The Annual Staying vs Leaving Thread

[Westtncat]

We always say, why would they stay when they can be rich in the NBA. Truth is, sometimes they do stay. I think some do love the college life and the UK atmosphere. Or perhaps it is merely to increase their stock. Will said Ulis was at the pinnacle of his career. This is most likely true but not necessarily. He could come back next year, have a similar year and win a national championship. I am prob wishing into the wind but not sure I have ever wanted a player back so badly.

[Joneslab]

We always say, why would they stay when they can be rich in the NBA. Truth is, sometimes they do stay. I think some do love the college life and the UK atmosphere. Or perhaps it is merely to increase their stock. Will said Ulis was at the pinnacle of his career. This is most likely true but not necessarily. He could come back next year, have a similar year and win a national championship. I am prob wishing into the wind but not sure I have ever wanted a player back so badly.

I agree.

Problem is: Cal.

Cal runs his program in a way where he talks openly about the NBA. We know from his comments that one of the things he told Ulis was, "Don't come here if you expect to be a four-year player."

Here we are in this major disconnect between Calipari and Kentucky fans. We'll never be on the same wavelength. He has no problem with early entries; he expects them; at times he seems to even push them.

We see it much differently. But it will be this way until we have a new coach.

I'm like Kevin in that it's better the other way, but if you have a chance at 38-win seasons then you can see where Calipari is going.

But we'll never have a balance. Calipari sees the NBA as a way of building a winning tradition. Kentucky fans see our historical tradition as a way to keep the winning tradition going. The two contingents will never see eye to eye on this issue.

Having said that, I do think there are players that Cal feels aren't ready for the NBA. Some of his comments about Dakari suggest he didn't want him to leave. There have been others. But when you create a program that has as its end goal getting to the NBA early, you get a lot of players who might not be ready who jump anyway. It's just an unintended casualty of running a system like this.

[UKtimefor9]

Anyone who goes to college for any reason (sports, academics, etc...) goes to be prepared for the next step in life. I absolutely LOVED every second of college, best time of my life.

However, if someone told me, "I'll give you $5 million to leave after two years and that opportunity may or may not be available after three years" I would have jumped on it in a second. Tyler would be foolish to not leave IF him and Cal know he will be a first round pick and get the guaranteed money.

He's not getting any taller, not putting up better numbers than he did this year, and probably not receiving the recognition and awards he has if he were to return. As much as I would love to have him return, he would be crazy not to leave.

[lilproUK98]

I'll just say I despise having to go through this every year. It leaves a very hollow feeling for me. There's a lot to be said for watching and following teams that build and see them become what they should be when they are upper classman. That's why some of my favorite UK teams will always be teams like that,1975,78,83,84,92 and even the the three years of 96 though 98. Also the 2003 to 2005 teams. Every year Cal has been here at the end of it I feel very empty because I know that nearly the entire team is going to turnover. The only possible exception was for the 2014-15 season. I like the winning his recruiting style has brought but in the end it leaves me with a very shallow and hollow feeling at the end of every season. That also went for 2012 too. I enjoyed that but something was just missing because you knew the next season no one was going be back. I know its never going to be same again with how the NBA goes after these players. I guess that's part of the reason why I have been pulling away from sports over the last 3 or 4 years. Its just not the same and never will be because of all the money that is involved now.
If Ulis leaves and he probably will, next season,win/loss wise, will be about the same. Probably 8 or 9 losses in the regular season while Cal tries bring along his next phenom point guard. In the end we will be hoping for another miracle NCAA run like in 2011 and 2014.

This is sad man.

I sure wish you weren't in this spot with Cal and UK and sports in general.

If we do get Briscoe back and get Bolden, next year will be just like 2010, 2012, and 2015. If next year's team loses 8 or 9 games then I will cut off my left pinky toe.

Chin up man. You might just be in a bad spot and worn out by the last 3-4 seasons (which is crazy in itself), but you'll want to be around for next season, trust me.

[Westtncat]

Does anyone else see us as having a chance to win a national championship basically every two years? I mean of course there is a chance as long as you are in the dance but realistically I have viewed this as having a chance every two years with Cal because of the mass exodus. Im not sure I like that.

[KevinHall]

This is sad man.

I sure wish you weren't in this spot with Cal and UK and sports in general.

If we do get Briscoe back and get Bolden, next year will be just like 2010, 2012, and 2015. If next year's team loses 8 or 9 games then I will cut off my left pinky toe.

Chin up man. You might just be in a bad spot and worn out by the last 3-4 seasons (which is crazy in itself), but you'll want to be around for next season, trust me.

I'm sure I will be around next season. But my interest is waning. I found myself mainly watching UK games. Usually I watch all the better teams at the least. But didn't much at all this season. If UK ever goes on a downslide it may stop altogether. I don't know until if/when that happens.I know watching the NFL has dropped to almost nil. Haven't watched the NBA in years. I still watch the colleges in football and enjoy that. My MLB viewing will be decreased considerably this year since the Reds have totally cashed in on this season and the forseeable future. I didn't even renew my MLBTV subscription. I'm getting too old to waste my time on my teams if they don't want to win which seems to be the Reds case. So my interest has gone from being a rabid sports fan to more of a casual fan in almost every sport.
I hope you won't need that pinky toe. Because without Ulis they will lose about the same amount of games as this team. Just be too inexperienced to not.

[Joneslab]

Does anyone else see us as having a chance to win a national championship basically every two years? I mean of course there is a chance as long as you are in the dance but realistically I have viewed this as having a chance every two years with Cal because of the mass exodus. Im not sure I like that.

We had a chance this year with as weak as the field was.

Definitely had a chance last year. Two years ago we played for a national title.

So it's definitely not an every-other-year thing. Four of the last six years we've seen a Final Four. This is after not seeing a single one for more than a decade.

I'd say we've got it pretty good. What Cal hasn't been able to do is win it in two of the three years where he had the best team. Also dropped the ball in the two years we got there with UCONN.

But it could be worse. We could have been beaten by Middle Tennessee in the first round. We could struggle to get to the Final Four. We could whiff on recruit after recruit.

Always easier to play grass-is-greener, and Kentucky fans are ungodly awful about doing that, but outside of Duke and arguably Kansas I think we're right up there with anybody. An elite program--and that's what Cal was hired to bring us back to.

Because we weren't elite before Cal. Even if you take out the Gillispie years we weren't in that discussion.

Last two years we've gotten some bad luck. A killer shot clock violation. A terrible NCAA draw. A lot of injuries starting with Poythress and going through the handful we had this season. But I think it'll balance out at some point and we'll get some luck.

[Joneslab]

Because without Ulis they will lose about the same amount of games as this team. Just be too inexperienced to not.

Really don't think this is going to happen.

Don't know if we'll see another 38-1 but I do think the roster will be as stacked as in any year Cal has been here.

[Joneslab]

And I think the myth of experience has been exploded in college basketball.

It's good if you have it, but you don't have to have it. Duke just took a team of freshmen to a national title in one of the toughest fields we've seen in recent history. Kentucky's 2012 team--after a full year of Kentucky fans squalling "Cal won't win with one-and-dones!"--had one senior playing a key role.

You need at least a little experience. But freshmen can and have and will continue to lead title teams. These guys are coming in nowadays with 25-year-old bodies and with hundreds of games against elite competition under their belts. It's just a totally different era.

[GOCAT15]

It's all a gamble, if you have a bunch of four year players that don't pan out you can go on some long stretches without a title contender. If you recruit like Cal you are always one or two recruits away from a disaster or success. Of course the ideal situation is 2 elite one and dones and a good mix of sophomores and upper classman, but that is pretty much impossible to plan for.
Most people thought Booker was a multi year player coming in, most thought Ulis was a four year player, the Twins were one and dones without at doubt, Poythress was a one and done.....etc., etc., etc. No matter how much you evaluate these kids in High School and AAU you still do not know how they will play against grown men in college.

Only one time did Cal have a failure in his current tenure, and an injury was a big part of that.

The CBB environment has changed, it's a new era and the days of having a bunch of kids that are entrenched in the history of the program is long gone. They are here for Cal and the spotlight and no matter how much that may upset the traditionalists, it is what it is. For anyone to not be happy with how the last 7 years have went is crazy. To have a team with a "chance" to win it all every year, except for one, is pretty ridiculous!

[KevinHall]

Really don't think this is going to happen.

Don't know if we'll see another 38-1 but I do think the roster will be as stacked as in any year Cal has been here.

That's what everyone said about the 2013-14 team. They wouldn't lose any more than 2 or 3 games. They lost 10 or 11 and were an 8 seed in the tourney. It took some miracle shots in the NCAA to bail that team out. I hope you are right but I think without an experienced point guard and with other key inexperienced players you aren't going to see a team with a won/loss record any better than this years team. Which in overall scheme of things isn't that bad. But knowing that with one key player coming back makes a monumental difference its very frustrating.............

[TrueblueCATfan]

IMO...the only 2 that should leave are Murray and Ulis......but I know that won't be the case

[Joneslab]

That's what everyone said about the 2013-14 team. They wouldn't lose any more than 2 or 3 games. They lost 10 or 11 and were an 8 seed in the tourney. It took some miracle shots in the NCAA to bail that team out. I hope you are right but I think without an experienced point guard and with other key inexperienced players you aren't going to see a team with a won/loss record any better than this years team. Which in overall scheme of things isn't that bad. But knowing that with one key player coming back makes a monumental difference its very frustrating.............

That team was on a longer timeline for a few reasons.

They did end up playing for a national title, so if you could guarantee me that next year we'll be playing for a title I'd take those 11 losses. That just means that it took your head coach longer to figure out what buttons to push with the team.

The best Tubby Smith team I ever saw lost an exhibition game. Kansas got throttled this year with a team of seniors by a terrible Oklahoma State team. So even if you have those upperclassmen you're prone to take some weird losses. This is a strange, infuriating sport. It isn't like college football where you can play it like Alabama, stack five-stars at every position, and go out and blow the doors off everybody.

Next year's team is still a different deal and will be on the level of '09-'10 IMO. No Harrison twins who are going to take months to adjust to the college game. Just a much stronger class overall. I think it may be the strongest class ever since the rankings have been in place.

The downside is that Duke got a similar kind of haul as we did and will have a better nucleus returning.

[Matt Dillon]

There is no way Skal will return. His handler is not letting that happen and his family situation seems to be dire.

I was getting ready to post the same thing.

[George]

That team was on a longer timeline for a few reasons.

They did end up playing for a national title, so if you could guarantee me that next year we'll be playing for a title I'd take those 11 losses. That just means that it took your head coach longer to figure out what buttons to push with the team.

The best Tubby Smith team I ever saw lost an exhibition game. Kansas got throttled this year with a team of seniors by a terrible Oklahoma State team. So even if you have those upperclassmen you're prone to take some weird losses. This is a strange, infuriating sport. It isn't like college football where you can play it like Alabama, stack five-stars at every position, and go out and blow the doors off everybody.

Next year's team is still a different deal and will be on the level of '09-'10 IMO. No Harrison twins who are going to take months to adjust to the college game. Just a much stronger class overall. I think it may be the strongest class ever since the rankings have been in place.

The downside is that Duke got a similar kind of haul as we did and will have a better nucleus returning.

When the &#%! is Coach K going to retire?