Are we recruiting the wrong Basketball Players???

[TopCatCal]

Seems like every player we recruit is Soft. Finess type players who dont want to mix it up. Who is our Enforcer?? Seems like we have been getting pushed around for awhile. Even Oscar was not MEAN enough. We know in the NCAA Tournament the Refs tend to swallow the whistle. We know to win in the Tournament you have to win games when you dont get to play your style. Close games where one player wills you a Win.

I dont see that on our team. People say we have all these NBA players.. Maybe Dillingham. Wagner is slow, cant defend, and has one move which is to drive to the left and try some Circus Shot. Reeves is a shooter. Plenty of shooters in the NBA who also defend. Bradshaw. Too inconsistent on his Jumper. Not strong enough to be a force down under the Basket. Big Z. Shoots well for a Big but get pushed around as well. Shepherd. At times looks unbeatable. Love his motor. But disappears at times as well. Not fast or quick enough to stay in front of his man. Edwards a LOST CAUSE.

All Recruited by Calipari. So Cal is recruiting players who will be great Pro players but below average College players. What makes a GOOD College player?? Players who have an Attitude. Players who are thick and GOOD Basketball Players who have been told they won't make the NBA. Players who stay 3-4 years. Players who arent trying to force it to impress NBA Scouts. Which leads us to a Coach who plays the players that give you the best chance at winning games and not worrying about trying to get them to the League.

We hit the Jackpot in 2012 and 2015. But how many years have we missed?

We're recruiting the right players. We've just got the wrong coach recruiting them.

 

[SkyPrince1]

Sadly our past history with one and done players makes guys who do not go the NBA after 1 year feel like they need to move to another school to reach their full potential apparently. Guys like Wiltjer, Brooks, Hopkins, Fletcher and Matthews all come to mind.

All those guys wanted to start and be a big part of what the team was doing.
None left to be a role player somewhere else.
None had a clear path to starting at UK the season after they left.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

There are a dozen coaches in the NCAA who could get to the Final Four with this squad.

Calipari just isn't one of them.

Utter nonsense coming from just pure hate.

If Cal can’t get this team to the FF then no one can.

But Cal will get them there.

We win the last 2 games if Wagner had played.

You would stil be hating. Just on different sh!t.

 

[G-PIP]

When Cal took Bradshaw's commitment, no coach in America knew that Dickenson was going to be in the portal.
Bradshaw would have definitely de commuted had we got HD.
In hindsight that looks like a good trade but that will kill HS recruiting if you recruit over them with older portal OAD's.
Barnes went hard after Edwards and probably would not have landed Knenct if he had got him.
Which of our current recruits would you not have offered?

Are you saying you don’t take a Knecht type transfer (assuming you have an open scholarship) if a freshman OAD is already signed? What if you are pretty sure the transfer will be a better SF, for example, than the incoming freshman (who like most highly rated high school SFs & 2Gs, doesn’t have the skills – particularly perimeter skills - to play at a high level that first year in college)? And even if you think the freshmen might end up being better right out of the gate (or even by year’s end) do you just bring in barely-above-walk-on type players for depth so as not to threaten the incoming 5-star? Do you preordain who starts and plays based on projected draft position or high school recruiting rankings?

The goal (I thought, anyway) is to win the most games while building a sustainable program capable of contending for championships often. In my opinion you try to get the players that best further that goal by scouting, recruiting and retaining. Then let the chips fall where they may with competition. That’s the way it’s always been in all levels of basketball. If that means OADs will now not play for your team, well so be it – it might actually be a positive (although nobody ever stops to think about why that just might be true). But I don’t believe this would be the case anyway. Freshman have always had to come into top programs and compete.

 

[Creed Bratton]

All those guys wanted to start and be a big part of what the team was doing.
None left to be a role player somewhere else.
None had a clear path to starting at UK the season after they left.

Other than Cam Fletcher all either started the year they left or played significant minutes so nothing to indicate they couldn't have competed for a starting job at UK.

 

[jwphelps]

Seems like every player we recruit is Soft. Finess type players who dont want to mix it up. Who is our Enforcer?? Seems like we have been getting pushed around for awhile. Even Oscar was not MEAN enough. We know in the NCAA Tournament the Refs tend to swallow the whistle. We know to win in the Tournament you have to win games when you dont get to play your style. Close games where one player wills you a Win.

I dont see that on our team. People say we have all these NBA players.. Maybe Dillingham. Wagner is slow, cant defend, and has one move which is to drive to the left and try some Circus Shot. Reeves is a shooter. Plenty of shooters in the NBA who also defend. Bradshaw. Too inconsistent on his Jumper. Not strong enough to be a force down under the Basket. Big Z. Shoots well for a Big but get pushed around as well. Shepherd. At times looks unbeatable. Love his motor. But disappears at times as well. Not fast or quick enough to stay in front of his man. Edwards a LOST CAUSE.

All Recruited by Calipari. So Cal is recruiting players who will be great Pro players but below average College players. What makes a GOOD College player?? Players who have an Attitude. Players who are thick and GOOD Basketball Players who have been told they won't make the NBA. Players who stay 3-4 years. Players who arent trying to force it to impress NBA Scouts. Which leads us to a Coach who plays the players that give you the best chance at winning games and not worrying about trying to get them to the League.

We hit the Jackpot in 2012 and 2015. But how many years have we missed?

I would say, we are playing in some cases over privileged freshman, most of these other programs are playing full grown men who stayed in college. Our freshmen are looking to jump to the NBA the next year.

 

[hawkes2]

All of ya'll are wrong. The problem with UK basketball is not recruiting or coaching. It is RETENTION. Brand new team every year. Coach has to simplify the playbook and change his system.