The shame that is Kentucky Basketball

[OrlandoCuse]

So UK seems pre-destined to go undefeated and win another championship. They will probably go down as "one of the best teams of all time" unless they are upset along the way. If Calipari put together a team the "right way" then I would actually have no problem rooting for them to win it all and go undefeated. However, UK isn't doing it the right way. In fact, they represent everything that is wrong with college basketball. UK is nothing but a basketball mill with a soul purpose of winning championships, everything else related to college be damned.

Here's some facts about Calipari's reign at UK since 2009:

• Only two players that were signed in Calipari recruited classes since 2009 graduated from UK
• One of the graduates (Eloy Vargas) was a junior college transfer so he only played for 2 years at UK
• The only player signed in a Calipari recruiting class at UK that played for 4 years and graduated from UK was Jon Hood (yes, that's right, Jon Hood - if people are interested, Mr. Hood appeared in a total of 86 games in his UK career logging a total of 425 minutes, scoring a grand total of 95 points in his career)
• A total of 31 recruits have been signed by Cal from 2009 to 2014 (average of 5.2 per class)
• 11 of the 31 recruits are still on the team, making up the current UK roster
• 3 players transferred to other schools after playing at least 1 year at UK
• 1 player never arrived (Enes Kanter)
• Only three players have played more than two years for UK (Jon Hood, Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein)
• No recruited player on the current roster is eligible to graduate this year
• 14 early entry NBA draftees (plus another 5+ likely this year)

Take that all in as we sit on the sidelines watching the NCAA tourney this year and will be forced to deal with reductions in scholarships over the next 5 years.

 

[jec1521]

Most of what you just stated is just bashing Cal for being a great recruiter. We have plenty of guys that jump early to the NBA. He just has more of them.

Maybe we should start giving them credit for being able to get it done like we were apparently unable to do.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

Most of what you just stated is just bashing Cal for being a great recruiter. We have plenty of guys that jump early to the NBA. He just has more of them.

Maybe we should start giving them credit for being able to get it done like we were apparently unable to do.

We are still graduating guys. UK is clearly not.

 

[Dcuse]

So UK seems pre-destined to go undefeated and win another championship. They will probably go down as "one of the best teams of all time" unless they are upset along the way. If Calipari put together a team the "right way" then I would actually have no problem rooting for them to win it all and go undefeated. However, UK isn't doing it the right way. In fact, they represent everything that is wrong with college basketball. UK is nothing but a basketball mill with a soul purpose of winning championships, everything else related to college be damned.

Here's some facts about Calipari's reign at UK since 2009:

• Only two players that were signed in Calipari recruited classes since 2009 graduated from UK
• One of the graduates (Eloy Vargas) was a junior college transfer so he only played for 2 years at UK
• The only player signed in a Calipari recruiting class at UK that played for 4 years and graduated from UK was Jon Hood (yes, that's right, Jon Hood - if people are interested, Mr. Hood appeared in a total of 86 games in his UK career logging a total of 425 minutes, scoring a grand total of 95 points in his career)
• A total of 31 recruits have been signed by Cal from 2009 to 2014 (average of 5.2 per class)
• 11 of the 31 recruits are still on the team, making up the current UK roster
• 3 players transferred to other schools after playing at least 1 year at UK
• 1 player never arrived (Enes Kanter)
• Only three players have played more than two years for UK (Jon Hood, Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein)
• No recruited player on the current roster is eligible to graduate this year
• 14 early entry NBA draftees (plus another 5+ likely this year)

Take that all in as we sit on the sidelines watching the NCAA tourney this year and will be forced to deal with reductions in scholarships over the next 5 years.

The guy has done his homework. We're all doing the same thing- trying to keep great basketball players on the floor through any means possible,including skirting rules ,etc. Lets not be hypocrites.

 

[jec1521]

We are still graduating guys. UK is clearly not.

Eh...in this day in age who cares? It's up to the individual if he wants to graduate or not. If I was to be drafted in the upcoming nba I wouldn't be graduating either. They're getting their student athletes ready for their career better than anyone else right now. Whether they graduate or not shouldn't matter.

 

[Fly Rodder]

What Calipari is doing is clearly within the rules, I just wish the media would quit putting them on a pedastal as some virtuous paradigm of college athletics when they're really nothing more than a barnstorming pre-NBA all-star team.

 

[690West]

So UK seems pre-destined to go undefeated and win another championship. They will probably go down as "one of the best teams of all time" unless they are upset along the way. If Calipari put together a team the "right way" then I would actually have no problem rooting for them to win it all and go undefeated. However, UK isn't doing it the right way. In fact, they represent everything that is wrong with college basketball. UK is nothing but a basketball mill with a soul purpose of winning championships, everything else related to college be damned.

Here's some facts about Calipari's reign at UK since 2009:

• Only two players that were signed in Calipari recruited classes since 2009 graduated from UK
• One of the graduates (Eloy Vargas) was a junior college transfer so he only played for 2 years at UK
• The only player signed in a Calipari recruiting class at UK that played for 4 years and graduated from UK was Jon Hood (yes, that's right, Jon Hood - if people are interested, Mr. Hood appeared in a total of 86 games in his UK career logging a total of 425 minutes, scoring a grand total of 95 points in his career)
• A total of 31 recruits have been signed by Cal from 2009 to 2014 (average of 5.2 per class)
• 11 of the 31 recruits are still on the team, making up the current UK roster
• 3 players transferred to other schools after playing at least 1 year at UK
• 1 player never arrived (Enes Kanter)
• Only three players have played more than two years for UK (Jon Hood, Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein)
• No recruited player on the current roster is eligible to graduate this year
• 14 early entry NBA draftees (plus another 5+ likely this year)

Take that all in as we sit on the sidelines watching the NCAA tourney this year and will be forced to deal with reductions in scholarships over the next 5 years.

The good news is that they are only 50% to win it all. I wouldn't call a flip of a coin "pre-destined". Still a very good chance they go down.

 

[longtimefan]

Eh...in this day in age who cares? It's up to the individual if he wants to graduate or not. If I was to be drafted in the upcoming nba I wouldn't be graduating either. They're getting their student athletes ready for their career better than anyone else right now. Whether they graduate or not shouldn't matter.

How about whether they are being educated or not? That is the question.

I have no idea if UK is actually making real learning an option for their players. I do know that bailing in the middle of your second semester on campus to go work out for the NBA does not further one's education. But, it's the system we're stuck with right now.

 

[jgeorge322]

The good news is that they are only 48% to win it all. I wouldn't call a flip of a coin "pre-destined". Still a very good chance they go down.

I think they lose. Theyve played a soft schedule. Ranked 45. 24 games against non top 50 rpi. I think they lose when they finally play a close game against someone good and not some sec hack.

 

[bpo57]

Most big time programs, including SU, have had plenty of guys leave early. That's just college hoops today. UK has had more of them because they have signed more of those types of players than anybody else.

 

[osullfam]

Don't blame Cal, scorpions do what scorpions do. What I don't get is how the Chancellor and Prof's can stomach this bastardization of College.

 

[jec1521]

How about whether they are being educated or not? That is the question.

I have no idea if UK is actually making real learning an option for their players. I do know that bailing in the middle of your second semester on campus to go work out for the NBA does not further one's education. But, it's the system we're stuck with right now.

Please... a college education isn't what it used to be. It's not the end all be all of education. It's more of a social experience than anything related to education.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Don't hate the player, hate the game

 

[PeteCalvin]

So UK seems pre-destined to go undefeated and win another championship. They will probably go down as "one of the best teams of all time" unless they are upset along the way. If Calipari put together a team the "right way" then I would actually have no problem rooting for them to win it all and go undefeated. However, UK isn't doing it the right way. In fact, they represent everything that is wrong with college basketball. UK is nothing but a basketball mill with a soul purpose of winning championships, everything else related to college be damned.

Here's some facts about Calipari's reign at UK since 2009:

• Only two players that were signed in Calipari recruited classes since 2009 graduated from UK
• One of the graduates (Eloy Vargas) was a junior college transfer so he only played for 2 years at UK
• The only player signed in a Calipari recruiting class at UK that played for 4 years and graduated from UK was Jon Hood (yes, that's right, Jon Hood - if people are interested, Mr. Hood appeared in a total of 86 games in his UK career logging a total of 425 minutes, scoring a grand total of 95 points in his career)
• A total of 31 recruits have been signed by Cal from 2009 to 2014 (average of 5.2 per class)
• 11 of the 31 recruits are still on the team, making up the current UK roster
• 3 players transferred to other schools after playing at least 1 year at UK
• 1 player never arrived (Enes Kanter)
• Only three players have played more than two years for UK (Jon Hood, Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein)
• No recruited player on the current roster is eligible to graduate this year
• 14 early entry NBA draftees (plus another 5+ likely this year)

Take that all in as we sit on the sidelines watching the NCAA tourney this year and will be forced to deal with reductions in scholarships over the next 5 years.

Calipari is playing the system the NCAA set up. It's all about APR, not graduation rate. He found a system to work the system. As long as his kids play the one year and finish their classes in good standing, everything is swell. It's the NCAA's fault for not making graduation a priority, and they really can't. How can you penalize a coach or program if his/her players want to pursue a professional career in their sport? You can't.

Now, if the NBA and the NCAA worked together on a "straight jump or two-year" policy with the ability for an un-drafted player to go to school for a minimum of two years (without penalty as long as they don't take any agent $$$ in that time), then they could seriously look at something with more meat than the APR.

The NCAA and NBA are to blame for UK 's system. Are there booster shenanigans going on behind the scenes? I would bet Warren Buffett's portfolio on it. But that's a recruiting thing, not an academic issue. What I would be wondering is how John Wall and Cousins managed to finish all of their classes while they were off campus at NBA combines and workouts right after the tournament that year. Did the NCAA ask that question?

 

[bpo57]

Please... a college education isn't what it used to be. It's not the end all be all of education. It's more of a social experience than anything related to education.

I think there is some truth to your statement. Now a days kids come out of college with $100K+ in debt and can't find a decent job. Meanwhile well paying technical jobs go unfilled because young people don't have the skills to fills those jobs. College isn't for everybody.

 

[Jack Hall]

imo Cal and UK (altho i detest much about them) at the end of the day are doing nothing wrong. they are just taking full advantage of the ncaas "system". and uk has figured out that system much better imo than SU has, as we just saw w that ruling all too clearly. To me the only solution is breaking away from the ncaa , whether we do it as the acc (and see what other conferences follow) or we defect w as many schools as possible and not have it be conference related. but the whole ncaa thing is not working. it is the greedy nature of the ncaa "system" that caused us to break away from the big east and imo from a fans perspective things have taken a turn for the worse since we left BE. its time to leave the ncaa soon (or try to dissolve it legally) and i also think if a school is taking in tens of millions from a certain sport, its time to give these kids greater compensation. thats just me.

think about it, at uk the kids are making the school a TON of $ and then most of those kids are rewarded w a fat nba contract- it works. at most other schools (not named duke or kansas) not nearly so many kids move onto nba. so the only way to reward these kids is give them a free education. so look what happened w Fab, we brought him in to win a title and make $ for the U and we gave him a free education (for a yr and half) and then we found out he never should have been admitted to SU and SU will be punished. The system doesnt really work (for SU anyway, it does for uk) , time to make some changes.

 

[jec1521]

I think there is some truth to your statement. Now a days kids come out of college with $100K+ in debt and can't find a decent job. Meanwhile well paying technical jobs go unfilled because young people don't have the skills to fills those jobs. College isn't for everybody.

Yup. I just feel like our society values college more than it should at this point. With the internet, computers, smartphones, social media, etc. you can still be very well versed and well educated without having a college degree.

 

[Noexcuse]

Kentucky is just UCLA of the late 60's early 70's playing under a different set of rules. Those teams were loaded with NBA talent too, they just needed to stay in school in order to get there.

 

[Cheriehoop]

I agree that Cal, UK are gaming a system that makes it very lucrative to game. If a student gets past NCAA eligibility requirements to enroll and earn an athletic scholarship, it's close to impossible to be athletically ineligible for academics during their freshman year. The longer a D1 student athlete remains in college, the higher the eligibility requirements are. Below are the GPA requirements for NCAA D1 students, in addition in players' sophomore years the number of earned credits comes into play also. Taking advantage of rules isn't illegal and probably the main reason the Big10 are calling for freshman ineligiblity.

What are the Division I grade-point average requirements to remain eligible?
Student-athletes must achieve 90 percent of the institution’s minimum overall grade-point average necessary to graduate (for example, 1.8) by the beginning of year two, 95 percent of the minimum GPA (1.9) by year three and 100 percent (2.0) by year four.

 

[SBU72]

How about whether they are being educated or not? That is the question.

I have no idea if UK is actually making real learning an option for their players. I do know that bailing in the middle of your second semester on campus to go work out for the NBA does not further one's education. But, it's the system we're stuck with right now.

If you believe the stories, UK has an above average "score" for players getting grades towards advancing to a degree. That means more than meeting the NCAA requirements for education. That is better than say UConn and I think their rank was better than SU. As for the number of kids leaving early, how many have left SU over the past few years. Ennis & Grant, Carter-Williams, Melo & Waiters, Johnson, Flynn & Harris & Devendorf (I know 2 of these were shown the door), Greene.

 

[jgeorge322]

Please... a college education isn't what it used to be. It's not the end all be all of education. It's more of a social experience than anything related to education.

Its actually more of a requirement than ever. Not only that, you likely need further education. However, these kids have one profession in mind and its playing ball, which doesnt require a degree. Thats a rarity.

 

[690West]

Yup. I just feel like our society values college more than it should at this point. With the internet, computers, smartphones, social media, etc. you can still be very well versed and well educated without having a college degree.

Lets not go too far. A bachelors degree earns over $1 million more over their lifetime than a high school degree. A masters degree, over $1.5 million more. The value is real although the cost is crazy

 

[Jack Hall]

College w the rampant inflation of tuition (and throw in the fact that many schools are almost favoring foreign born students over american born students) has become a scam imo. I have saved up the tuition $ for my son and when the time comes in a few years, i will give him the choice between college or taking that $ and starting his own business. Its his decision but i almost hope he decides to forgo college. The two scenarios i described, as a parent which scenario do you think you will see a better ROI? Its not a clear choice, its a tough call.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

Until Cal graduates a 4 star recruit I'll stand by the belief that he's running a shame system designed only to keep players eligible for at most two years. At least SU is graduating players that regularly log minutes (Rak, Triche, Fair, Southerland, Onuaku, etc.). Cal can't even make that claim.

 

[Jack Hall]

Until Cal graduates a 4 star recruit I'll stand by the belief that he's running a shame system designed only to keep players eligible for at most two years. At least SU is graduating players that regularly log minutes (Rak, Triche, Fair, Southerland, Onuaku, etc.). Cal can't even make that claim.

Havent people on this board claimed that Coleman was quoted as saying he was told he wouldnt have to worry about classes when he visited uk? Would love to know if that type of stuff is really true but i have no clue how you convince a kid, who in their mind is certain will be in nba in a yr or two, to forgo time in the gym (which would improve their draft position) and go to class? It defies common sense