Cal - Once Again, a Hostage!

[Dontworryboutit23]

The two Kansas transfers and Grant Nelson are the ones we know of. There are also a few guys doing the same Oscar draft testing who will become available as transfers when the pull out of the draft.

Grant Nelson isn’t waiting for Oscar, he is league bound, and those 2 Kansas transfers may be a maybe

 

[bookerfan66]

Grant Nelson isn’t waiting for Oscar, he is league bound, and those 2 Kansas transfers may be a maybe

I don't think Cal has even reached out to Udeh and Zuby is just not very good.

 

[cats2010]

He's painted himself in that corner, Shadey Sharpe fully pulled back the curtain...he's now a victim of his own demise...he could never win without an overwhelming talent advantage, and now with NIL, he's in real school with a level playing field and the in-game coaching ability equal to Billy Gillispie.

The Rat took his mojo and then a badger gnawed off his nutsack - The End.

Sadly I think BG could coach circles around cal and that is not meant to be a compliment to BG’s coaching.

 

[Philstat]

Sadly I think BG could coach circles around cal and that is not meant to be a compliment to BG’s coaching.

Cal is at best, in the top half of the SEC in coaching.

 

[NociHTTP]

Then why do we have insiders saying UK backed off the Dickinson kid in the final hours b/c we had an incoming Freshman that wasn't happy with the idea of adding Dickinson? I mean, this isn't national dudes releasing this crap, it's local media, and someone is feeding them this garbage. So either we lost Dickinson, and the staff was doing damage control, or we didn't really want him. Which is it?

Or we wanted him, and some kid on the 23-24 roster threw a fit about it. That was your original question but ended up not an option.

 

[CatPhight]

Sadly I think BG could coach circles around cal and that is not meant to be a compliment to BG’s coaching.

Given similar talent I concur...

 

[cats2010]

Cal is at best, in the top half of the SEC in coaching.

Respectively disagree. With his stubbornness on not ever switching defenses, lack of inbound plays, defending inbound plays, willingness to adjust in game, player preferential treatment, use of lineups, refusal of developing a bench, incomplete rosters, ……….. I think he’s one of the worst in the country. CCC is a perfect name for him yet the highest paid in the country.

 

[Philstat]

Respectively disagree. With his stubbornness on not ever switching defenses, lack of inbound plays, defending inbound plays, willingness to adjust in game, player preferential treatment, use of lineups, refusal of developing a bench, incomplete rosters, ……….. I think he’s one of the worst in the country. CCC is a perfect name for him yet the highest paid in the country.

I don’t dispute that at all

 

[villefan76]

Not been really keeping up with much, but who’s the kid from Tennessee that just hit the portal? I think he was a freshman this past season. TIA.

 

[bthaunert]

We aren’t the only school where teams still have unknowns. Here are other makor programs that have guys who have entered the NBA draft and maintained eligibility:

Alabama - 3
Arkansas - 2
Auburn - 3
Creighton - 3
Gonzaga - 3
Michigan State - 2
Texas - 2
UCLA - 3
UConn - 3

While it’s not ideal, there are other major programs going through it too

 

[ManitouDan]

Lots of early season losses , the typical jock swinging Cal crowd chants " give it time". Wait til March Blah Blah Blah rinse repeat .

 

[BBNWildcat]

This sport would be a lot better if we went rolled it back to the old student athlete model and locked these guys down. NCAA has given athletes everything they've wanted in the name of fixing "exploitation" and the game has gone to shit. Athletes have shown they can't handle this level of freedom without becoming greedy and self centered themselves. I wish there was a better solution.

The NCAA didn’t do that, the Supreme Court did. Try and keep up.

 

[Mike-D]

No insider said that.

Oh ok

 

[Wildcats1st]

I don’t see any of the other elite programs going through this, at the moment, he has three players once again preventing him from signing anyone else with the hopes of their return. The vast majority of the top transfers have already committed elsewhere, he will reach his typical benchmark, an incomplete and unbalanced roster, though they’ll have great length and wingspans...

We re all hostages to cal and Barney. And at times the 10 guys cal let’s run the program.

 

[NociHTTP]

We aren’t the only school where teams still have unknowns. Here are other makor programs that have guys who have entered the NBA draft and maintained eligibility:

Alabama - 3
Arkansas - 2
Auburn - 3
Creighton - 3
Gonzaga - 3
Michigan State - 2
Texas - 2
UCLA - 3
UConn - 3

While it’s not ideal, there are other major programs going through it too

I appreciate that others are struggling, but it's just excuses. Time marches on, UK becomes less and less relevant and those other teams find a way to rise back to the top.

 

[Wildcats1st]

I appreciate that others are struggling, but it's just excuses. Time marches on, UK becomes less and less relevant and those other teams find a way to rise back to the top.

Plus you start stacking titles for the last 23 / 24 years UCOnn has 4 duke 3 UNC 3. After the Bcg debacle we weren’t in a position to have a massive lull like this unless cal had cleaned up the first half of his tenure. I don’t care about what teams go through each off-season because every day offseason we have gone through he same garbage for 14 year. Cal put it all on an undefeated season and choked. Since then the off seasons have been zero fun and all bs.

 

[kywildcat41035]

Respectively disagree. With his stubbornness on not ever switching defenses, lack of inbound plays, defending inbound plays, willingness to adjust in game, player preferential treatment, use of lineups, refusal of developing a bench, incomplete rosters, ……….. I think he’s one of the worst in the country. CCC is a perfect name for him yet the highest paid in the country.

This right here!!!

 

[2Dope15]

I don’t see any of the other elite programs going through this, at the moment, he has three players once again preventing him from signing anyone else with the hopes of their return. The vast majority of the top transfers have already committed elsewhere, he will reach his typical benchmark, an incomplete and unbalanced roster, though they’ll have great length and wingspans...

Just wait to next year. Lol. Pretty sure Wagner, Edwards, Bradshaw will be one and done, maybe Dilly. If any of Reeves, Oscar, and Livingston come back they will be gone. That's other 6 to 7 players. Again.

 

[Disappointed Cat]

I don’t see any of the other elite programs going through this, at the moment, he has three players once again preventing him from signing anyone else with the hopes of their return. The vast majority of the top transfers have already committed elsewhere, he will reach his typical benchmark, an incomplete and unbalanced roster, though they’ll have great length and wingspans...

Based on the past few years, did you really expect anything else??

 

[bnewt]

The two Kansas transfers and Grant Nelson are the ones we know of. There are also a few guys doing the same Oscar draft testing who will become available as transfers when the pull out of the draft.

If Nelson is one
Take him now,today, this second
If Oscar wants to come back tell him others will be playing too, nothing guaranteed

 

[docholiday51]

FIFY

Too bad Cal isn't a fan of Gunsmoke, Have Gun-Will Travel or Rawhide. Coach Gil Favor has a nice ring to it

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

Hard to fathom UK not being able to get some of the top transfers. This system just doesn't work for us when your top priority is not breaking hearts and getting kids rich in a hurry. If some of these top transfers knew they had a fair chance to come in and beat out a freshman you would have to think several of them would want to play at UK.

 

[North Carolina Blue Wildcat]

100% being held hostage. No player that we need will come on board without knowing how the roster is going to shake out.

 

[bthaunert]

I appreciate that others are struggling, but it's just excuses. Time marches on, UK becomes less and less relevant and those other teams find a way to rise back to the top.

Not offering excuses at all. I tend to wait to see how the summer plays out nowadays due to the transfer portal. If we are still at a low number of scholarship players, then I will agree that the off-season was a bust.

 

[TopCatCal]

I don’t see any of the other elite programs going through this, at the moment, he has three players once again preventing him from signing anyone else with the hopes of their return. The vast majority of the top transfers have already committed elsewhere, he will reach his typical benchmark, an incomplete and unbalanced roster, though they’ll have great length and wingspans...

If UK basketball was a Fortune 500 company & it was in the mess that the UK basketball program is currently in. It's CEO John Calipari would have been fired 2 or 3 years ago.

 

[HICATFAN]

FIFY

Aloha CatPhight

This made me truly laugh… my dear Mother (96) never misses either show…😁

Thank you for the reminder!

AlohaCat

 

[OmahaCats]

I guess you haven’t been around the last month. He went all in on Dickinson for Oscar’s spot. He is getting Keshad Johnson to fill Livingston’s spot. He knows Reeves is coming back so he isn’t filling his spot. He now has guys holding out on commitments waiting for Oscar’s final decision.

Other transfers that we reached out to didn’t pick us bc they don’t want to fight for minutes or be backups after they were high level starters. And you can’t blame them. So they go to Louisville, Mississippi St, etc. Dickinson didn’t like the risk with Oscar maybe coming back

 

[NociHTTP]

When I read "capable shooters" I envision a March filled with bricks

 

[NociHTTP]

Not offering excuses at all. I tend to wait to see how the summer plays out nowadays due to the transfer portal. If we are still at a low number of scholarship players, then I will agree that the off-season was a bust.

I don't think anyone's said he won't use some more scholarships. It would be almost impossible not to. The excuses I'm talking about are the ones Moo Moo Defenders use to defend his deliberate going against what he was hired to do at UK, what he told everyone he was going to do, our utter lack of success given the amount of talent we've had.

 

[Fancatstik]

Cal is a washed up has been running on fumes.

It's time to get rid of the old gas guzzler and get a new Tesla.

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

Cal is not a hostage, a hostage is someone held forcibly. On the contrary Cal built the current system and submitted to it willingly. This his design his words that put us in this predicament at the end of every season.Oscar,Livingston,Reeves and Toopin are doing exactly what their coach has always preached,chasing their NBA dream, at his encouragement. Why can't people see this with Cal it will always be this way because that's how Cal wants it, and if that hurts the TEAM or the University so be it. His mission and focus hasn't been on what's best for UK or winning another title for many years

 

[Mike-D]

100% being held hostage. No player that we need will come on board without knowing how the roster is going to shake out.

Players first and stopping poverty.

Fans last.

 

[bnewt]

If UK basketball was a Fortune 500 company & it was in the mess that the UK basketball program is currently in. It's CEO John Calipari would have been fired 2 or 3 years ago.

You are exactly right. In the real world, all of the ccc double talk would be laughed at. Guess he would be throwing the salesmen, warehouse personnel and even the secretaries under the bus for his failures.
College basketball is a business, especially now that players are being paid, but UK takes the fans loyalty for
granted and expects them to throw their hard earned $ on all things UK. Not any longer, the fans are fed up with the crap product on display, the lack of coaching, the continual losses to top ranked teams, and barely being able to compete in the SEC.

 

[CatsFanIL]

Well the staff hasn't been getting what they need for several seasons now.

Hindsight bias

 

[CatsFanIL]

Then why do we have insiders saying UK backed off the Dickinson kid in the final hours b/c we had an incoming Freshman that wasn't happy with the idea of adding Dickinson? I mean, this isn't national dudes releasing this crap, it's local media, and someone is feeding them this garbage. So either we lost Dickinson, and the staff was doing damage control, or we didn't really want him. Which is it?

Show me the quote. Speculation that Bradshaw might have bolted to go to USC with Bronny if Dickinson came to UK, but those rumors continued after he chose Kansas. So who knows the actual validity to that

But to the point, did UK back off due to Bradshaw or did the Bradshaw news come out AFTER Dickinson made his Kansas commitment? I've read everything about Bradshaw bolting if HD came, but I've never seen anything about UK backing off

From everything I've read, UK wanted him here but in the end he wanted the NIL "guarantee"

 

[CatPhight]

You are exactly right. In the real world, all of the ccc double talk would be laughed at. Guess he would be throwing the salesmen, warehouse personnel and even the secretaries under the bus for his failures.
College basketball is a business, especially now that players are being paid, but UK takes the fans loyalty for
granted and expects them to throw their hard earned $ on all things UK. Not any longer, the fans are fed up with the crap product on display, the lack of coaching, the continual losses to top ranked teams, and barely being able to compete in the SEC.

Damn straight...UK will never see another dollar from us until they cast off the anemic one. We bought an 85" Sony OLED for less than we would have paid in K FUND alone in 2022.

It was nice not to feel the burden of getting rid of tickets for weeknight cupcake games which were no longer sure things. No one wanted them or the 2 hour drive each way, including us. It is no longer worth it.

 

[CatsFanIL]

Respectively disagree. With his stubbornness on not ever switching defenses, lack of inbound plays, defending inbound plays, willingness to adjust in game, player preferential treatment, use of lineups, refusal of developing a bench, incomplete rosters, ……….. I think he’s one of the worst in the country. CCC is a perfect name for him yet the highest paid in the country.

Yeah but it's not like you have a clue about those other coaches, even in the SEC. Since you're a UK fan, you like to think you do deep-dives into Kentucky basketball, then probably regurgitate a lot of what you hear from others. But it's not like you're studying Mike White to the same extent, or Dennis Gates, or Rick Barnes, etc etc etc

Cal has ALL KINDS OF FLAWS, I absolutely agree. But trying to pretend he's the only coach with several flaws is ridiculous. Like we're all going to sit here and say SDSU and FAU or 2 of the best teams in the country. No, they were 2 of the hottest teams in the country in March. Doesn't mean they have the best players, or the best coach.

Kansas got upset. Purdue got upset. Houston got upset. And it goes on

 

[CatPhight]

Too bad Cal isn't a fan of Gunsmoke, Have Gun-Will Travel or Rawhide. Coach Gil Favor has a nice ring to it

Cal is wagon boss on the Gravy Train chuck wagon

 

[jjsomer]

We aren’t the only school where teams still have unknowns. Here are other makor programs that have guys who have entered the NBA draft and maintained eligibility:

Alabama - 3
Arkansas - 2
Auburn - 3
Creighton - 3
Gonzaga - 3
Michigan State - 2
Texas - 2
UCLA - 3
UConn - 3

While it’s not ideal, there are other major programs going through it too

I just don't understand how it could be handled differently. Does a coach cut ties with a player that wants to test the draft? Do you recruit over Oscar/Livingston/Reeves with worse portal players?

The only guy that hit the portal that I thought would be a good player to have with HD. And, by most accounts, he was concerned about Oscar returning and chose a different blue-blood with open playing time and plenty of NIL.

The players left in the portal are either waiting on decisions from players in the draft before committing to a team. It's not a Calipari thing, it's a college basketball thing.

 

[jjsomer]

If Nelson is one
Take him now,today, this second
If Oscar wants to come back tell him others will be playing too, nothing guaranteed

Nelson is with Oscar at the draft combine. He is likely to stay in the draft.