ADVERTISEMENT

The Crafts are back onboard

All y'all so proud and thankful Calipari blocked Oscar from helping the Craft Gov campaign should have the integrity to help pay him the $10-$15M generational wealth he lost out on

First & foremost Cal

The stories aren't hidden, he was a jealous bastard who hated seeing big $$$ advertisers start to prefer Stoops when he began winning. And he got REALLY pissed when NIL ment players would get cash that might have gone to him.
Why would Oscar get $10-15 million? To help with her campaign?
 
  • Like
Reactions: shakestheclown564
This is huge with them being back on board…. Yep good old Morg was right and if Cal would’ve stayed another season no telling what that would’ve lead too….
 
  • Like
Reactions: Woodrow_Call_1998
Imagine how bad the team would have looked replacing Welch with Brad if he had stayed
$hit would’ve really hit the fan …. I still feel like I’m living a dream with Cal being gone though because I honestly didn’t think there was a team that would take him off of our hands. That 33 million dollars was a big pill to swallow. Then on Sun April 6th it’s like UK fans hit the lottery jackpot! Arkansas did us all a huge favor. We should actually send them a big Thank You card and sign it…


Thank You So Very Much,
Big Blue Nation
 
I wonder how many boosters dropped off after the kneeling episode. I personally know several people who were lifelong UK fans that swore they never would watch another UK game until that SOB was gone after the kneeling.
It was a real issue that didn't sit right with a portion of the fans. I didn't like it but I tried to move past given the political climate. Pope won't have it while he's here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tomrain and ukdaven
If you’d rather move on, why say that you hope it comes out? If you know something, say it, otherwise quit acting like you have some secret info to make yourself feel special.
Do you want to spend the next few years talking about it? A decade or two?
I'd rather just hear the facts than a long, drawn-out tease.
 
Last edited:
I have no doubt that Pope can coach. I worried about recruiting and getting good players to come to UK. The more I read about what he was up against as far as the "no sex, no alcohol, etc" clause they had to agree to and still was able to put competitive teams on the court consistently, plus the big money donors that are only going to help us get great players, the more I'm ready to back our new coach.

It’s what I keep saying but some just don’t get it. Pope had a top 25 program at BYU. This is Kentucky without restriction and he’s got the money and the better offense to throw around. His personality is gold for these young guys too.

He can sell all of that against Calipari. “You can play there but I actually played in the NBA he didn’t and his offensive system is really outdated”.

Something like that. I don’t think this is going to go how a lot of people think. Calipari has one selling point and honestly it doesn’t translate much today. Every coach will allow you to go to the NBA when you’re ready.

Calipari also doesn’t have the power program anymore and that matters too. I think his classes at Arkansas will be 5-15 range full of kids that have no skills but jump high. He’s not going toe to toe with Duke anymore. There’s no way. It’s Arkansas. And I think the look he had at his presser shows that’s something he’s aware of too.

Top 10 freshman- Come be a pig in Arkansas or play at Duke / UNC? Yea you go Cal!!!!! He knows Duke will have his precious “majority NBA players house” tag by year 2. I think they were only 3 or 4 behind us when he left.

And I hope pope builds more like Kansas I don’t even want a lot of those “projected” types. Can’t do anything with’m
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ky_Bred_Cat
I wish our economy was more diversified.

We need more sources available to tap and a broader opportunity base for our citizens in general.

I think we will have to eventually win via crowd sourcing in addition to the big donors to really stay on top and we are a fairly poor state.
That and/or find ways to stress the Nation in our Big Blue and get streams coming in from all over.
 
I'm not defending Cal on a large level. He was a stubborn ass and probably pushed a lot of people away. But in this specific instance he made the right decision.
Agree he made the right decision on this one. (And I’m a republican.)
 
If I were Barnhart, I would announce plans for a new or renovated practice facility at the same presser to introduce Mark Pope as the new coach. I mean, why not?
It’d seem like you should be able to renovate / modernize the current practice facility , even if you have to pull a memorial coliseum and gut it almost completely and rebuild it . It’s also in a prime spot .
 
I wish our economy was more diversified.

We need more sources available to tap and a broader opportunity base for our citizens in general.

I think we will have to eventually win via crowd sourcing in addition to the big donors to really stay on top and we are a fairly poor state.
That and/or find ways to stress the Nation in our Big Blue and get streams coming in from all over.
I think UK and most universities do a very poor job of fund raising. If 2 million UK fans gave $10 a month that is 240 mil a year. $5 a month still nets 120 mil. There should be marketing campaigns that encourage and show the fans what is possible. Creat a Video shwing what a renovated state of the art 85,000 seat Kroger field would look like. Show the fans what a state of the art basketball facility/dorm would look like.
 
It sucks balls that these Republican fks are our best donors.
I don't blame you for not wanting to deal with them Coach Cal. I wouldn't want one penny of their sorry ass money for my program either.
I'm a lefty and I think this post is just terrible. I call out right wingers when they try to inject politics into basketball discussions and I don't want to be a hypocrite so I feel I must call out my own side when they do it. It's inappropriate to try to turn our basketball discussions into a political board no matter which side you claim.
 
Cal wanted an entirely new practice center which would have presumably had a new name. On the other hand, Barnhart wanted to put the money into renovating the current practice center, which happens to be called the Craft Center. This was their most public dispute.
You have to give it to Cal... he had MILLIONS donated from the NBA guys to build the thing.. oh.. wait.. I mean some money right?
 
It sucks balls that these Republican fks are our best donors.
I don't blame you for not wanting to deal with them Coach Cal. I wouldn't want one penny of their sorry ass money for my program either.
The idea the Crafts were perturbed because some political agenda wasn’t fulfilled is speculation and most likely false. There’s never been any sort of hint of outward political bias or opinions in the program , or from donors . In fact , kneeling for the anthem ….which is ‘lefty’ , if you had to classify it ….is the only outward display I can remember ..ever, and that was a trend at that time in athletics . If Cal nixed the Oscar NIL offer with Craft , he would’ve done the same if Beshear would’ve asked . It’s best to stay out of that arena .
 
Oh man that is telling... Crafts and Boosters must of hated Cal.

LETS GO!
Yeah, I didn't realize it was really as bad as it apparently was. They should have told us how bad things had become. It would have swayed me earlier. Oh well. I'm glad they're all back on board. That makes a HUGE difference for Pope. We need all hands on deck and a team effort. 😀
 
It sucks balls that these Republican fks are our best donors.
I don't blame you for not wanting to deal with them Coach Cal. I wouldn't want one penny of their sorry ass money for my program either.
At least they aren't progressives. How could the team deal with the constant pressure of story hours, transitioning classes, and daily training classes on KY oppression because of its winning record?
 
I'm not defending Cal on a large level. He was a stubborn ass and probably pushed a lot of people away. But in this specific instance he made the right decision.
I would need to know more about this situation. I read they were offering him 15 million to do it and Cal intervened and stopped it. Generally speaking the Crafts have always respected the players and the program so I find it a bit suspect about this story considering there are other money discrepancies under Cal.
 
It’s what I keep saying but some just don’t get it. Pope had a top 25 program at BYU. This is Kentucky without restriction and he’s got the money and the better offense to throw around. His personality is gold for these young guys too.

He can sell all of that against Calipari. “You can play there but I actually played in the NBA he didn’t and his offensive system is really outdated”.

Something like that. I don’t think this is going to go how a lot of people think. Calipari has one selling point and honestly it doesn’t translate much today. Every coach will allow you to go to the NBA when you’re ready.

Calipari also doesn’t have the power program anymore and that matters too. I think his classes at Arkansas will be 5-15 range full of kids that have no skills but jump high. He’s not going toe to toe with Duke anymore. There’s no way. It’s Arkansas. And I think the look he had at his presser shows that’s something he’s aware of too.

Top 10 freshman- Come be a pig in Arkansas or play at Duke / UNC? Yea you go Cal!!!!! He knows Duke will have his precious “majority NBA players house” tag by year 2. I think they were only 3 or 4 behind us when he left.

And I hope pope builds more like Kansas I don’t even want a lot of those “projected” types. Can’t do anything with’m
I get your point. But Duke isn’t the Duke of past without K being there.

I feel like Cal is going to circle UK every year he can on the schedule and make it a life mission to embarrass us. I am sure his pride took a hit and so will his pocket book. His recruiting will fall off if UK keeps winning and he shows the same 1 game and out tourney appearances.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kywildcat41086
It’s what I keep saying but some just don’t get it. Pope had a top 25 program at BYU. This is Kentucky without restriction and he’s got the money and the better offense to throw around. His personality is gold for these young guys too.

He can sell all of that against Calipari. “You can play there but I actually played in the NBA he didn’t and his offensive system is really outdated”.

Something like that. I don’t think this is going to go how a lot of people think. Calipari has one selling point and honestly it doesn’t translate much today. Every coach will allow you to go to the NBA when you’re ready.

Calipari also doesn’t have the power program anymore and that matters too. I think his classes at Arkansas will be 5-15 range full of kids that have no skills but jump high. He’s not going toe to toe with Duke anymore. There’s no way. It’s Arkansas. And I think the look he had at his presser shows that’s something he’s aware of too.

Top 10 freshman- Come be a pig in Arkansas or play at Duke / UNC? Yea you go Cal!!!!! He knows Duke will have his precious “majority NBA players house” tag by year 2. I think they were only 3 or 4 behind us when he left.

And I hope pope builds more like Kansas I don’t even want a lot of those “projected” types. Can’t do anything with’m
The roster construction at KU and UNC seems to be favorable. Target a couple talented freshmen who fit your needs and style of play. The rest should be returning players gaining skill and experience sprinkled together with recruiting the transfer portal to potentially upgrade positions.
 
They are millionaires living in KY. It's not THAT hard to get a retro jersey. I have a McCarty denim jersey in my closet.
I do too but we have that because I assume like me, you got it in 1996, that’s not the Pope jersey they sold back then so she had that made.
 
I am not sure the Crafts are ever far away from the athletic program. The wife even hit cal up to endorse her for governor, from what I have heard. Why would Cal say that he loved the governor of Kentucky during his Arkansas introduction? It was a straight shot back at the Crafts. Since he wouldn't endorse her, from what I heard, war was declared. May be inaccurate but I think we all have somewhat of a similar recollection of that time period.
 
I would need to know more about this situation. I read they were offering him 15 million to do it and Cal intervened and stopped it. Generally speaking the Crafts have always respected the players and the program so I find it a bit suspect about this story considering there are other money discrepancies under Cal.
I dont know how true that is because Oscar couldn't earn NIL within the country due to him being on a student visa anyway.
 
I'm a lefty and I think this post is just terrible. I call out right wingers when they try to inject politics into basketball discussions and I don't want to be a hypocrite so I feel I must call out my own side when they do it. It's inappropriate to try to turn our basketball discussions into a political board no matter which side you claim.
Normally I would agree with you, but doesn't it seem relevant given the discussion is regarding our biggest booster trying to get Oscar to do a paid advertisement for his wife's political campaign?
 
Normally I would agree with you, but doesn't it seem relevant given the discussion is regarding our biggest booster trying to get Oscar to do a paid advertisement for his wife's political campaign?
It's appropriate to call that wrong but it's not, imo, appropriate for me to call all to the right of me evil and bad people and it's not okay for the opposite either. Of course I don't even consider that guy as somebody on my side anyway, just seems like a crap stirring troll to me.
 
Why would Oscar get $10-15 million? To help with her campaign?
Allegedly....she wanted Oscar to appear in some campaign ads. IDK what the payment would have been. But Cal stopped it and Oscar lost out on the money. All things NIL went through Cal.
That may or may not be a bad thing.
 
It sucks balls that these Republican fks are our best donors.
I don't blame you for not wanting to deal with them Coach Cal. I wouldn't want one penny of their sorry ass money for my program either.
ignore you go
 
I wonder how many boosters dropped off after the kneeling episode. I personally know several people who were lifelong UK fans that swore they never would watch another UK game until that SOB was gone after the kneeling.
I highly doubt that is the sole reason for the drop off in support from boosters. College kids protesting social issues is par for the course....not a reason to cut ties with the program.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ukfan1622
The Crafts pulled their money when Cal wouldn't let Oscar Tshiebwe appear in a campaign spot for her failed gubernatorial campaign against Daniel Cameron.

They have too much influence.

Politics does not need to be involved in everything, it's already bad enough.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sambowieshin
Oh man that is telling... Crafts and Boosters must of hated Cal.

LETS GO!
If that's the case of the Crafts, boosters and fans hating on someone? Then they are going to need Cal! Why? Because you hate someone you may see everyday...and Love someone you never seen! In other words: If your planning to go to Heaven...then by hating,? you will be very disappointed! No judgement here! It's just the fact! And oh,I Love you!
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT