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Pilgrim says…….

It's a shame Calipari is so greedy.

If I made $10 million a year off UK (that's 6.5 million take home), and an additional $3 to 4 million off interest investments (if he's invested his $50 million net worth halfway reasonably at all), I'm sitting at $9.5 to $10 million post-tax compensation.

Take $1.5 million of that and put it into the NIL fund through some third party. It would be worth it for me to win games and solidify my legacy.

Calipari is too greedy to make moves like that. He wants to keep as much money as possible, and not sacrifice for the program. It doesn't work that way.
He’s a greedy fat narcissist. I wish him nothing but the worst
 
Jack posted this regarding the Trilly discord stuff….

There wasn't a fistfight in the locker room, it was a tense heat-of-the-moment argument at halftime that got shut down quickly. That happens with every school, every team, every year. The timing sucks -- obviously you'd prefer to avoid it in the biggest game of the year -- but it had nothing to do with the final result. And once the game was over, the season was over. There are bigger fish to fry at that point.
- The "NCAA investigation" was a brief period of staff questioning that led to nothing. They were falsely accused and quickly cleared.
- Antonio Reeves considered transferring because he and his family were worried about playing second fiddle to the freshmen (and what that would mean for draft stock and NIL). As I mentioned throughout that process, this was his last go-round and they didn't want to risk not getting a fair shot.
- I was made aware of a single instance where one NIL payment did not go through to a single player. I reached out to someone close to said player, who said it was a miscommunication and it had been handled, completely satisfied.
- Have not been shy about discussing the Klutch dynamic this season and last, was the first one to address the USC speculation during the offseason (which was 100% true, said it both then and still confirm it now).
- Understand the KSR dynamic with John Calipari and how laughable it is that his closest assistants would be my sources. Or that I would have any reason to "paint them as heroes."
 
Jack posted this regarding the Trilly discord stuff….

There wasn't a fistfight in the locker room, it was a tense heat-of-the-moment argument at halftime that got shut down quickly. That happens with every school, every team, every year. The timing sucks -- obviously you'd prefer to avoid it in the biggest game of the year -- but it had nothing to do with the final result. And once the game was over, the season was over. There are bigger fish to fry at that point.
- The "NCAA investigation" was a brief period of staff questioning that led to nothing. They were falsely accused and quickly cleared.
- Antonio Reeves considered transferring because he and his family were worried about playing second fiddle to the freshmen (and what that would mean for draft stock and NIL). As I mentioned throughout that process, this was his last go-round and they didn't want to risk not getting a fair shot.
- I was made aware of a single instance where one NIL payment did not go through to a single player. I reached out to someone close to said player, who said it was a miscommunication and it had been handled, completely satisfied.
- Have not been shy about discussing the Klutch dynamic this season and last, was the first one to address the USC speculation during the offseason (which was 100% true, said it both then and still confirm it now).
- Understand the KSR dynamic with John Calipari and how laughable it is that his closest assistants would be my sources. Or that I would have any reason to "paint them as heroes."
Do you think Cal is fired next year?
 
“Shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Mitch Barnhart didn't go into the NCAA Tournament planning on a coaching change, and as disappointed as he was by the loss, he didn't go into the weekend expecting to fire John Calipari, either. Even if he wanted to, the department just didn't have $33 million to throw away, certainly not with so much tied up to other projects and long-term commitments. Just made it a non-starter.

And then the backlash continued to build into the weekend, specifically on the boosters' side. Loud and important voices expressed their displeasure with the current trajectory of the program under Coach Cal and demanded change, many putting their money where their mouths are in hopes of forcing Barnhart's hand. The pressure was very real and it opened the door to a reevaluation where questions of who could be a clear upgrade and how much would it cost were asked. At the end of the day, there just wasn't a guy Barnhart felt could do this job better than Calipari who -- and this was the big one -- also wouldn't do more harm than good money-wise for the entire department. Because it wasn't just the $33 million buyout, it was also buying out the replacement, paying that coach a top-dollar salary, then building out their staff with top-dollar assistants. Without being absolutely certain you had the guy in hand with confidence Calipari couldn't do this anymore, they felt it would be financially irresponsible to pay him to simply go away when those dollars could be better used elsewhere.

But it was considered, probably for the first time since he arrived here. And it's something Barnhart knows he needs to monitor moving forward considering he signed off on the deal to begin with. At the end of the day, those financial concerns fall back on him, and he knows that.”
This is such a revolting situation. Honestly, I still can't believe UK lost that game - it's just surreal - like the Twilight Zone!!!!!!
 
small update by Pilgrim on staff changes…. Feels like nothing will change


As of today, cannot confirm there are planned staff changes. Something Coach Cal will evaluate entering the meat and potatoes of the offseason and things change quickly as the coaching carousel spins, but still TBD.
 
I'm shocked by all of this. Shocked I tell you. /s

In the NIL era there is almost no way to just take a bunch of big ego kids, toss them onto one team fresh out of high school, and expect them to get along and play well. There just isn't enough money, playing time, or room for all those egos.

Going forward, the only way to have success is to try and build an actual team. That means taking chemistry into consideration when you take on players and not just taking every top rated recruit that wants to come to UK.

With Cal at the helm this isn't likely to happen.
 
No idea if any of that is true, and the players really seemed to enjoy each other.

But this era is insane, I'd rather gouge my eyes out than have to deal w/ what coaches deal with now.

  • Rerecruit players on your roster every year so they don't transfer
  • Dealing with players demanding money
  • Setting up and managing NIL collectives and all that entails
  • Prima donna players that have had smoke blown up their ass about how good they are, which isn't new, but now add on top of it they have agents.
  • Will-they-stay-or-will-they-go NBA decisions that drag out all spring long in an era where securing the best portal players is probably the single best way to acquire talent.
  • Then the normal off season recruiting of freshmen and portal players on top of it.

I'm sure I'm missing some stuff too but yikes, the amount of extra bullshit piled on coaches now is crazy.
Parents.
 
“Shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Mitch Barnhart didn't go into the NCAA Tournament planning on a coaching change, and as disappointed as he was by the loss, he didn't go into the weekend expecting to fire John Calipari, either. Even if he wanted to, the department just didn't have $33 million to throw away, certainly not with so much tied up to other projects and long-term commitments. Just made it a non-starter.

And then the backlash continued to build into the weekend, specifically on the boosters' side. Loud and important voices expressed their displeasure with the current trajectory of the program under Coach Cal and demanded change, many putting their money where their mouths are in hopes of forcing Barnhart's hand. The pressure was very real and it opened the door to a reevaluation where questions of who could be a clear upgrade and how much would it cost were asked. At the end of the day, there just wasn't a guy Barnhart felt could do this job better than Calipari who -- and this was the big one -- also wouldn't do more harm than good money-wise for the entire department. Because it wasn't just the $33 million buyout, it was also buying out the replacement, paying that coach a top-dollar salary, then building out their staff with top-dollar assistants. Without being absolutely certain you had the guy in hand with confidence Calipari couldn't do this anymore, they felt it would be financially irresponsible to pay him to simply go away when those dollars could be better used elsewhere.

But it was considered, probably for the first time since he arrived here. And it's something Barnhart knows he needs to monitor moving forward considering he signed off on the deal to begin with. At the end of the day, those financial concerns fall back on him, and he knows that.”
And of course, we all knew it. We just hoped the pressure would be enough. It’s ok because after a couple more years of flame outs Barney can go with him.
 
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at an arm-length viewpoint, I wouldn't be surprised if Chin is frustrated.

What coach on that bench wouldn't be given the coaching incompetence being shown here?

you have guys on the internet breaking down the film better than what is being done in the program now
That is 100% true, if guys on the internet can make a 15 minutes video dissecting the tournament game and showing all these issues the night of the game, what do we do in practice? It makes no sense. Hire the internet dude to teach it for 50k a year.
 
That post on Trilly's Discord is an angry fan embellishing a lot of things. What's telling is for him to say Pilgrim protects Chin Coleman. Jack Pilgrim would rather watch the entire '21 UK season "A Clockwork Orange" style than protect Chin Coleman and he often fires shots. That's when you know someone is doing so venting rather than sharing.

Also there isn't a mention of 2 things that actually did happen and if anyone had some behind the scenes knowledge of the team/program and some BS they dealt with would've come out by now. It's not come out yet and if someone is that dialed in, they'd know.
 
“Shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Mitch Barnhart didn't go into the NCAA Tournament planning on a coaching change, and as disappointed as he was by the loss, he didn't go into the weekend expecting to fire John Calipari, either. Even if he wanted to, the department just didn't have $33 million to throw away, certainly not with so much tied up to other projects and long-term commitments. Just made it a non-starter.

And then the backlash continued to build into the weekend, specifically on the boosters' side. Loud and important voices expressed their displeasure with the current trajectory of the program under Coach Cal and demanded change, many putting their money where their mouths are in hopes of forcing Barnhart's hand. The pressure was very real and it opened the door to a reevaluation where questions of who could be a clear upgrade and how much would it cost were asked. At the end of the day, there just wasn't a guy Barnhart felt could do this job better than Calipari who -- and this was the big one -- also wouldn't do more harm than good money-wise for the entire department. Because it wasn't just the $33 million buyout, it was also buying out the replacement, paying that coach a top-dollar salary, then building out their staff with top-dollar assistants. Without being absolutely certain you had the guy in hand with confidence Calipari couldn't do this anymore, they felt it would be financially irresponsible to pay him to simply go away when those dollars could be better used elsewhere.

But it was considered, probably for the first time since he arrived here. And it's something Barnhart knows he needs to monitor moving forward considering he signed off on the deal to begin with. At the end of the day, those financial concerns fall back on him, and he knows that.”
Is that guy really privy to this kind of information?
 
at an arm-length viewpoint, I wouldn't be surprised if Chin is frustrated.

What coach on that bench wouldn't be given the coaching incompetence being shown here?

you have guys on the internet breaking down the film better than what is being done in the program now
A few weeks ago I said the assistant coaches looked as though they had quit. They would just sit on the bench and wouldn't get up unless a timeout was called. This was really noticeable in the 2 tournaments. I may have missed it, but I never saw Coleman interact with a player during a game nor did I see him do anything but sit there with a "I don't want to be here" look on his face. Maybe Cal has told them, I`m the man in charge during a game or some of them really didn't want to be here.
 
small update by Pilgrim on staff changes…. Feels like nothing will change


As of today, cannot confirm there are planned staff changes. Something Coach Cal will evaluate entering the meat and potatoes of the offseason and things change quickly as the coaching carousel spins, but still TBD.

Calipari has an undeniable gift of lying. Psychopathy is in essence the ability to do just that. When you add everything together like his lack of empathy for the program and its people, the ability to lie with impunity, admit it, then continue to deceive people the same way the next time. Regardless of outrage at the truth, these are the traits. And sometimes whether you suffer from these disorders or not having the traits of it can lead to the same outcomes. Personally, to me it looks more than just traits.

I don’t think it matters anyway, great assistants are not going to come here now and coach for him. It’s not happening, anyone with the ability to change course here wouldn’t accept this job. He’s almost out, he’s the laughing stock of college coaches, and shakeups are more than likely coming. All of the things great assistants or up and comers don’t want any part of.

Proof? Before shit hit the fan Lucas got out of here.
 
Calipari has an undeniable gift of lying. Psychopathy is in essence the ability to do just that. When you add everything together like his lack of empathy for the program and its people, the ability to lie with impunity, admit it, then continue to deceive people the same way the next time. Regardless of outrage at the truth, these are the traits. And sometimes whether you suffer from these disorders or not having the traits of it can lead to the same outcomes. Personally, to me it looks more than just traits.

I don’t think it matters anyway, great assistants are not going to come here now and coach for him. It’s not happening, anyone with the ability to change course here wouldn’t accept this job. He’s almost out, he’s the laughing stock of college coaches, and shakeups are more than likely coming. All of the things great assistants or up and comers don’t want any part of.

Proof? Before shit hit the fan Lucas got out of here. Of there was a magical assistant out there that Calipari could use to make extreme changes and help his cause, we’d probably already have that guy on staff.

This is assuming Calipari didn’t intentionally sabotage the program to make boosters give more money, and it just went out of control. Stop believe it to this day, I don’t believe a national championship coach doesn’t know how to put a roster together or beat 13 seeds.
Can’t believe we have to sit through another year of this.
 
Also if there was a magical assistant out there that Calipari could use to make extreme changes and help his cause, we’d probably already have that guy on staff.

This is assuming Calipari didn’t intentionally sabotage the program (possibly to force boosters give more money) and it just went out of control. I think it’s plausible, I don’t believe a national championship coach doesn’t know how to put a roster together or beat 13 seeds.
 
The Reeves stuff we know now is true. With Mitch insisting on NIL changes and the new public fund that leads me to believe NIL running out of money is real. I have a hard time believing this team got in a fist fight at halftime but who knows.

Edit: The fight has been confirmed by multiple people.
Wondering who was fighting 🤔
 
I'm shocked by all of this. Shocked I tell you. /s

In the NIL era there is almost no way to just take a bunch of big ego kids, toss them onto one team fresh out of high school, and expect them to get along and play well. There just isn't enough money, playing time, or room for all those egos.

Going forward, the only way to have success is to try and build an actual team. That means taking chemistry into consideration when you take on players and not just taking every top rated recruit that wants to come to UK.

With Cal at the helm this isn't likely to happen.
That also means you can’t take more than 2 or 3 freshmen . Cannot promise them starting roles or playing time unless they are the best player at the time for their position.
No this will not happen with six freshmen coming in 4 of which are one and dones .
 
Can’t believe we have to sit through another year of this.

What I’d like to say about the guy I cannot say, but yea. He won’t have the seat much longer though, it’s all about the buyout. All of this other nonsense (who ya gonna get) and all that is pure BS. Nobody survives this kind of thing at any major program in college sports. It’s a 100% fire rate. It’s the contract, you just about have to fire Mitch if you fire him right now.

I really don’t know how it’s not being reported more about the administration and boosters being in a war with Calipari. Yet still, many believe Calipari is just going out there trying to win “like always”, lol.

Calipari is humiliating these guys and the second they have the upper hand, he’s stepping aside. Calipari has less than 12-24 left at Kentucky, regardless, either way. And that is a cause to celebrate in my book. If he starts losing immediately it’s coming before that. You cannot remain at a program like this and lose. Buyout or not, he will lose, and this is over.
 
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I'm going to guess Thiero wasn't in the fight. I he was, it would pretty obvious who the other participant was!

As an aside, the lack of playing time for Thiero, even as much as he did get, was criminal. He's such a well rounded, focused, skilled, powerful player.
Cal said he thought his shoulder popped out of place and couldn’t play. HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THIS?
 
That post on Trilly's Discord is an angry fan embellishing a lot of things. What's telling is for him to say Pilgrim protects Chin Coleman. Jack Pilgrim would rather watch the entire '21 UK season "A Clockwork Orange" style than protect Chin Coleman and he often fires shots. That's when you know someone is doing so venting rather than sharing.

Also there isn't a mention of 2 things that actually did happen and if anyone had some behind the scenes knowledge of the team/program and some BS they dealt with would've come out by now. It's not come out yet and if someone is that dialed in, they'd know.
Does any of that BS involve Adou?
 
The Reeves stuff we know now is true. With Mitch insisting on NIL changes and the new public fund that leads me to believe NIL running out of money is real. I have a hard time believing this team got in a fist fight at halftime but who knows.

Edit: The fight has been confirmed by multiple people.
Who actually fought? I haven’t went looking but would be interested. I have my guesses.
 
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