My thoughts about Drew as possible coach ....

[NociHTTP]

When I looked at the names of potential hires, my first reaction was to go for the guys with the most pizazz. The ones with NBA ties, or cockiness or recent success. It didn't take me long, though, to realize that we JUST GOT RID OF someone who was all about the NBA, who was super cocky, and who many of us refused to let go of for the longest time because of his success that he had from 09-15. As said in many other threads here, we've (me included) been crying and crying and crying for the longest time to get Cal out of here, because of all the things he was doing and not doing, but then here we are literally clamoring for someone who might just echo all of that.

Drew, from what people here have said, seems to be a likeable guy who can actually participate in interviews and complete sentences. He seems to be a guy who DOESN'T play favorites and DOESN'T hide guys. He seems to be one that demands a lot from his players, something Calipari didn't actually do for years now. He TEACHES both ends of the court, and COACHES in games rather than yell at the refs so much that he forgets how much time is left in the game, or who is on the bench. He seems to be a guy who won't wait around forever and a day for kids to "make their decisions", and instead will hit the portal as soon as a kid declares for the draft / combine process or portal itself.

As a UK fan I am over the moon right now not ever having to worry about Calipari doing damage to our program again, not being held hostage by that guy as a fan. Can we all just try and get behind Drew (or whoever it ends up being) and give him time to fix the damage here? Folks, Calipari did A LOT OF DAMAGE to UK's basketball program and culture. It's going to take anyone time to undo that. What I would hate to see happen is for people (myself included) to greet Drew with you "you were not the first choice" or "you suck" upon his arrival here. He seems to be a decent person, be kind to him. Be kind to one another.

Whoever coaches here is getting a lot of money for a reason, and unfortunately for them they are NOT walking into a dealership getting the keys to nice, shiny sports car. This thing will have to be driven straight to the mechanic, and it might take time to source the parts to help get it back to where it was.

 

[TriCountyCat]

Nice analogy but I think we could get the car up and running like at jiffy lube pace. Hopefully the NBA training ground and Klutch deals follow Cal. It would be OK the get the occasional stud that is NBA ready but pushing kids out the door so they can rot in the G league is wrong. For example, I know Ty Ty got paid but he isn’t rich, he could have used another year at UK.

 

[FtWorthCat]

My first question for Drew would be, "What the hell were you thinking about when you took the Baylor job?" In his THIRD SEASON at Baylor they were barred from playing any non-conference games, due to stuff that happened before he was there. When he took the job Drew had coached one season (20-11) at Valpo. That should have been career suicide, but he turned them into one of the top 10-15 most consistent programs in the country.

What he did at Baylor is at least as impressive as what Donovan did at Florida. Florida went to a Final Four with Lon Kruger not that many years before Donovan got there.

 

[kyfanrob]

When I looked at the names of potential hires, my first reaction was to go for the guys with the most pizazz. The ones with NBA ties, or cockiness or recent success. It didn't take me long, though, to realize that we JUST GOT RID OF someone who was all about the NBA, who was super cocky, and who many of us refused to let go of for the longest time because of his success that he had from 09-15. As said in many other threads here, we've (me included) been crying and crying and crying for the longest time to get Cal out of here, because of all the things he was doing and not doing, but then here we are literally clamoring for the someone who might just echo all of that.

Drew, from what people here have said, seems to be a likeable guy who can actually participate in interviews and complete sentences. He seems to be a guy who DOESN'T play favorites and DOESN'T hide guys. He seems to be one that demands a lot from his players, something Calipari didn't actually do for years now. He TEACHES both ends of the court, and COACHES in games rather than yell at the refs so much that he forgets how much time is left in the game, or who is on the bench. He seems to be a guy who won't wait around forever and a day for kids to "make their decisions", and instead will hit the portal as soon as a kid declares for the draft / combine process or portal itself.

As a UK fan I am over the moon right now not ever having to worry about Calipari doing damage to our program again, not being held hostage by that guy as a fan. Can we all just try and get behind Drew (or whoever it ends up being) and give him time to fix the damage here? Folks, Calipari did A LOT OF DAMAGE to UK's basketball program and culture. It's going to take anyone time to undo that. What I would hate to see happen is for people (myself included) to greet Drew with you "you were not the first choice" or "you suck" upon his arrival here. He seems to be a decent person, be kind to him. Be kind to one another.

Whoever coaches here is getting a lot of money for a reason, and unfortunately for them they are NOT walking into a dealership getting the keys to nice, shiny sports car. This thing will have to be driven straight to the mechanic, and it might take time to source the parts to help get it back to where it was.

Well said

 

[gbl97]

My checklist is a man who has demonstrated:

• post-season success (at least a final four)
• regular-season success (competes at top of conference)
• a coherent strategy on offense
• a willingness to change up defenses as needed
• a respectful, non-condescending approach with media and fans
• a willingness to admit mistakes and adjust accordingly
• an ability to recruit top 10 kids
• an ability to integrate portal players
• an appreciation for the reality of NIL and embracing it

 

[TriCountyCat]

I don’t have a good feeling. The lunch pick with Baylor clothes has thrown people off. Media outlets in Waco are saying it’s a sign he is staying.

 

[Kybluedude]

When I looked at the names of potential hires, my first reaction was to go for the guys with the most pizazz. The ones with NBA ties, or cockiness or recent success. It didn't take me long, though, to realize that we JUST GOT RID OF someone who was all about the NBA, who was super cocky, and who many of us refused to let go of for the longest time because of his success that he had from 09-15. As said in many other threads here, we've (me included) been crying and crying and crying for the longest time to get Cal out of here, because of all the things he was doing and not doing, but then here we are literally clamoring for the someone who might just echo all of that.

Drew, from what people here have said, seems to be a likeable guy who can actually participate in interviews and complete sentences. He seems to be a guy who DOESN'T play favorites and DOESN'T hide guys. He seems to be one that demands a lot from his players, something Calipari didn't actually do for years now. He TEACHES both ends of the court, and COACHES in games rather than yell at the refs so much that he forgets how much time is left in the game, or who is on the bench. He seems to be a guy who won't wait around forever and a day for kids to "make their decisions", and instead will hit the portal as soon as a kid declares for the draft / combine process or portal itself.

As a UK fan I am over the moon right now not ever having to worry about Calipari doing damage to our program again, not being held hostage by that guy as a fan. Can we all just try and get behind Drew (or whoever it ends up being) and give him time to fix the damage here? Folks, Calipari did A LOT OF DAMAGE to UK's basketball program and culture. It's going to take anyone time to undo that. What I would hate to see happen is for people (myself included) to greet Drew with you "you were not the first choice" or "you suck" upon his arrival here. He seems to be a decent person, be kind to him. Be kind to one another.

Whoever coaches here is getting a lot of money for a reason, and unfortunately for them they are NOT walking into a dealership getting the keys to nice, shiny sports car. This thing will have to be driven straight to the mechanic, and it might take time to source the parts to help get it back to where it was.

I’m with you

 

[Ky_Bred_Cat]

When I looked at the names of potential hires, my first reaction was to go for the guys with the most pizazz. The ones with NBA ties, or cockiness or recent success. It didn't take me long, though, to realize that we JUST GOT RID OF someone who was all about the NBA, who was super cocky, and who many of us refused to let go of for the longest time because of his success that he had from 09-15. As said in many other threads here, we've (me included) been crying and crying and crying for the longest time to get Cal out of here, because of all the things he was doing and not doing, but then here we are literally clamoring for the someone who might just echo all of that.

Drew, from what people here have said, seems to be a likeable guy who can actually participate in interviews and complete sentences. He seems to be a guy who DOESN'T play favorites and DOESN'T hide guys. He seems to be one that demands a lot from his players, something Calipari didn't actually do for years now. He TEACHES both ends of the court, and COACHES in games rather than yell at the refs so much that he forgets how much time is left in the game, or who is on the bench. He seems to be a guy who won't wait around forever and a day for kids to "make their decisions", and instead will hit the portal as soon as a kid declares for the draft / combine process or portal itself.

As a UK fan I am over the moon right now not ever having to worry about Calipari doing damage to our program again, not being held hostage by that guy as a fan. Can we all just try and get behind Drew (or whoever it ends up being) and give him time to fix the damage here? Folks, Calipari did A LOT OF DAMAGE to UK's basketball program and culture. It's going to take anyone time to undo that. What I would hate to see happen is for people (myself included) to greet Drew with you "you were not the first choice" or "you suck" upon his arrival here. He seems to be a decent person, be kind to him. Be kind to one another.

Whoever coaches here is getting a lot of money for a reason, and unfortunately for them they are NOT walking into a dealership getting the keys to nice, shiny sports car. This thing will have to be driven straight to the mechanic, and it might take time to source the parts to help get it back to where it was.

^ This. Very well said! We need a well rounded coach not just a recruiter with competing agendas. Right on.

 

[know1]

When I looked at the names of potential hires, my first reaction was to go for the guys with the most pizazz. The ones with NBA ties, or cockiness or recent success. It didn't take me long, though, to realize that we JUST GOT RID OF someone who was all about the NBA, who was super cocky, and who many of us refused to let go of for the longest time because of his success that he had from 09-15. As said in many other threads here, we've (me included) been crying and crying and crying for the longest time to get Cal out of here, because of all the things he was doing and not doing, but then here we are literally clamoring for the someone who might just echo all of that.

Drew, from what people here have said, seems to be a likeable guy who can actually participate in interviews and complete sentences. He seems to be a guy who DOESN'T play favorites and DOESN'T hide guys. He seems to be one that demands a lot from his players, something Calipari didn't actually do for years now. He TEACHES both ends of the court, and COACHES in games rather than yell at the refs so much that he forgets how much time is left in the game, or who is on the bench. He seems to be a guy who won't wait around forever and a day for kids to "make their decisions", and instead will hit the portal as soon as a kid declares for the draft / combine process or portal itself.

As a UK fan I am over the moon right now not ever having to worry about Calipari doing damage to our program again, not being held hostage by that guy as a fan. Can we all just try and get behind Drew (or whoever it ends up being) and give him time to fix the damage here? Folks, Calipari did A LOT OF DAMAGE to UK's basketball program and culture. It's going to take anyone time to undo that. What I would hate to see happen is for people (myself included) to greet Drew with you "you were not the first choice" or "you suck" upon his arrival here. He seems to be a decent person, be kind to him. Be kind to one another.

Whoever coaches here is getting a lot of money for a reason, and unfortunately for them they are NOT walking into a dealership getting the keys to nice, shiny sports car. This thing will have to be driven straight to the mechanic, and it might take time to source the parts to help get it back to where it was.

Totally agree.

 

[FutureCity]

I think it's unreasonable to expect any coach that's at his peak to come to Kentucky and rebuild it at this juncture. Drew is young enough. He seems hungry enough and nobody can say what his upside is at this point. I'm definitely in favor of allowing him some time to get in sync with the Kentucky program.

 

[sportspm]

I’ve been critical of hiring Drew, just because of mostly consistent first weekend upset losses in the NCAA tournament. But if he is the hire I’ll be all in and rooting for him to win every game. I was hoping for Donovan but I can see much more potential for first season success with Drew. Baylor would be a potential top 10 team next year if he was there. If he came here and some of his players came with him including his recruits, and if Reed Sheppard returned (don’t shoot), we could potentially be a top 5 ranked team next season!
I heard a caller on a radio show today that said Baylor in the big 12, would be like Vanderbilt in the SEC. That’s puts it in a different perspective if you imagine a coach good enough to make Vanderbilt a top 10-15 team on a consistent basis.

 

[Phil_The_Music]

Obviously I'd be thrilled if Hurley came but it would be very refreshing to not have an asshole run the program.

 

[FtWorthCat]

My checklist is a man who has demonstrated:

• post-season success (at least a final four)
• regular-season success (competes at top of conference)
• a coherent strategy on offense
• a willingness to change up defenses as needed
• a respectful, non-condescending approach with media and fans
• a willingness to admit mistakes and adjust accordingly
• an ability to recruit top 10 kids
• an ability to integrate portal players
• an appreciation for the reality of NIL and embracing it

Drew checks all those boxes, but Donovan doesn't. If Drew (and Hurley) doesn't take it though, I say wait on Donovan if he's interested.

 

[BlueSince92]

In terms of statistics Drew’s one title in 22 years is an outlier. You discard outliers when forming a conclusion unless you’re driven by emotional, wishful thinking. One title with no other Final Fours in five or ten seasons is a small dataset. Roll the dice. But one title in 22 years with no other Final Fours is an outlier. The COVID year helps to explain why you are seeing that sort of anomaly in your data. Go down that road and you’re gonna get what you deserve.

Scott Drew is a great guy. He’s just not great at what we need him to be great at. He’s not even particularly good at it if you look at the situation without emotion.

But you’re a silly girl* so feel free to lean into this.


*And so is Mitch Barnhart

 

[HeismaNole]

^ Well, we're toast if he says no and all of the other guys above him have declined. There's no one else that has even had an Elite 8 that would come.

Baylor had ONE NCAA Tournament appearance since 1950 before Scott Drew arrived.

ONE

 

[Kybluedude]

Every coach who has stayed at UK for a few years (which excludes Sutton and Gillespie) has won a title.

I fully expect that to continue if Drew is our guy.

 

[KAB Cats]

We are fine if we don’t get Drew.

 

[ORCAT10]

Well said

This

 

[Bbfan1415]

Sustained success

Drew checks all those boxes, but Donovan doesn't. If Drew (and Hurley) doesn't take it though, I say wait on Donovan if he's interested.

What does Donovan not check off? NIL stuff?

 

[Bluegrassking]

Obviously I'd be thrilled if Hurley came but it would be very refreshing to not have an asshole run the program.

I strongly favor an asshole.

It isn't absolutely mandatory and sure is far from self sufficient but it generally takes an asshole to run an empire at peak power.

 

[Bbfan1415]

I strongly favor an asshole.

It isn't absolutely mandatory and sure is far from self sufficient but it generally takes an asshole to run an empire at peak power.

100% agree. Us against the world mentality.

Knight, Pitino, and K all arrogant assholes who dominated

 

[Bbfan1415]

I think it's unreasonable to expect any coach that's at his peak to come to Kentucky and rebuild it at this juncture. Drew is young enough. He seems hungry enough and nobody can say what his upside is at this point. I'm definitely in favor of allowing him some time to get in sync with the Kentucky program.

We are basically in a better spot than most of the country. I’m not expecting a Final four. But he can get us rolling quick

 

[Jeff Sykes]

I'm fine with Drew as long as all other big name options were contacted.

 

[AzubuikeandFitch]

In terms of statistics Drew’s one title in 22 years is an outlier. You discard outliers when forming a conclusion unless you’re driven by emotional, wishful thinking. One title with no other Final Fours in five or ten seasons is a small dataset. Roll the dice. But one title in 22 years with no other Final Fours is an outlier. The COVID year helps to explain why you are seeing that sort of anomaly in your data. Go down that road and you’re gonna get what you deserve.

Scott Drew is a great guy. He’s just not great at what we need him to be great at. He’s not even particularly good at it if you look at the situation without emotion.

But you’re a silly girl* so feel free to lean into this.


*And so is Mitch Barnhart

You can't look at his winning percentage as a true representation of his abilities bc his first 5-6 seasons they were dealing with investigation and probation. The job he's done building that program is pretty remarkable given the circumstances.

Scott Drew may not be a sexy hire with catchy slogans but he knows X's and O's and won't overshadow the program. He'll make it about UK while developing players and that's what many have been clamoring for. If that's the choice I say give the man a chance and let's chase #9 as a united BBN.

 

[bigbluedon]

When I looked at the names of potential hires, my first reaction was to go for the guys with the most pizazz. The ones with NBA ties, or cockiness or recent success. It didn't take me long, though, to realize that we JUST GOT RID OF someone who was all about the NBA, who was super cocky, and who many of us refused to let go of for the longest time because of his success that he had from 09-15. As said in many other threads here, we've (me included) been crying and crying and crying for the longest time to get Cal out of here, because of all the things he was doing and not doing, but then here we are literally clamoring for someone who might just echo all of that.

Drew, from what people here have said, seems to be a likeable guy who can actually participate in interviews and complete sentences. He seems to be a guy who DOESN'T play favorites and DOESN'T hide guys. He seems to be one that demands a lot from his players, something Calipari didn't actually do for years now. He TEACHES both ends of the court, and COACHES in games rather than yell at the refs so much that he forgets how much time is left in the game, or who is on the bench. He seems to be a guy who won't wait around forever and a day for kids to "make their decisions", and instead will hit the portal as soon as a kid declares for the draft / combine process or portal itself.

As a UK fan I am over the moon right now not ever having to worry about Calipari doing damage to our program again, not being held hostage by that guy as a fan. Can we all just try and get behind Drew (or whoever it ends up being) and give him time to fix the damage here? Folks, Calipari did A LOT OF DAMAGE to UK's basketball program and culture. It's going to take anyone time to undo that. What I would hate to see happen is for people (myself included) to greet Drew with you "you were not the first choice" or "you suck" upon his arrival here. He seems to be a decent person, be kind to him. Be kind to one another.

Whoever coaches here is getting a lot of money for a reason, and unfortunately for them they are NOT walking into a dealership getting the keys to nice, shiny sports car. This thing will have to be driven straight to the mechanic, and it might take time to source the parts to help get it back to where it was.

Very well put. Couldn’t have said it better myself. Regardless of who it is we all need to jump in and support him with everything we have and bring UK basketball back to the top.

 

[bigbluedon]

In terms of statistics Drew’s one title in 22 years is an outlier. You discard outliers when forming a conclusion unless you’re driven by emotional, wishful thinking. One title with no other Final Fours in five or ten seasons is a small dataset. Roll the dice. But one title in 22 years with no other Final Fours is an outlier. The COVID year helps to explain why you are seeing that sort of anomaly in your data. Go down that road and you’re gonna get what you deserve.

Scott Drew is a great guy. He’s just not great at what we need him to be great at. He’s not even particularly good at it if you look at the situation without emotion.

But you’re a silly girl* so feel free to lean into this.


*And so is Mitch Barnhart

And he is as good or better than many many other coaches across the country at this time. As I have said before, the great ones have retired and the remaining coaches are just good and hoping to prove themselves. Most haven’t been around long enough to do that or at the right program. And God forbid our fans, especially on this board give any of these guys a break because they have ridiculously high standards that can’t be met. I will support anyone Mitch hires totally.

 

[mbc82584]

In terms of statistics Drew’s one title in 22 years is an outlier. You discard outliers when forming a conclusion unless you’re driven by emotional, wishful thinking. One title with no other Final Fours in five or ten seasons is a small dataset. Roll the dice. But one title in 22 years with no other Final Fours is an outlier. The COVID year helps to explain why you are seeing that sort of anomaly in your data. Go down that road and you’re gonna get what you deserve.

Scott Drew is a great guy. He’s just not great at what we need him to be great at. He’s not even particularly good at it if you look at the situation without emotion.

But you’re a silly girl* so feel free to lean into this.


*And so is Mitch Barnhart

BINGO, BABY

 

[NociHTTP]

I'm fine with Drew as long as all other big name options were contacted.

I don't think they can contact Donovan until the NBA season is over, at least Billy wouldn't be able to respond. From the Donovan interview it sounds like he may not have been contacted back-channel, and that he prefers to go the proper channels when doing things. Hurley is coming off back to back titles, is he really going to walk away from the chance to be a legend and get 3 titles in a row?

 

[UKBrassowTipIN]

I think a big thing is he gets some top recruits but this mentality that you're the OAD guy doesn't exist with him. Cal created a monster here where kids just expected they were going to be in a lottery and left, and if they came and just weren't good enough yet they assumed something was wrong and transfered.

In other words, we had a lot of ppl leave that weren't ready. Those guys stay with him.

We're going to have players if he comes immediately. He'll probably bring some Baylor guys, je got that one recruit over us and tye other one that just decomitted from us if be doesn't follow Cal, his decision was already down to UK and Baylor before he committed

My only thing is, can he handle the noise and for how long?

 

[BlueSince92]

You can't look at his winning percentage as a true representation of his abilities bc his first 5-6 seasons they were dealing with investigation and probation. The job he's done building that program is pretty remarkable given the circumstances.

Scott Drew may not be a sexy hire with catchy slogans but he knows X's and O's and won't overshadow the program. He'll make it about UK while developing players and that's what many have been clamoring for. If that's the choice I say give the man a chance and let's chase #9 as a united BBN.

The rebuilding job was over sixteen years ago the way you yourself just defined it. Subtracting that period doesn’t meaningfully change anything I wrote.

“Make it about UK while developing players.”——people only started to accuse Cal of making it about himself and the NBA long after he stopped winning, as a way to diagnose the problem. That was Cal’s particular modus operandi and it doesn’t apply to anyone else in the country. It’s a unique quirk of Cal’s that lots of people think caused the problem. But the actual problem was losing and what people have been clamoring for is winning. And Drew is not a good bet for that, as I laid out and you didn’t address.

 

[BlueSince92]

And he is as good or better than many many other coaches across the country at this time.

You can say this, Don. But you can’t base it on anything concrete that will stand up to scrutiny.And that was the whole point of what I wrote. Drew has a very large sample size we can draw from to establish he yields mediocre results. Most of those other coaches across the country that you’re talking about? They don’t have that. And a nice healthy number of them have smaller datasets supporting the possibility that they may not yield mediocre results. It keeps being said lately that only six active coaches have won titles. Okay, so titles as a criterion don’t give you a lot of names right now. But what is so end-all, be-all about titles? Kentucky has never even hired a coach who already had a title, so earned titles are a silly way to evaluate our remaining options if the winningest candidates turn us down. Expand the pool to coaches who have been to Final Fours and you get a much different picture—one that doesn’t have to include a 1:21 success ratio.

 

[Swifterz]

^ Well, we're toast if he says no and all of the other guys above him have declined. There's no one else that has even had an Elite 8 that would come.

Baylor had ONE NCAA Tournament appearance since 1950 before Scott Drew arrived.

ONE

Bruce Pearl went to a final 4
Rick Pitino

 

[HeismaNole]

Bruce Pearl went to a final 4
Rick Pitino

Bruce Pearl has a huge buyout and has been in trouble with the NCAA multiple times.

Pitino is unrealistic. Would be a fun nostalgic trip but that guy is going to be 72 and we all know his past issues.

 

[Jeff Sykes]

I don't think they can contact Donovan until the NBA season is over, at least Billy wouldn't be able to respond. From the Donovan interview it sounds like he may not have been contacted back-channel, and that he prefers to go the proper channels when doing things. Hurley is coming off back to back titles, is he really going to walk away from the chance to be a legend and get 3 titles in a row?

I'm not at all against Drew. He just wouldn't be my number 1 is all. So I mean whether they will come or not doesn't mean you don't at least contact them be it formal or informal and ask hey would you be interested in listen. If they say no thanks then move on.