Bol is a game changer, better than I thought

[Louis_Skunt]

He's got a little Anthony Davis in his game, he completely controls the paint. What happened?

From what I remember, he was all about UK until BBM. Matt Jones hinted that he had a misunderstanding with the coaches and became completely disinterested in UK after Madness.

I'm thinking he thought a starting spot was guaranteed, so many minutes guaranteed or possibly payment? I could tell Matt Jones was edgy while dancing around this topic on KSR...but if the kid completely lost interest in one day. Something happened. Any guesses?

 

[KYFOSSIL]

He's got a little Anthony Davis in his game, he completely controls the paint. What happened?

From what I remember, he was all about UK until BBM. Matt Jones hinted that he had a misunderstanding with the coaches and became completely disinterested in UK after Madness.

I'm thinking he thought a starting spot was guaranteed, so many minutes guaranteed or possibly payment? I could tell Matt Jones was edgy while dancing around this topic on KSR...but if the kid completely lost interest in one day. Something happened. Any guesses?

Getting cut from team USA had a much bigger impact in my opinion.

 

[ConRay9]

He's got a little Anthony Davis in his game, he completely controls the paint. What happened?

From what I remember, he was all about UK until BBM. Matt Jones hinted that he had a misunderstanding with the coaches and became completely disinterested in UK after Madness.

I'm thinking he thought a starting spot was guaranteed, so many minutes guaranteed or possibly payment? I could tell Matt Jones was edgy while dancing around this topic on KSR...but if the kid completely lost interest in one day. Something happened. Any guesses?

According to MJ, Bol Bol and his family wanted him to be the one bringing the ball up the court. Acting as a 7'3 point guard. Cal disagreed, and the rift between them started there.

 

[Bluegrass79]

Whatever happened with Bol Bol Im freaking sad and disappointed about it. Same with not getting any of the Big 3 this year....Bagley, Auyton, Bamba.

Im upset we are not getting the Davis types who block shots. The Cousins types who score easily. The Towns types who do everything well.

It needs to get fixed. Cal should get any big he wants. He gets 7fts guys drafted who averaged 6 points and 5 rebounds [orton].
Cal doesnt deserve to have the best bigs playing for some other coach. I feel bad for him.

 

[UK90]

He's got a little Anthony Davis in his game, he completely controls the paint. What happened?

From what I remember, he was all about UK until BBM. Matt Jones hinted that he had a misunderstanding with the coaches and became completely disinterested in UK after Madness.

I'm thinking he thought a starting spot was guaranteed, so many minutes guaranteed or possibly payment? I could tell Matt Jones was edgy while dancing around this topic on KSR...but if the kid completely lost interest in one day. Something happened. Any guesses?

Cal cutting him from U19 Team USA team. As I recall, his own mother had some quotes acknowledging how upset the kid was when Cal cut him, and that's about when he seemed to lose interest in us.

 

[Poetax]

Cal didnt have the total say in who was on the team plus no one in this thread knows anything that is truely factual.

 

[ConRay9]

According to MJ, Bol Bol and his family wanted him to be the one bringing the ball up the court. Acting as a 7'3 point guard. Cal disagreed, and the rift between them started there.

As other comments start rolling in, MJ said this was the #1 reason he didn't come here. Cal had NO say in who was or wasn't cut from team USA. He fixed that disconnect with them, but when the Bol family believed he should be the primary ball handler that's when the relationship deteriorated.

Edit: And I don't disagree with him. Bol could have been a great player, but there was no way in hell he should have been the primary ball handler.

 

[morgousky]

It's more to do with a trend of OAD's going wherever they want. They simply do not have to care anymore, and therefore our system must be adjusted. I've seen it coming for a while, I expressed my fear of this sort of thing a few years ago when it was apparent that Cal wouldn't be landing the same types of classes as in years past.

But so many only care about a recruiting finish, they don't see a lack of skills and needs and dominance, only that we've got "4 five stars" which is nearly meaningless if a title is the aim.

 

[Orville Boggs]

We don't need a 7'3" point guard! Good luck to Bol!

 

[Poetax]

He is not a center. He’s an outside player who does shoot the ball well when he’s wide open. Usually his man does not leave the paint. He’s not a great rim protector nor a great rebounder and like a lot of bigs in high school he takes plays off a lot. He wouldn’t have been any help at center which we need.

 

[$Z71$]

I'm waiting to see how his body will hold up against the wear and tear of college game and how many minutes he is able to play per game. He had several high school games in the 13-18 minutes played range which is barely half a game. He is very thin. A unique talent but a lot of questions with him in my opinion.

 

[UK90]

Cal didnt have the total say in who was on the team plus no one in this thread knows anything that is truely factual.

Well, here's an article talking about him being upset by it:

http://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-basketball-men/article177118861.html

And here's a tweet mentioning his mother's comments:


Sure sounds to me like that likely had something to do with why he lost interest in us right after that. But, hey, maybe that's just coincidence....

 

[~Keyser Soze~]

According to MJ, Bol Bol and his family wanted him to be the one bringing the ball up the court. Acting as a 7'3 point guard. Cal disagreed, and the rift between them started there.

He doesn't bring the ball up for his HS team, why would he bring it up for team USA? I call BS on that claim.

 

[Poetax]

Well, here's an article talking about him being upset by it:

http://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-basketball-men/article177118861.html

And here's a tweet mentioning his mother's comments:

View embedded media

So certainly sounds to me like that likely had something to do with why he lost interest in us right after that.

Kenny Payne made the statement that he told Bol that Cal was not the only voter in making the team. That’s what I was going by. Plus Bol talked about that in a later article. No he was not happy nor was his mother, but I believe KP.

 

[RondoBaller21]

Give me Brown and Williamson and call it a class

 

[UK90]

Cal had NO say in who was or wasn't cut from team USA.

You've been smoking some seriously wacky weed if you actually believe this.

For cripes sake, Cal was the HEAD COACH, and the guy who ran the training camp and tryouts in Colorado Springs from which the roster was chosen. Although it may be true that others also had a say, it's utterly ludicrous to believe Cal had no say.
...

 

[Poetax]

You've been smoking some seriously wacky weed if you actually believe this.

For cripes sake, Cal was the HEAD COACH, and the guy who ran the training camp and tryouts in Colorado Springs from which the roster was chosen. Although it may be true that others also had a say, it's utterly ludicrous to believe Cal had no say.
...

You’re right he did have a say but not the sole voter.

 

[UK90]

You’re right he did have a say but not the sole voter.

Fair enough. This possibility I can believe.

But a claim that the head coach and the guy who ran the tryouts had no say is just preposterous.

 

[Poetax]

Fair enough. This possibility I can believe.

But a claim that the head coach and guy who ran the tryouts had no say is beyond preposterous.

Yeah no HC gets treated like that with the US team.

 

[Thompkins4uk]

So Bol Bol is going to bring the ball up next year at Oregon? Interesting...

 

[ConRay9]

He doesn't bring the ball up for his HS team, why would he bring it up for team USA? I call BS on that claim.

So MJ pulled that out of his ass right after the Oregon predictions started rolling in after BBM? I'll remind you UK was the leader until the BBM trip.

 

[ConRay9]

You've been smoking some seriously wacky weed if you actually believe this.

For cripes sake, Cal was the HEAD COACH, and the guy who ran the training camp and tryouts in Colorado Springs from which the roster was chosen. Although it may be true that others also had a say, it's utterly ludicrous to believe Cal had no say.
...

You can believe whatever you want, but this wasn't a deciding factor in his decision. UK was the LEADER, right before BBM. I'll remind you, that was MONTHS AFTER the USA tryouts. The talk was that he wanted to be a primary ball handler. That doesn't mean he would be the point guard, but he wanted to handle the ball almost just as much as a guard. Cal said no, and that ended it.

I'm not smoking anything by the way, I just can see the writing on the wall when it's there, thanks.

 

[~Keyser Soze~]

So MJ pulled that out of his ass right after the Oregon predictions started rolling in after BBM? I'll remind you UK was the leader until the BBM trip.

More plausible than a family being mad at a coach for not letting their 7'3 son run point.

 

[ConRay9]

So Bol Bol is going to bring the ball up next year at Oregon? Interesting...

Just because those were the reports coming out of his recruitment doesn't mean Oregon agreed to make him the point guard. Bol had a similar situation to Trae Young. Cal didn't want a player that yearned to be a ball dominant player on the team like they did.

 

[UK90]

You can believe whatever you want, but this wasn't a deciding factor in his decision. UK was the LEADER, right before BBM.

Bullshit. I remember reports of him moving away from us in mid summer, loong before BBM. For example, notice this quote in the article linked above:

"That development apparently led to some hard feelings between Bol and UK’s camp. The Cats appeared to be favorites in his recruitment up until that point. By the end of the summer, however, recruiting analysts pegged Arizona and Southern Cal as the new frontrunners for Bol, and Kentucky was little more than an afterthought among the national experts."

Unlike you, I don't falsely claim to know what was the "deciding factor", because only Bol himself could know that. BUT, if you look at the timeline, it doesn't take a genius to recognize what was likely a factor:

1) Up until Summer 2017 UK was reported to be his heavy favorite.

2) He then got cut from Team USA, followed by stories about how he and his mom were upset that Cal cut him.

3) Right after that, we began hearing reports that he was no longer so interested in UK.

I mean, c'mon, it hardly takes brilliant deductive reasoning to look at that timeline and realize there's probably some connection between 2 and 3.

 

[ConRay9]

More plausible than a family being mad at a coach for not letting their 7'3 son run point.

Fine, maybe they didn't want him to run point. But they wanted him to be a primary ball handler on the team. The dude shoots 3's and makes Wenyen look fat, is he really going to bang down low? Nah MJ and other journalists that would know are just making shit up. Right.

Bullshit. I remember reports of him moving away from us in mid summer, loong before MM. And, as evidence, I'd point to this quote in the article I linked above:

"That development apparently led to some hard feelings between Bol and UK’s camp. The Cats appeared to be favorites in his recruitment up until that point. By the end of the summer, however, recruiting analysts pegged Arizona and Southern Cal as the new frontrunners for Bol, and Kentucky was little more than an afterthought among the national experts."

Look, unlike you, I don't claim to know what was the "deciding factor" in his decision, none of us do, only Bol himself could know that. BUT, if you look at the timeline, it doesn't take a genius to recognize what was likely a factor:

1) Up until Summer 2017 UK was reported to be his heavy favorite.

2) He then got cut from Team USA, followed by stories about how he and his mom were upset that Cal cut him.

3) Right after that, we began hearing reports that he was no longer so interested in UK.

I mean, c'mon, it hardly takes brilliant deductive reasoning powers to look at that timeline and realize there's probably some connection between 2 and 3.

Do you honestly think that if Cal really wanted him/had the final say, he would have let him be cut from team USA? I mean, do you think Cal is an idiot? I watched multiple periscopes between TJ Walker and Matt Jones, and both suggested the family wanted him to be a primary ball handler. That didn't fit with what Cal wanted by the time BBM rolled around. So he's at Oregon.

 

[martinsm30]

Bullshit. I remember reports of him moving away from us in mid summer, loong before MM. For example, notice this quote in the article I linked above:

"That development apparently led to some hard feelings between Bol and UK’s camp. The Cats appeared to be favorites in his recruitment up until that point. By the end of the summer, however, recruiting analysts pegged Arizona and Southern Cal as the new frontrunners for Bol, and Kentucky was little more than an afterthought among the national experts."

Look, unlike you, I don't claim to know what was the "deciding factor" in his decision, none of us do, only Bol himself could know that. BUT, if you look at the timeline, it doesn't take a genius to recognize what was likely a factor:

1) Up until Summer 2017 UK was reported to be his heavy favorite.

2) He then got cut from Team USA, followed by stories about how he and his mom were upset that Cal cut him.

3) Right after that, we began hearing reports that he was no longer so interested in UK.

I mean, c'mon, it hardly takes brilliant deductive reasoning powers to look at that timeline and realize there's probably some connection between 2 and 3.

http://www.kktv.com/content/sports/2017-USA-Mens-U19-World-Cup-Team-Finalized-430234303.html

"This is a really hard process. But it wasn't just me selecting these guys, USA Basketball is involved. This was done by committee, and it went back and forth. Everybody was giving opinions. We went to midnight and we still couldn't make the final decision, we had to sleep on it.

"Having to select the first group (finalists) was really hard and we ended up keeping three or four more guys, because we weren't ready to make a decision on those three or four. And then, we had couple of injuries, which ended up moving that number down. But, at the end of the day, there were three players for one spot and we had to choose one. We looked and said, 'okay. Who, if they had to, could help us?' And that's who we went with."

 

[morgousky]

Seriously, I'm still shocked he was cut. I didn't follow it, but if he's as good as advertised, you'd think he was at least good enough to make the roster.

Bizarre situation all the way around.

I have a hard time believing Cal would cut a player he wanted badly, making it impossible to land the kid for his own team. But it seems we haven't gotten a good boost from him coaching that team, quite the opposite.

 

[miracle7s]

Cal hates lazy guys and more than that he hates soft guys. Bol is both and along with his ganja habits, bitching about the team usa ordeal to the media, and weird requests of how he was going to be played I'm pretty sure Cal was a dick to him during the visit because #1 he wasnt going to let the other recruits see him be bullied into a kid's wants and #2 he really didnt want him that bad. I don't believe for 1 second the whole Cal doesn't tell kids anything but the truth deal. If Zion or Barrett or Bagley or somebody like that says coach i want to bring the ball up the court some and work on my point forward skills he's saying absolutely you can definitely do that some. The fact that Cal wasn't willing to do that with Bol lets you know how Cal really feels about him.

 

[Zac2000]

I think BBM trip is the key. Right after that rumors started other guys didn't like playing with him. Not sure if true. But. Our Frosh we're pretty close coming in. At the same time. It could of been a little of all these issues factoring in.

 

[DrH. Lecter]

My understanding is that the parents wanted his first name and not his last name on the back of his jersey and Cal said we do not do that here.

 

[Blue Decade]

He's got a little Anthony Davis in his game, he completely controls the paint. What happened?

From what I remember, he was all about UK until BBM. Matt Jones hinted that he had a misunderstanding with the coaches and became completely disinterested in UK after Madness.

I'm thinking he thought a starting spot was guaranteed, so many minutes guaranteed or possibly payment? I could tell Matt Jones was edgy while dancing around this topic on KSR...but if the kid completely lost interest in one day. Something happened. Any guesses?

I think Bol will eventually be an NBA player, but not a star. Bol has great size and upside. He does not have great feet, but he is young. He is not a physically strong player at this stage of his career, and will struggle with man to man concept. Calipari probably wanted him to work harder to defend the right way. Some of these kids read their own press clippings. UK isn't for everyone.

 

[bigc45157]

Well, here's an article talking about him being upset by it:

http://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-basketball-men/article177118861.html

And here's a tweet mentioning his mother's comments:

View embedded media

Sure sounds to me like that likely had something to do with why he lost interest in us right after that. But, hey, maybe that's just coincidence....

If that’s no the epitome of a millineal quote, I️ don’t know what is. It’s completely understandable to be disappointed, but the kids Mom saying he’s sad and upset and needs it explained just doesn’t seem to bode well for that kid going forward.

 

[ThroughBlue]

I think we can all agree or should that Matt jones gets his info the Same way all of us do. Reading quotes and articles and trying to read in between the lines

 

[TrustinCal]

Attendance is down at games and KSR just isn't getting the hits like it used to.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

It's more to do with a trend of OAD's going wherever they want. They simply do not have to care anymore, and therefore our system must be adjusted. I've seen it coming for a while, I expressed my fear of this sort of thing a few years ago when it was apparent that Cal wouldn't be landing the same types of classes as in years past.

But so many only care about a recruiting finish, they don't see a lack of skills and needs and dominance, only that we've got "4 five stars" which is nearly meaningless if a title is the aim.

This. Just like Bamba with Texas. They know if they come to UK they will be coached and pushed. Go elsewhere, and they can shoot all the bad perimeter shots they want.

 

[BlueSince92]

My understanding is that the parents wanted his first name and not his last name on the back of his jersey and Cal said we do not do that here.

 

[Blue Decade]

I think we can all agree or should that Matt jones gets his info the Same way all of us do. Reading quotes and articles and trying to read in between the lines

This seems rather obvious.

 

[Blueaz]

If that’s no the epitome of a millineal quote, I️ don’t know what is. It’s completely understandable to be disappointed, but the kids Mom saying he’s sad and upset and needs it explained just doesn’t seem to bode well for that kid going forward.

Bol and mom are just pre maddonas

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

It's more to do with a trend of OAD's going wherever they want. They simply do not have to care anymore, and therefore our system must be adjusted. I've seen it coming for a while, I expressed my fear of this sort of thing a few years ago when it was apparent that Cal wouldn't be landing the same types of classes as in years past.

But so many only care about a recruiting finish, they don't see a lack of skills and needs and dominance, only that we've got "4 five stars" which is nearly meaningless if a title is the aim.

I wonder if Cal is changing the recruiting narrative. If not, selling the Immanuel Quickleys of the world on OAD is not going to work because they’re in the second tier, and will ultimately lead to another bizarre platoon backlog of talent, which as we have already seen with the Jaylen Brown class, totally murders UK’s recruiting efforts among the elites of a class.


The only consensus top 5 kids UK has landed since the ’13 class (Randle) have been Skal and Towns. That’s two top 5 kids in 4.5 recruiting cycles (5 if Zion doesn’t enlist with UK). Some on this board coyly stigmatize this type of talk by asking what the difference is between a kid ranked #7 and a kid ranked #3. The difference, as we have seen, is the difference between a James Young and a Andrew Wiggins; the difference is that between a Mo Bamba and a Nick Richards or a Jayson Tatum and a Wenyen Gabriel. Some are apparently creating the “it’s no big deal” narrative to mitigate their own minds about UK’s prospects for a title, but in a system that’s predicated on freshmen, UK needs to land elite freshmen in the first tier. The sample size has shown this time and time again. Titles will not be won with second tier freshmen and a sprinkling of second tier sophomores leading the charge.

I agree with your premise that such efforts won’t get it – a title – done if the UK staff is maintaining the same recruiting narrative with these kids. It would only breed more of the Charles Matthews mentality than anything else, and lead to transfers, kids leaving prematurely for the draft, and pre-Final Four exists. If people are fine with that, fine. But discussing title contention means truly analyzing what works and doesn’t work regarding the OAD. Failing to land the Barrets/Zions of the world kills UK’s system in March/April. Elite, top 5 freshmen have become must-gets, unless of course the system narratives and outlooks are changing.

Maybe they are. The burden of proof is not on the skeptical mind, however; not in year #9 with almost a full decade of sample size to work with.