Look at the decisions of the players

[irishcat1965]

Knox- declared for draft. No brainer.
Shai- declared for draft. No brainer.
Green- comes back. Smart decision.
Sasha-transfers. You can argue either side but I think it was a good decision for him.
PJ- comes back. Smart decision.
Gabriel- declared for draft. I’m torn. I think it was best for him to return, but he did play multiple years here so I can’t fault him.
Diallo- declared for draft. He was OAD from the moment he stepped on campus. No surprise.
Vanderbilt- declared for draft. I think it’s a dumb decision particularly because I don’t think he made the decision. That’s just my opinion and nothing to back that opinion of his decision.

 

[Blue_2_the_bone]

Agree on all parts. Especially the part about Vando. Things went about how I expected. Looking forward to 4 returning sophomores to go with this batch of freshmen.

 

[KentuckyCat420]

I also block Hamidou Diallo from my memory at times.

 

[Mojocat]

Knox- declared for draft. No brainer.
Shai- declared for draft. No brainer.
Green- comes back. Smart decision.
Sasha-transfers. You can argue either side but I think it was a good decision for him.
PJ- comes back. Smart decision.
Gabriel- declared for draft. I’m torn. I think it was best for him to return, but he did play multiple years here so I can’t fault him.
Vanderbilt- declared for draft. I think it’s a dumb decision particularly because I don’t think he made the decision. That’s just my opinion and nothing to back that opinion of his decision.

Vanderbilt...I suspect he thinks he simply couldn't afford to come back to school and suffer another lower leg injury. That would make him toxic to NBA teams. Of course, I presume he won't get drafted and so is going to the G League - and has just as much chance of injury there as he would have here.....

 

[irishcat1965]

Vanderbilt...I suspect he thinks he simply couldn't afford to come back to school and suffer another lower leg injury. That would make him toxic to NBA teams. Of course, I presume he won't get drafted and so is going to the G League - and has just as much chance of injury there as he would have here.....

Mojo I think it was his handlers. And that is what upsets me. Too many issues this year to think otherwise imo.

 

[CatPhight]

IMO, I think in the end Vandy was afraid to come back and risk another injury riddled campaign...

 

[FiveStarCat]

I know it sucks but Vanderbilt made the right call IMO. Dude is injury prone and he’d be risking his entire pro career by coming back. One more injury and he is undraftable. I bet someone takes a chance on him late 2nd round and he kills it.

 

[irishcat1965]

IMO, I think in the end Vandy was afraid to come back and risk another injury riddled campaign...

The injury situation isn’t going to be better going pro because he isn’t going to be drafted. On the flip side, having a healthy year at UK would make him a top 15 pick next year.

 

[caneintally]

as always I agree with most everything you say irish . A credit to this board.

 

[Bkocats]

Rumors of course (and so can’t confirm anything), but i hear with SKJ his grades were so bad he probably wouldn’t have been eligible.
With Diallo ...there was some stuff there that made me think he and Cal had a lot of issues and it wasn’t going to work.
Vanderbilt ...His proneness to injury is concerning, otherwise I don’t think it was him so much as his handlers.
WG really the only surprise to me

I just get the feeling Cal was weeding out some problems. There was no doubt, in my mind, there were some chemistry and ego issues going on. Only time will tell if the correct decisions were made for our team

This is all just my opinion

 

[irishcat1965]

I know it sucks but Vanderbilt made the right call IMO. Dude is injury prone and he’d be risking his entire pro career by coming back. One more injury and he is undraftable. I bet someone takes a chance on him late 2nd round and he kills it.

Five Star I hope you are right. I pray he remains injury free.

 

[Mash 2.4]

Don't necessarily disagree with Vanderbilt's decision. Maybe he can make a roster and not play much for a couple of years. Might give him the time to rehab and fully heal. At some point he will have to prove he can stay healthy and play in order to really get paid though. I wish him the best. Diallo is the one that baffles me.

 

[CatPhight]

The injury situation isn’t going to be better going pro because he isn’t going to be drafted. On the flip side, having a healthy year at UK would make him a top 15 pick next year.

True dat and agreed but I honestly think he believes he will be drafted...

 

[Aike]

I don’t expect Wenyen to be drafted, and I think he should have come back.

I wonder if Vanderbilt got a promise. I’ll reserve judgement until I see what happens in the draft.

 

[Dirk2Bowie]

Vanderbilt leaving ranks up there with the disappointment I felt when Jason Parker went down and never played for us again. Different circumstances but my anticipation level was the same. Dont think we will ever see his dominance as a pro but I hope I'm wrong and his legs carry him to all-star weekend. Fun kid to watch.

 

[morgousky]

Vanderbilt leaving is ridiculous.
Diallo leaving is ridiculous, I don't think he wanted to be a OAD anymore than some of these other guys. He just made a bad choice.

Neither have a guarantee at all, and like I thought a long time ago, we better get ready for this because we sit back too much and let these guys walk. It's an uncontrollable beast now, you will be seeing it again. 10-20 fringe recruits jumping without a guarantee at all.

 

[gojvc]

Vanderbilt...I suspect he thinks he simply couldn't afford to come back to school and suffer another lower leg injury. That would make him toxic to NBA teams. Of course, I presume he won't get drafted and so is going to the G League - and has just as much chance of injury there as he would have here.....

I think his jump shot would make him toxic to NBA teams.

 

[HenryMuto]

Knox- declared for draft. No brainer.
Shai- declared for draft. No brainer.
Green- comes back. Smart decision.
Sasha-transfers. You can argue either side but I think it was a good decision for him.
PJ- comes back. Smart decision.
Gabriel- declared for draft. I’m torn. I think it was best for him to return, but he did play multiple years here so I can’t fault him.
Diallo- declared for draft. He was OAD from the moment he stepped on campus. No surprise.
Vanderbilt- declared for draft. I think it’s a dumb decision particularly because I don’t think he made the decision. That’s just my opinion and nothing to back that opinion of his decision.

I believe Shai should have stayed 1 more year. Only guy who should have left for sure is Knox. The rest of the guys leaving kind of a joke after Knox and Shai.

 

[Federal Cat]

I have give up trying to figure out what recruits we are getting, who stays and who leaves, it’s never what we expect, I got enough grey in my head from worrying about other things, I just watch the games and cheer on the team, I sleep better at night now

 

[Bkocats]

I posted this elsewhere:

I’m actually good with what went down as far as announcements. I know we lost a lot of players but breaking them down individually all but one makes sense:
Knox and SGA: both probably lottery. SGA was supposed to be a 2-3 ye player but he was much better than thought. They both made the right decision
Wynyard and SKJ; both transferred out. With Tai..there was that trouble that probably made it impossible to return. I’ve been told with SKJ he was asked to leave due to his grades. Even after announcing he was leaving, several schools turned him down due to academics. He wouldn’t have been eligible to play here this fall. With a transfer he will have a year to get on track
Diallo; I think there were a lot of chemistry issues with him. I don’t think he’s a bad kid by any means but he did argue everything Cal told him to do. Cared about his teammates but he wanted to do his own thing and he never seemed to buy into team play
Vanderbilt.. now this one is an enigma. You have the injury issues for one. Given his history, I believe he would have had the same problems next year and played limited games. Also...he was cleared to play after that “sprain.” He refused...I’ve never known a player to flat out refuse unless there is a hidden reason. Even Cal called him out in the media and he NEVER does that. And there have been rumors of Cal butting heads with handlers. Those guys have been in Vanderbilt’s ear and he’s listening to them. I think Cal got fed up and told him to go
Gabriel was the surprise for me. I really thought he’d be back. He won’t get drafted but maybe he can make a name for himself
I really believe Cal meant what he said about not being held hostage again and he cleaned house. He won’t throw kids under the bus, but that’s what my gut is telling me
This is pure speculation on my part; I have no sources or anything. It’s just based on observation and things I’ve read.
I do think though we will have a really good team next year, especially if we get Travis.

 

[irishcat1965]

I posted this elsewhere:

I’m actually good with what went down as far as announcements. I know we lost a lot of players but breaking them down individually all but one makes sense:
Knox and SGA: both probably lottery. SGA was supposed to be a 2-3 ye player but he was much better than thought. They both made the right decision
Wynyard and SKJ; both transferred out. With Tai..there was that trouble that probably made it impossible to return. I’ve been told with SKJ he was asked to leave due to his grades. Even after announcing he was leaving, several schools turned him down due to academics. He wouldn’t have been eligible to play here this fall. With a transfer he will have a year to get on track
Diallo; I think there were a lot of chemistry issues with him. I don’t think he’s a bad kid by any means but he did argue everything Cal told him to do. Cared about his teammates but he wanted to do his own thing and he never seemed to buy into team play
Vanderbilt.. now this one is an enigma. You have the injury issues for one. Given his history, I believe he would have had the same problems next year and played limited games. Also...he was cleared to play after that “sprain.” He refused...I’ve never known a player to flat out refuse unless there is a hidden reason. Even Cal called him out in the media and he NEVER does that. And there have been rumors of Cal butting heads with handlers. Those guys have been in Vanderbilt’s ear and he’s listening to them. I think Cal got fed up and told him to go
Gabriel was the surprise for me. I really thought he’d be back. He won’t get drafted but maybe he can make a name for himself
I really believe Cal meant what he said about not being held hostage again and he cleaned house. He won’t throw kids under the bus, but that’s what my gut is telling me
This is pure speculation on my part; I have no sources or anything. It’s just based on observation and things I’ve read.
I do think though we will have a really good team next year, especially if we get Travis.

I completely agree with everything you said. Great minds think alike my dear!

 

[jedcat]

And there have been rumors of Cal butting heads with handlers. Those guys have been in Vanderbilt’s ear and he’s listening to them. I think Cal got fed up and told him to go

I have a hard enough time being meeting parents' expectations for Little League 13-year-old boys. I can't imagine how hard it is for Cal to have to deal with some parents and handlers.