Kansas vs Arkansas Exhibition Friday
- Thread starter Padsfs07
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Except he didn’t recruit the portal like he did here in year one
He had no choice there in year one because of the late stage and most of those portal players followed him from UK. We heard every year once the portal started that we weren’t gonna rely on freshman. He hit the portal pretty hard but even with that, he still relied on freshmen. It took an injury for him to actually give Antonio Reeves a fair shot. Like I said, we’ve heard all this before and like you we believed it. You will find out soon enough. I will also say Memphis fans tried to warn us but we didn’t want to listen to them anymore than you want to listen to us.
Plus, it never seemed like Calipari was even trying to recruit the best players from the portal at UK. He appeared to mostly be looking for bench fillers. I always thought this was because the best portal transfers would likely expose his freshmen, and fans would be calling for the transfers to start, etc. Then a guy like Reeves really blows up due to hard work and Calipari is kind of stuck - although he still refuses to play Reeves together with the guys that made the best unit.
Not being rude here, but we’ve had more success with just Cal than your program has had in its entire history. You may be a top 15 team, but after you get through the blue bloods, the dropoff is HUGE. By the time you get to Arky, you aren’t even in the discussion of best programs of all time. Top 15 isn’t saying much.
To say that most of our success came before most fans were born is also false. Half of our titles are from 1996 or later. We’ve done it in every decade. We’ve done it with almost every coach. We will do it again and again and again before you ever sniff one.
There nothing to listen to.
Cal said it doesn’t work anymore. Said he wants 3/4 really good Frosh, 3/4 really good transfers and the rest straight scholarships guys.
We will see if it translates I know UK fans want him to not follow through but my money is on home doing just what he says.
He’s said all that before and never follows through. That’s what we are trying to tell you. Nothing he is saying now is new. He’s repeated it year after year only to go back to his freshman teams. I don’t know why you just don’t admit that you are naive enough to think he really means it this time.
You seem mad.
I live in Kentucky. I’ve followed the Cats as closely as the Hogs for 30 years.
New team, new school, more NIL, I’m open to the idea this year is a one off and he “could” go back to his old ways. But i believe he’s getting ready to crush it in the portal and HS levels
We had the NUMBER 1 Portal class year one and he basically came in late.
LOLOLOL
Again same thing he has always said. And the same things UK fans said year after year. You will see and we will be here with the told ya so ready.
I mean WTF were kentuckys 2021 and 2022 rosters? Everyone blacked out during those years? We had the returning NPOY for the first time college basketball in 20 years and won one NCAA tournament game 😂 Since 2020 he’s lost with every damn roster build imaginable
That isn’t true. Not all UK fans want Cal to fail. I just want him to fail when it comes to playing UK. I enjoyed his tenure here until the last couple years and I was willing to give him some rope based on his early success, especially after K retired. I was hoping we’d see a boost in recruiting and get difference makers and make a run at UCLA’s all time title count. I thought that was something he wanted for a long time too.
I loved seeing him beat Kansas the other day. I wish it was a real game that counted. I think Cal may get a new breath of life at a mid major like Arky and see some decent success. Not sure he will coach on a stage like UK again, but I could see him being an AD somewhere eventually.
Do you think recruits have any better idea of where Kentucky is on a map?
I realize that at this current time, we're on the same side of the greater argument here.
.. but you're still an absolute dolt, going back to your god awful takes on Ashton Hagans and Wheeler. You're truly one of the most moronic posters on this entire forum. There's even some resident Duke posters I hold in higher regard, and knowing my hatred for Duke, that's saying something.
The players go where the coach is, I don't know why you and some others can't understand that. No one is coming here because UK has better history in the 50s than Arkansas has. No high-school player gives a shit about our legacy or any other schools history.
That guy said Wheeler was a great PG.
He's one of the worst UK posters we have.
There was actually an account called “LMDcard” that was supposedly his. Lol, who knows.
Lmao, thank you for saying this. Perfectly crafted, although dolt might be a bit too tame.
And this. Still something a lot of this board doesn't understand.
That’s just not true - there is no reason to argue one extreme for the other. Who is on Caleb Wilson and Acaden Lewis list? Who did we beat for Jasper Johnson, who did we beat for Koby Brea etc etc. We’re not fighting Colgate and Mississippi State for the top recruits. Hubert Davis and John Scheyer had great recruiting classes before even coaching a single game. Why? Because the school does matter and people want to play for a prestigious school, why wouldn’t they? And conversely the coach is extremely important as well like you see with Gonzaga and Villanova and Butler before that. And then when you have both like K at Duke and Cal at UK? Then you have historically good recruiting. Why? Because both the coach and school matter. To see UK fans arguing the school doesnt matter is the most bizarre take I never thought I would see.
I think some schools just care more about basketball than others.. and therefore, they pay more for coaches, they have more fans, they have better facilities. So I'd say it's a bit of both, then. Schools like Kentucky and UNC "create" the atmosphere that draws players in and they built a legacy while doing so. But no, I don't think the players really care about what Kentucky did in the 50s or the 90s, etc. They might care about the last 10 years because that's what they grew up watching and the players they idolize. But they go for the coach, they go for familiarity and the top recruits go to the systems that they think fit their style of play best and give them the best chance to make a career out of this. But legacy and history stuff is largely for the fans.
He moves the goal posts when he is called out, continues fighting (relentlessly), and acts like a child. Low IQ (emotional and educational). If he isn’t leadbelly, I guarantee you he has a fictional picture of him in his bedroom.
Not sure how to respond as you started rambling a little lol. As you said in the beginning the best programs have the best coaches, facilities, systems etc. So whether directly or indirectly legacy and history of the school along with the coach (where it matters for the coach even more) are both very important. Sounds like we agree. Not sure what the 50s has anything to do with anything, sounds like you just made up a statement that recruits care about the program in the 1950s that no one said and started arguing against it for some reason
I don't think I rambled, but ok lol.
The reason I bring up the 50's is more so to talk about the legacy we had built after our run of titles in the late 40's. I have always felt that there's a contingency of UK fans here think that players should just be enamored by what we did in the 40's or in the 90s, and should see it as this huge privilege to come here.. and I just don't agree. There's a bit of hubris that I've seen surrounding this.
Case in point, the very guy I responded to thinks that players can't find Arkansas on a map.. but how is that any different than locating Kentucky on a map? I mean, the audacity to make a statement like that, it just makes me laugh. And you might say "Well that's just LMDCAT, he's a dumbass".. and you're right, he is a dumbass, but he's not the only one here who make these types of claims.
UK has the most acomplishments of any CBB program. Look at the stats. We lead in like 60 out of 100 catogories. It is a privilege to play here. It's like going to the yankees, or cowboys, or celtics, lakers etc. Even Pope is saying the same.
Go find me a fanbase like ours in CBB.
Weird take.
Ok, so you did make up a random statement that no one said and are arguing against it lol. Sounds like we’re all in agreement, the school and it’s tradition DO matter
And again, I'm here to say that aside from the Reed Sheppards and Travis Perry's, none of this really matters to 18-year old recruits. And honestly, I don't think players really care about a professional team's past accomplishments, either. No one is taking a pay cut just to go play for the Celtics. (although, they might this year because Celtics happen to be the favorite, but the point stands).
Every coach says it's a privilege to play somewhere lol.
Guys, don't confuse this with me trying to say Kentucky's accomplishments aren't at the top, or have no value. It's just that the value is more so for the fans, the alumni, maybe PAST players if they stayed here for a while.
Ask yourself this, how come our recruiting went off a cliff for Tubby and BCG's years? How come our accomplishments and 7 titles didn't pull in recruits?
The statement about Arkansas on a map? LMD said it, right above. I didn't make that up.
That lots of Kentucky fans think recruits come to Kentucky because of what it accomplished in the 1950s - or that it is at least a major factor
Look, I admire the optimism and excitement over a new era for your program. I generally like Arkansas fans, TBH. Good luck to you guys.
That said, if you've truly followed Kentucky basketball like you said, you should understand the one thing that should cause you to shudder; Cal simply can't coach anymore. How many embarrassing loses did Kentucky take because Cal is incapable of doing little things that every other coach does? He doesn't pre-game, watch film, prepare. Doesn’t make in game adjustments. Doesn't even use timeouts like 99% of coaches do. He won't even play the most effective players. And his teams are never healthy, and riddled with mystery injuries. Cal had a nice run, but he's just to lazy and stubborn. His priorities do not align with yours. His effort will be in getting kids drafted, not winning games. You think this grand era of Arkansas basketball is upon you, but sadly, this will be a highly frustrating era for you. And with a condescending coach telling Arkansas fans that they don't understand basketball. Good luck to you folks, but don't say you weren't warned.
50's, 90's.. all of it. It's clear as day that's what LMD is getting at. You and I both know that sentiment gets thrown around here by many fans. There's this notion of "we're Kentucky, you should be honored to play here" by some of our blue hairs. And I think that notion probably WAS true a few decades ago, when the sport was in a different spot. But I don't think it is now.
The players are following the coach and the system. Kentucky's legacy and the fans, is just a small factor IMO. I guess I could be off-base here, but that's how I see it.
I think it's a little in the middle. A lot of players want to play for a blue blood. It's validation. There's a sense of accomplishment, IMO, when a kid picks a school that everyone one of his friends, family members, and community knows. So, it's not necessarily the guys who played in the 50s etc. But those guys did make Kentucky the name everyone knows. I think a lot of players (not all) want that validation more than just playing for an 'it coach'. Again, just my opinion.
What sounds cooler when you're 65, "I played for Nate Oats" or "I played at Kentucky"?
I still can't believe in one of his preseason press conferences, Cal said I change and I change fast with a straight face. Arky fans are eating it up as though Cal has undergone a metamorphosis and refuse to believe those of us who have sat through it all for the last 7 years. To be fair, as I said previously, we didn't want to listen to Memphis fans when they tried to tell us that as well.
Yeah I guess I can see that. Although the last part.. you never know. Oats might be that next great coach. I'd say he's just one tier behind Hurley. I think Pope is pretty close to them, too though..
They have 6 upper classman that are > 35% career 3 point shooters.
I watched them play all year last year. They lost their best shooter & lack of shooting hurt them last year, it's not better but worse on this roster.
Cal basicly had 3 returnees in DJ,Z and Thiero, 3 top transfers in Davis, Adoo and Brazile and 3 top Freshmen in Fland, Knox and Richmond.
He did exactly what he said he was going to do in his presser that we all just ate up.
He made the change like he said he would. This is an older experienced team with some great young talent that will NOT be depended on to win. Tho looks like Fland may be special and we can depend on him.
That isn't a change. That is the same exact things he was doing here the past few years. That roster is more or less what it would've been here had Cal stayed with the exception of Davis and probably Aidoo due to the lack of NIL. The boosters weren't going to give him the money Pope has received. He had older players here the past few years but he would still rely on and over play the young talent because he "couldn't take their heart". He's already skipping press conferences so you better get used to that because he wants to "get home to his dogs or watch Little House on the Prairie reruns".
The change I was talking about is his antiquated offensive philosophy. You just wait until he wants to play the 2 seven footers together and clog the lane. He doesn't understand modern basketball. The only one on the staff that did (John Welch) had already resigned before Cal left for Arkansas. Cal's other right hand guy (Orlando Antigua) refused to go with him to Arkansas. Chin will get to know the Fayetteville night life seen really well. I am rooting for DJ, Adou, and Z because they are all good kids who represented UK to the best of their ability despite Cal not putting them in the best positions to be succesful.
For your sake, I truly hope he has changed because he refused to do so here to the detriment of the program. He dug his heels in and come hell or high water, he was going to prove that he could win his way to as he called us the basketball bennies instead of "changing and changing fast". Come back in March. We will be glad to tell you we told you so.
Dude, Cal literally did the same thing in Oscar's 2nd year and lost in the 2nd round. He had returnees, freshmen, and portal players.
