Shaedon Sharpe's selfishness and Calipari's support of that selfishness might have cost Kentucky a title.
- Thread starter Son_Of_Saul
- Start date
Well I agree with you there, but you shouldn't act like no one here did. Lots of people did, foolishly. It never made sense.
Change my mind that this horse deserves it!
Aren't you the guy who told me my memories of watching UK basketball on tape delay in the early 90s were fake memories? lol
Foolishly indeed. I'll admit that as a fan I held onto a glimmer of hope until everything came to light from behind the scenes and then logically it made no sense to hold on to that hope with overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
I didn't do it, you did. And the most embarrassing part is that you contradicted yourself inside of an hour and couldn't keep track.
Son.
Says the guy throwing out a homophobic slur every time he calls someone a “Nancy boy.”
If only you realized how silly you look insulting people with some of these outdated slurs from the past that nobody still uses …well, except for a scant few bitter old men.
I remember that. I worked 2nd shift at the USPS and I'd always watch the games when I got home.
Anybody else who used to watch those tape delayed games again after seeing them live in Rupp? That was common for me when I lived on campus.
Nope, because according to @Bowiewasmyhero UK was never on tape delay again after 1984, our memories are fake.
Wouldn't it be a hoot to find out Bass is an alter ego of an anti Cal poster?
That way they could keep the fire stoked every day.
That argument falls apart when Sharpe could literally just say "the play was always for me to sit this year and play next year but Cal kicked me off the team". You know how the media (especially sports media) is these days. We would've been raked over the coals non stop for it.
nope, no one would be buying it, especially knowing he was eligible for the draft.
regardless of how much they dislike Cal or Kentucky, this is about the preservation of College Basketball. What Sharpe did represents the worst of me first, one and done, mercenary players that has killed fandom for so many people
Cal didn't take action because he is more concerned about the next Shaedon Sharpe coming to the program as opposed to leveraging the one he had.
Agree to disagree then, I think we would have guys like Bilas, SAS, Cowherd, and Jay Williams killing us for it routinely and all around sports media which would hurt recruiting a ton.
Yeah but just think how good that Calipari will look in the green room at the NBA draft when the commissioner of the NBA calls Sharp's name as the 4th or 5th pick in the 2022 draft. We will all see Calipari smiling like a proud papa. I'll have my barf bag ready.
You’ve mistaken me for someone that gives a damn ageist Nancy Boy. You clearly have zero idea where the slur comes from.
Like you, you mean? Nobody else that grotesquely stupid, so no, that’s you and your buddies.
So this is what sticks in an utter dumbasses mind? By the way, nobody in all that crap said he sucks but you, tiny. If you weren’t so busy making alts like a coward, you naught be able to read Lowcut/CryChicken/hurtwhiny. Never saw anyone get so butthurt over a kid that never played college ball. Probably was the 10th man in your church league glory days. You steal your NIL out of the offering plate tiny?
their argument would be what? Cal should give scholarships to players and let them decide if they want to play during the season?
Not really, there is a major difference between a "PR nightmare" on Rupp Rafters and then a "PR nightmare" on national sports media. The 2nd one would be way more damaging to the programs future.
When someone comes out and says 'Change my Mind" it would take a idiot to even try as that person already has their mind made up lol.
The next time you criticize Calipari will simultaneously be your first time.
Notice only one idiot laughed at this post?
Here's the issue: Cal came out and said Sharpe was still going to lead us next season, even after his supposed meeting with Shaedon where it became clear SS wasn't going to play.Obviously there's no way to change OP's mind, so the point is moot, but I'm going to take a shot at it.
I always try to put myself in someone else's shoes. So here's my (albeit simplistic) attempt to think like Cal through the various stages of this mess.
(writing this as IF I WAS CAL)
- In recruiting SS, I would have certainly known there was a good chance he might not play, but it was still worth it to recruit and land the #1 player in the class with the chance he'd change his mind. Like it or not, landing the #1 recruit helps future recruiting. No brainer-I've gotta go after him.
- I know there's a chance he won't play for us, but at least he'll practice with the team and help make us stronger. Plus, I get to claim another NBA lottery pick (which helps future recruiting)! The fans will love me for it!
- True, I don't love the fact that I have to deal with Washington, but he's funneled other great players to me in the past, so the orange is worth the squeeze. I'll be able to convince SS to play once he sees how great this team could be with him on the court!
- Who needs SS?
My team is playing great without him mid-season. We look like one of the top teams in the country, and my guys are firing on all cylinders. It's looking like SS may not play, but that's ok. I'm doing what's best for SS's future, and it looks like we may not need him after all!
- Well, crap. The injury bug is threatening to derail things. What the heck am I going to do with all these injuries? I'd love to shut down Ty and Wheeler and even Grady for a couple of weeks each while working SS into the rotation, but Washington says no. The fans are really getting restless about SS staying on the pine, but they'll really crucify me if we don't keep pushing hard for that #1 seed. I'm going to keep working on Washington- maybe I can get him to come around.
- Well, it's official, Washington says SS won't play. That pisses me off- we really need him. Should I kick SS off the team? There would be some nasty media fallout. Plus, like it or not, UK won't get credit for putting him in the NBA. The guys like having him around, and it's really not hurting us to keep him in practice, but the fans are getting really pissed off at this point. Boy, talk about a no-win situation.
If Cal knew the handler shut it down, as you suggested, why did he say the kid was still going to lead us next season?
Plus, NBA scouts said the "handler" was saying Sharpe was going pro in the summer of '22 as early as last Fall. Are we supposed to believe Cal didn't catch win of any of that?
Deeper still, your equation still leaves out Calipari lying to BBN by stating Sharpe would lead us next season. How do you account for all of that in your narrative?
Its simple, Sharpe and his handlers were telling Cal that he was going to be here next season and "lead" the team. Now obviously Cal and every other normal person should have doubt when your told that from a guy in Sharpes situation but he took him and his camp at his word and relayed the message to BBN, thats not Cal lying. And hearing from offhand sources about how Washington is telling scouts he was going into the draft shouldnt weigh over Sharpe and Washington telling Cal to his face that he would be here next season. This is all predicated on the fact that Sharpe and his camp were telling Cal that it was the case which might not have happend, but I believe it is alot more likely than everything else I have read on here.
So, all of those guys Cal sold on coming here under of the premise of "I can't hide you" (embracing the grind, hard word, etc.) will suddenly be turned off by Calipari kicking a guy off the team because that player explicitly rejected all of those same values?
Why would potential recruits be turned off by Cal kicking a guy off the team when that guy implicitly rejects the very values guys like MKG, Fox, Wall, Davis and others fully embraced, the very same values Cal prides himself on?
Let's face reality. Sharpe's actions directly violate everything Calipari has preached. He rejected teamwork, putting his teammates first, servant leadership, "I can't hide you", etc. He rejected all of those values and contradicted Cal's values at every point.
Yet you think it would be bad for recruiting to send a message that it's okay to use the program, overlook the needs of the team and fellow teammates, and take the selfish road?
Look, I'm as frustrated as a lot of other folks with Cal right now. But I think he got himself into a bad position here, and as the whole thing played out, he tried to do what was best for a kid that was also caught in the middle. Of course he wanted SS to play for UK this year, or next year. It just didn't work out that way. Did he intentionally NOT play SS just to spite the fans? Ridiculous. Did he know all along and choose to lie to the fanbase? I seriously doubt it. I think it's MUCH more likely that he hoped he could convince him to play this year, or stay and play next year.
Is it that simple?
A kid - who's projected in the top 7 and fully ready to play by February -- tells you he's sitting out so he can play next season when all of the scouts around you say the opposite?
Is it that simple that Cal, who is more connected to the NBA than anyone on the college level and has dealt with more NBA draft decisions than anyone, would suddenly turn off his otherworldly NBA draft discernment and believe all of that?
1. Cal wanted the kid to play this Spring. He saw he was ready to play.
2. Cal was told that the kid wanted to wait until next season. This is where your logic crumbles. Why would he wait until next season to play if he's already ready this season and already looking at a top 7 draft spot?
What exactly is the logic behind the kid sitting out this spring if he was already ready to play? How exactly would you interpret the February decision not to play if you were in Cal's shoes? Would you really believe that the kid was going to stick around?
None of it makes sense from a Sharpe narrative standpoint, and Cal -- more than any of us -- fully understood this, yet still came out publicly and played the game of "he's going to lead us next season."
No one's buying it.
Every single player on that team wants what SS is about to do. Go pro, and make a ton of money doing it. I don't doubt that eventually they saw through the Washington/SS ruse, and possibly began to resent that he didn't play when they needed him, but I bet dollars to doughnuts that they all understand WHY SS did what he did. If Cal kicked SS off the team mid season, it's possible that the team could have rallied around it, but they were already playing like a #1 seed at that point. Did the whole thing distract the team down the stretch? Maybe so. Could it have been even worse if there was a media storm about yanking a kid's scholly mid season? Also possible. Those of you thinking that SS somehow stole from you personally or from the university itself are looking at the tree right in front of you rather than the forest around it.
I don't think Sharpe stole from me. I think he played our program, and instead of our coach being a man and exemplifying consistency of character by acknowledging the whole thing was a travesty that will never be repeated, Cal has literally doubled down and shielded Sharpe by pretending "the situation changed."
Nothing changed about the situation. Sharpe's stock didn't change. His ability to play didn't change. The only thing that changed was Cal's public narrative.
Do I think Cal wanted the kid to play? Yes. Do I think Cal knew that the kid wouldn't play even after he told BBN he would still lead us "next season?" Yes.
The second part is the major issue for me. Cal is trying to deceive us by stating that this thing changed, when in his heart, he knew the best chance he had at Sharpe playing was this season. When it became unclear that Sharpe wasn't playing this season, Cal doubled down and tried to recruit the kid back to UK publicly with all the "he will lead us next year" talk. It didn't work, and now he should own it.
So while I don't think Sharpe stole from UK, I do think Calipari has intentionally deceived us, and in doing so, once again put our program second to his personal goals.
Pretty good post. I think you've made some good points, and we're closer on this than I'd originally thought. The truth is in there somewhere......and yet it will never come to light.
Carry on, my good man.
Who is holding the gun to your head making you read thus thread? Should we call the SWAT team? Or the A team?
You, saying that others look like fools. That is a good one. Do you even read what you are writing?
There you go with emotional appeals making it personal.
The FACT is that Calipari ABANDONED his vaunted principles and put himself and his pragmatism first before the University's interests. This is turning into a full blown scandal despite his defenders' best attempts at damage control. He should be fired for that, and may be fired for cause, voiding his buyout due to lack of institutional control. God forbid the NCAA decides to take a close look at those falsified graduation documents. Cal has already wrecked two other schools.
