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Does it even matter anymore?

College sports (at least the major ones) as we’ve known them are dead. The days of guys out recruiting the competition are over. No longer do tradition, fanbase, facilities, legacy matter. It’s all $$$ now.

If I’m gonna watch pro hoops, the NBA is 1000x more entertaining than what the college game has turned into. Nothing matters anymore. The next title we win will be bought and paid for. That’s sad.
I’m sorry but the NBA is not more entertaining than College Basketball
 
not sure how you can claim to be a Wildcat fan and claim the NBA is more entertaining

just my viewpoint though but then again, when it comes to basketball I am only a fan of UK.
 
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I’m sorry but the NBA is not more entertaining than College Basketball
Many people would disagree I'm sure, and yet I have exactly zero interest in watching it. If college ball is just worse NBA ball and the roster completely changes every 30 games, you can count me out.
 
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It might be over all that money going to Joe that has trey ticked
Probably but he and his agent agreed to the extension last summer so need to bitch and cry now. His ass will take field and he will play....or else retire and save the Bengals money.
He has no leverage at all other than being a quiter
 

not sure how you can claim to be a Wildcat fan and claim the NBA is more entertaining

just my viewpoint though but then again, when it comes to basketball I am only a fan of UK.

I’m a fan of sports. The NBA product is so much better than the college product. I don’t watch non UK hoops games, but I watch a lot of NBA games because of the skill level and shot making. Now we basically get the NBA model in college but with far worse players.
 
Programs with a lot of money have always fared better all throughout college basketball history. Better facilities, better coaches, etc. The only difference now is that some of the money is flowing through to the players instead of just the program/university.

Players have been getting paid under the table for a long time anyways. NIL hasn’t changed my perception of or enjoyment of the sport much. I do think the transfer portal is a little out of control and too free agency esque for my liking but it is what it is.
 
Kids *gasp* earning their market value for their hard work and talents was always inevitable.

Adapt with the times or go find a new hobby.
Pretty much where I'm at. No one is making us follow this stuff daily. It's okay to take a break from it, enjoy the weather, and come back when our roster is set next month. We're not coaches. We don't need to follow the moves of dozens of athletes around the country all at once and live and die with every decision made.

Also, we need to get over this Pleasantville nostalgia trip that college sports was wholesome Americana and now it's not. It's always been about money unless you were some off the radar kid with one random offer somewhere, and even then, that kid still probably got shoes and loads of gear before signing. Let's stop pretending we're shocked young athletes want as much money as they can get as soon as possible. You think Anthony Davis grew up dreaming of playing for UK? Or did Cal move fast and tell him he could get him to the league as quickly as possible? If you want wholesome and this dream of no money changing hands, cool. Let's tell the sports world UK basketball is out of the NIL game and next year we'll look like a high school team with Pope asking UK students if they wanna try out for the team.
 
not sure how you can claim to be a Wildcat fan and claim the NBA is more entertaining

just my viewpoint though but then again, when it comes to basketball I am only a fan of UK.
I couldn't tell you the last college basketball game that I watched in its entirety that didn't involve UK or ETSU. Twenty years ago, I could have named every coach in every P5 conference and quite a few of the mid-majors, as well as several dozen players from those schools. Today, I'm not sure I could name all of the SEC coaches without looking it up and couldn't name a dozen other coaches from around the country. The vast majority of the guys we're trying to get from the portal, I have never heard of. For much of the country, college basketball has devolved into a 4 week sport that starts in March. College basketball is a poor product with poor shooting, poor fundamentals, sloppy play and compounded by terrible, inconsistent officiating and is in dire need of a rules and officiating overhaul.

The NBA? I've had League Pass the last few years. Living in South Florida, I root for the Heat, and having Bam, Herro and Riley makes it an easy choice. Love watching the entire league though. They are the best basketball players on the planet who are ridiculously skilled and athletic. The pace of play, lightning quick ball movement, skills, athleticism, and games aren't dominated by officials who want to be the center of attention are the reasons I watch.
 
Who watches the NBA? For real. I know like 1 person who is watching the playoffs. My son is in high school and is an athlete with athlete friends. Only one of his friends even care at all.
It depends on where you live. Down here, literally no one cares about college basketball, and I see more NBA apparel/stickers, etc than I do for any colleges. Of course, it's all dwarfed by the NFL.
 
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Ratings across the board as solid as ever. It most certainly is not dead. Go back to bed you old geezers
Solid as ever… that’s why the title game ratings have been down the last couple years and the women’s title game had a bigger audience. I know Clark was the why the women’s was up but the men wouldn’t have been beat out if they were “solid as ever.”
 
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The view on this topic is simply changing because you now know what's been going on publicly. It's one thing to assume everything is pure and great--but this was going on behind the scenes and why recruiting is brutal and everyone who follows recruiting in both football and basketball always was told basketball is 100% dirtier and more ruthless. Simply due to the numbers of who can change a program and more $ dedicated to players.

I'm more jaded as a person and don't get surprised or shocked by anything but my view on some fans takes is similar to when people read about a violent incident taking place and don't really flinch-but when video of same incident is out there to see-then they get emotionally connected. Seeing something take place in front of you is sobering and often anger inducing.

So those who followed recruiting, knew it was a cesspool just sit back and laugh how these guys are losing $ in having to pay taxes on $ that was coming to them under the table and now they get it upfront. To those who thought their program was clean-welcome to the party-it's not been clean for anyone in some time.
 
Even if UK joined the NBA, this is our F*cking team people!!! You goofball rednecks but by god you're still my people, and UK will always be my home no matter how long I live in the St louis area so lets all keep our damn pride in our team. The 3pt line was a major change and people stuck with UK, players going pro early was a major change .. then one and done. If the off court stuff bothers you , just watch the games and tune out the rest.

The players have been paid some how some way forever. I have many boosters of other teams in my family and a KU booster was the one who told me of how colleges everywhere had this buddy program of a booster takes a player under their wing and gives them what they ask for as long as they are at the school and this was 30 years ago he told me this and my cousins, 2nd cousins uncles all said yep thats right, might be referred by some different name but it happens all over. SOOOOOO at least now its out in the open and no one is tax evading.

And did you really think your whole life players not from kentucky just dreamed of playing for UK? when they say that before coming , its called PR. But if you ask players , after they came to UK they soaked in the history and fell in love with it all. ANd players of other programs its the same way. its always been a business to the top 100 recruits and always will be.
 
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I’m sorry but the NBA is not more entertaining than College Basketball

Says the guy who probably hasn’t watched an NBA game in a long time.

There have been at least 5 games in the playoffs so far that were infinitely better played and infinitely more entertaining than anything that happened in the NCAA tournament. Constant roster shuffles and transfers have made the college game sloppy and laughably bad at times. It’s not a good product anymore. Referees are the center of attention, players look like they have no clue what they’re doing, etc. The worst player who gets minutes in the NBA playoffs would be the best player on the floor in any college game. It’s simply far superior basketball.

You’re confusing emotion for entertainment. You’re emotionally invested in UK, so you feel more “entertained” by UK games. Watch a 52-45 Wisky/Virginia game and then tell me it’s more entertaining than the NBA.
 
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People are going to be majorly disappointed if they think that UK will now keep most of their players for multiple years.
Yes there will be a few that stay 2, 3 even 4 years. But with this portal nonsense. Most will play for 4 or 5 different schools during their college careers now.
I don't care if they stay or not. I'm excited for Pope to be the UK coach.
But fans should pump the breaks on several players staying 4 years. It's not going to happen unless transfer rules are changed up.
 
People are going to be majorly disappointed if they think that UK will now keep most of their players for multiple years.
Yes there will be a few that stay 2, 3 even 4 years. But with this portal nonsense. Most will play for 4 or 5 different schools during their college careers now.
I don't care if they stay or not. I'm excited for Pope to be the UK coach.
But fans should pump the breaks on several players staying 4 years. It's not going to happen unless transfer rules are changed up.
I agree, and sad to say it’s dramatically lowering my interest. If I hadn’t already been a Kentucky fan for 40 years, I’d probably be out.

For now, I hang on mostly because it’s what I’ve always known. Ya know? But I absolutely do not enjoy the sport as much as I once did, and I know exactly why.
 
College sports (at least the major ones) as we’ve known them are dead. The days of guys out recruiting the competition are over. No longer do tradition, fanbase, facilities, legacy matter. It’s all $$$ now.

If I’m gonna watch pro hoops, the NBA is 1000x more entertaining than what the college game has turned into. Nothing matters anymore. The next title we win will be bought and paid for. That’s sad.
I said a long time ago all those downplaying the idea of amateurism and criticizing the NCAA trying to hold on so long to that model are now seeing what so said forever and just what others are coming out of the woodwork saying now. COLLEGE sports as we’ve known it is dead.
There will still be leagues and we’ll still have a team but it just won’t be about the locality or the University anymore.

Eventually you’ll see the current model morph more and more to a semi pro or lower level pro league and the Universities restart with their own model again focused on the Universities and their student athletes. Wont be near as high level of sport but may be just entertaining
 
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I agree, and sad to say it’s dramatically lowering my interest. If I hadn’t already been a Kentucky fan for 40 years, I’d probably be out.

For now, I hang on mostly because it’s what I’ve always known. Ya know? But I absolutely do not enjoy the sport as much as I once did, and I know exactly why.
I'm with you. 52 years of watching this coming season. In too deep now to stop.
 
It's is mostly about money, yes. We have that. But there are still differentiators that matter. Coach, exposure, and even school/tradition are still factors. Especially for high level college players that may not ever play in the NBA. They are playing for just these things.

Pope is the right guy for these times.
 
College sports (at least the major ones) as we’ve known them are dead. The days of guys out recruiting the competition are over. No longer do tradition, fanbase, facilities, legacy matter. It’s all $$$ now.

If I’m gonna watch pro hoops, the NBA is 1000x more entertaining than what the college game has turned into. Nothing matters anymore. The next title we win will be bought and paid for. That’s sad.
It probably won't be the first bought and paid for title.
 
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Those things haven't mattered in 20 years though. Coach and fast track to the NBA was what mattered everywhere for 15 years . Guys have a reason to stay in college now atleast.

If the truth was known our 2012 title was probably bought and paid for aswell. The truth won't ever be out though
Solid post, agreed!
 
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I agree to some extent but I don't see how the NBA is any better

The NIL is a disruptor but it will normalize. Programs willing to adapt will succeed, those that don't will not.

At the moment we as fans have to decide if we're going to support our program financially to a degree we have not in the past , meaning do we want to give $25-$300 a year as a fan that goes directly into the pocket of players.

I was initially against it and have said recently during Cal's tenure that I would not give, and from an ideology standpoint I"m not sure I'll ever agree with it, but my ideology doesn't win championships, so I have given money and I'll continue to do so as long as I believe in supporting UK. Hiring Mark Pope changed my mind on that.

If you think about it, its a two way street. If ALL UK fans gave a donation to the NIL fund, then the program thrives but it also puts power into the hands of the fanbase that its never had before. Imagine having $4 million coming in every year from the fans (which is a significantly small portion of the fanbase giving $25) and the fans collectively saying no, we don't agree with the direction the program is going in.

The program has to respond at least to the extent it acknowledges the fans aren't happy. So in a sense, the NIL that has now been opened up to fan donations has given the fans (collectively) a voice, something that only a select few weathly donors in the past had. I'm not saying it will be impactful immediately, but we saw what happened this year.

If we are being honest, Cal left because he realized he was going to struggle to continue to field a competitive team of players *he* wanted at UK. He had to go to a program like Arkansas that was willing to give him buckets of money and carte blanche on how he wanted to spend it. That world didn't exist at UK anymore (if it ever did for him). That same landscape exists at every big time program that is heavily invested in college basketball. The same thing will happen to him at Arkansas unless he gets results in 3 years.

No NIL money, no competitive team. No competitive team, no coaching job security.

and the University of KY is telling the fans it needs them to give to the NIL fund.

they've handed power over to those who contribute to the fund.

Now if you REALLY want to turn this on its ear, instead of giving individually to the UK NIL fund, UK fans should form a collective of sorts where they donate to a UK donors club that has a fund manager and finance secretary. The UK donors club then donates the money as a single payment to UK, to the tune of $3 - $6m a year for both the basketball and football programs - or any program.

Now talking about having a voice. Mitch Barnhart would be compelled to talk to the fans instead of hiding, the fans could have influence on program priorities such as a new practice facility, or even more ingrained into the day to day activities of the program (which I do no support but its inevitable)
This is probably the best post I've seen concerning NIL. Thank you.
 
College sports (at least the major ones) as we’ve known them are dead. The days of guys out recruiting the competition are over. No longer do tradition, fanbase, facilities, legacy matter. It’s all $$$ now.

If I’m gonna watch pro hoops, the NBA is 1000x more entertaining than what the college game has turned into. Nothing matters anymore. The next title we win will be bought and paid for. That’s sad.
College basketball has become unwatchable with games being played by kids who are hired guns using fouling strategy that takes half an hour to play the last minute of a game, I’d rather watch grass grow
 
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And just think, this was PROMOTED in in much of the same way political trickery works. “Just let them sign some autographs”. Funny we don’t hear that anymore now that the slippery slope was, well, slippery. This has been a grievance from day one based on false notions. It’s a tactic used over and over and the sad part is people don’t typically wake up until? It’s too late. And this is how too late.

Get used to the normal but the next time you’re confronted with “that’s a slippery slope argument”, remember that sometimes if you jump on you’re going to slide to the bottom. This was never about fairness, this was always about grievance and the need some have to find it anywhere they look.
Am not gonna read the entire thread after your post, and don't want to hi-jack it, but the EXACT similar idea has and is occurring with Medical Marijuana.... used as a slippery slope tool for legalization....

Go CATS!
 
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Am not gonna read the entire thread after your post, and don't want to hi-jack it, but the EXACT similar idea has and is occurring with Medical Marijuana.... used as a slippery slope tool for legalization....

Go CATS!

Yea you’d lose that debate. Stop there
 
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I agree to some extent but I don't see how the NBA is any better

The NIL is a disruptor but it will normalize. Programs willing to adapt will succeed, those that don't will not.

At the moment we as fans have to decide if we're going to support our program financially to a degree we have not in the past , meaning do we want to give $25-$300 a year as a fan that goes directly into the pocket of players.

I was initially against it and have said recently during Cal's tenure that I would not give, and from an ideology standpoint I"m not sure I'll ever agree with it, but my ideology doesn't win championships, so I have given money and I'll continue to do so as long as I believe in supporting UK. Hiring Mark Pope changed my mind on that.

If you think about it, its a two way street. If ALL UK fans gave a donation to the NIL fund, then the program thrives but it also puts power into the hands of the fanbase that its never had before. Imagine having $4 million coming in every year from the fans (which is a significantly small portion of the fanbase giving $25) and the fans collectively saying no, we don't agree with the direction the program is going in.

The program has to respond at least to the extent it acknowledges the fans aren't happy. So in a sense, the NIL that has now been opened up to fan donations has given the fans (collectively) a voice, something that only a select few weathly donors in the past had. I'm not saying it will be impactful immediately, but we saw what happened this year.

If we are being honest, Cal left because he realized he was going to struggle to continue to field a competitive team of players *he* wanted at UK. He had to go to a program like Arkansas that was willing to give him buckets of money and carte blanche on how he wanted to spend it. That world didn't exist at UK anymore (if it ever did for him). That same landscape exists at every big time program that is heavily invested in college basketball. The same thing will happen to him at Arkansas unless he gets results in 3 years.

No NIL money, no competitive team. No competitive team, no coaching job security.

and the University of KY is telling the fans it needs them to give to the NIL fund.

they've handed power over to those who contribute to the fund.

Now if you REALLY want to turn this on its ear, instead of giving individually to the UK NIL fund, UK fans should form a collective of sorts where they donate to a UK donors club that has a fund manager and finance secretary. The UK donors club then donates the money as a single payment to UK, to the tune of $3 - $6m a year for both the basketball and football programs - or any program.

Now talking about having a voice. Mitch Barnhart would be compelled to talk to the fans instead of hiding, the fans could have influence on program priorities such as a new practice facility, or even more ingrained into the day to day activities of the program (which I do no support but its inevitable)
Water always finds its own level. It will likely take a couple years, but the boosters that are primarily funding the NIL pocket books will realize that it offers very little ROI. Once boosters at schools like Baylor, Arkansas, Louisville, etc. realize that after donating all that money, they are in the same pecking order they were 10 years ago, they will eventually quit donating all that money, allowing teams at the top like UK to no longer need all that money. Right now it is a frenzy, but it won't take too long for rich people to realize they are wasting their money. One thing most really rich people realize is when they are wasting money. Sure, they will by a country ham at the fair for a million dollars for a good charity, but after a while, they will realized college basketball kids aren't worth the money they are paying, not a good charity, and stop.
 
Water always finds its own level. It will likely take a couple years, but the boosters that are primarily funding the NIL pocket books will realize that it offers very little ROI. Once boosters at schools like Baylor, Arkansas, Louisville, etc. realize that after donating all that money, they are in the same pecking order they were 10 years ago, they will eventually quit donating all that money, allowing teams at the top like UK to no longer need all that money. Right now it is a frenzy, but it won't take too long for rich people to realize they are wasting their money. One thing most really rich people realize is when they are wasting money. Sure, they will by a country ham at the fair for a million dollars for a good charity, but after a while, they will realized college basketball kids aren't worth the money they are paying, not a good charity, and stop.
I think they'll make a big splash early one - but they'll be like "I didn't sign up to give a million dollars every year"

The corporate sponsors may be a different animal. Could be a package deal to get their name on a building , could even figure out a way to legitimately expense it.
 
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College sports (at least the major ones) as we’ve known them are dead. The days of guys out recruiting the competition are over. No longer do tradition, fanbase, facilities, legacy matter. It’s all $$$ now.

If I’m gonna watch pro hoops, the NBA is 1000x more entertaining than what the college game has turned into. Nothing matters anymore. The next title we win will be bought and paid for. That’s sad.
Like being bought and paid for is anything new? All of UCLA's titles were bought and paid for by Sam Gilbert. Bill Walton is famous for saying he had to take a pay cut when he first got to the NBA. I am sure UCLA wasn't the only ones doing it as well.

I do think NIL currently is not what it was intended to be. To allow players to do commercials, sell autographs, be sponsors of products, and sell merch. What it really is, is just boosters paying kids via the collective to show up to their school.
 
Ratings across the board as solid as ever. It most certainly is not dead. Go back to bed you old geezers

Although there certainly was an interesting footnote to the conclusion of the season when the women’s championship game had more viewers than the men’s. (Clark effect or a sign of things to come?)
 
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