2016 Recruit Watch

[KCKUKFan]

I'm not sure a person who posts on a message board (while more common these days) is indicative of the "common" fan. My dad (at age 62) refuses to post on UK message boards, because he's convinced that very few of them are even Kentucky fans at all. And he doesn't want to be part of the nonsense. In a way, I understand.

The two reasons I like this board is that it's smaller and because it's populated by what I can at least picture as "real people." Stories of tailgating, pictures of trips to the SEC tournament, etc. etc.

I don't ever feel like that at Rupp's Rafters. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to a 10 year old and sometimes I feel like I'm just being trolled, talking to posers who don't really like basketball at all.

[Joneslab]

There's a band of pessimists on every board for every team. I totally get why that is and what they're trying to do when they go that negative. Same reason the guys down at the barber shop shake their heads and say, "Boys, I tell you what: this team just ain't no good."

But sometimes a bad take is just a bad take. The amount of total insanity on Rafters makes it hard to really figure out if it's real or not. Sometimes it's not pessimistic but is wildly optimistic in a delusional way. You always wonder if the poster you're talking to over there is 10 years old.

Saw a guy once criticize Barnhart for the material used on our title and Final Four banners in Rupp.

[KCKUKFan]

I can't tolerate Rupps Rafters.

Not because I think the posters are bad. They have some good ones. And not even because I can't take negativity. If we can listen to crazzed and his barrage of horrible and vomit-inducing stats then we can take anything.

But those guys fight all the time. All the time. Hate each other. Can't imagine going to a board where the members follow the same team but have such contempt for each other.

Once saw a guy dox another guy on the general board over there. Got his address, workplace, photos...posted it all.

It goes on every day. I understand that anonymity makes it so that we don't really know each other, but come on. We follow the same team. Don't understand the disdain.

Speaking of which, crazzed has moved his particular brand of negativity to Rupp's Rafters, and he's DESPISED over there.

You'd think he'd just stay here, where his over-the-top pessimism is accepted and considered an endearing quirk.

[Joneslab]

You apparently haven't stopped by Rupp's Rafters recently. This place is sunshine and lollipops compared to that collection of sad sacks.

I can't tolerate Rupps Rafters.

Not because I think the posters are bad. They have some good ones. And not even because I can't take negativity. If we can listen to crazzed and his barrage of horrible and vomit-inducing stats then we can take anything.

But those guys fight all the time. All the time. Hate each other. Can't imagine going to a board where the members follow the same team but have such contempt for each other.

Once saw a guy dox another guy on the general board over there. Got his address, workplace, photos...posted it all.

It goes on every day. I understand that anonymity makes it so that we don't really know each other, but come on. We follow the same team. Don't understand the disdain.

[KCKUKFan]

This forum seems to have turned in to a place of Misery and Gin.

You apparently haven't stopped by Rupp's Rafters recently. This place is sunshine and lollipops compared to that collection of sad sacks.

[Joneslab]

The debate about whether a mixtape really means anything or not is a good one to have. I don't know the answer.

I do think they're fun to watch sometimes. Rose and Wall probably had the two best I've seen and both those guys did okay. You would think Monk's game will live up to the hype, but until he's here we can't know.

This is one of the dilemmas of following UK in the Cal era: the great unknown of waiting to see if freshmen are as good as their high school reputations.

But really you get that even with upperclassmen. Sometimes those guys regress too and aren't as good when they get older as they were supposed to be. Vandy's going through that this year.

[teamchemistry15]

Don't blame me...I haven't been here in like 2 weeks.

And what are the odds you come back after a loss

[JFCats22]

Well I'll just bow out of WCN again. I should have stayed away like I said. I get too much of that crazzed effect and start hurting peoples feelings.

Don't blame me...I haven't been here in like 2 weeks.

[KevinHall]

This forum seems to have turned in to a place of Misery and Gin. The next coach at UK is bleeped.

Well I'll just bow out of WCN again. I should have stayed away like I said. I get too much of that crazzed effect and start hurting peoples feelings.

[DA#23]

I've seen too many of these tapes like this to get very excited.

This forum seems to have turned in to a place of Misery and Gin. The next coach at UK is bleeped.

[Joneslab]

That's all well and good. I just hope he can translate some of that in being a good college bastball player. I've seen too many of these tapes like this to get very excited. I hope more than anything he can just shoot the ball well from the outside. UK needs that more than just a bunch of fancy dunks.

I think Monk was the guy the staff coveted going back a couple of years. Generally guys like that pan out. (Not always.)

I also think that dunks in and of themselves aren't important...but athleticism is crucial. One thing this current team is lacking is superior athleticism. You have it in patches. Poythress, Matthews. But this isn't a team that's going to beat you with their speed and agility. Most of the time we aren't the most athletic team on the court.

There are guys that knife you with skill and others that back you down with their athletic ability, and then you get the rare player who can do both. I've no idea if Monk is one of those guys but I do think for the most part Kentucky's freshmen have lived up to their hype.

Skal hasn't, Poythress didn't, the twins didn't, Archie didn't. All the others were the players we thought we were getting. Some have been far better. You would hope that the sheer conglomeration of talent in next year's class is an indicator that the experts didn't miss the way they did on Skal.*

* And Skal was a unique situation because of his upbringing and because of some mistakes the guardian made, which obfuscated his ranking.

[KevinHall]

New Monk mixtape.

Yikes.

That's all well and good. I just hope he can translate some of that in being a good college bastball player. I've seen too many of these tapes like this to get very excited. I hope more than anything he can just shoot the ball well from the outside. UK needs that more than just a bunch of fancy dunks.

[teamchemistry15]

Absolutely unreal.

[Joneslab]

Wall and D. Rose probably had the two wildest mixtapes I've seen.

Monk is right there. Almost a comedic amount of athleticism and force.

[George]

New Monk mixtape.

Yikes.

I've never seen a high schooler load up for dunks the way he does. Just NASTY.