Only 12% of Calipari's scholarship players play three years for him at Kentucky.

[Son_Of_Saul]

He simply hasn't had many guys play longer than two years, which is in my opinion, the single biggest reason Calipari can't win at a high level.

11/94 scholarship players made it to a third year under Calipari. That's only 12%.

Here they are:

Darius Miller
Jon Hood
Willie Cauley-Stein
Alex Poythress
Nick Richards
Jacob Toppin
Derek Willis
Dominique Hawkins
Marcus Lee
Keion Brooks
Lance Wear

 

[LmdCat]

He simply hasn't had many guys play longer than two years, which is in my opinion, the single biggest reason Calipari can't win at a high level.

10/94 scholarship players made it to a third year under Calipari. That's only 11%.

Here they are:

Darius Miller
Jarod Polson
Jon Hood
Willie Cauley-Stein
Alex Poythress
Nick Richards
Jacob Toppin
Derek Willis
Dominique Hawkins
Marcus Lee

You might be right; however, if you are correct, it is the beast that he created. That being the case wins him no sympathy from me. If he was a smart coach, he would have been smart enough to include and develop 3- and 4-year players in his recruiting.

 

[DreadLox]

You might be right; however, if you are correct, it is the beast that he created. That being the case wins him no sympathy from me. If he was a smart coach, he would have been smart enough to include and develop 3- and 4-year players in his recruiting.

That's a hindsight judgment. Nobody can foresee the future. I guess it's just Calipari's fate to be criticized because he's too good at what he does. There's nothing that I can compare that to.

 

[bbncal02]

He simply hasn't had many guys play longer than two years, which is in my opinion, the single biggest reason Calipari can't win at a high level.

10/94 scholarship players made it to a third year under Calipari. That's only 11%.

Here they are:

Darius Miller
Jarod Polson
Jon Hood
Willie Cauley-Stein
Alex Poythress
Nick Richards
Jacob Toppin
Derek Willis
Dominique Hawkins
Marcus Lee

To play Devils Advocate how many of those dudes are actually still playing at a major level? 3?

Not saying that they weren’t major players but when you have really good dudes they will leave. Especially after year 2. One and Done sucks. I get it. But if a kid is good enough to go after year 2? No reason to stay and get potentially hurt.

Now with NIL in play you may see some more of this. But it’s hard to say.

 

[YardCat]

Those guys needed to stay, none were stars but role players. Our other role players we needed left after 2 years and found success at their new schools. I think they would have at UK. I think Hopkins and Brooks could have help last year.
Wheeler can say he never played at UK and it doesn’t hurt my feelings.

 

[Cold Stout Beer]

 

[LmdCat]

That's a hindsight judgment. Nobody can foresee the future. I guess it's just Calipari's fate to be criticized because he's too good at what he does. There's nothing that I can compare that to.

That is exactly what good coaches do. They plan for the future. It is called planning. No, he isn't too good at what he does. If he was, he wouldn't lose big games to teams with less than a quarter of the talent that he puts on the court each game. For you to think that he is too good at what he does, you must think that recruiting is his primary purpose as a UK coach. Winning is a secondary purpose. Next, you will want UK to hang championship recruiting banners.

 

[Blue Bigfoot]

That's a hindsight judgment. Nobody can foresee the future. I guess it's just Calipari's fate to be criticized because he's too good at what he does. There's nothing that I can compare that to.

Because it takes clairvoyance to see a pattern after 14 years straight?

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

That's a hindsight judgment. Nobody can foresee the future. I guess it's just Calipari's fate to be criticized because he's too good at what he does. There's nothing that I can compare that to.

To play Devils Advocate how many of those dudes are actually still playing at a major level? 3?

Not saying that they weren’t major players but when you have really good dudes they will leave. Especially after year 2. One and Done sucks. I get it. But if a kid is good enough to go after year 2? No reason to stay and get potentially hurt.

Now with NIL in play you may see some more of this. But it’s hard to say.

The issue isn't that Cal's "doing his job" by getting guys like Wall, Davis, Monk, and Murray to the league quickly; it's that he's not retaining the guys who obviously needed another year before they went pro or transferred:

Whitney
Juzang
Green
Gabriel
Matthews
Montgomery
Briscoe
Collins
Hagans
Poole
Wiltjer
Dodson
Skal
Dakari
Teague
Lee
SKJ
Harrow
Brooks
Baker
Humphries
Wynyard
Livingston
Boston
Fletcher
Askew
Goodwin
Diallo
Vanderbilt
Aaron Harrison
Ty Ty Washington
etc.

Cal's player retention sucks, even when he has crappy teams like the last four years.

 

[UK90]

Should Polson really count as a scholarship player? He certainly was never recruited as one, he came as a walk on (although I guess he might’ve later gotten one of the leftover scholly spots).

Crazy to think that we haven’t had a single one go the full four year distance since Willis/Hawkins. Seems like a long ass time ago now.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Should Polson really count as a scholarship player? He certainly was never recruited as one, he came as a walk on (although I guess he might’ve later gotten one of the leftover scholly spots).

Crazy to think that we haven’t had a single one go the full four year distance since Willis/Hawkins. Seems like a long ass time ago now.

You're right. I'm going to take him off the list.

 

[UK90]

It’s also worth noting that Miller and Hood were actually Gillespie recruits. If you limit it to just Cal recruits, the list startlingly sparse indeed.

Cal has only recruited three players in his entire 15 years here that stayed four years …Willis/Hawkins/Poythress … and with Poy that was only because his 2015 injury basically forced him to stay longer than planned.

 

[Fox2monk]

He simply hasn't had many guys play longer than two years, which is in my opinion, the single biggest reason Calipari can't win at a high level.

10/94 scholarship players made it to a third year under Calipari. That's only 11%.

Here they are:

Darius Miller
Jon Hood
Willie Cauley-Stein
Alex Poythress
Nick Richards
Jacob Toppin
Derek Willis
Dominique Hawkins
Marcus Lee
Keion Brooks

Of course, people always talk about how good of players he has had but we never get close to the best version of that player either.

 

[Fox2monk]

The issue isn't that Cal's "doing his job" by getting guys like Wall, Davis, Monk, and Murray to the league quickly; it's that he's not retaining the guys who obviously needed another year before they went pro or transferred:

Whitney
Juzang
Green
Gabriel
Matthews
Montgomery
Briscoe
Collins
Hagans
Poole
Wiltjer
Dodson
Skal
Dakari
Teague
Lee
SKJ
Harrow
Brooks
Baker
Humphries
Wynyard
Livingston
Boston
Fletcher
Askew
Goodwin
Diallo
Vanderbilt
Aaron Harrison
Ty Ty Washington
etc.

Cal's player retention sucks, even when he has crappy teams like the last four years.

That’s the part that kills us, guys who obviously aren’t ready to make a mark in the league leaving and taking whatever spot they get drafted at.

 

[CRZ4UK]

You might be right; however, if you are correct, it is the beast that he created. That being the case wins him no sympathy from me. If he was a smart coach, he would have been smart enough to include and develop 3- and 4-year players in his recruiting.

He has recruited some rotation players but here is the problem. Calipari will play a five star freshmen that is absolutely trash ( Bradshaw) (Edwards) above a two year better player in UGO because of their said POTENTIAL. Make no mistake Cal is furious he HAS to start UGO. He hates a recruited rotation player has forced him to take a 5 star draft pick off the floor. If UGO stays (which he won’t) Cal will have him on the bench to start the year while we watch the newest 5 star with POTENTIAL start over him. If a recruited rotation guy sees he is clearly better than a newcomer but can’t play. Why stay??? Note: Even Burks is better than Edwards. Burks can see it. We can see it. Burks Will transfer next year. He was recruited as a rotation player. Now he sees no matter how hard he works , how good he gets. a 5 star freshman will continue to be fed minutes while he sits.

 

[DreadLox]

Calipari's job is to teach young men how to play basketball. He does. He has more players in the NBA -- at a high level -- than any other coach.

If you're asking for better than the best, you just picking a fight for the sake of picking a fight.

 

[UK90]

The issue isn't that Cal's "doing his job" by getting guys like Wall, Davis, Monk, and Murray to the league quickly; it's that he's not retaining the guys who obviously needed another year before they went pro or transferred:

Whitney
Juzang
Green
Gabriel
Matthews
Montgomery
Briscoe
Collins
Hagans
Poole
Wiltjer
Dodson
Skal
Dakari
Teague
Lee
SKJ
Harrow
Brooks
Baker
Humphries
Wynyard
Livingston
Boston
Fletcher
Askew
Goodwin
Diallo
Vanderbilt
Aaron Harrison
Ty Ty Washington
etc.

Cal's player retention sucks, even when he has crappy teams like the last four years.

Teague is the one from that list that has always bugged me the most.

I loved his tenacious defense and how he ran the offense down the stretch that season. And it was crystal clear that he did not yet have the scoring skills needed by an NBA point guard. I think he would’ve made a huge difference if he’d stuck around to be our point on the 13 and 14 teams.

But instead he apparently got caught up in that one and done mindset where it was just presumed that Calipari 5 star recruits were supposed to leave if they had a successful freshman season. A shame.

 

[sluggercatfan]

You might be right; however, if you are correct, it is the beast that he created. That being the case wins him no sympathy from me. If he was a smart coach, he would have been smart enough to include and develop 3- and 4-year players in his recruiting.

Correct!!! Jordan Burks is going to be a perfect example.

 

[LmdCat]

Calipari's job is to teach young men how to play basketball. He does. He has more players in the NBA -- at a high level -- than any other coach.

If you're asking for better than the best, you just picking a fight for the sake of picking a fight.

He didn't teach those players anything. Oscar is probably the only player who really improved under him before he started declining. Most of his players in the NBA are demonstrating skills that were not demonstrated at Kentucky. He is currently misusing Z. He can't teach some of the best athletes in the game how to play defense.

 

[kyboy1998]

The issue isn't that Cal's "doing his job" by getting guys like Wall, Davis, Monk, and Murray to the league quickly; it's that he's not retaining the guys who obviously needed another year before they went pro or transferred:

Whitney
Juzang
Green
Gabriel
Matthews
Montgomery
Briscoe
Collins
Hagans
Poole
Wiltjer
Dodson
Skal
Dakari
Teague
Lee
SKJ
Harrow
Brooks
Baker
Humphries
Wynyard
Livingston
Boston
Fletcher
Askew
Goodwin
Diallo
Vanderbilt
Aaron Harrison
Ty Ty Washington
etc.

Cal's player retention sucks, even when he has crappy teams like the last four years.

I gave you a like on this one. Not because you are right, but you typed and remembered that many

 

[BBUK]

He simply hasn't had many guys play longer than two years, which is in my opinion, the single biggest reason Calipari can't win at a high level.

10/94 scholarship players made it to a third year under Calipari. That's only 11%.

Here they are:

Darius Miller
Jon Hood
Willie Cauley-Stein
Alex Poythress
Nick Richards
Jacob Toppin
Derek Willis
Dominique Hawkins
Marcus Lee
Keion Brooks

He is a horrible Xs and Os coach is why he cannot win at a high level. He has had plenty enough skill on the court to win3 to 5 ships. (Not expecting them all but he lost some serious no excuse games because of on the court coaching.).

He's had plenty enough talent freshmen or not. The players have been the best of the best in a lot of seasons.

 

[LmdCat]

Correct!!! Jordan Burks is going to be a perfect example.

Players like Burks get in the way of recruiting. Our coach can't have anyone on the team who might take away playing time from a 5-star freshman.

 

[KYCAT78]

That's a hindsight judgment. Nobody can foresee the future. I guess it's just Calipari's fate to be criticized because he's too good at what he does. There's nothing that I can compare that to.

I would start with Creen. Him and Cal are about equal in coaching ability. Maybe Mike Davis.

 

[bthaunert]

Add Lance Ware to the list.

 

[Catluv]

I think kinda of an offset to this is we have brought in some decent transfers. Reeves and Tre and some other older players. Big O!!

 

[BBBLazing]

He has recruited some rotation players but here is the problem. Calipari will play a five star freshmen that is absolutely trash ( Bradshaw) (Edwards) above a two year better player in UGO because of their said POTENTIAL. Make no mistake Cal is furious he HAS to start UGO. He hates a recruited rotation player has forced him to take a 5 star draft pick off the floor. If UGO stays (which he won’t) Cal will have him on the bench to start the year while we watch the newest 5 star with POTENTIAL start over him. If a recruited rotation guy sees he is clearly better than a newcomer but can’t play. Why stay??? Note: Even Burks is better than Edwards. Burks can see it. We can see it. Burks Will transfer next year. He was recruited as a rotation player. Now he sees no matter how hard he works , how good he gets. a 5 star freshman will continue to be fed minutes while he sits.

He hasn't been forced to play Ugo, he's playing him because he is finally outplaying Bradshaw. When Bradshaw got back, Ugo was still out. Burks played well last night, but hasn't generally this year.

 

[crawfords corner]

Higher than I thought by 6%

 

[Mike-D]

He simply hasn't had many guys play longer than two years, which is in my opinion, the single biggest reason Calipari can't win at a high level.

10/94 scholarship players made it to a third year under Calipari. That's only 11%.

Here they are:

Darius Miller
Jon Hood
Willie Cauley-Stein
Alex Poythress
Nick Richards
Jacob Toppin
Derek Willis
Dominique Hawkins
Marcus Lee
Keion Brooks

Just a dumb stat, and yeah, if you aren't cherry picking the best Freshman every season, you're gonna feel it.

 

[wildcat_bigd]

you’ve got a lot posts lately

 

[chevyman 50]

Cal is where the one and done started not sure if that something to be proud of.

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

The almost total turnover of his roster EVERY year is unsustainable,and is the main reason he hasn't been to a FF in years IMO. In his early years he managed to hold on to one or 2 key upper classmen to augment his freshmen. That and his inability to recruit game changing freshman has killed us for several years. This year was supposed to be different,Reeves stayed and he having a great year.Unfortunately,Bradshaw and Edwards are not game changers,nor is Wagner although he is serviceable. Dillingham and Sheppard have turned out to be the cream of the class. In today's environment that doesn't appear to be enough,or maybe his coaching has degraded

 

[Mike-McD]

Calipari's job is to teach young men how to play basketball. He does. He has more players in the NBA -- at a high level -- than any other coach.

If you're asking for better than the best, you just picking a fight for the sake of picking a fight.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...

What does he teach? Go? Run?

He recruits players who would be straight to the NBA if there wasn't a rule. And they always go after 1 year. Then he takes credit for "coaching" them. As if he singlehandedly lifted them out of poverty and changed their lives by waving a magic wand. LOL

If the man could get over himself and actually run lineups that made sense, his winning percentage would probably be 5-8 points higher.

 

[Mike-McD]

you’ve got a lot posts lately

look who's talking

 

[cats1920]

I think Cal accidentally built this self-eating monster.

He TRIED to recruit multi-year guys. I really believe his intention was for way more guys to be here 3 and 4 years. The problem is...they never stay.

Guys are either good enough to go pro after 1 or 2 years---or they're not good enough to start here and transfer out to get more opportunities.

I think a lot of kids feel that they're not going to get a chance to start over the incoming freshman. And the constant revolving door of McDonald's All-Americans is a detriment in that way.

On the flip side, there's no guarantee the kids come back regardless. You almost have to always be bringing in new talent the way Calipari has built this thing.

 

[cats2010]

He has recruited some rotation players but here is the problem. Calipari will play a five star freshmen that is absolutely trash ( Bradshaw) (Edwards) above a two year better player in UGO because of their said POTENTIAL. Make no mistake Cal is furious he HAS to start UGO. He hates a recruited rotation player has forced him to take a 5 star draft pick off the floor. If UGO stays (which he won’t) Cal will have him on the bench to start the year while we watch the newest 5 star with POTENTIAL start over him. If a recruited rotation guy sees he is clearly better than a newcomer but can’t play. Why stay??? Note: Even Burks is better than Edwards. Burks can see it. We can see it. Burks Will transfer next year. He was recruited as a rotation player. Now he sees no matter how hard he works , how good he gets. a 5 star freshman will continue to be fed minutes while he sits.

I think Burks playing behind Edwards is a far better example here than Bradshaw over Ugo. At least Ugo is getting playing time, initially playing behind Bradshaw before moving in front as the starter. Minutes typically favored Bradshaw but not by an egregious margin. Burks on the other hand has been banished to the bench the entire season, at least the last 2 months. We have been historically bad on defense and by all accounts he very well may be the best defender on the team. Burks > Edwards by a considerable margin and especially considering for what this team needs. Cal watching Burks in practice all season long and not seeing this is just pure incompetence OR it doesn’t matter as Edwards was going to play regardless. Can almost bet your ass that Burks’ effort against Vandy will be rewarded in the games to come with 40 minutes of pine time. Edwards on the other hand, well you know.