"Who's Coming to Kentucky?" Thread (UPDATE: Kentucky Lands Jaxson Robinson!)

[DA#23]

We're still reaping the benefits of the "super seniors".

[Lighthouse]

I’m not supporting Cal here, but I think “destroyed” is a bit strong. When something gets destroyed, there’s no bringing it back.

UK isn’t in that kind of shape.

Yeah destroyed is a bit strong, but Cal sure set our program back a lot. It's already on it's way back.

[KCKUKFan]

Cal stayed five years too long and his program was stuck in neutral, for a number of reasons that we've already discussed ad nauseam.

"Destroyed" isn't an accurate description. And while Pope has done an admiral job of building a competitive roster in a short amount of time, there's till much to prove.

[Joneslab]

What Cal did was a little bit like what Tubby did in his last two years. I.e. gave the fans little to no hope he could ever put another run together.

The difference being that Cal kept that going for five seasons.

[Joneslab]

And back to Pope, it'll be interesting to see what he does with the final spot. I assumed he'd have to fill at least one or two spots with walk-ons or walk-on types just because of the avalanche of scholarships he needed to fill, but (as we've discussed in this thread several times) it does look like he'd probably love to have a big man. The frontcourt depth isn't great on paper.

That player is likely not out there at this point, however, so he'll probably have to improvise.

[abroo588]

What Cal did was a little bit like what Tubby did in his last two years. I.e. gave the fans little to no hope he could ever put another run together.

The difference being that Cal kept that going for five seasons.

Very similar, except different elements. Tubby gave the fans little to no hope, because Tubby wasn't recruiting much top tier players (a few exceptions). But dang it if he didn't coach the heck out of the recruits he had.
Cal kept recruiting the players and getting them. But then losing the games that mattered. Tubby recognized the importance of the SEC tournament to the program and the fans. Cal basically said it wasn't worth it, as it didn't make any difference to the NCAA bracket seeding. But dang it if he didn't bring in some exciting players.

Unfortunately similar results, but for different reasons. JMO

[Joneslab]

One thing Tubby and Cal had happen to both of them is that they were passed up by more than one program in the SEC.

I remember going to the SEC Tournament in Tubby's last season and noticing how much better some of the programs were than us at the time. Not just Florida but a handful of others.

The same is happening now. Cal's shining moment this past season was the destruction of Alabama...but how Alabama just blew past Cal's UK in a relatively short period of time is pretty crazy.

One of Pope's challenges will be to reclaim the top of the SEC. That won't be easy and IMO it'll happen gradually if it happens and not in his first year (more than likely).

[DA#23]

Kentucky’s SEC performance has been pretty awful going on 5 years. We’ve won 2 darn SEC-T games since the 2018 season…think about that.

As a student at UK, walking into Memorial Coliseum and seeing all of the banners for SEC season and tournament titles was special.

It’s infuriating that Calipari immediately urinated all over that formerly proud history of dominant performer, consistently dominant, during his first season here.

After fifteen years of seeing UK fans take over Nashville, you would think he would have changed his mind a bit or at least would have stopped griping about the tournament…and he did more than just lament the title being on Sunday thereby not factoring into NCAA seeds. He griped about its existence. It was a slap in the face then and now.

Pope’s comment about how the season and conference tournament mattering were directed at Calipari as much as the fans.

[KCKUKFan]

It's easy to forget that Cal pretty much dominated the SEC tournament in the first two thirds of his tenure.

I don't think think it has to do with him caring about it (he didn't care about it when he was winning it consistently). It has to do with the quality of his rosters and his lack of coaching effort.

[EKYCat]

One thing Tubby and Cal had happen to both of them is that they were passed up by more than one program in the SEC.

I remember going to the SEC Tournament in Tubby's last season and noticing how much better some of the programs were than us at the time. Not just Florida but a handful of others.

The same is happening now. Cal's shining moment this past season was the destruction of Alabama...but how Alabama just blew past Cal's UK in a relatively short period of time is pretty crazy.

One of Pope's challenges will be to reclaim the top of the SEC. That won't be easy and IMO it'll happen gradually if it happens and not in his first year (more than likely).

Agreed. There are many parallels we can draw with Tubby and Cal's tenures. I know Cal's first 6-8 years were more successful in terms of tournament successes and Final Fours. But the winning percentages, the embarrassing losses, and (at the end of Cal's tenure) the lack of post-season success are similar. Although, Tubby never missed the big dance. It's hard to believe UK hasn't won the regular season championship since 2020 and the tournament since 2018.

[justafan]

In addition to never missing the NCAA, Tubby never lost in the 1st round.

[Joneslab]

Going back to that discussion about what sort of ranking Kentucky might have, CBS Sports put out a poll today that has us #15 in the preseason.

Seems about right. There are going to be a whole lot of teams in that 15-50 range who were in a whole lot of flux in the offseason due to coaching changes and the portal. Last year turned out to be top heavy in the tournament but the season itself was pretty topsy turvy. I'd expect the same this season. Kentucky may fluctuate from being a top 40ish team to being a top 10ish team on any given week simply because of all the moving parts he'll have to work out.

[Lighthouse]

I will be happy with a #15 ranking all season. As far as Tubby & Cal, both lost a lot of recruits but Tubby could always Coach. If I remember right, Tubby's downfall came when he lost a recruit from Nashville, who wanted to play at UK, but went to North Carolina because of Tubby's style of play.

[EKYCat]

I will be happy with a #15 ranking all season. As far as Tubby & Cal, both lost a lot of recruits but Tubby could always Coach. If I remember right, Tubby's downfall came when he lost a recruit from Nashville, who wanted to play at UK, but went to North Carolina because of Tubby's style of play.

I think the beginning of the end of Tubby was Saul. Seems like he cost us Omar Cook (I believe the kid from St. John's) and maybe Jay Williams. Then we had guys like Bobby Perry and Sheray Thomas who were decent enough role players that we had to rely on to be stars.

[Joneslab]

I think the beginning of the end of Tubby was Saul. Seems like he cost us Omar Cook (I believe the kid from St. John's) and maybe Jay Williams. Then we had guys like Bobby Perry and Sheray Thomas who were decent enough role players that we had to rely on to be stars.

Tubby got it back together after Saul and had his best run through that 2003-2007 era. Those are my favorite UK teams ever and, by then, I'd forgotten about Saul.

The real issues came on when he just stopped recruiting. It was obvious, like with Cal, that he checked out a solid two years before he left. Cal seemed to check out with COVID as a coach and really only had one true flash as an elite recruiter during that time period.

One thing you have to like about Pope is the energy he seems to have. Obviously there's more that goes into coaching at this level, but being an energized and charismatic personality can go a long way.