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Coach Cal: “I want to make sure that I’m telling the truth.”

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UK is not for everyone.... Let’s watch to see what Penny does and what James does...


Calipari on recruiting: “I want to make sure that I’m telling the truth.”


UK-vs-VMI-2018-45-240x300.jpg

P.J. Washington (Jeff Houchin Photo)
By LARRY VAUGHT

For almost three years Kentucky has recruited 6-11 James Wiseman of Memphis. However, it didn't pay off Tuesday because Wiseman decided he would play for new coach Penny Hardaway, a former NBA star, at Memphis.

Wiseman is not just any player. He's the top-rated player in the 2019 recruiting class. It's similar to how UK thought it was in position to get Zion Williamson -- remember what he did to UK in the opening game -- last year before he picked Duke.

Kentucky coach John Calipari could not talk about Wiseman Tuesday because of NCAA regulations. However, he did talk about recruiting in general going into Wednesday night's game against Winthrop.

"We’ve had kids that made the decision to come here and it’s played out well for almost all of them. My thing is I want to be able to sleep at night. I want to make sure that I’m telling the truth. I want to make sure that I’m sticking with guys," Calipari said.

He used Hamidou Diallo, a player who struggled offensively most of last year. Calipari never gave up on him and he's been a productive player so far in his first NBA season. The coach joked "everybody was going crazy" when Diallo had an 18-point game.

"Knowing what our jobs are here means that we don’t get every kid. We get the ones we are supposed to get. It just kind of plays out that way. It always has. It has not changed my approach to this," Calipari said. "Now, you know, maybe because of social media, video games and the stuff, there’s not as much on the playground and the pickup. Maybe they do one here that’s going to be easier.

"I come back to the same thing: I have to be able to sleep at night, knowing I’m being honest, not embellishing, I’m trying to be – ‘Here’s what it is.’ And I’m not saying that against anybody else. Everybody recruits the way they recruit, but you have good programs and good coaches and that’s why we don’t get everybody that we recruit.

"We’re not the only ones out there trying to get good players and trying to help kids.”

Even when a team gets good players, the freshman season does not always play out the way a coach or fans might have expected.

Calipari noted that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made an impact after 10-12 games last year and "became that guy" for UK.

"My hope is that’s what happens with this group because right now, it’s a consistency too now," he said about his current team. "Like, you can’t just be that every third game. You’ve got to be that guy. I’ve had it where it’s been a point guard, but we had Marquis Teague at point and that was not who he was. It was the other guys, so we’ve done it all kinds of different ways.

"I’m not budging. They’ll be as good as they want to be, and if they keep growing and getting better and they have great attitudes and they really do. We’ve thrown a tough schedule at them. To start, to get rocked and then to come back with the teams that can beat you and then play another team that can beat you, you’re like, woah.”

AlohaCat
 
My biggest thing with Cal, teams typically play to their competition, VMI is a recent example. It's just the way it is, no game is bigger than the next to him, regardless of opponent. Coach K took ten days to prepare for UK, we played a useless game a few days prior to our match up. Cal paid no more attention than the match up with Duke as he would've EKU or someone else - FRUSTRATING! The same for not watching tape of Wisconsin or for that matter anyone, focuses on his team only. Coach K came to that game to prove a point, and he did!
 
Doesn't tell me much outside of the fact that Cal's unwilling to unleash total war. Still not calling out opposing coaches, cheating, Nike involvement, or media favoritism. Losing Wiseman brought with it an end to YEARS of recruitment effort. In the end, cash and/or AU connections wins out again.

The high road only exists in sports if others can see it. Cal's on path right now that no one else is even aware of.
 
He has to lie I don’t give a damn!! He’s gunna make them millions in the long run regardless.
 
Doesn't tell me much outside of the fact that Cal's unwilling to unleash total war. Still not calling out opposing coaches, cheating, Nike involvement, or media favoritism. Losing Wiseman brought with it an end to YEARS of recruitment effort. In the end, cash and/or AU connections wins out again.

The high road only exists in sports if others can see it. Cal's on path right now that no one else is even aware of.
Just don't understand how you can lose
a recruit you never had.
 
I mean you all can't believe this stuff right? Do you really believe all Cal's martyrdom over the years? There has been plenty of interviews I remember one with Malik Monk specifically where he talks about the UK is not for everyone rhetoric and he cracks up laughing and says something like Cal says a lot of crazy stuff. It's nothing but a pick up line that Cal started saying as a way of making UK glamorized and exclusive and getting a UK offer a special thing. Now it's nothing more than a convenient excuse that's he's trying to cover his own ass with.

I've said it in other threads and I'm going to say it again here. World Wide Wes and Rich Paul breaking up was the end of our dominance. Point blank that's it. When Rich left CAA their was a big power struggle for Lebron and he spurned Wes and went with his best friend and they started Klutch together. Wes and Kenny Payne are thick as thieves and as Cal and he are as well. That was our giant Nike hook up. Lebron and Cal were never anything it was always Lebron and Wes and by proxy UK. Lebron was the Y at UK game and used to tweet pictures of himself in UK gear all the time. Now he reps Duke and Coach K and sports their gear and his son posts pics wearing the Duke gear and openly cheers for them. Rich Paul and Lebron are out with recruits who end up going to Duke I mean the signs are all there.

I'm not going to complain we had the 5-6 year run with all the help we could ask for and couldn't seal enough of the big ones to really press and kept ourselves at the top of heap. It sucks and I hope to god Cal turns it around on the court and in recruiting but if you feel sorry for Cal and buy into this pitiful me rhetoric I don't know what to tell you other than you are naive and being hoodwinked.
 
I mean you all can't believe this stuff right? Do you really believe all Cal's martyrdom over the years? There has been plenty of interviews I remember one with Malik Monk specifically where he talks about the UK is not for everyone rhetoric and he cracks up laughing and says something like Cal says a lot of crazy stuff. It's nothing but a pick up line that Cal started saying as a way of making UK glamorized and exclusive and getting a UK offer a special thing. Now it's nothing more than a convenient excuse that's he's trying to cover his own ass with.

I've said it in other threads and I'm going to say it again here. World Wide Wes and Rich Paul breaking up was the end of our dominance. Point blank that's it. When Rich left CAA their was a big power struggle for Lebron and he spurned Wes and went with his best friend and they started Klutch together. Wes and Kenny Payne are thick as thieves and as Cal and he are as well. That was our giant Nike hook up. Lebron and Cal were never anything it was always Lebron and Wes and by proxy UK. Lebron was the Y at UK game and used to tweet pictures of himself in UK gear all the time. Now he reps Duke and Coach K and sports their gear and his son posts pics wearing the Duke gear and openly cheers for them. Rich Paul and Lebron are out with recruits who end up going to Duke I mean the signs are all there.

I'm not going to complain we had the 5-6 year run with all the help we could ask for and couldn't seal enough of the big ones to really press and kept ourselves at the top of heap. It sucks and I hope to god Cal turns it around on the court and in recruiting but if you feel sorry for Cal and buy into this pitiful me rhetoric I don't know what to tell you other than you are naive and being hoodwinked.
God this post couldn't be more spot on. Rich Paul only represents John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Anthony Davis. I'll take all star recruits that played for UK in the early Cal tenure for 1000 alex.

For those that didn't catch it in 2012
https://www.sbnation.com/2012/9/13/3325726/lebron-james-agent-worldwide-wes-hook
 
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I want the edgy Cal that felt slighted. That Cal took no prisoners and didn't care.
 
Number 2 ranked recruiting class this past year. Been number 1 or 2 all his years here. Some kids just don't work out as well as expected but, most start getting better towards the end of the year. One and done era, we liked it when it started and we have 4 Final Fours, 1 runner up, and, 1 national championship in 10 years. I have also been critical of some players so far this year but, that is more out of frustration with maybe just a little bit deserved. The Bahama's had us salivating as I think it did some of the kids on this team. We were not ready for Duke and are missing some toughness at this point still. We have UNC and Kansas still up coming with a better SEC schedule to contend with so, lace em up and strap yourselves in because it will be a bumpy ride with probably more losses than expected but, that should toughen these guys up and have them ready come March.
 
Just remember nice guys finish last! 100% true statement and that's the reason Calipari is being left in the dust!
Well it seems the Good guy at worse is finishing second as far as recruiting goes. And his overall tenure here has resulted somewhere between 1st and second. The margin is basically a couple of plays.
Not to mention the “Cheatapari” myth that was thrown in our face for years has been shot to hell. There is much he can do better that’s beyond question but that is true of every single coach.
 
The day Cal starts to cheat is the day I will be done with him and revive the LOD. Keep doing it the honest way, Cal, just start coaching a bit better, is all you need to do,and get some guys to stay more than 1 or 2 years.
You and I have not always agreed but I would give you 1000 likes for that post. well spoken
 
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I mean you all can't believe this stuff right? Do you really believe all Cal's martyrdom over the years? There has been plenty of interviews I remember one with Malik Monk specifically where he talks about the UK is not for everyone rhetoric and he cracks up laughing and says something like Cal says a lot of crazy stuff. It's nothing but a pick up line that Cal started saying as a way of making UK glamorized and exclusive and getting a UK offer a special thing. Now it's nothing more than a convenient excuse that's he's trying to cover his own ass with.

I've said it in other threads and I'm going to say it again here. World Wide Wes and Rich Paul breaking up was the end of our dominance. Point blank that's it. When Rich left CAA their was a big power struggle for Lebron and he spurned Wes and went with his best friend and they started Klutch together. Wes and Kenny Payne are thick as thieves and as Cal and he are as well. That was our giant Nike hook up. Lebron and Cal were never anything it was always Lebron and Wes and by proxy UK. Lebron was the Y at UK game and used to tweet pictures of himself in UK gear all the time. Now he reps Duke and Coach K and sports their gear and his son posts pics wearing the Duke gear and openly cheers for them. Rich Paul and Lebron are out with recruits who end up going to Duke I mean the signs are all there.

I'm not going to complain we had the 5-6 year run with all the help we could ask for and couldn't seal enough of the big ones to really press and kept ourselves at the top of heap. It sucks and I hope to god Cal turns it around on the court and in recruiting but if you feel sorry for Cal and buy into this pitiful me rhetoric I don't know what to tell you other than you are naive and being hoodwinked.

I don't know anything about this, nor do I care. I do remember hearing a lot about World Wide Wes stories. Are these "friendships" lost forever?
I don't care about the NBA. We, the fans, want NCAA titles. We don't want to see UK humiliated on national television by a most hated opponent.

I want to see UK players play with heart, play with a sense of direction, play sound fundamentals, play an entertaining style. This is not happening and hasn't for the last few years. The players just seem to go through the motions waiting for the NBA draft.

It would be nice to see as much passion from the team & coaching staff as there is from the fans. Considering the salaries that the coaches are paid, that isn't too much to ask.
 
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You heard it here first. Someone save this post.

Shit I’ll save it myself, but I’m actually far from the first person to say it even jokingly. Hardly a “heard it here first” moment.

I just want him to do whatever it took Duke to do in order to land the best 3 players in the country and thus as a result drag their balls all over the faces of their opponents.
 
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Telling the truth doesn't
seem to be working.

Maybe it does. So does developing players and recruiting some who want the college
experience. "coach 'em up" and learn in-game coaching or find another occupation.
In 2 years,(IMO) most 5* players will bypass college and the better coaches will prevail.
Cal can handle that ...if he chooses . Then he can help those who really need help.
(I think he might just walk away)
 
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My biggest thing with Cal, teams typically play to their competition, VMI is a recent example. It's just the way it is, no game is bigger than the next to him, regardless of opponent. Coach K took ten days to prepare for UK, we played a useless game a few days prior to our match up. Cal paid no more attention than the match up with Duke as he would've EKU or someone else - FRUSTRATING! The same for not watching tape of Wisconsin or for that matter anyone, focuses on his team only. Coach K came to that game to prove a point, and he did!

Okay!!!
 
I think Cal needs to realize that going "going all in" on one recruit and practically shutting down on the others is a tactic that's not working anymore. When the dust clears we've got nada. Good players don't like being ignored or being considered as distant second choices.

Times they are a'changing. Will we adapt? Coach K and Duke did.
 
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Doesn't tell me much outside of the fact that Cal's unwilling to unleash total war. Still not calling out opposing coaches, cheating, Nike involvement, or media favoritism. Losing Wiseman brought with it an end to YEARS of recruitment effort. In the end, cash and/or AU connections wins out again.

The high road only exists in sports if others can see it. Cal's on path right now that no one else is even aware of.
The media is not willing to admit that Cal is on the high road,yet they are more than willing to place K there and ignore any and all evidence that clearly shows what he and his program really are.
 
The day Cal starts to cheat is the day I will be done with him and revive the LOD. Keep doing it the honest way, Cal, just start coaching a bit better, is all you need to do,and get some guys to stay more than 1 or 2 years.
The problem with that is these kids all want to play in the NBA! The NBA don’t draft juniors and seniors like once did!
 
I think Cal needs to realize that going "going all in" on one recruit and practically shutting down on the others is a tactic that's not working anymore. When the dust clears we've got nada. Good players don't like being ignored or being considered as distant second choices.

Times they are a'changing. Will we adapt? Coach K and Duke did.
They also have had some help adapting and I’m not talking just about house and money! The media, lebron and nike
 
Left in the dust?!? [roll]
Exactly when you get 6 guys in a recruiting cycle that is 11-30 of course you will have the #2 recruiting class every damn year. He is getting left in the dust on getting top 5 guys and being honest about playing time when recruiting these kids. Just tell the kids what they want to hear to get them here because kids today are too lazy to want to work.
 
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If the top 5 are as good as reported, they will get all the pt they need, So, why not say "I guarantee
you x-mins if you apply yourself 100%. " If the effort is not there, all bets are off. The "high motors" are easy to spot since we follow them 4/5 years before they are college eligible.
 
I don't have any problems with a #2 to #5 recruiting class. The problem is you can't have those guys still leave after one year. You either get the elite (1-10) guys and they leave or you get the (10-50) guys and have them stick around three or four years. There is no in between that works.
 
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