Nah, don't buy into that crap. It’s our culture that is causing it and Cal needs to change their mindsets before they step foot on campus and especially during the recruiting process.
There also needs to be a set plan in place for each player with goals that must be obtained before they leave so they are putting themselves in the best position to be successful at the next level.
Guys like EJ and Hagans have the tools to play in the NBA, if they stayed the course, they would have gone to the NBA eventually. Playing overseas almost guarantees you never sniff the NBA. You stay with the guy that has more NBA connections than anyone.
Now, you can't sit there and watch guys like Luka Garza, Gillispie, Tshiebwe, Leaky Black, Cockburn, Jared Butler, Drew Timme, Nembhard, Kispert, Bryan Antoine, Brandon Slater, Fulkerson, Pons, Dosunmu, Marcus Garrett, Remy Martin, Garrison Brooks, Hauser brothers, Keyonte Johnson, Trendon Watford, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Hurt, Caleb Mills, Teague, JaVonte Smart and Livers, return and simultaneously state that there's nothing Cal can do to keep kids here. You're head is in the sand if you believe that.
Do the kids at Gonzaga, Baylor, MSU, UT, Villanova and UVA live alone in a cave? Don't they have people in their ears too?
Take a look at the programs that are winning titles and the programs in the top 10 right now, there's a common denominator and it ain't covid.
Cal makes a hell of a lot of money to lead this program, if Mark Few, Tom Izzo, Barnes, Shaka Smart, Tony Bennett and Roy Williams can find a way to retain players, Cal should be able to do it too. He just needs to put less of a priority on the NBA and more on development at UK. This ain't hard.