Shai: "Cal changed the course of my career"
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SO PROUD he made All NBA First Team this year….that’s incredibly hard to do if you aren’t: Lebron, Durant, Curry, Jokic, or Embiid.
He is an excellent teacher/developer of talent. You can not deny that and I will give credit where credit is due.
I agree.
There are those that will say he doesn't teach and develop and that all those NBA guys he has coached would have been just as successful and drafted just as high no matter what.
That is probably the case for some, but not all and Cal is a big part of their success.
Well, I heard what he emphasized and it was not about Cal. He did say Cal changed the course, but then went on to describe working hard and learning by having other talented players to practice with. I did not hear anything (although it was a brief interview) how Cal specifically taught him this or that. Now I am not saying Cal did or didn't. I am saying I did not hear some great endorsement of Cal in particular even though that may have been his intent.
He literally said Cal "changed the course of my career"
and then you say "I am not saying Cal did or didn't" well that's great! Cause the actual guy who has the career said he did.
So it really doesn't matter if you think "Cal did or didn't" Shai knows he did.
it’s really cool he came dressed as Kazaam to the game
Some of you all just cannot give any credit...blind hate.
Cal isn't the greatest XO coach, that's for sure....but he is the best recruiter and one of the best motivators the college game has ever seen.
Just be real about it. I don't get why it is that hard.
Cal is
You don’t win 830+ games and be in the HoF and take everywhere he coaches to the FF in a vacuum.
And it’s not just recruiting. His UMass teams had 1 great player. His Memphis teams were overly talented outside of a couple guys.
Our ‘11 FF team wasn’t the most talented team.
The guy can coach. And he’s a great representative for the UK brand.
You never hear former players bad mouth him. Even the ones that left butthurt.
People can have opinions and are entitled to live a life of hatred.
People are not entitled to their own facts.
Cal is a great X and O coach.
You don’t win 830+ games and be in the HoF and take everywhere he coaches to the FF in a vacuum.
And it’s not just recruiting. His UMass teams had 1 great player. His Memphis teams were overly talented outside of a couple guys.
Our ‘11 FF team wasn’t the most talented team.
The guy can coach. And he’s a great representative for the UK brand.
You never hear former players bad mouth him. Even the ones that left butthurt.
People can have opinions and are entitled to live a life of hatred.
People are not entitled to their own facts.
He doesn’t think. That is the problem.
Shai would have succeeded anywhere. I give Cal more credit for guys like Nick Richards, WCS, PJ Washington, Jorts, etc.
That year Shai was an afterthought in the class. Quade Green was supposed to be the star PG.
So Cal made him an NBA All-Star in 5 months, is what you're saying.
5, 6, 7, 8, whatever. Cal didn't make him an NBA all-star just like he didn't make Quade Green a bust.
I think SGA was going to eventually be a stud no matter what. It just might not have happened as fast elsewhere. And certainly not under Mike White.
Just like 4 star Tyler Herro and 4 star Devin Booker.
Shai was definitely at the right place, and the right time to blossom on the big stage.
A lot of great players made their mark at the University Of Kentucky!
A lot of great players made their mark at the University Of Kentucky!
Right. Those guys all had wayy too much in their bags for whatever coach they played for to not eventually turn them loose. Herro, SGA and Booker were all criminally underrated by scouts.
I knew it with Booker. I never understood why he was ranked below Vaughn and the kid that went to Kansas. He was an infinitely better 2 guard in high school than either of those guys and at 6’6 clearly had a ton of pro potential as well.
Cal certainly had something to do with it. Shai was never thought to be a one and done. Neither was Herro or Booker initially. The players deserve most of the credit but Cal deserves some too. To say Cal had nothing to do with it is short sighted and evidence of an anti-Cal bias.
You gotta be joking. Y'all hate more than fans of other teams.
Shai was a four star, Shai said Cal advanced his career to becoming all nba. Some of you hillbillies amaze me sometimes. Recruiting rankings didn’t expect him to become an nba stud and the guy is telling you directly Cal was part of his success. Our fan base gets so much hell for this level of stupidity I’m seeing in this thread
I would say that Cal put him in position to go from the 34th rated high school recruit to the 11th pick in the NBA draft. We know that for a fact. Anything else is speculation. Cal 100% changed the course of his career. Now, he’s taken it to the next level (and the level beyond that) and he deserves credit for that.
Anti-Cal bias? No, I'm just not a full fledged Cal homer like some of you. I've made my list of players that Cal should get the most credit for in this very thread. Guys that came here, maybe didn't have a lot of success the 1st year, CAME back, and vastly improved in 2 or 3 years. I also stated that the man shouldn't be blamed for every bust, I.E. Quade Green.
Do you hold coach K responsible for the success for Kyrie and Tatum in the NBA? I doubt it. What about a kid like JJ Reddick that stayed in the program for 4 years? Yeah, I'd say K had a lot to do with that kids development.
The fact of the matter is that some of these elite kids we have gotten were vastly underrated coming out of HS. Cal still does a great job of preparing his kids for the NBA, but to act like he had anything to do with Shai becoming an NBA all-star is just dumb. Just like its dumb to blame Cal for the 5 star busts that have come through here.
Look, I’ll pound on Cal for inflation, the state of the war in the Ukraine, and UK no longer being truly elite under his watch…
BUT…
The dude has done a ton for players to advance their careers. Just listen to the dudes talk about him. All of them are pretty honest about how Cal helped them.
Now, for inflation…
BUT…
The dude has done a ton for players to advance their careers. Just listen to the dudes talk about him. All of them are pretty honest about how Cal helped them.
Now, for inflation…
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He got a future NBA all-star drafted 11th. It's a good story, but I'd rather talk about Nick Richards, Willie Cauley Stein, PJ Washington, Josh Harrelson, Immanuel Quickley and other players Cal had a hand in over multiple seasons. Nick Richards was awful for about 2 seasons, and Willie wasn't much better.
You are the only one who said anything about All Star. You are moving the goal posts to fit your agenda. Shai himself said Cal changed the course of his career and that still isn’t good enough for you. I’d call that an anti-Cal bias. I’ll certainly take his word for it over someone whose basketball career probably topped out in a church rec league. Keep being on the wrong side of the argument if you want to. I’d give it up and cut my losses if I was you.
That’s good to hear for recruiting at least. I mean he’s fast becoming the top PG in the league. Top 5 based on anybody’s rankings I’d say.
Is that really an indictment of Cal or Orton though? Orton has done nothing after leaving UK to show anything that Cal should be blamed for that. Hell, he even stopped going to class and hurt the program with the progress towards degree requirement.
Typical nonsense from a Cal hater. The man clearly gave Cal credit for helping him develop into a very successful NBA player. You want to pretend like the man didn't give Cal credit.
Let me back this up a little, and slow it down for you. I know it's hard.
This was my original reply to the thread.
What goal post did I move again? I have done nothing but maintain and back my original post throughout this thread, yet you think I'm moving the goal posts. The dumbest part about your take is that you fail to acknowledge anything pro I've said of Calipari. And I don't even dispute that Shai feels like his game changed here. I can say that and also see that a talent like Shai would have succeeded anywhere because that's how good he is. You still following?
Are those not your words above? That is moving the goal posts. No one said Cal had anything to do with Shai becoming an all star except for you. The only thing we are saying is Cal helped him get drafted. And Shai said the same thing.
