This is like asking me how my day was ….. at 8 in the morning.
Are you Concerned with Portal Recruiting?
- Thread starter Farsight
- Start date
I don't disagree with the fact we could play and win on any given night with those teams fully healthy!
But the margin of era was really slim, and the chances of winning 4 in a row is almost impossible with a roster like that!
He needed one good playmaker or athletic big!
You know how pro Pope I’ve been. But I gotta say, the mantra of “every kids gonna want to play in CMP’s offense “ seems to have been a bunch of bullshit .
Maybe it will still turn out that way but right now it’s hard to feel like we are a FA destination.
I'm concerned that the Kentucky basketball program isn't handling the portal well, nor are they properly equipped for this new era of college basketball. We appear to be a step behind.
You can’t be egalitarian in this age. It’s like the pros.
Pay 3-4 studs the high dollars. Overpay difference makers. Fill in around them with bargain guys you’ve scouted who you think will be great complimentary guys. That’s the title formula.
Pay 3-4 studs the high dollars. Overpay difference makers. Fill in around them with bargain guys you’ve scouted who you think will be great complimentary guys. That’s the title formula.
It’s troubling to me when CMP thinks enough of a recruit to spontaneously fly to Atlanta and have dinner with a kid and his family and not even get a visit.
Well, we're not. I know no one wants to hear this, but the John Walls didn't come here because they liked the fans and the horses. And now Cal is gone, and we have the exact opposite of a coach: even-keeled, and pro-offense... and we're still struggling, despite offering big NIL deals (I think we are?).
What's the common denominator? I think were realizing that enticing players to UK is a bit harder than we think in this new era of college basketball.
At some point, you have to look within. Is it the AD? Are we not putting enough time into figuring NIL out and how best it can help us? Are we lacking in booster money? Do recruits kind of not care about where they play for now?
It's SOMETHING, it's not nothing.
I’ll be honest. I had to look up the definition of egalitarian.
Because it's a trend.. and not exactly one that's difficult to suss out. We're striking out and getting turned down. Simply saying "Well, it's not even 3am at the bar yet!" doesn't sit well with me.
A little concerned but have faith in Pope and his staff. Just find it hard to believe KY can’t go get who they want without a bidding wars and or guys chooses other schools. I still think we land a nice collection of talent to help build a championship team next season.
You’re overlooking the WWW “advantage “ we had back then. Your point still stands though.
I'm not the one talking about it like it could happen. I sound dumb saying it'd make me happy if Sophia Bush climbed in my bed tonight, huh? You keep talking about the possibility of Braden Smith coming here, doubtful or not. I'll let everyone else discuss the intelect on display.
But that just proves the point, that it's something we no longer had.
Still, Cal was able to recruit extremely well right until the end.. only Duke bested us (and we now know why). Cal's model still rang true with HS recruits, which was "I can get you an NBA contract faster than anyone else".. And that (along with WWW) is what drew them in.
I have full confidence in Pope, so far, but I feel he hasn’t decisively made a splash and hooked a big one yet. I feel UK is penny pinching. I don’t think that’s what’s happening, just the same feeling I get.
This is a fair and honest comment. BTW, I like the gauge of where the feelings are. Especially with the April 7th date looming. Guys are coming off the board quickly.
Golden is in his third year and has made remarkable progress. So I guess some will say wait until
Popes third year. Ok. We’ll see.
Popes third year. Ok. We’ll see.
This is where I’m at.
Very very concerning. Didn’t they also send the whole coaching staff in on a player that chose to go somewhere else too?
I'll only be worried if we start settling for guys like Mgbako or Dallin Hall.
You just said what most people don’t want to hear. But you can’t dispute it. Of course it’s concerning.
Keeping up appearances, is all I can figure! I kept wondering the same thing, when Pope was recruiting Dybantsa, the Boozers, Cenac, Wilson, and lastly Ament!
I’m like, “Dude, you know every one of those guys are going to be between $2 million (Wilson), and northwards to $4 million (Dybantsa)! UK is not spending that, so why even waste your time!”
Whatever, I’ve been a fan since ‘76, and I’ll be a fan going forward!
Gun to my head, thats what this feels like to me. I can't see players not wanting to play for Pope.. yet they are in love with 1st year Pat Kelsey? Or Brian Dutcher at SDSU? Or not even having Pope in your finalists? Doesn't seem right. This smells like Kentucky (and Kentucky's offer) is coming at this all the wrong way, and possibly from a stance that says "you need us more than we need you".
If we're not willing to spend at least $2 mil on SOME talent.. then you can kiss the basketball program goodbye. We are not going to make a winnable roster with 5 starters each making $500 to $750k. Start finding a new hobby.
Unfortunately that miserable 10% posts nonstop and derail every thread with their whining
I'll throw this out that which will for sure get a litany of boos..
Was Cal maybe onto something when he would make some underhanded comments about the program not wanting to spend money in the right ways? Problems with the AD? Problems with the facilities? Now, not saying he was right.. and not saying Mitch wasn't right to take the stand he did a year ago.. but Cal, clearly felt a type of way about the way the program was financing things. And that's not "nothing" to me.
Disregarding Cal, I'll ask it a different way: Are UK and the athletic department coming at this with a very antiquated way of thinking?
Again, I'll get boo'd.. but I really have no other explanation for what were seeing.
Was Cal maybe onto something when he would make some underhanded comments about the program not wanting to spend money in the right ways? Problems with the AD? Problems with the facilities? Now, not saying he was right.. and not saying Mitch wasn't right to take the stand he did a year ago.. but Cal, clearly felt a type of way about the way the program was financing things. And that's not "nothing" to me.
Disregarding Cal, I'll ask it a different way: Are UK and the athletic department coming at this with a very antiquated way of thinking?
Again, I'll get boo'd.. but I really have no other explanation for what were seeing.
Not worried at all. It's a random crapshoot and I can't get excited about some guy from Robert Morris until I see him against our tough schedule. Same with most of these guys. It all just seems random and luck unless u have Duke level money.
I think the main question is, does Mitch have any control on NIL and how it gets allocated?
Its April 2nd. The Final Four has not even started. This time last year Calipari was our coach. It is the 1st inning of the portal madness. Try your best to be patient and not so emotional.
I have no problem being patient, but it is not the first inning of the portal.
Yes it is. The NBA workouts haven't even gotten started. That is when you can start zeroing in on the superstars and "outbid" the 2nd round, g-league etc.
This time last year Calipari was still our coach.
That is why no other top programs have loaded up in the portal yet. Again, in case I need to type it again for the dense folks on here....no other top programs have loaded up in the portal yet either.
I’m in category 2. I’m not ready to say the sky is falling yet, but we have a few obvious holes on our roster that need filled as it stands now. Preferably with impact players and not just serviceable ones if we hope to be competing for championships.
Things worked out about as well as we could have hoped for with the circumstances this year, so the staff has earned some benefit of the doubt from me. To compare to a different sport though, I was hoping a full cycle with Pope in place as coach would lead to us acting more like the Dodgers or Yankees in the portal, combining an analytics based approach with the resources to attract top talent, than the Rays trying to build a contender out of overlooked gems based on analytics alone. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t starting to make me just a little anxious that a lot of highly regarded transfers are already starting to sign with new schools and we’re not landing any of them for various reasons. Hopefully we have better luck with some guys who haven’t officially entered the portal yet.
Things worked out about as well as we could have hoped for with the circumstances this year, so the staff has earned some benefit of the doubt from me. To compare to a different sport though, I was hoping a full cycle with Pope in place as coach would lead to us acting more like the Dodgers or Yankees in the portal, combining an analytics based approach with the resources to attract top talent, than the Rays trying to build a contender out of overlooked gems based on analytics alone. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t starting to make me just a little anxious that a lot of highly regarded transfers are already starting to sign with new schools and we’re not landing any of them for various reasons. Hopefully we have better luck with some guys who haven’t officially entered the portal yet.
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It does “seem like” this portal season is moving a lot faster though.
