 or 3 in the KenPom era when it comes to statistical rankings. Lost 2 games all year (one on a last second shot in the most hostile college environment the last 20 years and another on the 3rd game in 3 days against a team that pitted their season on that one game). Had arguably the best college player since Laettner. Basically blew everyone out in the tourney.

Just get ahold of yourselves. It's one player and he's not even a super-elite prospect.

Way better grammar than most UK fans.

 

[FrancoPizza]

In order to get to the top echelon in recruiting we need to win it all this year and we need to create an over-the-top residential facility. Since players cannot be paid, the competition is about who offers the best fringe benefits. Go to Kentucky and get a personal chef, a personal barber, game room etc. This is unpalatable, but if you do not like the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Academic reputation might have some meaning for some recruits.
Our pluses include history, coaching and fan support, but weather is a negative.
We cannot afford to fall behind in the facilities arms race!

I would add that the dome renovation better include basketball configuration improvements as a top priority. Without JB we need a state of the art facility that feels intimate for both the players and fans.

 

[Trueblue25]

I'm gonna try to do this without flaming, but step back and listen to yourselves.

1. Kentucky cheats to get top 25 recruits. Really? UK is like 25 out of 30 getting players drafted since Cal got here. That's not just 5 stars. that's every player he recruited. Why would we have to pay these players? The NBA will and we get them there better than anyone.

2. Kentucky has one championship in 19 years. First of all... That's an odd cut-off point. Secondly, we have 4 Final Fours in the past 6 years. We're not exactly struggling.

3. Syracuse would have been a lock over Kentucky in 2012. Seriously doubt it. That UK team is one of the top 2 or 3 in the KenPom era when it comes to statistical rankings. Lost 2 games all year (one on a last second shot in the most hostile college environment the last 20 years and another on the 3rd game in 3 days against a team that pitted their season on that one game). Had arguably the best college player since Laettner. Basically blew everyone out in the tourney.

Just get ahold of yourselves. It's one player and he's not even a super-elite prospect.

Since Coach Cal's taken over, UK has trounced SU recruitment wise, but has failed to separate it self by even half the margin regarding post season success. You guys got 1 more final four than us this century and just 1 'ship, as we do. I don't think Kentucky cheats, I think that's ridiculous. I think Kentucky has a great program and venue paired with a slick talking coach. Unfortunately its hard to argue that he doesn't underperform year to year with the talent he has, comes with the territory of being a 1 and done destination I suppose.