Derek Anderson on KSR

[NineSec95]

It's always Rick's ex players. I wonder if Rick or the AD from loserville are getting these guys to say things like this.

I heard AW say on national tv that he wouldn't go to a school that platooned, I believe it was the ucla game this year.
Tony Delk said the same thing on national tv.
Jeff S.
Now add DA. Something up.

 

[TankedCat]

Didn't Derek also finance or cover some pro UK documentary about UK fans and the program?

Look, I don't agree with Derek but I don't really care that he said what he said or where he said it. I understand his intent and that is in support of wanting UK to be better. I never once thought that didn't want what was best for UK in his mind, so I think the DA is dead to me stuff is way off.

I'm more frustrated with the fans that use his comments as their launching pad to gripe about Cal.

 

[NineSec95]

He also said we should have put WCS on the smaller UCONN guards. uh...

And WCS didn't even play in that game. LMBO Sounds like DA has got some Loserville stink on him.

 

[dmpatp]

One thing that I do partly agree with is that I wish Coach Cal would give his players a honest assessment on whether or not they should go or not. These players and their parents have committed to coach Cal and put his their trust in him to guide them in the right direction. If anybody is qualified to give them an honest assessment it would be him and I don't think a brief 5 minute conversation after the season is enough. I understand why he doesn't, because he feels that it is not his place to dictate the kids future or hold them back to pursuing their dreams. However, he shouldn't be afraid to give his honest opinion to players, because that could be just as valuable and might even save their careers. He has seen these players practice and perform daily and knows much more then these scouts think they know. Just because you might be getting good feedback from teams doesn't mean their always right or that they care for your best interest. Patterson said it best in the article he wrote. He spoke about how the easy part is making it to the league, but the hard part is learning how to stay.

 

[AGEE11]

He said those things yesterday because he believes those things, IMO.

I have no issue with him stating any of them. I have issues with him stating them to UL homers on their show. And no, I don't believe him when he says he did not know it was a UL show.

Of course he is backtracking because he got confronted and because I guarantee you he caught crap from UK fans.

That's fine. He can have his opinion and I can have mine. I don't even disagree with all he said, but I disagree with a bunch of it. But where he said it and why he said it is too much for me.

Hopefully, he just shuts his pie hole for while and disappears. I suspect he will get a congratulatory call from his coach on saying what he wanted to say but could not.

He sent a picture out on twitter and to Matt. The show was using ESPN mics, so he didn't know it was a Louisville show. That was my main gripe, you don't say that to our enemies. If they caught him unaware after what is being dubbed on here "The Worst Month Ever" I can see him being frustrated.

I was a junior/senior in high school when DA was here, and he is one of my faves. Got to meet him and Mercer for autographs and he was just awesome to talk to. Also got to shoot around with him at a church lock in and that was fantastic too. He is a GREAT guy/

He also is entitled to his opinion. It's nothing others haven't said before. He did it unknowingly in the wrong forum and backtracked. No big deal.

Matt had to confront him because Cal made Matt. Matt has no special insight into anything. He is a person playing a role and it got him in good with Cal and some UK folks. He played his part again today. He knows what side his bread is buttered on.

 

[tmuck]

I think Sheppard and Anderson's comments go back to this. They both played for Pitino, probably still worship the guy, even though he coaches UL. They've heard all of the rumors that Cal and Pitino hate each other. They probably hold a little animosity towards Cal, because he hates their hero and takes little shots at him from time to time.

 

[jgraf_1]

It's always Rick's ex players. I wonder if Rick or the AD from loserville are getting these guys to say things like this.

I heard AW say on national tv that he wouldn't go to a school that platooned, I believe it was the ucla game this year.
Tony Delk said the same thing on national tv.
Jeff S.
Now add DA. Something up.

I seriously doubt it. DA is always repping UK and speaking fondly about the university and the team. He spoke as a fan, not as Rick's former player.

 

[AGEE11]

And on the allow / want to thing.

How many times has Cal said, we get the information, give it to the, and let them decide?

He should have been all over the twins and Dakari letting them know, if you leave now, you will not have NBA careers. That's just the harsh reality. Dakari can't jump, and big men that can't jump can't play in the NBA nowadays. The twins are not explosive enough or good enough shooters to make it. They need to have fall back plans and degrees if over seas doesn't pan out.

 

[Ben101er]

He said he did not know it was a U of L show, and I believe him about that. It was at the Fairgrounds and there was an ESPN thing on the mics. As for the other stuff, he's trying to reframe his remarks because Matt is pointing out how wrong he was. Trying to say his remarks were taken the wrong way. Whatever, Derek is still a UK guy and we should still like him and consider him a loyal, UK great. He just needs to stop spouting off with nonsense.

I agree, that he is a UK guy, but he is also a Pitino guy. It is hard to serve two masters. I think that he probably got caught up in the moment, but the problem is that the national media picked up on it and is making it headlines. I saw it on Bing this morning.

 

[joester5612]

DA sounds like a bigger moron today than he did yesterday. Not making much sense and just kind of babbling.

Said, UK fans are taking everything he said the wrong way. Idiot

You are the idiot my friend; it is sickening that you warship Cal so much that you are willing to bash a former legend that you brought your sorry but a championship, kick rocks.

 

[mrschwump]

And on the allow / want to thing.

How many times has Cal said, we get the information, give it to the, and let them decide?

He should have been all over the twins and Dakari letting them know, if you leave now, you will not have NBA careers. That's just the harsh reality. Dakari can't jump, and big men that can't jump can't play in the NBA nowadays. The twins are not explosive enough or good enough shooters to make it. They need to have fall back plans and degrees if over seas doesn't pan out.

IIRC, Calipari said something like the NBA being a "men's league" which was clearly aimed at some if not all of the 7. To me that was a pretty blatant :you're not ready" comment.

 

[sefus12]

One thing that I do partly agree with is that I wish Coach Cal would give his players a honest assessment on whether or not they should go or not. These players and their parents have committed to coach Cal and put his their trust in him to guide them in the right direction. If anybody is qualified to give them an honest assessment it would be him and I don't think a brief 5 minute conversation after the season is enough. I understand why he doesn't, because he feels that it is not his place to dictate the kids future or hold them back to pursuing their dreams. However, he shouldn't be afraid to give his honest opinion to players, because that could be just as valuable and might even save their careers. He has seen these players practice and perform daily and knows much more then these scouts think they know. Just because you might be getting good feedback from teams doesn't mean their always right or that they care for your best interest. Patterson said it best in the article he wrote. He spoke about how the easy part is making it to the league, but the hard part is learning how to stay.

Why do you think Cal doesn't give them an honest assessment? From everything I've heard/read over the years that seems to be one of the things Cal is best at..... letting guys know whether they would benefit from coming back or not. I have to say I think you are 100% wrong on this one.

 

[Ron Mehico]

The Wisconsin game has really made everyone go insane. Its going to take years to get over that loss. This upcoming year was just supposed to be a "meh" season since basically we would have basked in having a 40-0 team that would have been talked about for the next 50 years. Everyone would have been A-OK with this being a rebuilding year. It just wasn't supposed to end this way. I forgive DA, because basically everyone has lost their minds since that horrible game. I'm just now getting to the point where I can even read these boards.

 

[The_Answer1313]

You are the idiot my friend; it is sickening that you warship Cal so much that you are willing to bash a former legend that you brought your sorry but a championship, kick rocks.

So it's perfectly acceptable to bash Cal even tho he also brought us a championship but it's not ok to bash DA.

lol ok.

And bringing championships means nothing. So because someone wins here we are all supposed to agree with his opinions? The poster was right. He wasn't making sense. Sorry DA allowed and want are two entirely different things. If you meant "want" that's fine. I don't know of a UK fan that wouldn't WANT players to stick around more than one year. But to bash Cal for ALLOWING them to go when it's not Cal's decision to make it a bit silly if you ask me.

 

[Blueaz]

all of us, make up our own minds...regardless of what someone else tells us...My "counselor" at UK said that I "would never amount to anything or accomplish anything, as long as a was in that fraternity". I can guarantee you that I am successful in my career, and home life (and I stayed in the frat house for 3 years).

 

[dmpatp]

Why do you think Cal doesn't give them an honest assessment? From everything I've heard/read over the years that seems to be one of the things Cal is best at..... letting guys know whether they would benefit from coming back or not. I have to say I think you are 100% wrong on this one.

Well I think 100% wrong. He said himself that they he met with each player after the season for no more then 5 minutes. He said he doesn't tell them whether they should stay or go, but instead talks about how he will work to gather all the information from the other teams so the players and their families can be begin discussing. I think it's quite hard to give a full assessment in a 5 discussion. I'm not bashing Cal at all. I know he genuinely cares about his players and never wants be perceived as someone who holds anyone back, but I do feel like he sometimes he holds back if he feels that a player should return. Just my opinion.

 

[The_Answer1313]

Look there is a reason that the great majority of our players leave after every year. Cal has a lot to do with it. Some guys, he could help greatly by telling them to come back, its not always in their best interest for Cal to tell them to go.

But it's not like we haven't heard stories of him telling some people to come back.

I believe he gives an honest assessment to them and then gets outta their way and lets them make the choice. I have no reason to believe he tries to push people out the door before they are ready to

 

[SituationBlue]

One thing that I do partly agree with is that I wish Coach Cal would give his players a honest assessment on whether or not they should go or not. These players and their parents have committed to coach Cal and put his their trust in him to guide them in the right direction. If anybody is qualified to give them an honest assessment it would be him and I don't think a brief 5 minute conversation after the season is enough. I understand why he doesn't, because he feels that it is not his place to dictate the kids future or hold them back to pursuing their dreams. However, he shouldn't be afraid to give his honest opinion to players, because that could be just as valuable and might even save their careers. He has seen these players practice and perform daily and knows much more then these scouts think they know. Just because you might be getting good feedback from teams doesn't mean their always right or that they care for your best interest. Patterson said it best in the article he wrote. He spoke about how the easy part is making it to the league, but the hard part is learning how to stay.

So do you partly disagree that they should receive an honest assessment? How about posting a selfie with Cal the next time you sit in on one of his post-season player meetings.

 

[Sawnee Cat]

The Wisconsin game has really made everyone go insane. Its going to take years to get over that loss. This upcoming year was just supposed to be a "meh" season since basically we would have basked in having a 40-0 team that would have been talked about for the next 50 years. Everyone would have been A-OK with this being a rebuilding year. It just wasn't supposed to end this way. I forgive DA, because basically everyone has lost their minds since that horrible game. I'm just now getting to the point where I can even read these boards.

So true, the loss made a Wound Time Can't Erase.

 

[CatColumbia]

The Wisconsin game has really made everyone go insane. Its going to take years to get over that loss. This upcoming year was just supposed to be a "meh" season since basically we would have basked in having a 40-0 team that would have been talked about for the next 50 years. Everyone would have been A-OK with this being a rebuilding year. It just wasn't supposed to end this way. I forgive DA, because basically everyone has lost their minds since that horrible game. I'm just now getting to the point where I can even read these boards.

I agree, that game still hurts and will for a long, long time. I'm not mad at DA. He made a lot of points that I agree with. Cal is a victim of his own success. IMO Cal is not a great X&O's coach. He's good, not great. He is the best recruiter out there, thats for sure. Personally, I don't want to hear anything about chasing UCLA or "We are college basketball" or the "greatest day in UK basketball history at the draft". Since the Cal era, UConn has 2 titles and so does Duke. Who cares if we are the topic of discussion in ESPN, bottom line, we have only managed to win it once with all that talent that gets shipped to the NBA.

Cal will be entering his 7th season. Personally, it will be hard to imagine him staying longer than 10 years. The window of greatness is closing and I don't even want to imagine what it will be like when he is gone. I'm just a frustrated fan because we lost to teams that we shouldn't have in the tournament and I do question the coaching in those games, so I do understand DA's point.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I think when your a top athlete in your sport, you have a tendency to overrate how you are compared to others. So we will always have people leave sooner than perhaps they should.

I think it's the players and family the ones that aren't being honest, not Cal. Cal talks to NBA scouts. He lets the players know what they think and THEY decide.

 

[goingpostal72]

So DA misspoke about want or allow. He is a fan just like most on this board are. Matt Jones interviews like a attorney would, passive-aggressive. DA said he would pressure uconn's guards not press. Big difference. Trap to get ball out of Napier's hands but we allowed him to dictate how we were going to play.

 

[kats23]

I think he loves UK and is just being blinded and a little misguided by that love. He wants them to come back to help UK win and continue the success. He wants Cal or at the very least thinks Cal needs to be more forthcoming in his assessment of the players. I think Cal gathers the info, gives it to them, and tells them he's here if they want his advice but I don't think he's willingly giving them advice unless they ask. Again, nobody knows what Cal does or doesn't do outside of the ballclub.

 

[TT Cat]

Matt Jones had a chance to go to UK twice, but instead picked Trancy and DUKE. His actions spoke much louder than his words. Now he peddles mattresses and razors to BBN and expresses moral indignation at beloved UK superstars. Sorry but I don't buy it

 

[.S&C.]

"DA is dead to me"

Some people are taking this way too seriously. DA doesn't like the current structure and kids leaving so early. He doesn't think Cal is the greatest floor coach in big games. so what? He didn't play for him, and Rick has his own issues. DA is a great guy and a great former player. I understand why some don't like the comments and especially where he said it. But he said he didn't know it was a louisville show. This guy is a legit UK man. You won't find a bigger supporter of big blue nation than DA. Its one of the reasons he is expressing his opinions. He loves the school.

 

[TankedCat]

I'm not buying that there have been multiple players from UK in the past 5 years who left that needed to come back another year to insure their success in the NBA.

To me its more about what we as fans think our program needed to succeed - like DA playing in the championship game to beat Arizona at the possible expense of his NBA career.

 

[dmpatp]

So do you partly disagree that they should receive an honest assessment? How about posting a selfie with Cal the next time you sit in on one of his post-season player meetings.

Sure thing buddy. I'm just going by his quotes and what he says. He has stated they he meets briefly (5 mins) with his players to discuss options and to help them gather information from all the NBA teams. I'm NOT saying that he is wrong in anything he does, But he admits that removes himself from the process, because he doesn't want to interfere with such a big decision. He feels that its between the players and their families and I understand that.

 

[.S&C.]

Also, I recently read Matt Jones remarks pertaining to Calipari back in 2008. I was floored. Way, WAY worse than anything said here. He should lose all credibility for it. It wasn't just one terrible comment about Cal, it was more like 10 comments. All calling him corrupt and dirty. Also claiming everyone in the sport knows it. Should Matt Jones be dead to BBN? Should DA make him answer for those comments on the show? You don't get to call people out when you've said way, way worse, even if you've apologized. Apologizing is not a free pass to be a hypocrite.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

I agree, that game still hurts and will for a long, long time. I'm not mad at DA. He made a lot of points that I agree with. Cal is a victim of his own success. IMO Cal is not a great X&O's coach. He's good, not great. He is the best recruiter out there, thats for sure. Personally, I don't want to hear anything about chasing UCLA or "We are college basketball" or the "greatest day in UK basketball history at the draft". Since the Cal era, UConn has 2 titles and so does Duke. Who cares if we are the topic of discussion in ESPN, bottom line, we have only managed to win it once with all that talent that gets shipped to the NBA.

Cal will be entering his 7th season. Personally, it will be hard to imagine him staying longer than 10 years. The window of greatness is closing and I don't even want to imagine what it will be like when he is gone. I'm just a frustrated fan because we lost to teams that we shouldn't have in the tournament and I do question the coaching in those games, so I do understand DA's point.

So did DA's coach in Pitino. 92 Duke, 93 Michigan, 95 UNC, and 97 Arizona. Pitino lost to teams he was better than in the last 3, and made one of the dumbest coaching decisions ever in the former against Duke. So my point is...this is nothing new at UK with UK fans questioning coaching and feeling frustrated because they lost to teams they should not have. All bashing of our former and current coach aside, it is just much harder to win it all and requires much more luck than you and I will ever know.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I'm not buying that there have been multiple players from UK in the past 5 years who left that needed to come back another year to insure their success in the NBA.

To me its more about what we as fans think our program needed to succeed - like DA playing in the championship game to beat Arizona at the possible expense of his NBA career.

Ever since Cal has been here, we've adopted the players first mentality.

This is great in 2012 when we win it all..........the program succeeds and then all the players realize their dream of playing in the NBA

Last year was just an example of what happens when you fall short. So we didn't win the title, players still left and I think there's a big portion of the fanbase that's frustrated with that.

Cal's theory is if he does right by the players, things will take care of themselves. I think that's a great way to look at things. But in sports fans tend to develop this attitude that titles are everything and that if you don't win one, it's a failure. Problem with that line of thinking is in one and done tournaments, the best team isn't always going to win.

For all the pessimism I've seen, I can't imagine tho there's one fan on this board that wouldn't want a repeat of the last six years.

 

[IL Wildcat]

I think D Anderson is mainly guilty of being a die-hard fan who hates to lose and tries to figure out ways that the team should have won after the fact. We've all done this at times. He kept referring to the team "we" and "us." There is not question he's all UK. But this leads me to the other thing he's guilty of...

The other thing is that he's not the brightest bulb in the box, if you know what I mean. He didn't know this was a Louisville show? How can you be a UK fan and not know this? It's called not being aware. I really do believe he didn't know, so that means he's just clueless. Also, he think he knows how we could have beaten West Va, UConn and Wisconsin in years he thought UK should have went further. He thinks having better athletes should have done the trick against W. Va, despite missing 20+ three pointers. He thinks we should have pressured Napier of UConn and that would have stopped him, despite the fact that the Harrisons lacked the quickness to guard him. He thinks we should have played Booker more against Wisconsin and that would have won the game, despite the fact that Booker couldn't guard Dekker.

Bottom line: D.A. is just not a very smart guy.

 

[gracetoyou]

Our fanbase DESERVES misery.

As far as loyalty, I'll bash Anderson...he was here 2 seasons...Cal has been here 6. Cal made our program relevant again when we had absolutely become irrelevant. 4 final 4's in 6 seasons & a national championship!! Show me a recent better stretch of success in college basketball. You will not find one.

He DOES NOT push players to the NBA. If he did we would not have had so many return for the past season. But if you're a sure fire lottery pic, you may not be an immediate impact guy but YOU CANNOT pass that up in your profession. Most of our early departures have been high 1st round guys with the exception of a couple. Why not develop & make money?

As a player...they cannot put our fanbases "WANTS" above their what's best for them. If a University, Coach, or fanbase is to selfish to realize that I wouldn't play for them.

 

[rockhound24]

I am conflicted by this entire discussion. Yes, I do agree that while you are playing, you do keep all the dirty laundry stuff in-house. Derek did make a mistake in the venue of his comments. If he is still as loyal to UK as he seems, you don't give your in-state rival any ammunition. On the other side of the coin, I am floored that more people can't understand the loyalty that RP's players show to him. Most athletes have had that "one" coach that made you into the player that you became. I know there is in my life. To this day, I will always remember the things he taught me and the belief he had in me. Derek made an error in judgement, I don't think he has turned his back on UK or Coach Cal. Let it go, and lets see where Derek goes from here.

 

[gracetoyou]

Ever since Cal has been here, we've adopted the players first mentality.

This is great in 2012 when we win it all..........the program succeeds and then all the players realize their dream of playing in the NBA

Last year was just an example of what happens when you fall short. So we didn't win the title, players still left and I think there's a big portion of the fanbase that's frustrated with that.

Cal's theory is if he does right by the players, things will take care of themselves. I think that's a great way to look at things. But in sports fans tend to develop this attitude that titles are everything and that if you don't win one, it's a failure. Problem with that line of thinking is in one and done tournaments, the best team isn't always going to win.

For all the pessimism I've seen, I can't imagine tho there's one fan on this board that wouldn't want a repeat of the last six years.

Good post!

And think about this, if championships alone is success then we've sucked. We've only had 8 successful seasons in our storied history. It would mean by & large the prorgam with the most wins in history is a failure.

The truth is our out of control lust to win it all every year has has totally destroyed many of our fans ability to think objectively.

We better enjoy the ride because it will not last much longer...a few years max, then it's back to mediocrity in all probability.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I am conflicted by this entire discussion. Yes, I do agree that while you are playing, you do keep all the dirty laundry stuff in-house. Derek did make a mistake in the venue of his comments. If he is still as loyal to UK as he seems, you don't give your in-state rival any ammunition. On the other side of the coin, I am floored that more people can't understand the loyalty that RP's players show to him. Most athletes have had that "one" coach that made you into the player that you became. I know there is in my life. To this day, I will always remember the things he taught me and the belief he had in me. Derek made an error in judgement, I don't think he has turned his back on UK or Coach Cal. Let it go, and lets see where Derek goes from here.

I think based on the KSR interview it's crystal clear he LOVES UK. I think it goes beyond saying.

You can remain loyal to Rick while not bashing the current coach tho. I think that's where he went wrong. Not so much the criticism either but the forum he did it on.

 

[.S&C.]

Our fanbase DESERVES misery.

As far as loyalty, I'll bash Anderson...he was here 2 seasons...Cal has been here 6. Cal made our program relevant again when we had absolutely become irrelevant. 4 final 4's in 6 seasons & a national championship!! Show me a recent better stretch of success in college basketball. You will not find one.

He DOES NOT push players to the NBA. If he did we would not have had so many return for the past season. But if you're a sure fire lottery pic, you may not be an immediate impact guy but YOU CANNOT pass that up in your profession. Most of our early departures have been high 1st round guys with the exception of a couple. Why not develop & make money?

As a player...they cannot put our fanbases "WANTS" above their what's best for them. If a University, Coach, or fanbase is to selfish to realize that I wouldn't play for them.

No offense, but you continuously turn a few people into an entire fan base a lot of the time. Who really expects them to put a fans wants above their own? Cal has created a culture that because a player is put first, he's actually putting the program first. These kids are very "me" people in todays game. Cal uses that as a tool to promote his job of running this program. I get it, you get it, most of us get it. Some won't, but its not a fan base. Its a few people who just want UK to succeed the way they see it. Nothing more, nothing less. No one deserves misery. chilax.

 

[The_Answer1313]

Good post!

And think about this, if championships alone is success then we've sucked. We've only had 8 successful seasons in our storied history.

The truth is our out of control lust to win it all every year has has totally destroyed many of our fans ability to think objectively.

We better enjoy the ride because it will not last much longer...a few years max, then it's back to mediocrity in all probability.

You quickly learn that if you love sports that if your basing your happiness on titles, you're not going to be a very happy sports fan at all.

We are all diehards here. So that Wisconsin game will hurt. But when I sit back and think 4 outta the last 5 years we were in the final four, that's just an amazing run to me. I would take this over and over and over again.

 

[Catclass15]

Obviously impossible to quantify what effect coments like these have on recruiting but I believe there is some potential impact, disappointing.

 

[.S&C.]

Good post!

And think about this, if championships alone is success then we've sucked. We've only had 8 successful seasons in our storied history. It would mean by & large the prorgam with the most wins in history is a failure.

The truth is our out of control lust to win it all every year has has totally destroyed many of our fans ability to think objectively.

We better enjoy the ride because it will not last much longer...a few years max, then it's back to mediocrity in all probability.

There's not much about the history of UK that is close to mediocrity. Cal is great but UK is greater. You will watch them win when you're 80 and dying.

 

[The_Answer1313]

There's not much about the history of UK that is close to mediocrity. Cal is great but UK is greater. You will watch them win when you're 80 and dying.

This isn't to say we will ever be just mediocre but kids are coming to school now for the coaches. Once Cal decides to hang it up, they will have to hire someone elite to take his place otherwise it could very well turn bad

 

[sefus12]

Matt Jones had a chance to go to UK twice, but instead picked Trancy and DUKE. His actions spoke much louder than his words. Now he peddles mattresses and razors to BBN and expresses moral indignation at beloved UK superstars. Sorry but I don't buy it

This is one of the most idiotic statements I've ever seen on this board, and that says a LOT. Duke is a top-10 law school. If you want to be a lawyer and have the opportunity to go to a top-10 school, YOU GO THERE. And I hate to tell you, but Transy is a better academic institute for undergrad degrees than UK is. Utterly stupid thing to say no matter how much someone dislikes Matt Jones.