The recruits he was getting? Reed and Rob? He got them. Does he not get credit for recruiting them? And before you say they didn't start, you said the "problem with Cal was the recruits he was getting." Defend that comment.
Orlando spurns Cal
- Thread starter moses1uk
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The one thing Cal can get credit for is that his recruits all seemed to be good, high character guys. We never really had some of the issues with players that other elite programs have experienced
This is true. When we missed on a guy it was usually for a couple of reasons, character or chemistry. And these two aren’t necessarily the same.
The only couple I can think of that were issues were Whitney and maybe Quade/Wheeler. And the latter weren’t that bad they just had some character issues right at the end of their stint here.
Antigua is 51. Have to believe at least part of the reason Antigua returned to the Illinois staff rather than joining Calipari in Arkansas has to do with Antigua’s remaining career plans. Calipari is 65, while Underwood is 60. Is there a more stable and possibly longer tenure for Antigua at Illinois? Possibly. If Antigua has hopes of eventually landing another head coaching job, does working with Underwood provide Antigua a better springboard rather than another round in a new place with Calipari? Depending on who you talk to, maybe. Will being part of Underwood’s staff at Illinois be less chaotic than being part of Calipari’s staff at Arkansas? Again, depending on who you talk with, probably. Have to think some of this likely went into Antigua’s decision.
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Coach O wanted to stay in Lex. wish Pope had let be part of his staff he is a great recruiter and maybe even some of the players we had would have stayed because of him.
Liked O but Pope did the right thing by clearing house of anything related to Cal. The program needs a complete overhaul.
Yes. Cal's not playing nice from what I've heard. He's burning some bridges with UK. I wouldn't trust hiring a guy like Antigua. He gets on your staff for a year, learns all your trade secrets, and then goes squirming back to Calipari.
I wouldn't mind bringing back Lucas, however. He's already spurned Calipari and I would trust him to a much higher degree than someone like Payne or Antigua, who are clearly loyal to Calipari.
Apparently not. He had two of them.
Not really. Cal is a sinking ship. He knows it. And I am glad Pope cut him lose. I dont want the players that just want to get the biggest bag dropped at their door for one year. Get a damn team, sprinkled with a few 5 stars that can spell team and we are good to go. That's what Pope is building. Enjoy the ride!
we have 2 great recruiters.... Joe Craft's 7 billion dollar check book and and Hart.
I think that article Kyle Tucker wrote last year may have been more on point than people wanted to believe when the article came out.
He can be both. In fact, any coach turning down Orlando is definitely a moron. Hes the best recruiter UK has ever had, period.
The arguement being made that UK doesn’t want the type players Orlando and Cal brought in is dumb as hell. Do yall think he could only recruit that certain type? He could have gotten any type of kid Pope wanted.
This will definitely come back and bite Pope in the ass. Won’t surprise me if it’s eventually part of what gets him fired down the road. You just don’t turn down a recruiter at the level of Antigua. Not when you’re an unproven coach with a staff that’s less than top notch. This decision ranks up there with some of the dumbest ever made by Kal or Billy.
NIL recruits now. You don't really need a high level recruiter these days. No one here is saying we don't want high caliber 5 stars either, we just do not need all of them - certainly not a team full of them. Plus, our last group of 5 stars were underwhelming overall, so there isn't a guarantee. This isn't 2011 anymore. The portal and NIL run the show now.
Yeh he was mad that Cal took the Arkansas job. He was happy and content in Lexington and Cal threw a monkey wrench into his plans. I understand not wanting to leave Lex for Fayetteville, but he has to remember Cal helped him get a job at USF, that he didn't deserve and wasn't ready for, thus the Kenny Payne -Lite results during his tenure there.
Lul. Dilly hasn’t shown love to Cowl since he left and Shep was always UK at heart. Defend Sharpe and Wheeler and those that quit. Maybe good dudes but they definitely here for what UK could
do for them. There’s a lot more suspect to what he said you gotta defend than just 2 good guys.
That’s just not true. When other schools offer the same NIL money that we do it will come down to the coaches. There’s a player now that might follow an assistant to UK if that coach comes. We don’t have the money to just outbid everyone.
Players aren’t going to go somewhere for money if they don’t like the coaches. Everyone has money for NIL. Not everyone has has a guy like Orlando though. I’d take him over Hart in a second.
