I know Cal wants to see his guys realize their dreams, but it looks very much like Aaron goes undrafted. I mean, if the guy is dead set about leaving, so be it, but has anyone taken the time to him he isn't good enough, yet? For all the talk about the families. If this guy goes undrafted, then it was all for nothing. Seems like someone should (maybe did) tell the guy that he wasn't ready. He's got an agent, and that ship has sailed, but surely someone, even his agent, could have advised him of his status, and encouraged him to teconsider.
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Cal generally plays a pretty average tempo.
Kentucky's Average Tempo from 2010-2015*: 147
Florida's Average Tempo from 2010-2015: 280
Louisville's Average Tempo from 2010-2015: 124
I think Cal's issues come in when games get close late and he coaches tight. I don't see much wrong with his methodology otherwise. Fans of all schools wonder why their teams don't average 80.
Well, two reasons when it comes to UK. First is you've got a coach who puts really stout defensive teams out there, and that makes it so that the game really slows down because the other teams have to probe like crazy to work against UK's shot blockers. And two the college game has become incredibly physical and ugly. That's not just Cal: most coaches are employing that style, especially against Cal's teams. The best way to play UK under Cal is to absolutely beat the crap out of our players. Really hard to run and gun and score 95 points when that's the case.
(* Pomeroy.)Comment
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I think certain kinds of people would have more pride playing for Kentucky than your average player. John Pelphrey definitely did.
But pride isn't a magic elixir. The most dangerous players in the world are those who play obscenely hard and have the natural talent to be great. If you just have one you can probably be a contributor at this level, but that's probably your ceiling.
I look out there at some guys and see them playing almost fiendishly hard. Some of those guys are players that were only here a matter of months. John Wall, for instance. Never seen a player play as hard as Wall in my time watching Kentucky. MKG is another one. Deandre Liggins. Cliff Hawkins. Josh Harrellson. Chuck Hayes. Patrick Patterson. None of those guys was from Kentucky.
When people say that those players somehow don't care as much, it's always baffling to me. I always want to ask whether you watched them play.
Could a Kentucky-born player have so much pride for Kentucky that he'd be able to just put so much heart into his game and overcome talent discrepancies? Sure, some have. Pelphrey and Feldhaus are definitely two. But a lot of Kentucky-born players have come through this program and not been able to play at all at this level. Did those guys not have pride? I'm sure they did; they just weren't good enough.Comment
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Yeah but Missouri isn't Kentucky and that's just it. If you are a better than average basketball player growing up in the state of Kentucky, for 95% it's the dream of playing basketball for UK or maybe even Louisville in some cases. That's why your out in the driveway late at night counting down the clock to make the final basket. Even if you don't have plans for playing for Kentucky, you have to deal with all the pressure from everyone around you asking about playing for Kentucky if the opportunity was to present itself. It's a big deal and if you do have the chance to play for Kentucky even if you don't go pro, you carry that for the rest of your life.
Bottomline, if you personally ain't from Kentucky, your not going to understand it no matter what I say to you. I live 40 miles to Lexington one way and 30 minutes to Louisville the other way. I don't know how it is in other parts of Kentucky but round here, it's all about basketball year round. People may not want to admit it, but most folks don't give a damn bout no Kentucky Derby, that's mostly for out of towners. It's all about basketball and maybe it is ACTUALLY A BAD THING for state kids to play at Kentucky because of the added PRESSURE TO EXCEL AND SUCCEED, I don't know...........Comment
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Well I was born in KY and lived there until I was about 6 and then moved to North Carolina...so I do know what it's like to grow up/live in places that worship basketball. I still think the mentality that it means more to KY kids is dumb. Who loved UK more - MKG or Brandon Stockton, Boogie or Patrick Sparks, John Wall or Jared Carter, Patrick Patterson or Antwain Barbour?Comment
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I truly agree that Cal is as straight up with these kids about leaving as he can be. I've always said you should never beg a kid to come back, and thats what it would've taken for the twins and maybe Dakari to come back. The twins were gone no matter what, they had already not lived up to the hype of being a one and done and if you think they were going to swallow their pride and come back for their junior year you are smoking something.
On the other hand when people talk about Cal pushing players out I think that's a joke too. If that was the case why wouldn't he have talked WCS into leaving last year, he would've been a lottery pick. But WCS was smart enough to know he wasn't ready for the NBA, and came back to get better....I'm not saying the twins and Dakari aren't smart but they will sleep in the bed they make. I think they should've come back, but it is hard for me to sit here and say 100% that they would've improved their draft stock if they came back for another year.Comment
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Unless you live in Louisville, its a Kentucky kids dream. I think you are absolutely wrong on this one. Its like saying a kid growing up in South Bend doesn't care more to play football at Notre Dame.
That being said. I am tired of the excuses. That's just a scapegoat for his on the court failures. If you get the best recruits you will send the most kids to the NBA. Lets be honest here for a minute. They are getting there because they have talent, nothing to do with Cal. They were always going anyway. I want a national championship. YOu think Duke puts its players second? Are Dukes players all working at the local gas station now? NO. I am all for the players first, believe me at UK they are superstars and get the full players first treatment. So stop saying your not worried about championships and win one already.
I dare say that is his pride talking.Comment
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Debatable but oh well, doesn't matter. Put it to you this way, what does it mean for a kid out of Georgia make the PGA and win the Masters? Of course winning the Masters is huge for anyone but to be from Georgia and win it??? I'll never make the tour but I can honestly sit here and tell you that when I was younger working at Valhalla, it was my dream to make the big show and win the Championship on home turf in Kentucky. Good friend of mine has been right on the edge of getting his tour card and actually has played a couple of PGA events. If you ask him, making the tour would be a huge accomplishment and winning on tour would mean a lot but to win at Valhalla, that would be priceless.............
Better example, Karl Towns just commented on the fact that he grew up in Jersey and is a lifelong Knicks fan and would love to play for the Knicks as his first choice. There was even a debate that if the Knicks would have got the number 2 pick, would Towns sabotage the interview with the team picking first so that he could play for the Knicks???Comment
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To agree with you and also play a little devil's advocate, why do you think coaches like Izzo and Boeheim take shots at Cal? It's because they feel like if they had that kind of talent to work with year in and year out, it's game over. The kids Cal gets are going to the NBA regardless of who they play for and he's making a whole lot of money not to be playing for Championships.
Wouldn't surprise me if Coach Cal is outta here a lot sooner than later. Still think this statement is odd in many ways.Comment
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If people really think these top tier kids go to schools for their tradition, etc....you need a reality check.
The majority of kids go to schools because of their relationship with the coaching staff....kids go to Duke because of Coach K, they go to KU because of Self, they go to Arizona because of Miller and they come to UK because of Cal. That's just the way it is now days, there is a few every now and then that go to a school they have grown up being a fan of, but it doesn't happen very often.Comment
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Definitely has something to do with Cal. How much is open for debate.
John Wall was going to be in the NBA regardless. Cousins. Davis. MKG. Duh.
But there are other guys who weren't really in the one-and-done mold that Cal has helped make into NBA players. There were recruiting experts who debated whether Doron Lamb would play much for UK. Devin Booker, same thing. Deandre Liggins started his career as a problem child and had an NBA career. Josh Harrellson. Darius Miller.
So there are some guys Cal and his staff have really helped in terms of their NBA stock.Comment
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And Cal has a championship, obviously.
How quickly some have forgotten the good old days of three years ago.
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Will, no way to ever answer that. If a player goes to the NBA you cannot say its due to Cal. Unless we have an alternate universe and put the same student in another school and see what happens. If it was because of Cal, they would all be in the NBA. Genetics has more to do with it than anything. Look how good Wiltjer is doing away from Cal, and Harrow. Im not a big believer in inspirational coaching. All coaches give pep talks in the locker room. You can only say so much to get a kid fired up. When it gets to be crunch time its x's and o's that matter.
Also, I knew someone would pick the post apart and take it literally. Yes Cal has won a championship. We had unworldly talent that year so he SHOULD have won it that year. I think he has been in a position to win more and blew it. Lets don't get derailed here. I am overall happy with Cal. I just cant take comments like that. He is just asking to be dissected. How about saying something like we want to help kids and we want to win championships. That's what we want at UK, we want to win championships. Cant recall a situation where a group of kids won a championship and their life ended up sucking eggs.Comment
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