Jones saying he's hearing Gabriel may be gone soon

[UK90]

You can't tell me not one kid from KY could have came here and played in the last 5 years.

How many can you name from that period that could've been contributing rotation players here?

By my count, it's maybe around two or three: That Kelan Martin kid from Louisville had an excellent career at Butler, so I assume he would've contributed at UK. And Taveion Hollingsworth had such a promising freshman year at WKU that I figure he probably could've too.

Other than that, the only Ky kids I see who've recently made notable noise at the D1 level are Quentin Snider, who I believe was a UL lock from the beginning, and Carsen Williams, who fits really well at NKU, but I doubt a white 6'5" pure power forward would've gotten much time in Cal's system.

So it's not like there's been a menu of Ky products for Cal to choose from the last five years. The in-state pickings have been mighty slim.

 

[RipThru]

Are you aware "the Beverly kid" never played high school basketball in the state of Kentucky, has never really lived in Kentucky since he was a middle school kid, and has never expressed any interest whatsoever in playing for UK or any other Kentucky team? The kid left the state in search of better competition after middle school and never looked back.

The notions that we should've given special focus on recruiting that kid just because he was "technically" from Ky, or that he would've supposedly been extra dedicated to stay because of something that never seemed to concern him before, are just silly.

Wrong. I KNOW he played two years at Perry Central High School, and may have been three. I think he played two years at Hargrave as well, which is why he is a 21 year old freshman.

 

[Wall2Wall]

Where was it reported that his family needs money? I follow UK closely and have never seen that reported, just randos on this board saying it with nothing to back it up.

I recall reading a story that went along with the spread on Wenyen and his family's journey to the states during the SEC tournament. I thought it was on KSR but couldn't find it. Google was not much help either. Sorry, no link to provide right now.

 

[Ryan Lemonds Diary]

How many can you name from that period that could've been contributing rotation players here?

By my count, it's maybe around two or three: That Kelan Martin kid from Louisville had a very nice career at Butler, so I assume he could've contributed at UK. And Taveion Hollingsworth had such a promising freshman year at WKU that I figure he could've too.

Other than that, the only Ky kids I see who've recently made notable noise at the D1 level are Quentin Snider, who I believe was a UL lock from the beginning, and Carsen Williams, who fits really well at NKU, but I doubt a white 6'5" pure power forward would've gotten much time in Cal's system.

So it's not like there's been a menu of Ky products for Cal to choose from the last five years. The in-state pickings have been mighty slim.

Even if there has only been 2-3 in that period if you get them on this team you have some jr and senior leadership. Is that a bad thing because according to some it must be.

 

[kyjeff1]

I think there are kids like Miller and Hawkins out there but it doesn't seem like Cal is giving them a chance. They are looking at a couple of kids for next year but nobody from KY has received a scholarship offer in 5 years since Hawk and Willis. You can't tell me not one kid from KY could have came here and played in the last 5 years.

You could be right. I can't prove or disprove anything because I don't know if Cal, or his staff are recruiting local kids. It's really tough to know who or when they're recruiting as an outsider.
I mean, I don't have zsab71 insiders.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

I'm not sure why Cal hasn't figured out the only way to get some guys on this team who will stick around and not transfer if they are not one and done is to keep a couple of KY guys on the team. There are usually 2-3 high level D1 kids in KY every year and there is no reason we shouldn't be getting one every year or every other year to keep 2-3 on the team at all times.

I can get on board with this. I do think, though, the reason Cal doesn't do this more often is due to the fan base pressure to give the in-state players PT. JMO.

 

[Madcat62]

Actually the astute observation on my part is no matter who you have on your roster, doesnt translate necessarily to a title. Freshmen or seniors. Michigan State and Virginia. Gonzaga. Kansas. Etc. all had key veterans on their teams. None won the title. UK 1959-2018 except for four years in which the vast majority of the UK teams had juniors and seniors. Cal’s OAD model has only been in effect at UK for 9 years. One title. The other 106 years of UK basketball produced 7 titles. That’s a title every 15 years with using upperclassmen.

actually cal had miller jones and dom so that don't exactly meet the current mold

 

[irishcat1965]

actually cal had miller jones and dom so that don't exactly meet the current mold

And if he has PJ and Vanderbilt, what’s the difference? On the 2012 team, Miller was the only senior who got any substantial time. The rest were three freshmen and two sophomores. And a few minutes for freshman Wiltjer.

 

[TankedCat]

Yeah it is. The best players rise to the top. As Cal says, this isn’t communism.

no, its a dictatorship

 

[irishcat1965]

no, its a dictatorship

As it should be with any coach.

 

[TankedCat]

actually cal had miller jones and dom so that don't exactly meet the current mold

good point.

 

[TankedCat]

As it should be with any coach.

you're talking in circles, the bottom line is this is a culture Cal has created. It didn't exist before he arrived and I doubt it will exist after he leaves.

There are definite positives to it but to if a player leaves or stays, the decision process originates from the culture Cal create and is heavily influenced by how he manages the program

 

[ganner918]

I harped on that fact to until I seen what their contract was for last year. Briscoe made $850,000 and Humphries made $750,000. You can't blame kids for doing hat and still have the option to come back anytime and finish their degree on UK's dime. It's a no lose situation.

This is an overlooked aspect of all this. The amount of money you can make in other countries is not insignificant. World basketball growing means guys who aren't NBA-level talent who in the past would finish a degree and move on from ball now have options to continue playing ball as a career. We want these kids in college for the sake of our team and our sport, but it's not necessarily the best move for the players.

 

[Ryan Lemonds Diary]

You could be right. I can't prove or disprove anything because I don't know if Cal, or his staff are recruiting local kids. It's really tough to know who or when they're recruiting as an outsider.
I mean, I don't have zsab71 insiders.

We may not know all the ins and outs of all of UK's recruiting but if he had offered most of these KY kids I am sure it would leak out.

 

[Ryan Lemonds Diary]

I would say most people would agree that the 2010, 2012 and 2015 would still be the top 3 teams during Cal's tenure. Out of those 3 all had upperclassmen who contributed and 2 of the 3 had players from the state who contributed a lot with 2010 being the possible exception since a sophomore Miller only averaged 21 MPG and 6 PPG.

The next 3 best teams would arguably be 2017, 2014 and 2011. Of those only the 2014 didn't have upperclassmen who contributed a lot and that was also the only team to not have a KY player to provide a major contribution as well since Polson was the only one who played significant minutes.

The loan exception to having upperclassmen but a mediocre season would probably be 2016 when we had Alex, Dom, Willis and Lee.

 

[ZZBlueComet]

Kind of like Duke losing four players off the team that lost to South Carolina? Lol.

I don’t give a crap about Duke, I only care abut Kentucky.

 

[irishcat1965]

I don’t give a crap about Duke, I only care abut Kentucky.

Then you shouldn’t care that Nova won two titles in three years or what any other college is doing in basketball. Because you only care about Kentucky right?

 

[ZZBlueComet]

Then you shouldn’t care that Nova won two titles in three years or what any other college is doing in basketball. Because you only care about Kentucky right?

I only care about Kentucky. This past season wasn't fun, I'm not alone feeling like this. I don't care for complete overhauls of the roster, when you can't get past KState in the Sweet 16 and lose 10 games. I don't care if Duke is doing it one way or Nova the other.

 

[irishcat1965]

I only care about Kentucky. This past season wasn't fun, I'm not alone feeling like this.

Nope it wasn’t. And it won’t be the last in UK basketball whether Cal is coaching here or not.