..."the greatest night in Kentucky basketball history." Yes, I know we all threw a fit about the phrasing. Once again, remember, "this isn't for youuuuuuuu."
Think of this: 5 years ago, Gabriel, SKJ, Fox, and Bam were 13 years old. They were just realizing that they had a real future in basketball; if not the pros, then a college scholarship for sure. They were still at the age where they didn't just enjoy basketball, but they idolized and worshiped the players they were seeing. Think of it as the difference of seeing Jimi Hendrix at 18 and thinking "man, he's really awesome" and seeing Hendrix at 13 and thinking "my mind is blown, I want to become him. I have to."
We pulled Bam square out of North Carolina. We've pulled these other kids ranging all the way from New Hampshire to Virginia to Texas. No more relying on nearby talent and hoping they come here. We pull them from virtually everywhere. Why? Because Cal positioned UK basketball and it's products to be virtually everywhere. Now our recruiting base is virtually everywhere.
Us and Duke are really the only two programs out there right now that are heavyweights. Kansas gets an honorable mention. Duke just so happens to have a legendary coach who everyone loves, not much we can do about that, so they'll get theirs. Luckily, he's in his 70's and can't coach that much longer. We've got a coach in his 50's who's squarely in his prime. There isn't a program with a better 5-10 year outlook than us, and it isn't close.
And it all ties back to that first class and that first draft class. Calipari didn't establish Kentucky's history. He modified it and taught it to that first class. And now, the water is continually running downhill until we've got a flood on our hands. GBB!!!!
Think of this: 5 years ago, Gabriel, SKJ, Fox, and Bam were 13 years old. They were just realizing that they had a real future in basketball; if not the pros, then a college scholarship for sure. They were still at the age where they didn't just enjoy basketball, but they idolized and worshiped the players they were seeing. Think of it as the difference of seeing Jimi Hendrix at 18 and thinking "man, he's really awesome" and seeing Hendrix at 13 and thinking "my mind is blown, I want to become him. I have to."
We pulled Bam square out of North Carolina. We've pulled these other kids ranging all the way from New Hampshire to Virginia to Texas. No more relying on nearby talent and hoping they come here. We pull them from virtually everywhere. Why? Because Cal positioned UK basketball and it's products to be virtually everywhere. Now our recruiting base is virtually everywhere.
Us and Duke are really the only two programs out there right now that are heavyweights. Kansas gets an honorable mention. Duke just so happens to have a legendary coach who everyone loves, not much we can do about that, so they'll get theirs. Luckily, he's in his 70's and can't coach that much longer. We've got a coach in his 50's who's squarely in his prime. There isn't a program with a better 5-10 year outlook than us, and it isn't close.
And it all ties back to that first class and that first draft class. Calipari didn't establish Kentucky's history. He modified it and taught it to that first class. And now, the water is continually running downhill until we've got a flood on our hands. GBB!!!!
