Leave it better than you found it

[thunderradar]

I was thinking about the coaches we have had front Rupp onwards and given our recent coaching change I wanted to give each a grade on how they left our program. You can pick and choose your own criteria I thought about players left for the next coach, direction of the program etc. Lets grade and discuss.

Rupp - A+, built the foundation for the greatest tradtion in college basketball
Hall - B, Won a title, yes a little to be desired but didn't leave us in a terrible spot at all
Sutton - F, probation enough said
Pitino - A+, such a great resurgence after probation, and back to back title apperances and left Tubby a plethora of talent
Smith - C, won a title but while competetive not in a direction we needed to go
Gillespie - D+, Brought nothing to the table but can't be an F, no probation
Calipari - C-, I struggled here. Won a title for us, but underwhelming with an overwhelming plethora of talent. Left 0 players upon exit

Will be curious as to how others feel.

 

[bluefaithful]

Cal gets an F, you said it, he left us nothing.
Hall was recruiting everyone for Rupp so he should get an A for incoming and outgoing because all we had to do is beat a team we already beat 3 times to get to a FF.

Go Cats!

 

[thunderradar]

Cal gets an F, you said it, he left us nothing.
Hall was recruiting everyone for Rupp so he should get an A for incoming and outgoing because all we had to do is beat a team we already beat 3 times to get to a FF.

Go Cats!

Good points, thank you for your reply

 

[permdaddy]

No coach leaves players anymore. Cal didn't leave any didn't get any at Arkansas. Kenny Brooks had 2 girls return for the women's team one (Rowe) bleeds kentucky blue. That's just the way it goes now and it's the same for every coach.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Well if we're basing it on which coach had players stay behind.. sure, Cal gets an F. Seems like another easy-target type of poll/grade..

Because he's also the only one who left during the transfer era. I have to imagine all the coaches before him would have a heck of a lot of more transfer-outs if that was allowed. Just a different era. If Pope left tomorrow, does anyone stay?

 

[cat tat2]

The former coach gets an F. Years of underachievement and scurry off like a rat.

 

[Snarks0]

Billy G left things in better shape than Cal, granted this is the product of the times with the transfer portal.

 

[SemperFiCat]

I'm basing mine off big picture. I think Cal damaged the Kentucky tradition and culture more than he helped it. So, in that regard, I believe Cal left it worse than he found it. (I'm simply not counting the Billy Clyde experiment)

 

[BlueSince92]

Cal F- also expelled from school and hopefully deported.

 

[ciphercomplete]

Kenny Brooks had 2 girls return for the women's team one (Rowe) of them bleeds kentucky blue.

Quite the assumption that you are making about Tyler. Do you know her?

 

[permdaddy]

Quite the assumption that you are making about Tyler. Do you know her?

Just saying no coach leaves players behind.

 

[Jamal Mercer]

One things for sure, for Pope, it won’t be hard to leave it in better shape than he found it.

 

[TNCatfanforever]

I was thinking about the coaches we have had front Rupp onwards and given our recent coaching change I wanted to give each a grade on how they left our program. You can pick and choose your own criteria I thought about players left for the next coach, direction of the program etc. Lets grade and discuss.

Rupp - A+, built the foundation for the greatest tradtion in college basketball
Hall - B, Won a title, yes a little to be desired but didn't leave us in a terrible spot at all
Sutton - F, probation enough said
Pitino - A+, such a great resurgence after probation, and back to back title apperances and left Tubby a plethora of talent
Smith - C, won a title but while competetive not in a direction we needed to go
Gillespie - D+, Brought nothing to the table but can't be an F, no probation
Calipari - C-, I struggled here. Won a title for us, but underwhelming with an overwhelming plethora of talent. Left 0 players upon exit

Will be curious as to how others feel.

Eddie Sutton had nothing to do with the probation I am told. That was all on Cliff Hagan, Dwayne Casey and some alumni. The program was already out of control. Hall had been told to do whatever to catch UCLA. Everyone knew that Wooden was cheating. Eddie may have turned his head but he inherited the problem. The 100 dollar hand shakes had been reported and the program was under close scrutiny. The NCAA has always hated UK and have nailed them every chance they had beginning with the football team in 77

 

[ftp000]

We were pretty happy with how Cal left Memphis. Now, with NIL and unlimited transfers? You can't blame coaches for the empty coffers.

 

[JHB4UK]

LoL Gillespie at least left Patrick Patterson

 

[Skyguyb27]

No coach leaves players anymore. Cal didn't leave any didn't get any. Kenny Brooks had 2 girls return for the women's team one (Rowe) bleeds kentucky blue. That's just the way it goes now and it's the same for every coach.

Cal didn’t get players you say? You must be new to being a UK fan (I know your not new). You might wanna check again. He got a few that were instrumental.

 

[permdaddy]

Cal didn’t get players you say? You must be new to being a UK fan (I know your not new). You might wanna check again. He got a few that were instrumental.

I was talking about this year with Arkansas should have been more clear about that. Changed it to specify at Arkansas.

 

[thunderradar]

LoL Gillespie at least left Patrick Patterson

Fair point

 

[ukfan1622]

I think Joe B deserves an A. He left the program in great shape and Sutton with plenty of talent. It took a while for Sutton to crash and burn; it had nothing to do with Hall.

 

[StubbornPenny]

Cal does not get a F. Yes, we had no leftover players but that’s a product of the era. He won a title and our brand is mildly tarnished by the last 5 years, but not broken or on probation. C+

 

[Fox2monk]

I was thinking about the coaches we have had front Rupp onwards and given our recent coaching change I wanted to give each a grade on how they left our program. You can pick and choose your own criteria I thought about players left for the next coach, direction of the program etc. Lets grade and discuss.

Rupp - A+, built the foundation for the greatest tradtion in college basketball
Hall - B, Won a title, yes a little to be desired but didn't leave us in a terrible spot at all
Sutton - F, probation enough said
Pitino - A+, such a great resurgence after probation, and back to back title apperances and left Tubby a plethora of talent
Smith - C, won a title but while competetive not in a direction we needed to go
Gillespie - D+, Brought nothing to the table but can't be an F, no probation
Calipari - C-, I struggled here. Won a title for us, but underwhelming with an overwhelming plethora of talent. Left 0 players upon exit

Will be curious as to how others feel.

I feel pretty great with that honestly, maybe Gillespie gets a C- because he left Meeks, Patterson, Liggins, Harris, and Stevenson, and Miller. Pretty decent core. Cal has to get an F based on how he left, and who he left. That said it could be raised to a C based on his accomplishments and NBA representation that will still pay off years to come IMO. He elevated us to the best but his laziness made us the most overrated team of the last 5 years easy. Very hard to grade him honestly because anything from F to C is fair.

 

[HeismaNole]

You know, we had players who stayed even though we almost got the death penalty yet didn’t have a single guy that stayed at UK when Cal left. 😂🤦‍♂️

 

[Skyguyb27]

I was talking about this year with Arkansas should have been more clear about that. Changed it to specify at Arkansas.

Sounds good we are all fans, no worries.

 

[deplion]

I think Joe B deserves an A. He left the program in great shape and Sutton with plenty of talent. It took a while for Sutton to crash and burn; it had nothing to do with Hall.

Agree.

Coach Hall specifically timed his departure to where he knew he would be leaving behind a great class for the next coach.

That directly lead to Coach Sutton taking Sky Walker and the crew to the verge of a Final Four.

I'd give Cal a D or D-. Program wasn't in total shambles, but the amount of destruction he did, especially in his latter years, was significant.

 

[Fadhi]

LoL Gillespie at least left Patrick Patterson

I think Cal gets credit for him staying

 

[billoliver40]

I think Hall gets an A, if for nothing else than having the guts to stick it out and fully integrate. He also called himself the caretaker, not the star of the show.

I give Sutton an F. All that stuff happened on his watch, no one else's.

Pitino...the UK version is an A. Almost A- because the man publicly flirted with the NBA every year once he got it rolling.

Tubby gets a B+. Outstanding coach, admitted he hated recruiting. He normally had the Cats in contention in the Elite 8, minus a couple years.

Billy Clyde is a D-. Man was back to back COY in two different conferences. Couldn't control his demons.

No ranking on Cal yet. Time will tell.

 

[Wildcats1st]

I was thinking about the coaches we have had front Rupp onwards and given our recent coaching change I wanted to give each a grade on how they left our program. You can pick and choose your own criteria I thought about players left for the next coach, direction of the program etc. Lets grade and discuss.

Rupp - A+, built the foundation for the greatest tradtion in college basketball
Hall - B, Won a title, yes a little to be desired but didn't leave us in a terrible spot at all
Sutton - F, probation enough said
Pitino - A+, such a great resurgence after probation, and back to back title apperances and left Tubby a plethora of talent
Smith - C, won a title but while competetive not in a direction we needed to go
Gillespie - D+, Brought nothing to the table but can't be an F, no probation
Calipari - C-, I struggled here. Won a title for us, but underwhelming with an overwhelming plethora of talent. Left 0 players upon exit

Will be curious as to how others feel.

Losing season cancels out winning a title. He put it all on 2015 and just missed

 

[BigRedMachineBigBlueNation]

Cal is a D. He blessed us by talking to Arkansas and getting himself fired so he isn’t an F, but he can’t as high than a C because he left the cupboard completely bear like an ass.

 

[JB_Cat]

I feel pretty great with that honestly, maybe Gillespie gets a C- because he left Meeks, Patterson, Liggins, Harris, and Stevenson. Pretty decent core. Cal has to get an F based on how he left, and who he left. That said it could be raised to a C based on his accomplishments and NBA representation that will still pay off years to come IMO. He elevated us to the best but his laziness made us the most overrated team of the last 5 years easy. Very hard to grade him honestly because anything from F to C is fair.

Also, can't forget the glue guy for the 2012 team, Miller.

 

[Fox2monk]

You know, we had players who stayed even though we almost got the death penalty yet didn’t have a single guy that stayed at UK when Cal left. 😂🤦‍♂️

I know, it was a different world back then.

 

[Fox2monk]

Also, can't forget the glue guy for the 2012 team, Miller.

Oh yeah duh! I knew I was forgetting someone.

 

[Fox2monk]

I'm basing mine off big picture. I think Cal damaged the Kentucky tradition and culture more than he helped it. So, in that regard, I believe Cal left it worse than he found it. (I'm simply not counting the Billy Clyde experiment)

Fair enough view

 

[ThrowBackCat9]

Cal left and that’s all that matters. Couldn’t care less if it’s better or worse than he found it, just glad he’s gone.

Kentucky basketball is now back! 👊

 

[Cleatortoises]

Somehow we saved the 33 large 💰, and got rid of the half assing coach.
Did he do us a favor knowing his next group of freshmen wouldn't get it done either. Or, is he so egomaniacal that he thought....... nevermind.

 

[Mike-McD]

Cal gets an F, you said it, he left us nothing.
Hall was recruiting everyone for Rupp so he should get an A for incoming and outgoing because all we had to do is beat a team we already beat 3 times to get to a FF.

Go Cats!

I give Cal a D because he left the cupboard bare but he did leave on his own so UK didn't have to pay a dime. Also, most of the fanbase WANTED him to leave.

 

[TopCatCal]

I was thinking about the coaches we have had front Rupp onwards and given our recent coaching change I wanted to give each a grade on how they left our program. You can pick and choose your own criteria I thought about players left for the next coach, direction of the program etc. Lets grade and discuss.

Rupp - A+, built the foundation for the greatest tradtion in college basketball
Hall - B, Won a title, yes a little to be desired but didn't leave us in a terrible spot at all
Sutton - F, probation enough said
Pitino - A+, such a great resurgence after probation, and back to back title apperances and left Tubby a plethora of talent
Smith - C, won a title but while competetive not in a direction we needed to go
Gillespie - D+, Brought nothing to the table but can't be an F, no probation
Calipari - C-, I struggled here. Won a title for us, but underwhelming with an overwhelming plethora of talent. Left 0 players upon exit

Will be curious as to how others feel.

Rupp A+..... Built as Rick Pitino would later call it, The Holy Roman Empire of college basketball
Hall A..... Fully integrated a southern basketball program. His last 3 years, Sweet-16, Elite-8 & a Final Four...... Left the program better than he found it.
Sutton F..... A great coach, but clearly left the program in worse shape than he found it.
Pitino A+...... 183-30 over his last 6 seasons with 5 Elite-8s, 3 Final Fours, 2 appearances in the national championship game & a national championship. Take away an injury to the SEC's best player Derek Anderson & it would have been 2 national championships. Clearly left the program in far better shape that he found it in.
Tubby C..... No Final Fours his last 9 years. Left the program in worse shape than he found it in. But considering Pitino's success it would have been next to impossible to have left the UK program better off than he found it in
Gillispie D.....Left the program worse off. Should have never been hired here.
Calipari C..... Next to probation, left the UK program in about as bad of shape as anyone could.

 

[CatsFan4Evr.]

Tubby left the program in better shape than Calipari did. Period. Calipari did everything in his power to try to sabotage us. History will not look back on Calipari kindly in how he left the program.

 

[cats2010]

Title aside, cal gets an F for his entire time here. The way he ran the program, the way he changed our culture, stopped preseason tournaments, stopped big home games, gave so little effort into actual coaching of of teams, talked down to fans, alienated big time boosters, refused to change, and still likely other things I’m forgetting about at the moment. Ranks at the bottom with Sutton and BG as far as I’m concerned. Total Fraud!!!!

 

[JHB4UK]

Did he do us a favor knowing his next group of freshmen wouldn't get it done either. Or, is he so egomaniacal that he thought....... nevermind.

He left because he was going to be fired. Period. Because he is washed and wouldn't have had a better team or results than 23-24. Because he knew how close he was to being fired now.

So he re set his expectations clock with new fans and new bosses who will (at first) be forgiving of failure in March. He gets prob 2 years of honeymoon phase, gins up fake excitement with star recruits and high preseason rankings that satisfies the Hogs.

 

[UKCatnNC]

We were pretty happy with how Cal left Memphis. Now, with NIL and unlimited transfers? You can't blame coaches for the empty coffers.

The last five years performance, or lack there of, should be enough to give Cal a low grade. GO CATS!!