Calipari post game comments on Jarred Vanderbilt

[SilentsAreGolden]

Cal is clearly frustrated with Vanderbilt, but he is in a tough position. He can't deal with him as he would probably like to, because it would hurt recruiting. However, I agree with the person who said if he doesn't play this season, his decision to leave will be made for him. And if that happens, it will show that the fears Cal was going to let the potential Diallo thing become a trend, were unfounded. First, Diallo stayed, but if he had left, many said it would start a trend. I never worried about that, because I never thought Cal would be ok with that. He's clearly not ok with this situation. I have sympathy for JV, but if he is physically able to play, he needs to, or he owes it to the team to leave the team. It will become a bigger and bigger distraction.

 

[FrankUnderwood]

No, I’m saying the board, or some of it is acting like a crowd in a Jerry Springer show.

Told you it’d piss you off, but you asked.

lol okay man. You’ve proven our point

 

[bluebornwildcat]

Much like a woman, teasing and giving you the run around. Worth a shot but got to move on. I wish the kid the best. If he plays he plays, if not...well...move on.

 

[new era cat]

lol okay man. You’ve proven our point

No kidding. The delusional self importance of some on this board is astounding.
They truly actually believe what we post makes a difference.

 

[BigKari]

If he really planned on not playing he wouldve left school before the 2nd semester. Cal's comments are confusing but the way I read it is, if he's ready to play he knows to just let Cal know. Cal is not going up to him everyday like "are you ready yet? What about now? Today? Tomorrow? Next week?" Like he said he's not going to force the kid to play if he isnt ready.

But...I do find it strange and concerning that Vanderbilt has been cleared and is practicing but doesnt seem to be chomping at the bit to play like you would think he would be. I really do think there is outside pressure and fear that NBA teams wont touch him if he gets injured again. I dont think thats true, this isnt repeated ACL tears like what Giles went through. At the end of the day I just hope it really is up to him.

 

[The_Catfather]

“I feel like he’s getting there, he’s making steps every day,” said freshman guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 22 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds Saturday. “I think we’re all just ready for him to come back. We know it’s going to be excited to play with him. He’s going to bring a whole new element to the team. We just can’t wait.”

This is the first quote I've seen from a player about Vanderbilt. I think so, anyway. I've been pretty pessimistic about him ever playing until last week's practice comments from Cal. I'm going to give him the benefit of a doubt since I don't think he'd F with the coaches, fans, and particularly his teammates by sitting out to protect future interests. Just a hunch. And surely his inner circle isn't dumb enough to draw a line between players skipping bowl games and this.

NBA exec: "Hey let's sign this guy for a shitload of money who may not be that good, possibly dodged competition in college and sat out games so he could make more bank!!"

I don't work in a front office but that doesn't sound like the type of guy you'd be foaming at the mouth over.

 

[CincyUKFan]

No kidding. The delusional self importance of some on this board is astounding.
They truly actually believe what we post makes a difference.

Leave them alone in their ignorance. It’s bliss!

 

[Elijah55]

No he isn't . It seems like he is going to play next Saturday . So anyone who gets annoyed when he doesn't play on tuesday just get it out of your system. I will say you don't want a players first game to be super preassure packed on the road so I get why he didn't play . Luckily we have decent refs today so only having 2 guards didn't kill us. I expect in month this will all see silly as it was obvious he was much closer to playing today then he has been and a week ago he was much closer then before that so the situation is progressing.
'

For those not understanding it means when JV wants to play, All he has to do is say something to Cal. Cal is not gonna chase after you, beg you, if you want to be here you gotta speak up.

It means Nothing more, nothing less. Until JV says "Hey coach, im ready so plan on me making my debut Tuesday, Saturday", JV will sit, Cal will move on as if he isnt even on the team. JV has been cleared to play awhile. Cal has a team of guys that wanna be here to worry about, or if there is still something bothering him, Cal said JV Will ask when he is ready. This was just an ankle injury that did not require surgury, if he can play enough ping pong he is as good as forrest Gump, he can start playing, its time.

Its either he is scared, or his handlers are saying he needs to sit for a higher draft spot. Cal is not playing that game.

 

[thepip]

Who is running this team Calipari or Vanderbilt? Cal is getting paid millions of dollars to coach BB at UK and he does not know when one of his players is going to be ready to play? That is biggest bunch of BS I have read. If he is not going to play because he is going to hurt his draft stock, pull his scholarship and send him home. When is Richards going to tell Cal he is ready to play? Most of these players today make me want to throw up. I know one thing, as a life long UK fan I am really getting tired of watching Freshmen play year in and year out. Scrap the one and done scam and let these players go straight to the NBA. I have seen 3 Freshmen play this season who are NBA ready and 2 of them are at Duke. None of them are at UK..

Could the other one possibly be at Oklahoma?

 

[thepip]

To me it's getting stranger and stranger where this program is headed under Cal.

Maybe Cal knows what's going on with Vanderbilt and has just given up. Seems a meeting with Vanderbilt would get this cleared up immediately.

I really do not think it is JV. I think it is the "hanger-oners" who are looking to take part in the payday. Friends and family have tremendous influence over a 17-20 old.

 

[Grs51]

Go to the NBA or redshirt - tired of the drama

 

[ManitouDan]

Couple thoughts .. Cal is like Basketball Jesus , He speaks in parables to his followers but they dont understand .


Secondly and it may cause people some anxiety or cause them to threaten to ignore me or to go root for someone else BS , I dont care . But its time for Cal to go to JV and have a little heart to heart , Something like this -- Its time Jerrod . I cant hide you anymore . This week , or right now , you tell me " Coach I'm ready " or I'm going to release you from the team . I'm sorry about that but we dont keep players on the team who are healthy but refuse to play . We just dont . And If he mans up. great , and if not. See Ya .

 

[kybassfan]

lol okay man. You’ve proven our point

 

[yoshukai]

You are wasting your time going down this road with some.

Exactly , the guy he's trying to have a sensible conversation with ,thinks tubby smith is a great coach ,and I've seen him act like a fool more times than I can count .

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Go to the NBA or redshirt - tired of the drama

Redshirt? Cal doesn't redshirt players, especially ones that are potential OAD, or 2 or 3 yr players at most. Anyone in the category of someone that would typically be redshirted on most teams are not the guys Cal typically has. Only ones I can think of that the might have redshirted are Hawkins, Miller and Willis.

 

[ManitouDan]

I wonder where this leads us , fans , players , the university , everyone involved , if JV politely just rides this out and goes pro , declining to play when healthy ?

 

[Elijah55]

Couple thoughts .. Cal is like Basketball Jesus , He speaks in parables to his followers but they dont understand .


Secondly and it may cause people some anxiety or cause them to threaten to ignore me or to go root for someone else BS , I dont care . But its time for Cal to go to JV and have a little heart to heart , Something like this -- Its time Jerrod . I cant hide you anymore . This week , or right now , you tell me " Coach I'm ready " or I'm going to release you from the team . I'm sorry about that but we dont keep players on the team who are healthy but refuse to play . We just dont . And If he mans up. great , and if not. See Ya .

Your thoughts i agree with but Cal is in the buisness of helping families. He just wont say anything. If JV doesn't play and goes pro i truly believe Cal will be happy.

 

[Elijah55]

I wonder where this leads us , fans , players , the university , everyone involved , if JV politely just rides this out and goes pro , declining to play when healthy ?

Dan, the day Cal took over this was no longer about us. Its about the players. Players happiness then if any is left over fans get the scraps.

No, i know this sounds like im bashing but i am very thankful for Cal. His goals and some fans goals dont line up though.

 

[Elijah55]

Redshirt? Cal doesn't redshirt players, especially ones that are potential OAD, or 2 or 3 yr players at most. Anyone in the category of someone that would typically be redshirted on most teams are not the guys Cal typically has. Only ones I can think of that the might have redshirted are Hawkins, Miller and Willis.

Hami redshirted. He is a redshirt freshman.

 

[Elijah55]

“I feel like he’s getting there, he’s making steps every day,” said freshman guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 22 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds Saturday. “I think we’re all just ready for him to come back. We know it’s going to be excited to play with him. He’s going to bring a whole new element to the team. We just can’t wait.”

This is the first quote I've seen from a player about Vanderbilt. I think so, anyway. I've been pretty pessimistic about him ever playing until last week's practice comments from Cal. I'm going to give him the benefit of a doubt since I don't think he'd F with the coaches, fans, and particularly his teammates by sitting out to protect future interests. Just a hunch. And surely his inner circle isn't dumb enough to draw a line between players skipping bowl games and this.

NBA exec: "Hey let's sign this guy for a shitload of money who may not be that good, possibly dodged competition in college and sat out games so he could make more bank!!"

I don't work in a front office but that doesn't sound like the type of guy you'd be foaming at the mouth over.

Thats exactly how it works unfortunately. If JV sits, he protects his stock because last scouts saw was a dominate guy. Now, if he plays, he could mess up see, he may now be a step slow being College is faster and he has come back mid season and hasnt acclamated. Now, his draft stock goes down the toilet. Thats why JV COULD just sit. A decision with million dollars at stake is a no offence to my team, or coaches, or fans but im doing best for me and my family.

 

[EliteBlue]

Cal is an expert in these types of things. If he's talking through the media, he's talking directly to Vanderbilt in ways he wants to. He's driving a point home.

Agree. I think a big part of it is that Cal knows what is going on in JV's camp and realized it was leaning towards him not playing. So Cal/Mike Pratt makes it publicly known and hint to frustration adding pressure to JV to play from a image and brand standpoint if it isn't medical and his family is only focused on getting to the draft.

"He's healthy but he chose not to be part of the team" won't play well with some NBA GMs and Cal knows that.

Diallo was different last year. He came early and everyone involved knew he was going to sit to get in shape and have a head start in the system. Cal wanted him to go through the draft process and get feedback on things to work on and then they were taken off guard by how good the feedback was and it became a matter of coming back or not. But the original plan was to get a physical and mental head start for his one year to be as successful as possible. Diallo jumped up the boards partially because Cal is very trusted in the NBA circles and Cal was pumping up Diallo and squarely in his corner. If this situation with JV unfolds with him choosing not to play and Cal is pimping him to GMs and scouts and talking his guy up come combine time then the people making draft decisions will take notice.

The public comments were basically a "the team needs him, he's been healthy, yet for whatever reason he's choosing not to play." Basically lets everyone know that if he doesn't play it's because he chose not to against the will of the staff.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Hami redshirted. He is a redshirt freshman.

Do you know that he officially redshirted? I can't see why he would. Zero chance he stays 4 yrs, so there is no reason other than to be officially a FR, but even that is pointless.

 

[da CATS rocks]

Isn't there a difference in being physically ready and mentally ready? Even in a practice he can be mentally ready because there is no pressure to perform, but he may not be mentally ready to play in a game because of the pressure to perform. Just a question.

 

[kybassfan]

Dan, the day Cal took over this was no longer about us. Its about the players. Players happiness then if any is left over fans get the scraps.

No, i know this sounds like im bashing but i am very thankful for Cal. His goals and some fans goals dont line up though.

Since Rupp's day, it hasn't been about us. When the fans and boosters got too close, the NCAA got involved. Caused the coaches and players to do strange things. We see this crap happening at UL. The Filth did it for 20 years. It doesn't happen here and that's good. Nobody wants to be The Filth or another hookerized U6.

Vanderbilt will play when he plays. If he doesn't play, that's between him, coach and the school. We don't figure into it except to whine about the unfairness of it all by some of our more "sensitive" fans. They whine about Diallo. They whine about Vanderbilt. All the same.

 

[Kerry Kat]

It’s strictly business with Cal

 

[sefus12]

Whoa. that sounds a little concerning. cal doesn’t sound like he’s really ok with the situation.

Cal is the coach. He can give Vanderbilt an ultimatum if he wants.

 

[Sparkaces1]

Cal is the coach. He can give Vanderbilt an ultimatum if he wants.

How about before they get on a plane to South Carolina simply ask him if he feels like playing tomorrow. If not leave him in Lexington, not a very difficult conversation and cuts out the speculation.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

Perhaps most of us were okay with the general sentiment of "players first". Particularly after a decade or so of mediocre recruiting by UK standards. But at the time, we had no way of understand just how far back into 2nd and 3rd place the program itself and the singular goal of winning national championships would run. It has been required of us to achieve this understanding, over time, several years, that the gap back to these two positions is quite large. Place, and show is well and good in the Derby. But if you get your ass kicked by 10 lengths or more, essentially finish with the rest of the pack, how can you be considered among the future favorites for the Preakness? This is how we feel about the horses running for the program, running for championships. It is no longer acceptable to some.

Wow that is some well written drivel.

 

[Eddie Gran can coach]

Players first mantra works out most of the time for Cal, but sometimes it compromises what's best for the team. If JV plays, great, if he doesn't, Cal can't say anything but good luck to JV, now the fans.........that's to be determined

 

[kybassfan]

Naively stated. The court of public opinion is always involved, and justly so for activities falling under the umbrella of publicly funded institutions. You think criticism does not matter? Have you never read a meaningful book in your life? If JV does not compete for our program yet immediately after is ship-shape for NBA pre-draft work-outs it will be justly the most harshly criticized condition of post-probation UK men's basketball. You are okay with that. So noted.

Well you just need to let ole Vanderbilt know he’s been summoned to the court of public opinion. Just so you know, that court’s been in recess since the end of the Sutton days. I’d doubt he’ll honor it, but he might laugh his ass off.

Some fans may piss and moan, but nothing will come of it. If you’d read any meaningful books that dealt with reality, you’d know that.

 

[kev69]

“I feel like he’s getting there, he’s making steps every day,” said freshman guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 22 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds Saturday. “I think we’re all just ready for him to come back. We know it’s going to be excited to play with him. He’s going to bring a whole new element to the team. We just can’t wait.”

This is the first quote I've seen from a player about Vanderbilt. I think so, anyway. I've been pretty pessimistic about him ever playing until last week's practice comments from Cal. I'm going to give him the benefit of a doubt since I don't think he'd F with the coaches, fans, and particularly his teammates by sitting out to protect future interests. Just a hunch. And surely his inner circle isn't dumb enough to draw a line between players skipping bowl games and this.

NBA exec: "Hey let's sign this guy for a shitload of money who may not be that good, possibly dodged competition in college and sat out games so he could make more bank!!"

I don't work in a front office but that doesn't sound like the type of guy you'd be foaming at the mouth over.

Great post. Exactly my thoughts on it also. My guess is he will play 10-12 minutes against Florida and build up towards March.

 

[Dablueman]

About the injury possibly recurring, I would say it would at some point, Bowie was never healthy after his first injury occurred. I know it's not the same injury but foot injuries seem to linger and get well slowly if ever they ever heal right at all.

I just think foot injuries take time. Sports injuries treatments have improved so much. I would have loved to see Bowie hit the league healthy. He was so good.

 

[Dablueman]

As opposed to all those coaches who successfully bring in a guy mid season all the time...

Agreed plus he isn't walking in off the street. He has been here. Watching practice and games. He practiced earlier preseason. Cal may not be paying attention to him I bet the assistants are. This isn't a kid who has been at another school the past 6 months he has been on campus

 

[Dablueman]

Couldn’t we have gotten a player that would have contributed had we never had him or was that scholarship specifically for Vanderbilt? I had no idea it worked like that.

Knox was the other player. We got him anyway.

 

[Dablueman]

I don't believe Jared intended to sit out the entire year. However, I do believe his "entourage" is encouraging him to hold off on playing until they feel it is necessary.

If he doesn't play this year, it is highly unlikely that he will be drafted in the 1st round. A big NCAA Tournament could go a long way in improving his draft stock. Those around him have to know that.

Cal needs him NOW. If Jared doesn't start playing soon, IMHO, Cal will not allow him to come back. So there in lies the rub. From here on out, it's going to get even more interesting.

Yeah but let's be real the kid goes to the combine and blows up like he did at the Hoop Summit he will get drafted. He went from not being in the draft before the hoop summit to being 10 in the mocks after one game. Now he slipped with the injury. But if he goes to workouts and the combine his leg comes back healthy and he performs well he will get drafted.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Yeah but let's be real the kid goes to the combine and blows up like he did at the Hoop Summit he will get drafted. He went from not being in the draft before the hoop summit to being 10 in the mocks after one game. Now he slipped with the injury. But if he goes to workouts and the combine his leg comes back healthy and he performs well he will get drafted.

He better hope so, because if he doesn't play this year, he won't be on next year's team regardless.

 

[Dablueman]

Ok let's look at this from the players perspective. Your ranked as a top 5 kid thru most of ur hs days. U get hurt spring of ur jr year some rankings at this point have him at 2 or 3. He gets hurt decides to play thru and the recruiting gurus drop him 30 spots. For being tuff. The injury turns out to be worse than originally thought and is nagging and he misses most of his sr year. Comes back thinking he is finally healthy for the all star games he dominates at practices and at the Hoop Summit was the best player on the court. ESPN moved him to 10 on the Mocks. Then as he is putting on a repeat performance at the Jordan Brand game he hurts his foot again. Gets on campus and by Oct starts practicing with the team and has to tell coach the foot still doesn't feel right.

Now I'm no sports Phycologist but that would have to get in a players head as well as his family and friends. I am going to be honest if he were my son after going thru all that I would struggle with knowing what is best for him. I mean I honestly would have to say that if I thought he could go to workouts and the combine and dominate like the hoop summit and still go first round that I would be torn

 

[Dablueman]

He better hope so, because if he doesn't play this year, he won't be on next year's team regardless.

Why is that? He can participate in the combine and come back if he wants to now

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Why is that? He can participate in the combine and come back if he wants to now

I do not think Cal would want him back. He is clearly frustrated with him not playing. Staying out the rest of the season when he can play is not going to make Cal want him back. I don't think there is any question about that.

 

[Elijah55]

Do you know that he officially redshirted? I can't see why he would. Zero chance he stays 4 yrs, so there is no reason other than to be officially a FR, but even that is pointless.

Yes, reporters asked him if he felt like a soph even though he redshirted. Plus when you see starting lineups Hami is a FR.