Pitino blames racism for recruiting woes at UK...

[Blue Bigfoot]

Funny how Calipari has had one after another, after another of #1 recruiting classes.
Funny how Rick pretends that a campus 68 miles east of another campus sits in some "racist" region, while the other one is sacrosanct or something. This clown just will not stop.

 

[uky8unc5]

No more. That asswipe has burned the last bridge with us. Take his damned rag out of the rafters NOW.

Rick burned the last bridge when he flipped all the fans off.
You are just now smelling the smoke.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I mean sure it's possible that one recruit felt that way when Rick was here but that really doesn't equate to recruiting woes due to racism.

Like many have said, Cal isn't having an issue.

 

[USSLair]

Burn in hell Rick.

 

[JayhawkinGeorgia]

You all take that too seriously. Do you seriously think Pitino has much credibility at this point? He clearly lied about what was going on at Louisville and he's clearly trying to make some coin with a "tell all" book now. He's not exactly a paragon of honesty and virtue. Most people will ignore what he has to say and those who don't will have forgotten about it in a month.

You'd be better off ignoring him or just laughing at him. I can understand that you're reacting because he's talking about your favorite team/school, but to us outsiders the visceral reactions make it start to look more like you're a little too defensive.

ETA - Besides, it's not like there seems to be any trouble getting black players to play at UK.

 

[Wildcat-in-STL]

There are plenty of absurd comments we can bash Rick over but this... I can believe he's telling the truth. In the early 90's I can believe people telling Rick that. Ok maybe not the segregated past part but using racism as a reason.... just a few years before he got here... Rex and his african american gf had to endure a lot of racism at UK.

as far as slights against UK... this is relatively weak. Now if he mentioned something about racism today that he's seen in UK fans... then that might of been an effective jab at us lol.

 

[W_Heisenberg]

Think what you want, but he's right....

 

[Sawnee Cat]

You all take that too seriously. Do you seriously think Pitino has much credibility at this point? He clearly lied about what was going on at Louisville and he's clearly trying to make some coin with a "tell all" book now. He's not exactly a paragon of honesty and virtue. Most people will ignore what he has to say and those who don't will have forgotten about it in a month.

You'd be better off ignoring him or just laughing at him. I can understand that you're reacting because he's talking about your favorite team/school, but to us outsiders the visceral reactions make it start to look more like you're a little too defensive.

ETA - Besides, it's not like there seems to be any trouble getting black players to play at UK.

Not really defensive. The issue is we have his Jersey in our rafters at Rupp. Only the very best have that honor. He should not have been put there to start with but he was. How would you like it if someone who does everything they can to diss or slander your program had a name in your rafters for all to see. Every time we are on TV the camera scans through our banners and jerseys. His name pops out for all the world to see and we would rather any memory of him not be a part of our university. OK so he won a title but character should over ride that. Bring it down and you will see us ignore and laugh him off.

 

[Rush2112 UK]

Think what you want, but he's right....

It’s always seemed like a curious and suspect equation to me: Many UK fans are allegedly racist... but ardently and zealously root for, support and (famously) obsess over teams that have been composed primarily of black athletes for over 40 years now. They buy jerseys with their numbers, have their posters on their walls, flock in record numbers to watch them play, and beg them for autographs at every turn... yet somehow simultaneously disdain/despise them for the color of their skin.

Yeah, that makes all kinds of sense.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Excerpt quoted in the Courier Journal: As for the mention of racism, Pitino goes on to say that "the segregated past of Kentucky basketball still cast an ugly shadow on the school" and that the parents of some African-American recruits he tried to lure as UK's coach "were dead set against their sons playing at the Rupp Arena."

Odd that it has been decades since I've heard a hint of Kentucky losing a player because of "the segregated past" which ended 50 years ago. Could it be that the king of the passive-aggressive liars has invented this as a back-handed slap at UK (which he claims to still love?)

Nah, I don't believe that for 15 seconds...

He's referring to the Jason Osborne recruitment. I don't know who else he was talking about.


He should blame himself for not landing Ray Allen. If he had showed Allen any attention at all on his trip to Lexington, he'd likely have been a Wildcat.

 

[hotelblue]

removing his jersey suggests uk needed to do something about his legacy post uk. i don’t get that. it’s like taking responsibility for his whole life. why? he succeeded at uk and will never get there again. it’s not our fault. keep it up.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

removing his jersey suggests uk needed to do something about his legacy post uk. i don’t get that. it’s like taking responsibility for his whole life. why? he succeeded at uk and will never get there again. it’s not our fault. keep it up.

Exactly. He resurrected UK and should remain in the rafters.

 

[Blueaz]

Excerpt quoted in the Courier Journal: As for the mention of racism, Pitino goes on to say that "the segregated past of Kentucky basketball still cast an ugly shadow on the school" and that the parents of some African-American recruits he tried to lure as UK's coach "were dead set against their sons playing at the Rupp Arena."

Odd that it has been decades since I've heard a hint of Kentucky losing a player because of "the segregated past" which ended 50 years ago. Could it be that the king of the passive-aggressive liars has invented this as a back-handed slap at UK (which he claims to still love?)

Nah, I don't believe that for 15 seconds...

he and rex shared notes...
REX will be all over this...smh, smh

 

[Blueaz]

just wow
I don't give a flying fig what he did here, anymore - his negative statements and actions since have far outweighed his accomplishments
if anyone, ANYONE still supports that SOB in any way, shape or form, please put me on ignore.

and no, I'm not gonna "bless his heart,"

I want his name out of our rafters

bless YOUR heart...
I have never seen that side of you post...

 

[bigbluelou]

I would probably be more upset if he had even a shred of credibility left. He doesn't. He just comes off as desperate and pathetic, so anything he says will be ridiculed. Now that I think about it, the more he talks about "racism" at UK, the less "racist" we are perceived to be. Basically, look 180 degrees from what he says to find the truth.

 

[Blueaz]

There are plenty of absurd comments we can bash Rick over but this... I can believe he's telling the truth. In the early 90's I can believe people telling Rick that. Ok maybe not the segregated past part but using racism as a reason.... just a few years before he got here... Rex and his african american gf had to endure a lot of racism at UK.

as far as slights against UK... this is relatively weak. Now if he mentioned something about racism today that he's seen in UK fans... then that might of been an effective jab at us lol.

I like a lot of your posts, but I respectively disagree...
Al Baker was a good friend of my roommate... When asked about Rex and his sister, he never once said there was problems or issues.
Rex has been a proven liar...

 

[Wildcat-in-STL]

I like a lot of your posts, but I respectively disagree...
Al Baker was a good friend of my roommate... When asked about Rex and his sister, he never once said there was problems or issues.
Rex has been a proven liar...

Maybe Rex was lying... maybe he was playing it up... maybe heard 1 racist thing and acted like it always happened... i dunno. but even if he was making it up... it can spread around the basketball community to where parents of african american players could have concerns.

I dont think there is more or less racism in Ky than any other state.... so its not fair to single us Kentuckians out..... but unfortunately you have people like Michael Wilbon who admits racism is a reason he started hating UK 40 years ago.... so whether its true or not... some people believe it and that's why I believe some parents back then could of shared their concerns with Pitino.

but the whole segregated past thing is crazy though... I mean then why the fudge is Alabama football recruiting so well for the last 50 years ?

 

[Wildcat-in-STL]

One thing that should be asked is why does Pitino act like whoa is me during the 90's? Recruiting was well enough that he went to his fair share of final fours and title games and won 1 title in his 7 or 8 years here. That was his best era... what is he.. mad he couldnt recruit like Cal and thinks he'd have 5 titles in the 90's ?

I'll be honest.... I think of that Pitino era here as the best in my lifetime even over what Cal has done... the success was similar but the style of play is what pushes it over the edge for me. Of course Cal's time isnt over so there is plenty of time for Cal to surpass it and probably will when it comes to how I view it...

If he was so ate up with being second fiddle to UK.... he should'nt of went to UL and went somewhere to buy time until the UK job came open.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

I like a lot of your posts, but I respectively disagree...
Al Baker was a good friend of my roommate... When asked about Rex and his sister, he never once said there was problems or issues.
Rex has been a proven liar...

I find it hard to believe that Rex had to "endure" racism during his social life. When I was in school it was a well known fact that Mike Deaton, QB on the football team and white, was dating Jennifer Parks, who was a cheerleader at that time and no one cared a bit about it.

 

[kev69]

Really wish we’d remove him from our past and take his name out of the rafters. He’s undeserving!!!

He’s finally crossed the line where I agree with you. It’s time to remove his name from anything UK.

He’s become a disgrace.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

He's referring to the Jason Osborne recruitment. I don't know who else he was talking about.


He should blame himself for not landing Ray Allen. If he had showed Allen any attention at all on his trip to Lexington, he'd likely have been a Wildcat.

I think there's probably some truth to his statement regarding the recruitment of Osborne and Morton, however, there's more than comes to light and using racism is an easy out. First of all, the probation was still in effect while he was recruiting Morton, which had to be a factor. Secondly, growing up as an African-American kid in Louisville, hearing nothing but good about UL and bad about UK would definitely make one be a Louisville fan and a UK hater. The bad blood between the two programs while UK was not playing UL on a regular basis did nothing but add more fuel to the fire with the media attempting to discredit the UK program using this as a front. Lastly, Dwayne Morton was never coming to UK regardless of what his grandparents said about Rupp. Same goes for Jason Osborne. Trying to convince a black kid from Louisville to come play at UK, given all of the negativity heard on a daily basis, was simply a losing proposition. I have no clue how Coach Hall managed to sign Winston Bennett but when it came to recruiting homegrown talent in Louisville, it was a losing proposition back then. Pitino can use the race card all he wants but more was involved.

 

[Aike]

I like a lot of your posts, but I respectively disagree...
Al Baker was a good friend of my roommate... When asked about Rex and his sister, he never once said there was problems or issues.
Rex has been a proven liar...

I was thinking Rex dated Mark Higgs sister. I’m probably remembering it wrong.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

I was thinking Rex dated Mark Higgs sister. I’m probably remembering it wrong.

I heard that as well.

 

[Oldbluefart]

Racism exists everywhere. Racism comes in Black and White. I see it everyday around UL. For all the liberals there are just as many other idiots.
If anyone thinks UK is racist, then why not Stanford? After all, it was at Stanford that Tiger Woods had a racist note pinned to his dorm door.
The crap goes on whether or not anyone wants to believe it. Only thing anyone of us can do is not be a part of it.

My UK is not a racist school. Some of our fans probably are but every school has their share of fools.
ESPN had and has some working for them. We have and had some in our political world.

But for a known liar, a whore monger and who ran a program where all kinds of violations took place for which he denies any responsibility for, to call out UK, he can kiss my blue and white ass.

 

[Jazzycat]

Rick chose to come to UK as a coach, knowing that the school will be on probation for so called NCAA violations for two years. He was also well aware of the labeling of UK as a traditionally “racist school” when it came to basketball and yet, he chose to come anyway, which, I was happy about, as a fan.

To turn around and criticize the university for this seems fairly disingenuous to me, as he willingly came and became part of the UK family.

What is known is that he hired an assistant that committed numerous recruiting violations, including hiring underage prostitutes that were servicing recruits AND parents. What is known is that he was willing to pay $100,000 for a recruit and then, he was caught lying about his choice to do so.

He was an innovative and creative B.B. coach at one time, but he obviously lacks personal judgement and integrity. For this reason, anything that comes out of his mouth should be taken with a huge grain of salt.

 

[North Carolina Blue Wildcat]

Rick chose to come to UK as a coach, knowing that the school will be on probation for so called NCAA violations for two years. He was also well aware of the labeling of UK as a traditionally “racist school” when it came to basketball and yet, he chose to come anyway, which, I was happy about, as a fan.

To turn around and criticize the university for this seems fairly disingenuous to me, as he willingly came and became part of the UK family.

What is known is that he hired an assistant that committed numerous recruiting violations, including hiring underage prostitutes that were servicing recruits AND parents. What is known is that he was willing to pay $100,000 for a recruit and then, he was caught lying about his choice to do so.

He was an innovative and creative B.B. coach at one time, but he obviously lacks personal judgement and integrity. For this reason, anything that comes out of his mouth should be taken with a huge grain of salt.

He has to tear down others, things to build himself up. Typical narcissistic behavior.

 

[*CatinIL*]

I wouldn't take down his banner in Rupp for the comment in the article that MD quoted...but I'm thinking the time has come for UK to take it down. The man has become a real embarrassment.

 

[Ineverplayedthegame]

I’m sure he’s right, he always tells the truth, besides if you don’t believe him just ask Rex.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

Racism exists everywhere. Racism comes in Black and White. I see it everyday around UL. For all the liberals there are just as many other idiots.
If anyone thinks UK is racist, then why not Stanford? After all, it was at Stanford that Tiger Woods had a racist note pinned to his dorm door.
The crap goes on whether or not anyone wants to believe it. Only thing anyone of us can do is not be a part of it.

My UK is not a racist school. Some of our fans probably are but every school has their share of fools.
ESPN had and has some working for them. We have and had some in our political world.

But for a known liar, a whore monger and who ran a program where all kinds of violations took place for which he denies any responsibility for, to call out UK, he can kiss my blue and white ass.

Yep, it goes on everywhere and no school is innocent, whether it be in the United States or in another country.

 

[CatGotMyTongue]

Hey Pitino—forgetting something?

 

[TeleTubby]

I actually believe him, I just don't believe we lost out on any game changers because of this. I believe he is referring to Louisville guys like Osborne and Morton.

I moved back to Kentucky in 2011 after 16 years away. I was amazed at how many black fans UK had acquired. Growing up, it was pretty much white people cheered for UK and black people cheered for U of L. I asked a coworker what had happened. He said Pitino changed people's minds in the African-American community. They saw him as legit and someone who had the black athlete's best interests at heart. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

Didnt Rupp have the first African American kids in the sec??? What's this idiot talking about..can we as BBN just make up our mind to never talk about him again, take him down from the rafters so he doesn't have to be next to any racist and we all move on from this POS!!

The first African-American player in the SEC was Perry Wallace from Vandy, IIRC. The first black basketball player at UK was actually Daryl Bishop, who was on football scholarship in 1969-1972. He also played on the freshman team and averaged about 20ppg. Coach Hall ran the freshman team until he took over for Rupp and tried to talk Bishop into playing varsity the next season. He decided to stay with football and did not play basketball again. Rupp then signed Tom Payne from Louisville who became known as the first African-American player under Rupp and on the UK varsity.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

For the sake of argument, let's say he is being accurate. Whom would that have been? What great recruit(s) did we lose out on because of that stigma? I know that Tubby's downfall was losing out on recruits but racism in that case would have made zero sense as the issue. Can anyone recall recruits in the RP era we thought we were going to get and didn't?

I saw one article years ago that mentioned Dwayne Morton and Jason Osborne as the two we lost out on, however, it's hard to imagine that either would have chosen UK over UL at that time, being that both were from Louisville.

 

[JPScott]

The first African-American player in the SEC was Perry Wallace from Vandy, IIRC. The first black basketball player at UK was actually Daryl Bishop, who was on football scholarship in 1969-1972. He also played on the freshman team and averaged about 20ppg. Coach Hall ran the freshman team until he took over for Rupp and tried to talk Bishop into playing varsity the next season. He decided to stay with football and did not play basketball again. Rupp then signed Tom Payne from Louisville who became known as the first African-American player under Rupp and on the UK varsity.

You're right that Bishop was the first black player to play on the freshman team, but Bishop did later play basketball as a walk-on player during Rupp's last season as coach.

Darryl Bishop UK Basketball Stats

Bishop, BTW, was a basketball Parade All-American in high school.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

You're right that Bishop was the first black player to play on the freshman team, but Bishop did later play basketball as a walk-on player during Rupp's last season as coach.

Darryl Bishop UK Basketball Stats

Bishop, BTW, was a basketball Parade All-American in high school.

I had forgotten that he later played, however, I do remember when Elmore Stephens got some minutes under Rupp. Seems as if there was another football player that came out.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

You're right that Bishop was the first black player to play on the freshman team, but Bishop did later play basketball as a walk-on player during Rupp's last season as coach.

Darryl Bishop UK Basketball Stats

Bishop, BTW, was a basketball Parade All-American in high school.

BTW, meant to ask this question earlier but the thread about best shooter got deleted. What happened to Kent Hollenbeck during his Senior season? I know it was some sort of injury but IMO he was one of the best pure outside shooters UK ever had.

 

[JPScott]

I think there's probably some truth to his statement regarding the recruitment of Osborne and Morton, however, there's more than comes to light and using racism is an easy out. First of all, the probation was still in effect while he was recruiting Morton, which had to be a factor. Secondly, growing up as an African-American kid in Louisville, hearing nothing but good about UL and bad about UK would definitely make one be a Louisville fan and a UK hater. The bad blood between the two programs while UK was not playing UL on a regular basis did nothing but add more fuel to the fire with the media attempting to discredit the UK program using this as a front. Lastly, Dwayne Morton was never coming to UK regardless of what his grandparents said about Rupp. Same goes for Jason Osborne. Trying to convince a black kid from Louisville to come play at UK, given all of the negativity heard on a daily basis, was simply a losing proposition. I have no clue how Coach Hall managed to sign Winston Bennett but when it came to recruiting homegrown talent in Louisville, it was a losing proposition back then. Pitino can use the race card all he wants but more was involved.

Not sure what your point is. You seem to be making a good argument that Morton and Osborne (among other recruits from Louisville and elsewhere) indeed did not seriously consider UK at least in part because of preconceptions they or their family held about UK over racial issues (some which involved things which happened decades prior and involving people who were no longer at the school.)

This is not surprising. It's been a common theme since UK started recruiting black players in the early 1960's, although as mentioned the negative impact of it has lessened greatly over the past few decades. But despite this, it hasn't stopped a handful of rival fans from trying to stoke the issue in a misguided attempt to harm UK's recruiting efforts.

 

[JPScott]

BTW, meant to ask this question earlier but the thread about best shooter got deleted. What happened to Kent Hollenbeck during his Senior season? I know it was some sort of injury but IMO he was one of the best pure outside shooters UK ever had.

Recurring foot injury throughout season. Confirmed broken foot in early February of 1972. Only played 5 games that year.

 

[loublue22]

take his name down from the Rafters

 

[Cindog28]

just wow
I don't give a flying fig what he did here, anymore - his negative statements and actions since have far outweighed his accomplishments
if anyone, ANYONE still supports that SOB in any way, shape or form, please put me on ignore.

and no, I'm not gonna "bless his heart,"

I want his name out of our rafters

Same here. Pitino can go EAD!

My paw-paw always used to say, "Never poke a bear."

UK basketball "IS THE BEAR" and not only do I think Pitino knows it... he's banking on it to sell his book. Umm... Tubby Smith was his assistant at UK and assisted in recruiting.

Poor Steve Pence. Pitino will be on Good Morning America with Robin Roberts in the morning and I seriously doubt Coach #2 will be able to keep his foot out of his mouth regarding the lawsuit by U6.

Jmo.