2024 Roster (Enter Antonio Reeves & Tre Mitchell)

[Spiritof96]

This wasn't happening in the first five-six years (minus 2013 and some of 2014). Those teams were mostly ready to go.

Thus my point above: you stack talent like that then you're good out of the gate. If you don't stack talent and you turn the roster over...well, then, you get what we've gotten recently.

Cason Wallace was really the only player we had last year who was of the caliber Cal was getting early. (Oscar too, but in a different way.) So that's one guard at "Point Guard U" you could really count on to take a game over. That doesn't cut it.

I think we are saying versions of the same thing. We aren't getting enough talent to make this go with the level of turnover we have now.

I'm going through a thing at work where our context is fundamentally changing and my people are all "sad panda" all the time because we are being forced to change the way we do things. We are killing sacred cows left and right because it's, "change or die". Cal needs to do the same thing.

[Joneslab]

I think we are saying versions of the same thing. We aren't getting enough talent to make this go with the level of turnover we have now.

Yep.

I guess the only different take I'd have is that I think one-and-dones can win titles in college basketball...with help.

But they carry with them a monumental risk. We didn't see that much early on (except in 2013). Now we're seeing it right up in our face off-season after off-season. And as you say, Cal hasn't adjusted.

Still think if Oscar and Reeves return we're okay. Not that I have faith Cal can achieve anything special with that team but just on the roster level we look like a top 10 team to me assuming the freshmen are who some people think they are. And if you've got a top 10 roster then you have "won" the off-season.

Looks like it could go either way though.

[George]

Grant Nelson’s visiting Alabama, so, ya know, that’s cool.

[Joneslab]

Tucker says he has no idea what will happen. Will be shocked if Livingston returns, won't be shocked if Oscar is returned, and has heard (he's said this several times) other programs are after Reeves, including Memphis and Illinois.

The absolute, deafening silence from UK leads one to believe they might be confident we'll get two of the three back. But the silence might just be incompetence.

[KentuckyWild2020]

Rumor mill this morning all 3 are gone and Cal is canceling media at his satelite camps next week, doesn't look good at all if this is true, 7 players on the team as we speak..

There has to be a clause in the lifetime contract that if you can't even field a team, contract is terminated effective immediately.....

[KentuckyWild2020]

One thing's for sure, if Ware Collins Frederick wanted more playing time all they had to do was come back to Kentucky. Sounds to me more of a COACH problem, can't be the fans TV exposure or the honor of playing for Kentucky....

[Joneslab]

Tucker says he's not getting "super positive vibes" on any returns.

[Joneslab]

One thing's for sure, if Ware Collins Frederick wanted more playing time all they had to do was come back to Kentucky. Sounds to me more of a COACH problem, can't be the fans TV exposure or the honor of playing for Kentucky....

Yeah, no doubt.

It's mystifying and probably says a lot about how Cal went all-in on this recruiting class at the expense of building relationships with the players he needed to return.

[KentuckyWild2020]

Tucker says he's not getting "super positive vibes" on any returns.

THIS IS A ABSOLUTE TOTAL WORST CASE SCENERIO DISASTER AT THIS POINT, HOW DOES THIS EVEN HAPPEN AT A PROGRAM LIKE KENTUCKY???

I double dare this Coach to come out and say YOU PEOPLE ARE CRAZY right about now. We may be dumb but we not plum dumb, dude has lost his mind if he thinks this fan base is going to continue to tolerate this mess, this marriage has ran it's course...

[Joneslab]

Andrew Slater says he'd be surprised if Livingston came back. Slater's about as "take it to the bank" as you can get in that world.

[Spiritof96]

Yeah, no doubt.

It's mystifying and probably says a lot about how Cal went all-in on this recruiting class at the expense of building relationships with the players he needed to return.

Or that Cal has NEVER been the player relationship guy and without Kenny, he can't maintain them.

[Lighthouse]

One thing's for sure, if Ware Collins Frederick wanted more playing time all they had to do was come back to Kentucky. Sounds to me more of a COACH problem, can't be the fans TV exposure or the honor of playing for Kentucky....

TRUTH. And another messed up season might begin to effect attendance at Rupp.

[KentuckyWild2020]

Oh well, out of my control for sure. Going to put up the pool, paint the deck, paint the garage floor and forget about it today....

Thinking ahead, there has to be some eligible foreign players overseas right?? If all 3 are gone, Cal and his staff are really going to have to scramble to field a team...

[Joneslab]

Or that Cal has NEVER been the player relationship guy and without Kenny, he can't maintain them.

I actually thought he was a pretty good "clubhouse guy" just based on all those players who came out for him at the Hall of Fame thing. And it seems like for many years there Kentucky got a bunch of guys returning to Lexington.

But maybe that was smoke and mirrors. And anyway, it looks like the "old Cal" is long gone at this point.

[Joneslab]

Somebody on Tucker's twitter comments makes an interesting point about how Jai Lucas on Duke's staff was part of getting virtually everybody back there.