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C Wilson

I think the staff put all their eggs in one basket with Wilson.
I’d be curious to see how hard we went after Cenac . “Supposedly “ it was an either/or between those two . It’s been reported for quite awhile that Wilson agreed to UK’s NIL offer . Don’t know if that was before or after Cenac committed to Houston. Poor ole Cal wanted both and lost them both, then lost his 3rd big man (Mouhamed Sylla) to Georgia Tech , lol .
 
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Of course we'll never know but I wonder if Wilson told the staff at some point he was coming and then later on backed off of that, I'm not worried if we miss on him but it just seems like they wasn't recruiting anybody else in this class for a while other than Wilson.
 
I think the staff put all their eggs in one basket with Wilson and I think Wilson misled the staff.
It kinda feels like it a little. I mean we got Acaden Lewis who he wanted to play with more than anyone. We led the whole time. We got extra NIL to get a strong package for him. Everything went according to the timeline and plan only to lose him to UNC after he said he took the extra time to see them play. It’s a no brainer based on that.
 
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Losing out on Wilson is a big blow no matter how people here try to spin it. We were the leader for a long time and and to lose him to the shit show that is UNC is a major disappointment.

I want to see Pope get a top recruit that is not from KY.
How does anyone know how the leader was?
 
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Years ago when I was in high school I wanted to take a certain girl to prom. She was a 7.5 out of 10 in terms of looks and her personality was probably closer to a five; but she was popular and locking her up meant a step up on the social ladder. I was young and stupid and so I put my pursuits on her.

Meanwhile, there was a girl that I genuinely got along with. She was more beautiful and nicer, but she didn't have access to the same friendship circles.

I went all in on the first girl, and came up empty. Meanwhile, the second girl ended up going with one of my moron friends to prom. He took her home before 11:00 and went back out to party. So she spent most of the night by herself, when she could have been having fun with me all night.

It was one of the dumber decisions of my youth.

I should have went with the girl that fit, the one that I was more attracted to, and the one that I got along with better.

Instead, I ended up with neither for prom and ended up having to take a third option.

Wilson is the first girl. He's the hyped up one. Meanwhile, the portal will offer someone who fits our system better. We just have to be patient. The whole Caleb Wilson recruitment was an exercise in vanity for our fan base. From a practical level, he offers us about the same production that five or six portal players will offer.
 
Lewis is a fine player. He’s ranked in the 30s, Wilson is #6. Massive difference.
Massive difference how? Is it a given that Wilson will have a bigger impact on winning CBB games next season than Lewis based on those rankings? Are the recruiting rankings even intended to be an indication of who they expect to be the best freshman player next season, or is it instead based on how they project the player’s future pro potential and relative draft position?

What if the 6th ranked recruit is OAD regardless of really producing well for UK? Which one is the better recruit for your team: (1) a 6th ranked OAD guy with so many holes in his game yet that he might be mistaken for Swiss cheese, but is drafted on potential anyway; or (2) the kid ranked in the 30s who plays 3 years – two of which he’s a major piece in a title contending team (maybe All-Conference or even All-American that 3rd year)?
 
The portal has changed at how I look at recruiting. I’d rather take a couple 4star to low 5 star guys who don’t plan to be 1 and done. Then mix them in with some major transfers. Unless you get a kid like Flagg, Harper, or Bailey you’re not getting the production to outweigh the lack of longevity with 1 and done guys.
 
Years ago when I was in high school I wanted to take a certain girl to prom. She was a 7.5 out of 10 in terms of looks and her personality was probably closer to a five; but she was popular and locking her up meant a step up on the social ladder. I was young and stupid and so I put my pursuits on her.

Meanwhile, there was a girl that I genuinely got along with. She was more beautiful and nicer, but she didn't have access to the same friendship circles.

I went all in on the first girl, and came up empty. Meanwhile, the second girl ended up going with one of my moron friends to prom. He took her home before 11:00 and went back out to party. So she spent most of the night by herself, when she could have been having fun with me all night.

It was one of the dumber decisions of my youth.

I should have went with the girl that fit, the one that I was more attracted to, and the one that I got along with better.

Instead, I ended up with neither for prom and ended up having to take a third option.

Wilson is the first girl. He's the hyped up one. Meanwhile, the portal will offer someone who fits our system better. We just have to be patient. The whole Caleb Wilson recruitment was an exercise in vanity for our fan base. From a practical level, he offers us about the same production that five or six portal players will offer.
You gotta let it go man..

Just kidding of course, good analogy. If he wants to be a Tarheel then bye, not a big loss imo.
 
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The portal has changed at how I look at recruiting. I’d rather take a couple 4star to low 5 star guys who don’t plan to be 1 and done. Then mix them in with some major transfers. Unless you get a kid like Flagg, Harper, or Bailey you’re not getting the production to outweigh the lack of longevity with 1 and done guys.
You can still recruit kids on the caliber like Rob Dillingham, Red Sheppard, Cason Wallace, Tyty Washington, Issiah Jackson and they can play meaningful minutes and be contributer, but if they are top options of the team, you team will not go far in tournament.

If you can recruit Flagg, Bachelo, Zion, AD type of your player, just recruit them without even thinking, they can still be the top option of your team, but needs to mix with other experienced players.
 
I expect Jasper Johnson has similar level of performance with Cason Wallace and TyTy Washington and be OAD player.

I could also see Acaden gives us 15 min a game, and breakout in year 2.

Moreno will play meaningful minutes in second year.

I think our 2026 recruit will be way more better than this year.
 
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I'm skeptical due his size. Yeah he's 6'11 but is very thin. I saw him play early in the year and although he has nice touch around the basket, he got pushed around by a 6'7" player much stronger.
Pope can and will develop him, I like him but it's a push for him to get 15-20 minutes next year IMO.
Soph yr he will be much stronger and able to hold his own more.
I see him developing along the same timeline as jonni broome. Get a little better, a little stronger each year and by the time he's a jr/sr, he's grown into a force to be reckoned with
 
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If Wilson is lifelong UNC fan, and UNC has been his dream school since childhood, I can totally understand he will go to UNC for another reason.

He thinks he could be the "hero" to make turnaround for UNC, he could save UNC from garbage. So if he is a lifelong UNC fan, he may feel he has the loyal and duty to make this.

But I hate the fact that he is trolling with UK, using UK for attention if he actually was UNC lock long ago.
 
We’ll see . Hasn’t happened yet. But Cooper Flagg isn’t the typical top 5 guy either. They’ve had three better than them combined and they didn’t make the final four.
Auburn is better on a neutral floor , how many do they have ?
This Duke team is perfectly constructed.
Veteran backcourt surrounded by talent in the frontcourt.
They are the favorite to win it.
Auburn is better on a neutral floor huh...
Because you know it all.. lol
Auburn is very good. But I don't trust Pearl's offensive scheme.
I'll take the Duke team over them.
 
This Duke team is perfectly constructed.
Veteran backcourt surrounded by talent in the frontcourt.
They are the favorite to win it.
Auburn is better on a neutral floor huh...
Because you know it all.. lol
Auburn is very good. But I don't trust Pearl's offensive scheme.
I'll take the Duke team over them.
Alabama could beat this duke team

But i feel duke will be a surefire final 4 team with better coach. And the construction of duke tean can be copied to make success
 
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If Wilson is lifelong UNC fan, and UNC has been his dream school since childhood, I can totally understand he will go to UNC for another reason.

He thinks he could be the "hero" to make turnaround for UNC, he could save UNC from garbage. So if he is a lifelong UNC fan, he may feel he has the loyal and duty to make this.

But I hate the fact that he is trolling with UK, using UK for attention if he actually was UNC lock long ago.
Let's hope that turns out for them the same way it normally does for us. 🤣
 
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Of course we'll never know but I wonder if Wilson told the staff at some point he was coming and then later on backed off of that, I'm not worried if we miss on him but it just seems like they wasn't recruiting anybody else in this class for a while other than Wilson.
was wondering this as well

seemed like early on they were really after Ament, then that suddenly went quiet & all you heard about was Wiloson
 
If Wilson wants to go to UNCheat, so be it. If he wants to be a Cat, great. Would be kind of funny if he announced for THE (his third finalist no one gives a chance to). Whatever his decision, I'll just be glad when it is made so we can move on with him or without him. Me, I'll not be tuning in to the conclusion of a NBA game to see the guy put the spotlight on himself on TNT.

Clock Tick Tock GIF by MOODMAN
 
was wondering this as well

seemed like early on they were really after Ament, then that suddenly went quiet & all you heard about was Wiloson
was wondering this as well

seemed like early on they were really after Ament, then that suddenly went quiet & all you heard about was Wiloson
This is what I speculative

Pope may be screwed as well. He may get some good info from wilson camp and that is enough for pope to give up other frontcourt options

Wilson camp may just using UK, gives UK wrong info to just rasie NIL to make UNC to match up
 
I'll add Yaxel Lendeborg for UAB. Technically a Senior but played JUCO and I don't think those years count against eligibility anymore (may just be a football thing though?)

16.5p 10r 4a 1.5b 1.5s / 33.3 3P% on 2 attempts for a solid mid major team
Last year a large number of kids were in the portal. Pope likely already knows his top kids.
It's gonna be a portal kid though. Has worked out well for this year.
 
This isn't 2012 anymore... A fringe top 5 recruit isn't going to make or break the season. We have a solid class already and I trust Pope to add quality vets from the transfer portal.
 
It kinda feels like it a little. I mean we got Acaden Lewis who he wanted to play with more than anyone. We led the whole time. We got extra NIL to get a strong package for him. Everything went according to the timeline and plan only to lose him to UNC after he said he took the extra time to see them play. It’s a no brainer based on that.
Yeah, but F2m I have to wonder how many of those things were really true to start with or were they little more than message board conventional wisdom taken as fact because they fit a desired outcome?

Like did Wilson really want to play with Lewis more than anyone? According to one of the recruiting guys (Joe Tipton), Wilson actually prefers the idea of playing with Elliot Cadeau at UNC due to his experience. Of course, this might not be true either. But it seems the “recruit A wants to play with recruit B” rationale has routinely been proven to be one of the weaker justifications, yet is still used in recruiting talk over and over again. And did UK really lead the whole time in the recruitment of Wilson? Where is the proof of that? More internet message board conventional wisdom and confirmation bias?

I just think a lot of this recruiting “information” about who leads for a recruit is mostly speculating and trying to read tea leaves to fill up space where knowledge is missing. And the old “things changed” excuse is more often a situation where things “never were” to start with. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun speculating and talking about it. I like reading all these theories and opinions myself. It’s a UK basketball message board and that’s part of the fun, I think. But we probably shouldn’t set our clocks by that stuff.
 
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