Is It Time for John Calipari to Change His Recruiting Strategy?

[Jload]

Yup. He said the guys playing in front of him were making more shots in practice. What an awful excuse.

That’s not the quote I was talking about.

[JFCats22]

Baker made 8 threes, had 29 points today and is now averaging 20 ppg for the season. SMH

[George]

Baker made 8 threes, had 29 points today and is now averaging 20 ppg for the season. SMH

I CAN’T PLAY YOU!

[DA#23]

^ I can’t hide you.

[Catsrock]

Baker made 8 threes, had 29 points today and is now averaging 20 ppg for the season. SMH

Jamarl is the type of guy who Cal could have attempted to actually make some money for by developing him. Wall/AD/KAT are making no more $ having come here than they would have made if they had gone to Murray.

[DA#23]

^ That's the angle going forward, can he? Can he "develop" players ?

[Blue Heaven]

^ That's the angle going forward, can he? Can he "develop" players ?

With Payne gone, Cal's "developement" is being magnified. I mean, we can't even set a simple screen. The old "Cal just rolls the balls out" line maybe wasn't a lie.

[Catsrock]

Obviously I’m feeling negative while we’re 1-5 but it kind of looks to me like Rod used to coach the guards, Kenny used to coach the bigs, and Antigua used to recruit. If all we have left is Cal selling to the NBA how great his players are we’re in DEEP trouble.

I’m actually NOT calling for Cal'’s head though. Ideal for me would be for Cal to quit running players off to make room for the next group. I don’t believe in the “he can’t change because it would go against what he’s built” mantra. He’s a coach. What he built worked pretty well for a while. Now it’s a complete mess. Adapt and go forward! He’s paid a lot from UK—work for them. If he’s not willing to work for UK then yes I’m ready for the next era.

No doubt in my mind Cal CAN adapt. At this point in his career and sitting on mountains of money, does he want to go back to developing players? Not for me to say, but I have an idea.

[85 Fly]

I'm with a lot of you that believe kids should not feel like they are being pushed out the back door. It would be nice if Cal had a dilemma 2021 season because he has too many players and not enough scholarships to go around! I know that will never happen, but I would think most of these kids this season would want to run-it-back next year so they can give scouts something positive to evaluate them on since the end goal is the draft!

[Joneslab]

^ That's the angle going forward, can he? Can he "develop" players ?

Sure. Had two guys just last year who developed as much as anybody I can remember at UK. What happened with Quickley and Richards was nothing short of amazing.

Cal has no desire to actually do that though, which is the problem. If you have to develop guys that means they didn't meet the promise in their freshmen year, which in turns means they're likely to be recruited over at UK.

The point at UK is showcasing individual talent. It's not getting guys better; if guys do get better then that's great, but it's not the meaning of UK basketball right now.

You recruit a guy, he jumps, then you recruit a guy behind him to fill in. That was how Cal envisioned it starting in the Dajuan Wagner days, and that's how he began to build his programs late at Memphis and then continuing on to here. A veritable revolving door. Cal's perfect dream would be to play seven freshmen and all seven get drafted--he's said as much in interviews.

The problem is as we've all seen the door has flown off the hinges and you wonder if Cal's powerless to stop it.

[Lighthouse]

Sure. Had two guys just last year who developed as much as anybody I can remember at UK. What happened with Quickley and Richards was nothing short of amazing.

And last year Kenny Payne was the reason.

[Dwight Schrute]

Dick Vitale is currently chastising Cal during the WVU/KU game because a kid from Union, KY is lighting it up for Huggins.

[lilproUK98]

Dick Vitale is currently chastising Cal during the WVU/KU game because a kid from Union, KY is lighting it up for Huggins.

[Dwight Schrute]

Cal probably wouldn’t play him

[justford]

Cal probably wouldn’t play him

You are correct. Wouldn’t see the floor and would transfer.