From Matt Jones: the best explaination for a disasterous month

[Joneslab]

Or maybe there's a lot more talk of Cal to the NBA than we think?????

I think that could be the case as well.

Cleveland is going to have a rough time with Chicago. It's crossed my mind that Blatt may've just been a one-year Band-Aid.

Hope this isn't true, because the 2016 class is insane.

[J.Jennings]

The elephant in the room.....

Wiltjer and Willis are/were the great white hope. And to top it off...Willis is a local kid. I get it. I do. I like the kid myself.
But I like Dom Hawkins just as much and there is no conversation about him. I want them both to do really well. I still go back to the fact that our title teams had a strong KY player contributing. Cooincidence?

This is their year at UK. They can stop all the talk and wondering. This is not going to be one of our more dominant teams and there should be opportunities to excel and win some PT. I want to see Willis and Hawkins in that lineup. I honestly think most UK fans feel the same.

Refer to another thread in regards to both Willis and Hawkins.

[J.Jennings]

And Wiltjer and his family laid out exactly why he transferred to Gonzaga. It really wasn't a shock and it was a great decision for him. Had nothing to do with Kentucky fans. I think he was pretty well-liked by UK fans. He was criticized but no more than Alex Poythress, and much less than somebody like Andrew Harrison or even Marquis Teague.

Badly wish we had that guy this year, but without the redshirt year he took to get his body right he wouldn't be the same player. Doubt he would've been able to take that redshirt season if he'd stayed at Kentucky and we wouldn't have had him this coming season anyway.

Same here, this would have been Kyle's year to shine at Kentucky........

[Joneslab]

Wiltjer and Willis are/were the great white hope.

Yes.

Add Hood as well.

There was a thread here last year about Luke Kennard. You would've thought the world was burning down for a few (maybe a couple) of posters when he decided on Duke. Cal didn't want him. Cal wouldn't have played him anyway. It spiraled into this odd territory where it was almost as if those posters felt a betrayal that Kennard wasn't coming to UK.

You saw some of this with Tubby. I flat-out heard from people that they didn't like Tubby because he wouldn't recruit white players.

Cal has always kind of fallen into that same boat. He plays "athletes." He's always looking out for his "favorites." Etc. etc.

There is this thought from some that the great white player is going to come through Kentucky. Some believe that guy may actually be on the team and just needs a shot.

The issue with this is that there are so few great white players in this sport that it's hard to fault Calipari (or anybody) for not being able to find them. Wisconsin had Kaminsky and Dekker this year, Duke has had some success, but it's just really hard to find those players and clearly they aren't going to be ranked in the top 25 coming out of high school--which is where Calipari generally resides.

[teamchemistry15]

How do you know he can't play???????????? Explain why you think he can't, is he too white?????????? Can he not jump high enough??? Does he not run fast enough for you??? Is he a worst defender than Julius Mays????? Is he dumb and not able to remember plays???? Is he a odd ball because he's 6'10 and can actually handle the ball???

You know about as much as I know in reality. If he was flat out trash then chalk it up on Cal for bringing him to Kentucky in the first place. Cal missed on this one big time!!!!!!!!!!! For all the talk about Cal helping kids change there lives, does that go for everybody of just for the McDonald's All Americans???????? If he's not good enough then Cal should do the kid a favor and politely ask him to move on............

I'm not saying he cant play. I'm not saying he is trash. He had a few other solid offers if I remember. All I have ever said about him is that he hasn't been a better option than what we have had. How do I know? Because he hasn't been playing and we have been winning. What else do you need? You throw out a list of about 12 names that developed and made an impact on their teams but you dont mention the thousands of players who dont and never get more than garbage minutes. I will bet the odds on Willis not becoming the next Ron Baker. That doesn't mean I don't like him and dont want him to be successful. It just means I am being realistic based on the facts.

[JFCats22]

I think that could be the case as well.

Cleveland is going to have a rough time with Chicago. It's crossed my mind that Blatt may've just been a one-year Band-Aid.

Hope this isn't true, because the 2016 class is insane.

Hard to let him go with how they good they were playing when everyone got on the same page. Especially with the Love injury.

However, if they have any indication that Cal will take the job I think they fire Blatt in a heartbeat. Really hope it doesn't come to that but I am a little nervous.

[J.Jennings]

Probaly going to ruffle a few feathers here but let's be honest, what UK fan would have chosen Calipari over Rick Pitino prior the 2010 season?? With all the hatred for Rick going to Louisville, let's just say prior to 2001????

Point is this, unless Cal gets 10 top 20 guys, the world is falling apart if your a UK fan. What does this say about the confidence level in Calipari as the coach?? With Pitino back in his hay day at Kentucky it didn't matter if we had 10 allstars or not, I always felt like we had a chance to each and every season. With Cal, it's totally different if the stable isn't completely full.

[BobS]

Not nervous about Cal one little bit. If he wants to go to the NBA...Adios. I gave up all that angst about NBA flirtations when Pitino was here. I wanted Pitino to take a job because it drove me nuts. I don't want to feel that way about Cal and won't. If he leaves...he leaves. UK will survive somehow. (WIll be tough but...)

I think he stays.

[J.Jennings]

I'm not saying he cant play. I'm not saying he is trash. He had a few other solid offers if I remember. All I have ever said about him is that he hasn't been a better option than what we have had. How do I know? Because he hasn't been playing and we have been winning. What else do you need? You throw out a list of about 12 names that developed and made an impact on their teams but you dont mention the thousands of players who dont and never get more than garbage minutes. I will bet the odds on Willis not becoming the next Ron Baker. That doesn't mean I don't like him and dont want him to be successful. It just means I am being realistic based on the facts.

And understandably so. Hell, Willis could get 30 minutes a game and turn out to be a joke, really who knows??

[Joneslab]

Probaly going to ruffle a few feathers here but let's be honest, what UK fan would have chosen Calipari over Rick Pitino prior the 2010 season??

95% of them?

Point is this, unless Cal gets 10 top 20 guys, the world is falling apart if your a UK fan. What does this say about the confidence level in Calipari as the coach??

The reason that happens has to do with a bunch of things.

One is that Calipari came in with a huge reputation as being a killer recruiter.

Another is that Kentucky has enormous amenities and we should get guys like John Wall and Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. Those are the kinds of players we target and more often than not Kentucky gets them. We're not like most programs in America; in fact the only programs who are similar are Duke, Kansas, and Carolina. Those four programs operate on another level--and they should operate there. Hellacious fan support, money, tradition, etc.

Cal has been successful before with under-the-radar players. He built his career at UMASS on players like that. Recently he's changed and I think most Kentucky fans realize that you need those kinds of elite players to compete for titles. Wanting him to recruit like Rick Pitino did twenty-five years ago is ridiculous. He's a different coach, it's a different era, and he's beaten Rick consistently since he came here. Cal's system works.

You can win a title with off-the-radar guys. It's possible. But we did that whole thing with Tubby, and it's not going to get you to four Final Fours in five years.

[J.Jennings]

Hard to let him go with how they good they were playing when everyone got on the same page. Especially with the Love injury.

However, if they have any indication that Cal will take the job I think they fire Blatt in a heartbeat. Really hope it doesn't come to that but I am a little nervous.

Same here. If we would have went 40-0 this season and won it all, I truly felt like Cal was gone after this season. What more could he accomplish unless he's chasing UCLA??

[J.Jennings]

95% of them?



The reason that happens has to do with a bunch of things.

One is that Calipari came in with a huge reputation as being a killer recruiter.

Another is that Kentucky has enormous amenities and we should get guys like John Wall and Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. Those are the kinds of players we target and more often than not Kentucky gets them. We're not like most programs in America; in fact the only programs who are similar are Duke, Kansas, and Carolina. Those four programs operate on another level--and they should operate there. Hellacious fan support, money, tradition, etc.

Cal has been successful before with under-the-radar players. He built his career at UMASS on players like that. Recently he's changed and I think most Kentucky fans realize that you need those kinds of elite players to compete for titles. Wanting him to recruit like Rick Pitino did twenty-five years ago is ridiculous. He's a different coach, it's a different era, and he's beaten Rick consistently since he came here. Cal's system works.

You can win a title with off-the-radar guys. It's possible. But we did that whole thing with Tubby, and it's not going to get you to four Final Fours in five years.

Not going to argue but on the same token, I still feel that if you inserted Pitino into Kansas, North Carolina, and possibly a few others, Rick would get his fair share of top recruits even to this day. Say what you want, Cal has benefited recruiting wise by being at Kentucky.

[Joneslab]

Not going to argue but on the same token, I still feel that if you inserted Pitino into Kansas, North Carolina, and possibly a few others, Rick would get his fair share of top recruits even to this day. Say what you want, Cal has benefited recruiting wise by being at Kentucky.

Pitino has said that he couldn't recruit the way Cal does.

That became the foundation of the whole L1C4 movement.

And it's worked for him in a lot of ways. He has a title. But he's also had a lot of drama at Louisville and it's always been ironic to me that he's stayed away from 5-star players when he's had so much stuff going on with his program, but he's said he doesn't want to go Cal's route.

Louisville fans jumped on board whole-heartedly with that.

The only real flaw is that he's 1-7 against Cal.

I think Pitino is a coaching genius, but I would want my coach to recruit the best players because I think that gives you the best chance to win. That's just me personally. I think McDonald's All-Americans, high school stars, guys with NBA potential, pros--that's how you should assemble a high-major college basketball team.

It doesn't mean that these guys can't coach. Cal doesn't just roll the balls out. This is a guy who rebuilt UMASS's program. It just means that you're acknowledging that talent is (by far) the most important thing in this game.

[JFCats22]

Well...looks like MJ was correct. Cal just basically verified it with this article.

http://www.coachcal.com/34612/2015/0...ys-come-first/

If you ask me if I’m ever going to platoon again, my answer is NO. Last season was an absolute outlier.

[Joneslab]

Well...looks like MJ was correct. Cal just basically verified it with this article.

http://www.coachcal.com/34612/2015/0...ys-come-first/

If you ask me if I’m ever going to platoon again, my answer is NO. Last season was an absolute outlier.

Yes, definitely seems to be speaking to somebody.

My guess is that he's trying to lay early groundwork for the '16 class. Doesn't want a repeat of this summer and is trying to get some early commits.