Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend. My Packers won and a year ago today Dez didn't catch it and the Packers also won! So I'm riding high today.
I traveled to Paducah for Mustang Madness and watched DeAndre Ayton and Jarred Vanderbilt, among others. Both great targets that UK is really pushing for 2017.
On to the notes!
Calipari: Let's start with the Calipari to the NBA rumors because that would impact recruiting more than anything else I will put in the notes today.
The short answer is I don't think he's going anywhere.
If he was truly offered a 10-year deal for $12 million a year and that was guaranteed money, OK, maybe he should take that deal, but I don't think a team is going to spend that much money on a coach that hasn't coached in the NBA in nearly two decades and who failed his first time around.
That's a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a coach period, let alone one who doesn't have a ton of NBA coaching experience.
However, these kind of rumors can impact recruiting. I spend most of today talking and texting with some current commits, parents of players already on the team and just a handful of people. No one expects Calipari to leave. All would be surprised if he did.
I think it's why you saw Calipari so quick to release the statement he did above. He spoke about it on the SEC teleconference earlier today when he said at UK he can just coach basketball and he has a great job because he competes for championships. He wants current commits and future commits to not worry over these things.
But I wanted to know just how these rumors impact recruits. I was told by a few different people that they hear these rumors. They follow them. But at least the commits have such a strong relationship with Calipari they don't believe he would screw them over, for a lack of a better phrase. That's important here. Calipari wouldn't just be believe behind a job and a city, he'd be breaking promises and commitments he made with kids and families.
Also there's a sense he really wants to coach next year's team. It will be loaded with talent and he knows that.
Bolden: The more people I talk with the more confident I am that Bolden will end up at Kentucky. Again, if Labissiere decides to stay that may change things, but there's almost a universal belief that if Bolden picked a college today it'd be UK.
Things can change. It happens all the time in recruiting, but the more I hear some recruiting experts believe Bolden wanted to commit back in the fall but UK asked him to wait because of scholarship numbers. I'm of the belief that Kentucky can always make the numbers work if need be (transfers) but interesting nonetheless.
Allen: We haven't heard much from Allen lately but spoke with some people at Mustang Madness that know a bit more than I do.
I still believe after he visited UK the Cats were the leader. I think for sometime after that UK was the leader. But either UK cooled on him a bit, or they knew they had a chance with Bolden and preferred him, because the contact isn't what it used to be with Allen.
He basically confirmed this here. https://www.sny.tv/college-recruiti...g-hardest/161542806?tcid=tw_article_161542806
Also may be worth noting, Barbee is the lead recruiter there. I wouldn't be shocked if Barbee left after this season. He wants to be a head coach.
Simmons: Not too much has changed with my thoughts on Simmons from last week, but I am starting to believe with more certainty that UK could land both Simmons and Bolden. I don't think it's just necessarily one. The Cats could haul in a seven man recruiting class. The Cats are in a good position here.
Vanderbilt: I've said in the past that UK really wants Vanderbilt but maybe Vanderbilt isn't as high on the Cats. I'm changing my stance here a bit. UK still really wants him, but I wouldn't be shocked or surprised to see Vanderbilt end up at Kentucky.
That's not saying I think Kentucky leads, I'm not sure if they do or don't, but I think he's realizing that UK is making him a priority and that's eye-opening for him.
Ayton: Who knows where he's going to end up. I do know that he won't make any big announcements for likely the next 15 months. But I believe it will come down to UK, Duke and Kansas. He didn't have his best weekend in Paducah but the talent and the ceiling is unreal.
That's it for now.
I traveled to Paducah for Mustang Madness and watched DeAndre Ayton and Jarred Vanderbilt, among others. Both great targets that UK is really pushing for 2017.
On to the notes!
Calipari: Let's start with the Calipari to the NBA rumors because that would impact recruiting more than anything else I will put in the notes today.
The short answer is I don't think he's going anywhere.
If he was truly offered a 10-year deal for $12 million a year and that was guaranteed money, OK, maybe he should take that deal, but I don't think a team is going to spend that much money on a coach that hasn't coached in the NBA in nearly two decades and who failed his first time around.
That's a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a coach period, let alone one who doesn't have a ton of NBA coaching experience.
However, these kind of rumors can impact recruiting. I spend most of today talking and texting with some current commits, parents of players already on the team and just a handful of people. No one expects Calipari to leave. All would be surprised if he did.
I think it's why you saw Calipari so quick to release the statement he did above. He spoke about it on the SEC teleconference earlier today when he said at UK he can just coach basketball and he has a great job because he competes for championships. He wants current commits and future commits to not worry over these things.
But I wanted to know just how these rumors impact recruits. I was told by a few different people that they hear these rumors. They follow them. But at least the commits have such a strong relationship with Calipari they don't believe he would screw them over, for a lack of a better phrase. That's important here. Calipari wouldn't just be believe behind a job and a city, he'd be breaking promises and commitments he made with kids and families.
Also there's a sense he really wants to coach next year's team. It will be loaded with talent and he knows that.
Bolden: The more people I talk with the more confident I am that Bolden will end up at Kentucky. Again, if Labissiere decides to stay that may change things, but there's almost a universal belief that if Bolden picked a college today it'd be UK.
Things can change. It happens all the time in recruiting, but the more I hear some recruiting experts believe Bolden wanted to commit back in the fall but UK asked him to wait because of scholarship numbers. I'm of the belief that Kentucky can always make the numbers work if need be (transfers) but interesting nonetheless.
Allen: We haven't heard much from Allen lately but spoke with some people at Mustang Madness that know a bit more than I do.
I still believe after he visited UK the Cats were the leader. I think for sometime after that UK was the leader. But either UK cooled on him a bit, or they knew they had a chance with Bolden and preferred him, because the contact isn't what it used to be with Allen.
He basically confirmed this here. https://www.sny.tv/college-recruiti...g-hardest/161542806?tcid=tw_article_161542806
Also may be worth noting, Barbee is the lead recruiter there. I wouldn't be shocked if Barbee left after this season. He wants to be a head coach.
Simmons: Not too much has changed with my thoughts on Simmons from last week, but I am starting to believe with more certainty that UK could land both Simmons and Bolden. I don't think it's just necessarily one. The Cats could haul in a seven man recruiting class. The Cats are in a good position here.
Vanderbilt: I've said in the past that UK really wants Vanderbilt but maybe Vanderbilt isn't as high on the Cats. I'm changing my stance here a bit. UK still really wants him, but I wouldn't be shocked or surprised to see Vanderbilt end up at Kentucky.
That's not saying I think Kentucky leads, I'm not sure if they do or don't, but I think he's realizing that UK is making him a priority and that's eye-opening for him.
Ayton: Who knows where he's going to end up. I do know that he won't make any big announcements for likely the next 15 months. But I believe it will come down to UK, Duke and Kansas. He didn't have his best weekend in Paducah but the talent and the ceiling is unreal.
That's it for now.
