Former Cat Tom Heitz gets it

[Wildcat-in-STL]

Solution to what? Winning a title?
My opinion a coaching change doesn't increase our chances to win a title in the next 2-3 years.
A change in recruiting philosophy doesn't increase our chances.
Cal already recruits the portal.
Grady, Reeves, and Mitchell were among the best available transfers the last 3 cycles.
As far as OAD's, I'd rather Dybanasta being playing for us than against us.
I hope we never have less than a #2 class
If you are advocating for a complete shift in MO for the basketball program, you better be prepared to be patient.
I don't see a " lightning in a bottle" coach out there.

Would you have thought Pitino was a lightning in a bottle coach in 1989? No you wouldnt. How did anyone think Cal was lightning in a bottle? he had no titles, a few final fours .............There are coaches out there with final fours ......... why wouldnt you consider that possible lightning in a bottle?

you are allowing fear of change and the unknown to dictate your whole thought process and its illogical. The thing we know for sure is that Cal cant get it done anymore

 

[SkyPrince1]

Would you have thought Pitino was a lightning in a bottle coach in 1989? No you wouldnt. How did anyone think Cal was lightning in a bottle? he had no titles, a few final fours .............There are coaches out there with final fours ......... why wouldnt you consider that possible lightning in a bottle?

you are allowing fear of change and the unknown to dictate your whole thought process and its illogical. The thing we know for sure is that Cal cant get it done anymore

Are you serious?
In both instances the UK administration knew it had its back against the wall in regards to the shape of the basketball program.
Pitino was the hottest young coach in all of basketball.
CM pitched the job to Rick by telling him that "We have a mess". CM definitely looking for someone who could bring excitement back to the program.
Same situation with Cal. The UK brain trust Pratt etc. knew that Billy had left a complete mess and knew Cal was the only coach in the game to right the ship quickly.
They also knew exactly how he would do it.
If Rick Barnes had been named coach in May of 09 what recruits do you think he would have brought with him?
It sure as hell wouldn't have been Wall, Cuz, and Bledsoe.
More than likely he keeps Pilgrim, Galloway and Porter and may even have honored the scholly to Konner Tucker lol.
Barnes is a good coach and he would have won here but it wouldn't have been anything close to Cal's first three years.

 

[permdaddy]

We all miss the old days of college hoops. If you don’t…..well…..you’re odd. But I stopped whining about that a few years ago. It’s just the way it is, and if I’m going to get some joy out of college hoops I have to accept it.

This. Everyone yearning for the days of old will never be satisfied. They are gone and are never coming back. It's not just a UK thing however It does affect us blue bloods more. Most other schools feel better about things they feel like they have more of a chance with the way things are now. The playing field is more even now than ever before but that's the way it's going to be from now on. We (UK) have to find a way to be great in this era.

 

[RunninRichie]

It got us out of the hole.
Got us 128 wins and a title.
Where do we rank in wins during his time here?

It got us out of the hole yeah. But that was 15 years ago. One and Done doesn't cut it today in 2024. Unless you land Zion Williamson or Anthony Davis every single year.

 

[Kyhoward]

From G-Pip Post #53
“Why not rely so heavily on high school OADs? Because overwhelmingly the best college basketball players each season are upperclassmen”. — True!

"Recruit to win now" - CCC wants to send players to the NBA to "end generational poverty" and if his teams win the SEC regular season, SEC Tournament, or NCAA tournament that is fine but not the main objective.

Teams that advance to the Final Four are predominantly experienced teams.

IMO, you need a mix of freshmen thru senior classes to maintain excellence year to year. A college team of predominantly freshman will not defeat a veteran college team! You really don't know how freshmen will play once they go up against 22 or older MEN. They may be more talented but the older players have experienced just about everything once they get to their Senior year. The ups and downs both personally and as a team, the agonizing losses, the amazing wins, the grind of practices and 30+ games while going to school. Justin Edwards is a good example of a young kid with a lot of pressure and press clippings that just has not responded YET. He may be a beast next year and I am not down on him personally, he just needs more experience and you cannot teach experience. Reed Sheppard has, on the other hand, outperformed the projections of being a 4-year player. But, he too makes freshmen mistakes that only experience can correct.

All in all the freshman have performed beyond my expectations along with Adou and Ugo. Antonio looks like a different player and I attribute that to last year playing against the best competition he has ever faced sharpening his skills. Now, he has adjusted and knows what to expect and that, along with his experience has him as our top player at present.

Know the NIL and transfer portal have been negative factors that have seriously degraded the game. I believe the recruitment of freshmen is of much less significandt than a few years ago. Over half of the players are in the portal each year. You will have to be successful in picking the right combination of skillful players that hopefully have a couple of years eligibility left to build a team and sprinkle them with a few 4/5 star players and players that you recruit who will contribute in years 2-4.

Don't have confidence in CCC and he is not going to change. At least he does run some out of bounds plays this year, but we sure can't defend them!

 

[Jeff Sykes]

Utmost respect for Sam and Tom.

They will forever be entitled to their opinion with respect to Kentucky Basketball.

However, the basketball world they grew up in no longer exists and hasn't for years.

Their opinions are irrelevant.

So no, Tom don't get it.

No, he gets it. While the game has changed a lot since his days the goal remains the same. Win in March and April. So the question he asks is legit. Do you care about NBA rosters and contracts or winning NCAA basketball games and championships? I think it is a fair question after what the fan base has seen in the last few years.

 

[Rockfly78]

What a stupid baiting question. Literally zero uk fans will care about the nba shit. He allowed himself to be trolled hard by cal.

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

I want our guys to make great money playing pro ball but I haven't watched 5 minutes of the NBA since.MJ played


At UK all I'm interested in is titles, period. Pro ball comes later.