2024 Roster (Enter Antonio Reeves & Tre Mitchell)

[justford]

I can only imagine what other coaches are saying about Cal and UK when speaking to recruits. Sadly, there is no rebuttal to be offered.

[40bill]

The NBA is chocked full of Calipari talent. The UK trophy case in comparison not so much.
the basketball coach is not held hostage to the AD, he works for him.

Once more this team has gone from look at what is coming in to what happened in about 3 months.

If the answer is just pay more money then Kentucky has little chance.

Football is well on the way, and if the NFL voids the age rule it will be worse.

[KCKUKFan]

What? I don't understand that, and I'm not trying to be rude.

If you give him enough talent? Is it enough talent to be "on par" with other blue bloods, is it enough to be top 12-ish? Is it enough to win a game in the NCAA?

This is where a few coaches would laugh and ask just how much of an advantage he needs with talent versus his opponent. More than St. Peters? More than Evansville? More than Jerome Tang? More than Tom Crean, Steve Alford, etc al???

And this speaks to a major point of the job, recruiting. Today's approach to recruiting is different, much different, than it was in 2003 especially on paper. But why would we say something like that as a program that found Coach Tubby Smith unable to recruit enough here. Why? This coach said he's here because he can recruit the best of the best.

That's no longer the case, so why is he still here?

With talented enough rosters (without glaring holes) I think Cal can still win enough. The game has probably passed him by in the grand scheme of things, but he had a very good team just two years ago that, for a variety of reasons, faltered down the stretch. Sometimes that happens. I was convinced up until about a month ago that he would be able to win plenty of games next year because of the roster makeup, but now that the roster is only half full in June, I'm more concerned about fielding practices, much less winning games.

He can still recruit the best of the best, as evidenced by this class. Where he is failing miserably (off the court) is player retention and pulling guys out of the portal, and those two things revolve entirely around NIL. Without the portal and bringing guys back, we're always going to be building rosters with Elmer's glue and Scotch tape, so Cal and Mitch need to figure this out pronto. There is no indication that they will, which is where we end up at the same question: why are either one of them still here?

I'm not at Lighthouse's level of pessimism regarding Cal. He's a hall of fame coach who has plenty of success at Kentucky, with super talented rosters and less talented rosters. But I do acknowledge that he's probably washed up and seems unwilling to make the necessary changes to adapt to today's game, on the court or off of it. So you and I have arrived at the same question, just for different reasons.

[KCKUKFan]

I can only imagine what other coaches are saying about Cal and UK when speaking to recruits. Sadly, there is no rebuttal to be offered.

If you're referring to portal guys, they're saying: "we'll pay you and Kentucky won't."

There might be more words or less words, but that's ultimately the gist of it.

[Lighthouse]

With talented enough rosters (without glaring holes) I think Cal can still win enough. The game has probably passed him by in the grand scheme of things, but he had a very good team just two years ago that, for a variety of reasons, faltered down the stretch. Sometimes that happens. I was convinced up until about a month ago that he would be able to win plenty of games next year because of the roster makeup, but now that the roster is only half full in June, I'm more concerned about fielding practices, much less winning games.

He can still recruit the best of the best, as evidenced by this class. Where he is failing miserably (off the court) is player retention and pulling guys out of the portal, and those two things revolve entirely around NIL. Without the portal and bringing guys back, we're always going to be building rosters with Elmer's glue and Scotch tape, so Cal and Mitch need to figure this out pronto. There is no indication that they will, which is where we end up at the same question: why are either one of them still here?

I'm not at Lighthouse's level of pessimism regarding Cal. He's a hall of fame coach who has plenty of success at Kentucky, with super talented rosters and less talented rosters. But I do acknowledge that he's probably washed up and seems unwilling to make the necessary changes to adapt to today's game, on the court or off of it. So you and I have arrived at the same question, just for different reasons.

Remove the three words I highlighted and I agree with everything else.

[lilproUK98]

Has anyone mentioned that MJ said today that David Jones at St. John's has been wanting to come to UK for a month but UK basically ignored him and now he's trending towards Memphis?

LOL

[DA#23]

Who edited this thread title? I think it’s fitting.

Barnhart gave a vote of confidence yesterday. Let’s hope that suggests a lot complaints from admin / boosters / fans.

[Joneslab]

Who edited this thread title? I think it’s fitting.

It was I, the one who was called "optimistic" three weeks ago.

[DA#23]

It was I, the one who was called "optimistic" three weeks ago.

This is where we are as a fanbase enduring the bipolar Calipari era, with its waves of glory and its potholes of futility, as our once fearless hero sweeps on with threshing oar.

His only goal will be the buyout in whole….

[Joneslab]

Just a break in our daily grief and gnashin o' teeth, but they're saying on Rivals that something could happen today. Nobody react to that in any way whatsoever because we've been burned so much recently, but just throwing it out there.

Tristan Pharis throws out a few possibilities (the aforementioned Arthur Kaluma being one) but one thing he says is Karter Knox could possibly reclassify?

That'd be wild. I'm not sure Knox could be a big-time player right away but I think he could absolutely help. He's apparently a major head-turner on the AAU circuit.

Kevin Knox's brother.

[Spiritof96]

With talented enough rosters (without glaring holes) I think Cal can still win enough. The game has probably passed him by in the grand scheme of things, but he had a very good team just two years ago that, for a variety of reasons, faltered down the stretch. Sometimes that happens. I was convinced up until about a month ago that he would be able to win plenty of games next year because of the roster makeup, but now that the roster is only half full in June, I'm more concerned about fielding practices, much less winning games.

He can still recruit the best of the best, as evidenced by this class. Where he is failing miserably (off the court) is player retention and pulling guys out of the portal, and those two things revolve entirely around NIL. Without the portal and bringing guys back, we're always going to be building rosters with Elmer's glue and Scotch tape, so Cal and Mitch need to figure this out pronto. There is no indication that they will, which is where we end up at the same question: why are either one of them still here?

I'm not at Lighthouse's level of pessimism regarding Cal. He's a hall of fame coach who has plenty of success at Kentucky, with super talented rosters and less talented rosters. But I do acknowledge that he's probably washed up and seems unwilling to make the necessary changes to adapt to today's game, on the court or off of it. So you and I have arrived at the same question, just for different reasons.

It's strange that the coach most legendarily accused of paying players over his career (sans evidence) doesn't know how to pay players.

Critics will say, well now that everyone is paying players he lost his competitive advantage...

[Joneslab]

Another possibility they're throwing out is freshman Isaiah Miranda, an NC State decommit. He was the 30th ranked player according to Rivals in this year's class. 7'1" center.

[Spiritof96]

Just a break in our daily grief and gnashin o' teeth, but they're saying on Rivals that something could happen today. Nobody react to that in any way whatsoever because we've been burned so much recently, but just throwing it out there.

Tristan Pharis throws out a few possibilities (the aforementioned Arthur Kaluma being one) but one thing he says is Karter Knox could possibly reclassify?

That'd be wild. I'm not sure Knox could be a big-time player right away but I think he could absolutely help. He's apparently a major head-turner on the AAU circuit.

Kevin Knox's brother.

This is going to be the 20-21 year all over again.

[Joneslab]

It's strange that the coach most legendarily accused of paying players over his career (sans evidence) doesn't know how to pay players.

Oh man, you don't know how many times I've thought about this over the last few months.

It's so interesting. I think it probably cuts back to Cal liking to be the one to broker the deal. Now that the player can broker it, his power is diluted. A celebrity-obsessed guy like Cal isn't going to love that dynamic and, as we've seen, he's started to drown in it.

[DA#23]

This is going to be the 20-21 year all over again.

Maybe not quite as bad record wise, but I am fearful of a similar product. I think they’ll struggle to make the tournament .