Pilgrim update

[LXWildcat]

This was posted 20 minutes before the show and has some new details. Full story below….

Players expect to hear a final answer by Wednesday, but they've been kept out of the loop on a lot of this. Initial word was that Cal was expected to be back and coaches were still recruiting, talking with the current players, but things have gone quiet.
- One player agent expects John Calipari to return with a complete staff overhaul, Reed Sheppard returns (among other stay/go decisions that include several outgoing transfers)
- Some dream coach possibilities may not be such wild dreams after all -- some still coaching in the tournament. If Barnhart is worried about no clear-cut options being available, he should pick up the phone and call or put out some feelers, at minimum. Maybe (and hopefully) he already has, but the pool is bigger than initially expected, from my understanding.
- The ongoing NIL conversation from today has had some real backlash, to put it lightly. Kentucky was an early favorite for one portal guard with confirmed contact who is now questioning his interest in the program (beyond coaching uncertainty, obviously). Between lucrative promises and miscommunications regarding deals, that's something that needs to get under control moving forward no matter who the coaches are. Can confirm the caller's story was true from the other side and frustration is real.
- Continue to hear any scenario where Calipari is back involves major foundational changes and accountability about how the show is run over there. No scenario where this thing is run back as-is. Change is coming, Barnhart is deciding just how much is necessary.
- Still hear Coach Cal wants to be here and would like one last shot at this if the opportunity is there.
- Money is there if Barnhart decides it's time, but no one knows his thinking right now.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

If that portal guard ends up being Erik reynolds I will revolt

 

[LXWildcat]

If that portal guard ends up being Erik reynolds I will revolt

This make me think that a decision really hasn’t been made and like I said in a previous thread Cal is pleading for his job. Who are these dream coaching possibilities that he speaks of? Hurley? Lloyd?

 

[ManitouDan]

As someone who has been a fan near 50 years , I'm 57 , who has wanted the guy fired since 2019 , I cant say how sad it will be if all we get are EMPTY promises of " change". Damn we ain't dumb . He's got to go !

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

This make me think that a decision really hasn’t been made and like I said in a previous thread Cal is pleading for his job. Who are these dream coaching possibilities that he speaks of? Hurley? Lloyd?

Dream coaching hires would have to be Hurley, stevens, donavon, wright, or oates

 

[Imafan4evr_]

All that taken into account, he’s back. Barnhart isn’t the guy to stay ahead of the curve. He acts only when he absolutely HAS to. He can fairly easily rationalize to himself that one more year with some shakeups is warranted. What a wasted opportunity. What happens next year when we make it all the way to… the round of 32 or heaven forbid, the Sweet Sixteen? If he isn’t gone now, he’s here til 2029.

 

[shaudyshaud]

If Cal stays with a coaching staff overhaul I’m hoping Ulis isn’t also let go.

 

[TheDude73]

Looks more like Pilgrim is covering all bases just to appear right when the dust settles.

Throws in the player agent prediction, then the rest is a bunch of scenarios and speculations.

Nothing yet for me to get excited or angry about....will keep waiting until there is more smoke from multiple people.

 

[LXWildcat]

All that taken into account, he’s back. Barnhart isn’t the guy to stay ahead of the curve. He acts only when he absolutely HAS to. He can fairly easily rationalize to himself that one more year with some shakeups is warranted. What a wasted opportunity. What happens next year when we make it all the way to… the round of 32 or heaven forbid, the Sweet Sixteen? If he isn’t gone now, he’s here til 2029.

If the money is there and there are real possibilities with some big time coaches, why not make the move now? Again you risk everything if he returns man idk it’s tough

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Sounds like a slap on the wrist.

Bruiser and one more coach to be the sacrificial lambs for Cal's ineptitude.

 

[catlogic15]

I think Pilgram basically wrote a wish list. No way he got all that from true inside sources.

 

[ManitouDan]

It cant be about players .. hell we have players out the wazoo , we cant get Johny C anymore loaded than this year , and he lost 10 games , No Sec , No NCAAT wins , no SECT win .. my goodness . we need a HS Lebron / MJ to be competitive ?

 

[TheDude73]

Dream coaching hires would have to be Hurley, stevens, donavon, wright, or oates

I'm telling you, Wright's weird behavior the other night when again poked about the UK job might be telling to the point that he may have at least been contacted and may at least be pondering the idea.

 

[LXWildcat]

I'm telling you, Wright's weird behavior the other night when again poked about the UK job might be telling to the point that he may have at least been contacted and may at least be pondering the idea.

If you have the opportunity to hire Jay Wright I think you do it. I wouldn’t pass up the chance to have him. I think he’s a much better coach than Cal

 

[bradyjames]

Cool to hear I was telling the truth. lol, thanks for clearing that up for the rubes.

 

[NociHTTP]

Dream coaching hires would have to be Hurley, stevens, donavon, wright, or oates

My very quick thoughts on them:

Hurley: he would win, but not exciting to watch
Stevens : the offense would be fun to watch, but I don't see him wanting to stay at UK long
Donovan : he's a snake, I think he has bitterness toward the program
Wright : disciplined teams, but he doesn't seem engaged
Oates : questionable character, I think the stress would get to him here

I may very well be way off, but we all have gut feelings about people.

 

[RunninRichie]

This is a ****ing mess.

 

[SemperFiCat]

There is ZERO confidence that Cal will or can change, or that next year would be any less disappointing. Zero confidence. Cal is fully exposed. He's a fraud. Dobthe right thing Mitch. Sack the F up!

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

My very quick thoughts on them:

Hurley: he would win, but not exciting to watch
Stevens : the offense would be fun to watch, but I don't see him wanting to stay at UK long
Donovan : he's a snake, I think he has bitterness toward the program
Wright : disciplined teams, but he doesn't seem engaged
Oates : questionable character, I think the stress would get to him here

I may very well be way off, but we all have gut feelings about people.

Oates I don’t think would let the pressure get to him. He is very cocky and full of himself like pitino was.

 

[BigBlue1992]

Yeah he literally listed all the possible scenarios. I don’t give a damn what that dude says. If he expects all of us to believe Barnhart and Cal haven’t talked yet he must think we’re even dumber hicks than our own coach does.

 

[LXWildcat]

People can say what they want about Jack Pilgrim but the dude has connections to the team. I believe him over any other person who reports stuff.

 

[LXWildcat]

Yeah he literally listed all the possible scenarios. I don’t give a damn what that dude says. If he expects all of us to believe Barnhart and Cal haven’t talked yet he must think we’re even dumber hicks than our own coach does.

But I think the point is, a decision isn’t final yet. There’s a lot of options on the table

 

[TheDude73]

If you have the opportunity to hire Jay Wright I think you do it. I wouldn’t pass up the chance to have him. I think he’s a much better coach than Cal

I don't think you'd get any argument from any fan here, hugger or hater.

In fact, aside from people saying Wright is a pipe dream that's never coming out of retirement to be at UK, I've seen NO ONE say he'd be a bad hire. I've seen negative responses about Stevens (been out of the coaching gig and in back office too long) and Donovan (been out of college too long, NIL / portal challenges, etc.).

If Jay Wright walks through that door, I think our fans will finally be back together, at least until he gets a couple years under his belt and shows us what he could do.

Not holding my breath though - it's a long shot, but fun to imagine.

EDIT: Just saw a response above where someone actually had a negative thing to say about Wright...not engaged?

 

[Fox2monk]

This was posted 20 minutes before the show and has some new details. Full story below….

Players expect to hear a final answer by Wednesday, but they've been kept out of the loop on a lot of this. Initial word was that Cal was expected to be back and coaches were still recruiting, talking with the current players, but things have gone quiet.
- One player agent expects John Calipari to return with a complete staff overhaul, Reed Sheppard returns (among other stay/go decisions that include several outgoing transfers)
- Some dream coach possibilities may not be such wild dreams after all -- some still coaching in the tournament. If Barnhart is worried about no clear-cut options being available, he should pick up the phone and call or put out some feelers, at minimum. Maybe (and hopefully) he already has, but the pool is bigger than initially expected, from my understanding.
- The ongoing NIL conversation from today has had some real backlash, to put it lightly. Kentucky was an early favorite for one portal guard with confirmed contact who is now questioning his interest in the program (beyond coaching uncertainty, obviously). Between lucrative promises and miscommunications regarding deals, that's something that needs to get under control moving forward no matter who the coaches are. Can confirm the caller's story was true from the other side and frustration is real.
- Continue to hear any scenario where Calipari is back involves major foundational changes and accountability about how the show is run over there. No scenario where this thing is run back as-is. Change is coming, Barnhart is deciding just how much is necessary.
- Still hear Coach Cal wants to be here and would like one last shot at this if the opportunity is there.
- Money is there if Barnhart decides it's time, but no one knows his thinking right now.

So all of those on here who questioned @bradyjames can come own up.

 

[Cold Stout Beer]

I'm telling you, Wright's weird behavior the other night when again poked about the UK job might be telling to the point that he may have at least been contacted and may at least be pondering the idea.

He was in Rupp, what, twice this year? I'm sure he looked up at all those banners and thought "I could stick one up there".

 

[NociHTTP]

Oates I don’t think would let the pressure get to him. He is very cocky and full of himself like pitino was.

I mean no doubt he's very good. On a humanistic level we WANT great coaches, but UK is a boiling pot.

 

[TheDude73]

So all of those on here who questioned @bradyjames can come own up.

What did bradyjames say? I must have missed that one.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

I mean no doubt he's very good. On a humanistic level we WANT great coaches, but UK is a boiling pot.

Agree. Oates to me is worth the shot though. He can get good players, a good mix of portal guys and freshman, plays a fun style and is only gonna get better

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

So all of those on here who questioned @bradyjames can come own up.

What did he say?

 

[RunninRichie]

What did he say?

He's the guy who broke the news on Reeve's NIL fiasco.

 

[BigBlue1992]

But I think the point is, a decision isn’t final yet. There’s a lot of options on the table

The Matt Jones nut huggers keep kicking the can down the road. First it was we’d know something by Sunday night, then Monday afternoon, now it’s some Tuesday or maybe even later this week.

Jay isn’t even coaching. If Mitch wanted him, the call would’ve already been made to see if there’s mutual interest.

Bud, don’t get your hopes up as I’m not anymore at this point. It’s almost certain they’re playing our fan base. They have absolutely no back up as to what they’ve been saying.

 

[Cawood86]

This was posted 20 minutes before the show and has some new details. Full story below….

Players expect to hear a final answer by Wednesday, but they've been kept out of the loop on a lot of this. Initial word was that Cal was expected to be back and coaches were still recruiting, talking with the current players, but things have gone quiet.
- One player agent expects John Calipari to return with a complete staff overhaul, Reed Sheppard returns (among other stay/go decisions that include several outgoing transfers)
- Some dream coach possibilities may not be such wild dreams after all -- some still coaching in the tournament. If Barnhart is worried about no clear-cut options being available, he should pick up the phone and call or put out some feelers, at minimum. Maybe (and hopefully) he already has, but the pool is bigger than initially expected, from my understanding.
- The ongoing NIL conversation from today has had some real backlash, to put it lightly. Kentucky was an early favorite for one portal guard with confirmed contact who is now questioning his interest in the program (beyond coaching uncertainty, obviously). Between lucrative promises and miscommunications regarding deals, that's something that needs to get under control moving forward no matter who the coaches are. Can confirm the caller's story was true from the other side and frustration is real.
- Continue to hear any scenario where Calipari is back involves major foundational changes and accountability about how the show is run over there. No scenario where this thing is run back as-is. Change is coming, Barnhart is deciding just how much is necessary.
- Still hear Coach Cal wants to be here and would like one last shot at this if the opportunity is there.
- Money is there if Barnhart decides it's time, but no one knows his thinking right now.

Come on Barney.....do it man, do it. Cut this guy loose and move forward

 

[bbncal02]

It cant be about players .. hell we have players out the wazoo , we cant get Johny C anymore loaded than this year , and he lost 10 games , No Sec , No NCAAT wins , no SECT win .. my goodness . we need a HS Lebron / MJ to be competitive ?

Oh we're fine. I had a dude tell me today that even without Reeves we would've made the tournament. There's a whole lot of DUMBASS in our fan base right now.

 

[badukfan]

See that those "dream coach" picks might actually be within our reach? That’s pretty wild and definitely pumps me up, what's that mean? But on the NIL front, man, we’ve got to do better. Losing out on players because of that agree, really.

 

[badukfan]

Oh we're fine. I had a dude tell me today that even without Reeves we would've made the tournament. There's a whole lot of DUMBASS in our fan base right now.

NIT? maybe

 

[ck-2]

Anyone that listened to the coaches show tonight knows nothing will change. Instead of taking accountability he blamed it on injuries multiple times. Then went into toughness, young players, old players, maybe quit taking Bahamas and Canada trips. Stuff that has absolutely nothing with his sorry coaching ability, playing crap players ahead of better players. If Barnhart allows this guy back for another season he’s a fool.

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

Cool to hear I was telling the truth. lol, thanks for clearing that up for the rubes.

No one questioned you dog. Trust me.

 

[bbncal02]

NIT? maybe

We absolutely would've been NIT without Reeves. He was our leading scorer.

 

[badukfan]

Anyone that listened to the coaches show tonight knows nothing will change. Instead of taking accountability he blamed it on injuries multiple times. Then went into toughness, young players, old players, maybe quit taking Bahamas and Canada trips. Stuff that has absolutely nothing with his sorry coaching ability, playing crap players ahead of better players. If Barnhart allows this guy back for another season he’s a fool.

Maybe that was enough for Mitch . It could be the final nail

 

[FinancialPlannerZac]

Agree. Oates to me is worth the shot though. He can get good players, a good mix of portal guys and freshman, plays a fun style and is only gonna get better

Not trying to be a dick at all... But we gotta learn how to spell the man's name... Oats.