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Jared Vanderbilt is absolutely the most ridiculous...

I won’t bash him at the end of the day it’s his decision .

That doesn’t mean we can’t be frustrated or confused by the decision

I agree with you. Nothing wrong with that. I would have much preferred to see what he is capable of in a Kentucky uniform, but considering all of the factors I can understand why that won’t be happening.

IF he can stay healthy he will be a steal in this draft (if he is drafted). If I was a GM I would take a chance with him. Dude is crazy talented. But had he come back and gotten injured again that would have probably been the end.
 
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Seems like a big risk to me. He stays at UK, he gets a chance to show what he can do, and maybe works into a first round or even lotto pick. If injuries prevent that, worst case scenario, he has a degree.
As it is, he has no shot of getting drafted. He might make a g league roster as a chance to earn a spot, if injuries keep him from that, he is out in the cold.
He seems like a good kid and he has a ton of potential, but it seems like a bad decision. I really do hope his risk pays off.
 
I wish him well, but he's definitely one of the most intriguing cases of "what might've been."

With his injury history it's probably best he tries to earn what he can while he can.
 
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regardless of why, this year the OAD era under Cal has been redefined. I don't think its for the better.

Vanderbilt had a role in that.
 
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That’s the case for all the scholarship players. They come to UK and other colleges as a pit stop to get to the NBA, that’s all that matters. No different than other kids who go to college to prepare for a good job, if they can get that good job without college they would

It's not that he's leaving that makes me wonder. It's that he ever came here in the first place. If being paid to play basketball is all that matters than he should have just gone overseas.
 
One and done case we have ever had....and that's really saying something.
Certainly, the ugliest side of this "one and done" phenomenon that we likely will ever see. Frankly, we've already seen and experienced some pretty bad scenarios. Kids who definitely should have stayed on but didn't. Jared's case, and Wenyen's too, are two of the strangest possible. Where do they go from here? With very limited skills compared to those we have recently witnessed in the grown-man NBA playoffs, where exactly do THEY think they will end up? Is this a pipe dream fueled by some unscrupulous agents whispering sweet nothings in their ears? Of all the bizarre cases, these two rank right at the top and leaves me, at least, shaking my head in disbelief. Do you not want to go to class that bad that you feel compelled to start your professional career early. Both of these men could easily be my sons--I would absolutely discourage and in fact emphatically tell them not to leave UK. Wenyen staying makes even more sense--he should at least be getting close to a degree--stick with it son, show some moxie and a bit of perseverence, stay here and get your degree. Their games had better take a giant leap forward if they are to come even close to an NBA roster, and I'm not talking just about next year, I'm talking "ever." No, I will not support either one of these decisions. Both are done prematurely and with significant malice aforethought. You both are setting yourselves up for a much greater chance of failure than success. At some point while at UK, some modicum of patience has to start kicking in, a la Willie Cauley-Stein, whose decision to stay for a third year was possibly the best move we've seen any UK kid make during Cal's tenure. That one decision alone put more money in his pocket than we can ever calculate. It also will likely permit him to have a long career instead of a short and struggling one. These two gentlemen are making huge mistakes.
 
Thankfully he has a higher education option for life on the university's dime available to him. I'd hate to see him stuck with the same financial burden my kids will have if basketball doesn't work out.

I mean hard to put a price on those 7 wins he was a part of.
 
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Its been weird, but with his injury history I can understand him leaving. Best of luck!

I dont Blame him. One more injury in college and he doesn’t make a dime. At least try to get one contract just in case.

He can't risk injuring his foot again and destroying any chance he has at a pro basketball career. Right choice for him.

You’re missing the big picture. He’s an injury away from ending his career. If anything it’s a smart move on his end to go.

Come by my shop loser, o am doing fine. What do you do son?




Are you guys paying attention?

He is not on any draft boards. I guess the G League is still the pros..

If he isnt drafted he makes $35k in the G league and if injured he is done.


How long will that $35k last?

How long will a club wait on an undrafted player to rehab?

Kid couldnt function on a private jet now he will be riding a school bus hundreds of miles each week.

Better chance of injury:

35 games vs college kids closely refereed
or
80 games versus grown ass men with families busting ass to make a roster

I could argue this all night... i get your points but the dollars are not there right now... he is NOT Harry Giles.
 
Better than using a draft pick in him, if I was a GM, I'd sign him as a FA, with a very short leash. Not knowing like everybody else on this board, I hope he recovers, and shuts a lot of haters up.
 
It's his choice to try. If he blows up the G league, he'll get an NBA contract sooner rather than later and guarantee his income. If not, his free education is still waiting here for him.

If he were my son, we'd be doing the same thing. Big guys with foot/ankle trouble only have so many miles they're likely to get before a permanent breakdown. Go grab what you can, while you can. ANY NBA opportunity is a once in a lifetime thing. If this is the best path in his opinion, so be it.
 
I don't know how much a professional ping pong player makes, but I would like to think (regardless of location/affiliation) playing pro ball pays more.
 
Some of ya'll only don't like the decision cause you selfishly want UK to be benefit. You don't know his options and what teams have told him.
Most people can figure it out. Dude averaged 5 points a game, was injured all year, is injured again, and he didnt do the combine or workouts. I doesnt take a Rocket Scientist to figure out what teams told him.
 
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You dumbasses in this thread bashing a kid are exaclty why UK fans get the name we get. It’s his decision so live with it. He’s one injury away from being looked at like a “risky” draft pick. I want him back to but I understand why he left!
 
You dumbasses in this thread bashing a kid are exaclty why UK fans get the name we get. It’s his decision so live with it. He’s one injury away from being looked at like a “risky” draft pick. I want him back to but I understand why he left!
This logic I will never understand, not only is he a risky draft pick now, he's likely to go undrafted and not be a draft pick at all. I'm not bashing the kid and wish him the best, that's just the reality of the situation.
 
While Vanderbilt didn't do anything on or off the court to hurt the UK program, I just wonder if he would have been the kind of player Cal would have normally passed on or stopped recruiting once he got a better feel for what kind of person he was.

I have to believe that part of this angst the program is seeing is because Cal missed on his recruiting targets for Vando's class.

UK isn't for everyone. I'm leaning toward UK wasn't for Vando, and its a shame because once he got into a groove for the few games near the end he started becoming a fan favorite.

But when you miss your recruiting targets, then maybe UK becomes a little less not for everyone and a little more for anyone.
 
But, how does he plan on playing over 80 games, in a more physical game, against grown men, when he can't stay healthy in HS or just 14 games in college? He needed to come back and prove that his body could hold up, for at least a season. Regardless, I wish him the best of luck.
He is a textbook example of a kid that really may need a college degree in case of a nagging injury destroying his career. He will not get drafted for the big money payoff due to his history of foot issues. He may not even be able to play overseas. What a joke. Good luck and may he learn to make better decisions on his own regarding his life in the future. It will have to be on his own because all the parasites advising him will have abandoned him by that point if he is unable to play basketball.
 
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Some of ya'll only don't like the decision cause you selfishly want UK to be benefit. You don't know his options and what teams have told him.
I think it's a bad decision for him AND our fans who wanted to see a healthy player. There is a high probability he will not be drafted. That's bad for him. There is a high probability, based on his nagging injury history, he will be unable to play basketball as a career. That's bad for him. Playing one full year of college, injury free, would show the NBA that the injury is not nagging. That is good for him AND our fans. He made a very risky decision for his future success imo.
 
You have to wonder what the motivation was to not play after his injury late in the season. Could he have played? Who made the decision for him to sit out the rest of the year? Calipari did appear frustrated about it in a few press items. We may never know.
 
I agree with you. Nothing wrong with that. I would have much preferred to see what he is capable of in a Kentucky uniform, but considering all of the factors I can understand why that won’t be happening.

IF he can stay healthy he will be a steal in this draft (if he is drafted). If I was a GM I would take a chance with him. Dude is crazy talented. But had he come back and gotten injured again that would have probably been the end.

I saw very little to describe him as " crazy" talented . His offense is PUTRID . Like non existent . He has speed and a nose for the ball . Yeah, him and a 1000 others . He had 2 choices . Proof his health and talent in college or prove it in the G league or overseas . He's not a star folks . Some 6 figure paycheck isn't coming. It was a bad decision for him and for everyone involved.
 
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There seems to be 2 camps , those that say " once a Cat always a Cat " and that means you can not even approach saying something " bad" about them , even if undeniably true . And those like me , Love the Cats who love being a Cat and would feel special to share a beer or dinner with them but dont have much use for those that really never invested in or seemed to enjoy the Kentucky experience . Wish there were more WCS's ( who was far from a personal fav of mine) and Chuck Hayes than JV's and Briscoe's .
 
There seems to be 2 camps , those that say " once a Cat always a Cat " and that means you can not even approach saying something " bad" about them , even if undeniably true . And those like me , Love the Cats who love being a Cat and would feel special to share a beer or dinner with them but dont have much use for those that really never invested in or seemed to enjoy the Kentucky experience . Wish there were more WCS's ( who was far from a personal fav of mine) and Chuck Hayes than JV's and Briscoe's .

and that reality is setting in on alot more fans at UK of late. While some fans don't notice it and just see the program as a whole, other fans, and I suspect its a good number of them, have a hard time rooting for a kid who is only at UK because its the fastest way to a payday.

yes, they are coached to say the right things, do the right things - and their willingness to do that should count for something, but once you realize they have zero allegiance to UK, you just get burned on them - and the more that happens, the less interest you have in the season to season aspirations of the program.

When UK fans are being asked to cheer for a player that is on the court because they are chasing money, I just wonder how sustainable that relationship is. Yes, I'm old, but that isn't what college fandom is about. Matter of fact, its pretty damn far from what college is supposed to be about. We bleed blue, they bleed green.
 
also, while this lifetime scholarship tout for UK is certainly a feel good idea and is a draw to recruits, its basically saying you can get an education any time, go for the brass ring while you can. Whatever positive you can say about it, one thing is for sure, it does nothing to help a kid decide to stay at UK if he is on the fence.
 
Him and Wenyen will get to be Briscoes new teammates if theyre lucky. Cal has loaded the NBA with UK guys, now its evidently time for the European takeover.

I think Gabriel is perfectly fine going overseas to play. The guy doesn't have much higher of a ceiling here and if he wants to make money, might as well go ahead and start playing elsewhere.

With JV, I think he made the right call. If he comes back and hurts his foot again, then I think his chance at sniffing the draft are 100% gone. I have no idea what the NBA teams' medical folks saw or didn't see with JV, but if he has a chance at getting drafted and working his way up to the NBA via the G-League, I think he has to take it. Too big of a risk coming back.

If we get Travis on top of PJ coming back, I think that's the best case realistic scenario we could have asked for.
 
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