Horrible Story with Cal and Hopkins
- Thread starter Philstat
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Not giving them a chance is the least of the harm that Cal does to them. The near mental cruelty is far more damaging. Players are better off not getting their names called than to be humiliated by being put into games to only get removed in less than a minute of court time. To ensure that no one thinks the players were only put in so that Cal could briefly explain something to the players they were subbed in for, Cal gives them a good tongue lashing as they walk to their chairs so that everyone knows that Cal wasn't pleased. Often times the tongue lashing continues while the players are seated.
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MOVE! GOOOO! RUNNN!
Wonderful input from the sideline. I think it was last year I posted my theory on why cal teams always shoot poorly, especially fts, in the NCAA tournament. I think they can 100% feel the pressure from cal and it tightens them up.
It's enough pressure as is without a coach screaming and being anxious as well.
The poster can't handle the truth that is why he doesn't think it should have been written. He wants to continue thinking that Cal is the greatest of all time. Cal isn't the GOAT; he is a goat.
The fact that Hopkins never wanted to play for Kentucky is very revealing. The guy just wasn't mentally tough enough to play at Kentucky. All of this talk about how Hopkins should have played more at UK is just ridiculous.
When the guy played, he would usually throw the ball away, take bad shots or fumble the ball away. Cal should have pulled him out of games quicky.
The guy had one good game last year. A lot of you guys want to act like he's a superstar. He is playing well in a much weaker conference. He is one of the very few players who have transferred from Kentucky and thrived at other schools.
Players have transferred to Kentucky and have thrived. Look at Oscar and Reeves.Look at how Toppin is playing now compared to how he played at Rhode Island.
It's amazing. Kentucky has won 5 of it's last 6 games and many of you guys are still ranting and raving against Cal. I don't view Hopkins speaking out as bravery as some of you do. I think it was foolish and an example of someone not wanting to accept responsibility for his poor play.
When the guy played, he would usually throw the ball away, take bad shots or fumble the ball away. Cal should have pulled him out of games quicky.
The guy had one good game last year. A lot of you guys want to act like he's a superstar. He is playing well in a much weaker conference. He is one of the very few players who have transferred from Kentucky and thrived at other schools.
Players have transferred to Kentucky and have thrived. Look at Oscar and Reeves.Look at how Toppin is playing now compared to how he played at Rhode Island.
It's amazing. Kentucky has won 5 of it's last 6 games and many of you guys are still ranting and raving against Cal. I don't view Hopkins speaking out as bravery as some of you do. I think it was foolish and an example of someone not wanting to accept responsibility for his poor play.
Might want to check yourself there. Not sure where in the hell you thought I was defending cal there, I was defending Hopkins. I am extremely outspoken on this board for my cal disdain.
How in the hell did Juzang explode? He played pretty well at UCLA but he wasn't even drafted? One of his goals was to make it to the NBA. He is barely hanging on there.
I love how UK fans complain about kids that won't fight through competition, and then goes some where there is no competition and they succeed, they blame it on UK. There is competition here. These kids can always go somewhere they will be the best player. If they want to compete against the best, they come to UK. Someone loses every competition. I hope the kid the best, but he lost the competition here.Essentially what many of us have been saying all along;
Bryce Hopkins was "under a microscope" at Kentucky, regrets decision
If you ask Providence standout Bryce Hopkins, his pitstop in Lexington as a Kentucky Wildcat should have never happened at all.www.on3.com
Hopkins isn't the first to call out Cal on this matter. The Bennies have been saying it for a couple seasons on here and here we have more evidence towards that idea; Cal destroys players confidence.
Feed the fire of hate and discontent. Much needed thread, I think not.Essentially what many of us have been saying all along;
Bryce Hopkins was "under a microscope" at Kentucky, regrets decision
If you ask Providence standout Bryce Hopkins, his pitstop in Lexington as a Kentucky Wildcat should have never happened at all.
I remember when we beat Louisville in the 2014 tourney, Pitino was the coach you just described and Cal was the loose one. And that's why we won.
You are a waste of time but....3rd team AA, 2 time all Pac12, led his team to a F4. Why should I give a shit about his draft status?
It is amazing how people really try to brush it off when it defies any common sense. I think the refs look at him as a lunatic as well.
How is he destroying CJs confidence?
At first he didn’t play, is now starting and playing poorly.
Cal sucks a lot, at many things… hut he has given CJ every chance this season. Fans screamed about seeing CJ… now same fans want him playing less and Cal is destroying his confidence…
We have a huge coach problem and he needs to go. Now
Worse problem…We have ignorant, stupid, hypocritical fans that we are stuck with forever
Good afternoon
Horrible take. Not sure where you could come up with that. Hopkins was very talented and it surprised Cal and he realized some of his pets would be upset if Hopkins got their minutes. So he did the Cal thing and messed with his head until he left. Screw Cal. He can’t leave soon enough.
V g5g
No pets, no messing with his head.
Cal and Bryce both wanted him to play the 3 at UK. It right there in the article that he knew he should have went to PC but people in his circle encouraged him to go to UK "to see what he could do" on that stage.
They sure as hell weren't talking about winning a title. They wanted him to see if he could go to UK and play the 3 at a level to be a OAD or a 2AD at worst.
That wasn't going to happen playing a small ball 4.
Problem is Bryce doesn't have the skills to excell as a college wing much less an NBA wing.
Same with Livingston.
If Cal had pitched small ball 4, CL would be at another school.
Talk about horrible takes.
No pets, no messing with his head.
Cal and Bryce both wanted him to play the 3 at UK. It right there in the article that he knew he should have went to PC but people in his circle encouraged him to go to UK "to see what he could do" on that stage.
They sure as hell weren't talking about winning a title. They wanted him to see if he could go to UK and play the 3 at a level to be a OAD or a 2AD at worst.
That wasn't going to happen playing a small ball 4.
Problem is Bryce doesn't have the skills to excell as a college wing much less an NBA wing.
Same with Livingston.
If Cal had pitched small ball 4, CL would be at another school.
Nice pull. I always thought Galloway could be a great utility guy capable of a 10/10/10 type of triple double.
I think you're missing the point - "When the guy played he would usually throw the ball away, take bad shots, or fumble the ball ...." Bryce basically admitted that and explained why. The reason is his coach had him looking over his shoulder every moment. Guarantee Charles Matthews would give the same interview today, along with Juzang.
Reeves, OT, Toppin...it's called maturity and experience. If you think Hopkins can't play you're crazy and the league he plays in is not that much weaker than the sec except maybe for Ala.
I understand the outrage. Hopkins is shining in Providence and sucked for UK last season.
1. Hopkins by his own words admits that he didn't think playing for Calipari was the best fit for him. However, those close to him talked him into it.
2. He came to UK and it was clear that it wasn't the best fit. He couldn't shine under Calipari's system. He didn't take to Calipari's coaching.
3. He made the right decision for him and transferred to a school where he was more comfortable playing.
The article definitely screams that Calipari can't coach every player. I'm not sure I would be very good at someone screaming and pushing and pulling me off the court after every mistake. It is probably the reason he misses on a lot of high-level recruits. On the flip side, there are a lot of former players that speak highly of Calipari's coaching...for various reasons.
It's impossible to be the perfect coach for every player and, in the end, the player has to make the right decision for their future. Whether it's an indictment on Calipari the coach, I don't know. There are lots of other X's and O's reason to doubt Calipari's coaching.
Hopkins seems like that sensitive kid that needs to be coddled. I guess Ed Cooley is the right guy for him. Hopefully, it works out for him in the long run. I wish him nothing but the best.
1. Hopkins by his own words admits that he didn't think playing for Calipari was the best fit for him. However, those close to him talked him into it.
2. He came to UK and it was clear that it wasn't the best fit. He couldn't shine under Calipari's system. He didn't take to Calipari's coaching.
3. He made the right decision for him and transferred to a school where he was more comfortable playing.
The article definitely screams that Calipari can't coach every player. I'm not sure I would be very good at someone screaming and pushing and pulling me off the court after every mistake. It is probably the reason he misses on a lot of high-level recruits. On the flip side, there are a lot of former players that speak highly of Calipari's coaching...for various reasons.
It's impossible to be the perfect coach for every player and, in the end, the player has to make the right decision for their future. Whether it's an indictment on Calipari the coach, I don't know. There are lots of other X's and O's reason to doubt Calipari's coaching.
Hopkins seems like that sensitive kid that needs to be coddled. I guess Ed Cooley is the right guy for him. Hopefully, it works out for him in the long run. I wish him nothing but the best.
He would have been behind both Liggins and Dotson on the 10 team if Cal had kept him
I am not making excuses for Cal here but I do think it takes a mentally tough kid to play for him.
Kids like Bam, Fox, Wall and even kids that came off the bench like Hawkins and Miller just was not bothered by him. Some kids just cannot handle getting yelled at and they cower in a corner and transfer.
That said, I have always thought Cal makes his players play scared. At Ole MIss I heard him scream move it and Reeves turned the ball over, and I think Cal was happier he turned it over instead of holding it.
He is just an odd dude that probably will not change at this point.
Lastly I agree he went to an easier conference with more volume, and in my opinion getting drafted there he is going to have to be better than he is now. Like SUPER star lvl where he could have just been good here and gotten drafted.
Kids like Bam, Fox, Wall and even kids that came off the bench like Hawkins and Miller just was not bothered by him. Some kids just cannot handle getting yelled at and they cower in a corner and transfer.
That said, I have always thought Cal makes his players play scared. At Ole MIss I heard him scream move it and Reeves turned the ball over, and I think Cal was happier he turned it over instead of holding it.
He is just an odd dude that probably will not change at this point.
Lastly I agree he went to an easier conference with more volume, and in my opinion getting drafted there he is going to have to be better than he is now. Like SUPER star lvl where he could have just been good here and gotten drafted.
I'm not reading four pages...has anyone pointed out how Oscar basically did the same thing in reverse? If you're going to crucify Cal for Hopkins, shouldn't he get credit for Oscar?
Hard to know for sure what went on at WVU but Huggins screwed up by sitting OT behind Culver mostly. 20mpg coming off his FR season was too low. Cal played Hopkins pretty much zero minutes at the position he is excelling at now, PF. With the portal now, coaches better be able to keep talented players engaged and be in there ear about their future. Cal, arguably the best recruiter in the business, is poor at this. He did the opposite with Hopkins, he pumped him in the preseason and then again after the LSU game then forgot about him the rest of the time.
I didn't say you should care about his draft status. He cares about it. He probably would have been drafted if he had stayed at UK and performed well. He has made it clear that he transferred because of his concerns about covid and his family. Many of you guys refuse to accept that fact and unfairly blame Cal.
Can any of the Cal ball washers explain why Hopkins played three minutes after a breakout game against LSU?
Those sound like excuses to me. He wasn't ready to play. That's why he played poorly. He's also in a situation now in which there is almost no pressure on him. Kentucky is the big time. Hopkins simply can't play well in the big time.He can't handle the pressure.
Essentially what many of us have been saying all along;
Bryce Hopkins was "under a microscope" at Kentucky, regrets decision
If you ask Providence standout Bryce Hopkins, his pitstop in Lexington as a Kentucky Wildcat should have never happened at all.
Can't blame the kid. He was playing out of position. He'll never be a 3.
You are so tainted with you dislike of Cal that you can’t see or remember how crappy he played here except for one game. He played like a freshman with low bball IQ
If they come to UK, they are all talented. Hopkins did not prove that he deserved more playing time. He left because he thought he should be allowed to play the way he wanted instead of within the offensive scheme.
No, but you can’t explain it either. Could have been a myriad of reasons. Maybe he wasn’t playing good in the three minutes he got after the LSU game. Can you explain why he only hit 3-14 shots against Xavier in his last game.
He was not the star you want him to be to substantiate your dislike oof Cal.
The LSU game was not a breakout game. It was simply an overdue event. He played way below his talent level in the rest of his games at UK
He wasn’t ready to play?? Pretty lame. Sans one game, he didn’t earn his scholarship while at UK and that is on him and not Cal. He was given opportunity time after time and he did not produce
To be fair to all involved:
Kentucky's team last year was a lot deeper than Providence this year.
Gray was one of the best shooters in college basketball, and Bryce is really a 4. So let's skip arguing about SF minutes.
At the 4, we had Brooks, Toppin, Collins. You make a mistake, then there are other really talented guys waiting for their chance.
I'm as sick of Cal as anyone. But is he really supposed to let a kid play prolonged minutes through mistakes when there are other capable players? How do you decide which one gets the leash? Do we just give 4 guys 10 minutes and say this is what you get?
Cal messed up by saying he needed to play Bryce more and then not playing him more. But it's a little delusional to think you're going to get to constantly play through mistakes at the expense of other highly touted players at the 4 spot.
Kentucky's team last year was a lot deeper than Providence this year.
Gray was one of the best shooters in college basketball, and Bryce is really a 4. So let's skip arguing about SF minutes.
At the 4, we had Brooks, Toppin, Collins. You make a mistake, then there are other really talented guys waiting for their chance.
I'm as sick of Cal as anyone. But is he really supposed to let a kid play prolonged minutes through mistakes when there are other capable players? How do you decide which one gets the leash? Do we just give 4 guys 10 minutes and say this is what you get?
Cal messed up by saying he needed to play Bryce more and then not playing him more. But it's a little delusional to think you're going to get to constantly play through mistakes at the expense of other highly touted players at the 4 spot.
