Mack was good enough to be in the rotation though. I didn't say KY kids can "only" be end of the bench guys. Just that all else being equal, why not fill the end of your bench up with in state kids if you can, as long as they can play.
Should KY's Mr. Basketball Get an Automatic Scholly to UK?
- Thread starter KYtotheCore
- Start date
No not an auto-scholarship, but I’d hope Pope considers every Kentucky Mr. Basketball.
I think UK should win at least one tournament game before we talk about adding freshmen from outside of the top 150 rankings.
Further, just stop trying to handicap ourselves at all.
If the kids are a fit and we have the space then Pope will bring them in and if not then they should explore other opportunities.
Hell, sometimes the winner isn't even the best player. Let the coach evaluate players for his system.
No my point was not just a rotational player, SOME of them know they are good enough to start, or at least play major minutes (20-25 per game). Dom Hawkins started out being a end of the bench, worked hard, then got major minutes. A lot of these kids today, want it NOW, not willing to wait, as they know SOMEONE will give them what they are seeking. Ky Ky Tandy was very good, but did not want to sit behind or play little minutes. *
*Hoptown Cat, not bashing him.
Definitely not an athletic scholarship, but what is stopping the fanbase from funding NIL opportunities for any Mr. Basketball that chooses to walk-on at UK (assuming the head coach is okay with bringing them onto the team)?
You serious, Clark?
We give scholarships for every kind of achievement to award and encourage success with high schoolers. But best basketball player in the state is out?
Of course, it may need to be a two year scholarship with renewal criteria because we want to avoid having 4/13 of a roster filled with mediocre players should Mr. Basketball me mid for several years in a row.
And it's good for the state because we rally around these boys and they bring cohesion. Travis Perry got a ton of love at the press conference. That whole press conference felt like HOME. I was there with my 11 year old to show her what we were all about now that Kentucky is back to being program first.
If they are good enough to play here, yes! If not, offer them a preferred walk-on spot. If they don't like it and think they can do better at another school as a scholarship player, so be it. Don't have to take them all if they aren't talented enough to play for the University of Kentucky.
How would you base the "renewal criteria"? That's not really an athletic scholarship, nor is it fair to the player.
I think people are used to Cal playing with a thin bench, where only 9 scholarships were necessary. Pope will play with a deeper bench, thus the 10th -13th guys will be more important than those in the past. You don’t want those spots filled by token scholarships.
If they’re good enough to play here and can contribute, I say why not. Of course that goes for anyone no matter where they’re from. I want the best players who fits the best and wants to be here the most. There’s a few Kentucky kids who fall in the category and heck yeah I want them.
And walkons will be a lot better with a chance to earn a spot one day as well. That’s what I’m talking about. I’ll take a Ravi Moss every day. It feels so great to be able to actually think about Kentucky Basketball again. I hope the young generation get to experience it like we did growing up.
Imo it should be handled just like pope handled it. If they are good enough or even arguably good enough, make an offer but be honest. If they want to come to compete for PT while knowing it might be a situation where they have to develop and fill a roster spot, great. If they want to go somewhere else to play a bigger role, understandable.
It isn't really even that hard of an answer. We just had an a$$ who was running cal u.
It isn't really even that hard of an answer. We just had an a$$ who was running cal u.
I don’t think so, we have had them in the past like Stockton who just weren’t good enough. I will say however the talent seems to be on the rise and with how everyone transfers every year now if you can get in state kids who have talent and you know can produce in a couple of years isn’t that the best bet for having kids stick around? Doesn’t even have to be in state can just be kids who grew up being a UK fan. A lot of fans on here identified a few years back that it takes a mix now. Yes we still want and need a few of those 5 star freshmen and a few portal players as well but wouldn’t it be great to return at least half of our team most years. Everyone misses the days of watching our kids grow year after year so guys like Perry and Noah will help for sure. I also think just giving kids toward the end of the bench 5-10 minutes here and there will help them develop and more likely to stick around. Can’t blame kids like Hart and Burks for wanting to leave but our new offense should involve more players so it’s less likely u have kids that NEVER see the floor.
If they're talented enough to play at the D1 level, more importantly if they're talented enough to play at UK, yes.
Also, it's not so much the Mr. Basketball winner, as it is in state talent in general. Sometimes, probably most times, the kid with the most talent or more specifically best potential doesn't win the trophy.
Awards like that can be stats and/or career achievements award more so than best player. Forget awards winners, "talent" or what is perceived as such, in general can be misleading. A little bit of ability and hitting your growth spurt before everyone else goes a long way in rural high schools and their districts. Then there's the local sports politics, and overbearing parents that often determine who's getting opportunities and getting touches.
Cal ran the very niche type of program for very specific types of players. It was really limiting in many ways. It closed off doors to anyone who didn't play a certain style. It also didn't allow for development over time.
People got all geeked up about the caliber of recruit Cal was looking for and hauling in. Yes, in terms of star rankings and NBA potential, it was great. In the long run it limited the recruiting base of who could be brought it and was ultimately a detriment.
In state talent, or just good solid players from anywhere, we couldn't bring in and develop overtime due to the nature of what Cal had set up. NBA style ball, quick turnover, every year brining in 4-5 raw young guys who have to play and play a certain way didn't lend itself to 4-year college basketball player and team development.
Also, it's not so much the Mr. Basketball winner, as it is in state talent in general. Sometimes, probably most times, the kid with the most talent or more specifically best potential doesn't win the trophy.
Awards like that can be stats and/or career achievements award more so than best player. Forget awards winners, "talent" or what is perceived as such, in general can be misleading. A little bit of ability and hitting your growth spurt before everyone else goes a long way in rural high schools and their districts. Then there's the local sports politics, and overbearing parents that often determine who's getting opportunities and getting touches.
Cal ran the very niche type of program for very specific types of players. It was really limiting in many ways. It closed off doors to anyone who didn't play a certain style. It also didn't allow for development over time.
People got all geeked up about the caliber of recruit Cal was looking for and hauling in. Yes, in terms of star rankings and NBA potential, it was great. In the long run it limited the recruiting base of who could be brought it and was ultimately a detriment.
In state talent, or just good solid players from anywhere, we couldn't bring in and develop overtime due to the nature of what Cal had set up. NBA style ball, quick turnover, every year brining in 4-5 raw young guys who have to play and play a certain way didn't lend itself to 4-year college basketball player and team development.
Weird y’all didn’t have this same energy with Brandon Stockton and Josh Carrier.
ABSOLUTUTELY POSITIVELY HELL NO!!!!!!...... What if UK had only 1 scholarship left & you had a superstar player like say Anthony Davis that wanted to come here, but you had to tell him. No we can't take you because we have to give our last scholarship to this slow 3-star recruit who won our state's Mr. Basketball.
No. You’re answer is no. The question is not should Kentucky mr basketball get an offer if they are good enough. The question is should Kentucky Mr basketball get an offer automatically? (Even if he has no D1 offers, and the OP question is a scholarship offer, not a walk on offer)
Before Reed, how many in-state players made a significant contribution to a P5 program in the last 15 years?
