The Elephant in the Room: our NIL donations need to step it up.

[Son_Of_Saul]

We've been punked repeatedly when trying to close on the truly elite guys.

We couldn't pull in Davis, or Lanier, or Wilson, or Osobor. Instead, we keep ending up with good but no great players. Ament is a longshot for the same reason. Pope went after Peterson, but we couldn't match what Adidas was offering him to go to Kansas.

This next Spring will tell me everything I need to know about how Pope's tenure is going to go here. Fan interest is at a fever pitch. The NIL is as high as it ever will be. Can Pope manage to bring in a superior haul, or will we get outflanked and outbid?

If we want to win at an elite level, the NIL budget needs to be top 3 in the nation. It was embarrassing getting outbid by Carolina for Wilson, just like it was embarrassing getting outbid by Tennessee for Lanier.

That kind of inferior positioning needs to end this Spring. If we can't spend big, we won't win big.

 

[LmdCat]

Some of these goofy goobers expect Pope to make bricks without straw.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Some of these goofy goobers expect Pope to make brick without straw.

Yeah, and a bunch of them like to sound morally superior by suggesting that they will never donate to NIL so long as their is cancer research to be funded or children's hospitals to contribute to.

If that's how folks feel, fine. But then they shouldn't complain when UK gets left in the mass grave of the first weekend tourney victims for the foreseeable future.

 

[W1LDCAT22]

We've been punked repeatedly when trying to close on the truly elite guys.

We couldn't pull in Davis, or Lanier, or Wilson, or Osobor. Instead, we keep ending up with good but no great players. Ament is a longshot for the same reason. Pope went after Peterson, but we couldn't match what Adidas was offering him to go to Kansas.

This next Spring will tell me everything I need to know about how Pope's tenure is going to go here. Fan interest is at a fever pitch. The NIL is as high as it ever will be. Can Pope manage to bring in a superior haul, or will we get outflanked and outbid?

If we want to win at an elite level, the NIL budget needs to be top 3 in the nation. It was embarrassing getting outbid by Carolina for Wilson, just like it was embarrassing getting outbid by Tennessee for Lanier.

That kind of inferior positioning needs to end this Spring. If we can't spend big, we won't win big.

But, I thought they said that NIL money was flying in when Pope came aboard? There were numerous reports regarding how much more funds we were reeling in than we were getting with Calipari at the helm.

We are Kentucky, and there should be zero excuses when it comes to getting the elite recruits.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

But, I thought they said that NIL money was flying in when Pope came aboard? There were numerous reports regarding how much more funds we were reeling in than we were getting with Calipari at the helm.

We are Kentucky, and there should be zero excuses when it comes to getting the elite recruits.

Mitch claimed we had $4 million in commitments within the first month, but he never specified if that was annually or represented a total commitment over a period of time.

Up until this point, we've been ran through by the likes of Tennessee, UNC, and Arkansas when it comes to competing for the biggest targets.

I mean, Duke already has commitments from multiple top 10 guys and they're still leading for Ament? They're clearly outspending us as well.

 

[LmdCat]

But, I thought they said that NIL money was flying in when Pope came aboard? There were numerous reports regarding how much more funds we were reeling in than we were getting with Calipari at the helm.

We are Kentucky, and there should be zero excuses when it comes to getting the elite recruits.

There should be no excuses for not getting players. If they don't want to come because someone is offering them more money, maybe Pope can kidnap them. That will get the job done.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

I'm just not sure KY has as many big time donors that some of the other schools have.

 

[AJG-15]

Hmmm … so our NIl got us Amari , was not he better than anything Arkansas money bought for the 5 position?

Our NIL, also bought the best 3 point shooter in college basketball …. Too bad Pope left him on the bench so he can play Chandler.

You are not going to be able to buy all the best players. We are not the Yankees. We need to use what we have properly and give Pope time to build the program and learn from his mistakes.

 

[NoDef]

We are reportedly Top 4 in NIL money. If you have a problem with quality of players you probably need to look at the top and not lack or money.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

I'm just not sure KY has as many big time donors that some of the other schools have.

But we've got about 2 to 4 million adult income-gathering fans who care enough to donate something but choose not to.

Reminds me of the people who never tithe but sit their lazy butts in a church pew for 20 years and criticize the minister's delivery style.

 

[Mike-D]

This roster was fine, but you needed a bonified lottery pick sprinkled in, in order to make it elite. We probably still lose this game tonight with that player, but we also win 2 or 3 other close games we lost. I'm still kinda in the middle on Pope. We've had some really good wins, and some really bad losses. This one and Ohio State really stick out. We didn't compete.

 

[catfan220]

We've been punked repeatedly when trying to close on the truly elite guys.

We couldn't pull in Davis, or Lanier, or Wilson, or Osobor. Instead, we keep ending up with good but no great players. Ament is a longshot for the same reason. Pope went after Peterson, but we couldn't match what Adidas was offering him to go to Kansas.

This next Spring will tell me everything I need to know about how Pope's tenure is going to go here. Fan interest is at a fever pitch. The NIL is as high as it ever will be. Can Pope manage to bring in a superior haul, or will we get outflanked and outbid?

If we want to win at an elite level, the NIL budget needs to be top 3 in the nation. It was embarrassing getting outbid by Carolina for Wilson, just like it was embarrassing getting outbid by Tennessee for Lanier.

That kind of inferior positioning needs to end this Spring. If we can't spend big, we won't win big.

I won't pretend to understand how the new revenue sharing model works, but Matt Jones has said that most schools are planning to follow essentially the same split between football/basketball/everything else, but UK plans to give basketball slightly more. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I say give the basketball team like 30% of the budget, give them twice what anyone else in the sport has and try to win 5 titles in the next 10 years. You're telling me we don't get a better return on investment from that than we do going 3-5 in SEC football and making the poop bowl most years?

 

[bnewt]

Mitch claimed we had $4 million in commitments within the first month, but he never specified if that was annually or represented a total commitment over a period of time.

Up until this point, we've been ran through by the likes of Tennessee, UNC, and Arkansas when it comes to competing for the biggest targets.

I mean, Duke already has commitments from multiple top 10 guys and they're still leading for Ament? They're clearly outspending us as well.

Wish we knew if this was true or not. Nil will hurt uk. Just not enough money in the state. I would say ul will have more funds than uk. Does anything from ticket sales or concessions go to nil? Not sure how uk can compete in this free agency market

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

I won't pretend to understand how the new revenue sharing model works, but Matt Jones has said that most schools are planning to follow essentially the same split between football/basketball/everything else, but UK plans to give basketball slightly more. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I say give the basketball team like 30% of the budget, give them twice what anyone else in the sport has and try to win 5 titles in the next 10 years. You're telling me we don't get a better return on investment from that than we do going 3-5 in SEC football and making the poop bowl most years?

I agree with you. I give to the UK NIL, and they said it was allocated for the basketball team. If they start splitting my donations with the football team, I will stop giving.

I don't give a dog hair's worth of interest about the football NIL situation.

Give 90% to the basketball program, and let the football team go 2-11 for all I care.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Pony up biatches!!!

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Wish we knew if this was true or not. Nil will hurt uk. Just not enough money in the state. I would say ul will have more funds than uk. Does anything from ticket sales or concessions go to nil? Not sure how uk can compete in this free agency market

I'm not buying it. This is the same UK program that offered Hurley $12.5 million/year but ended up paying Pope $5 million/year.

Where did that extra $7.5 million go?

It's a myth that the major media areas will outspend places like Kansas and Kentucky. No one cares about getting players to St. John's, DePaul, or Boston College and they never will.

 

[Woodrow_Call_1998]

I'm not buying it. This is the same UK program that offered Hurley $12.5 million/year but ended up paying Pope $5 million/year.

Where did that extra $7.5 million go?

It's a myth that the major media areas will outspend places like Kansas and Kentucky. No one cares about getting players to St. John's, DePaul, or Boston College and they never will.

If Pope doesn’t like zone defenses, he’s going to definitely have to recruit some of the elite athletes we were used to getting with Calipari. Dang I’m still so mad that our strategy tonight was to play man to man against them the whole game.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

If Pope doesn’t like zone defenses, he’s going to definitely have to recruit some of the elite athletes we were used to getting with Calipari. Dang I’m still so mad that our strategy tonight was to play man to man against them the whole game.

I don't think Pope zoned one time, did he?

 

[bnewt]

I won't pretend to understand how the new revenue sharing model works, but Matt Jones has said that most schools are planning to follow essentially the same split between football/basketball/everything else, but UK plans to give basketball slightly more. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I say give the basketball team like 30% of the budget, give them twice what anyone else in the sport has and try to win 5 titles in the next 10 years. You're telling me we don't get a better return on investment from that than we do going 3-5 in SEC football and making the poop bowl most years?

Have to agree, uk will never be more than middle of the pack in football at best. Basketball gives them much more exposure and chance of winning

 

[DSGTCAT28]

Hmmm … so our NIl got us Amari , was not he better than anything Arkansas money bought for the 5 position?

Our NIL, also bought the best 3 point shooter in college basketball …. Too bad Pope left him on the bench so he can play Chandler.

You are not going to be able to buy all the best players. We are not the Yankees. We need to use what we have properly and give Pope time to build the program and learn from his mistakes.

Dodgers have surpassed the Yankees most recently im regards to spending.

 

[catfan220]

We are reportedly Top 4 in NIL money. If you have a problem with quality of players you probably need to look at the top and not lack or money.

If by top you mean Barnhart, I agree. Kudos to him for the Pope hire but it's time to pass the torch to someone younger who will innovate and embrace NIL like he's unwilling to do.

 

[Woodrow_Call_1998]

I don't think Pope zoned one time, did he?

No I don’t think so. I had to quit reading the posts claiming a zone wouldn’t have helped. We played right into Calipari’s hands tonight. Of course a team is going to shoot the ball better when they beat you off the dribble constantly and are scoring like crazy on drives because we’re leaving guys open when the d collapses….we aren’t even in the ball park of their team athletically. SMH

 

[bnewt]

I'm not buying it. This is the same UK program that offered Hurley $12.5 million/year but ended up paying Pope $5 million/year.

Where did that extra $7.5 million go?

It's a myth that the major media areas will outspend places like Kansas and Kentucky. No one cares about getting players to St. John's, DePaul, or Boston College and they never will.

Where did the extra 7.5 million come from? Since it wasn't used, throw it in the pot and use it for next year.

 

[bnewt]

If by top you mean Barnhart, I agree. Kudos to him for the Pope hire but it's time to pass the torch to someone younger who will innovate and embrace NIL like he's unwilling to do.

Doesn't uk have someone specifically for nil fund raising?

 

[W1LDCAT22]

Hmmm … so our NIl got us Amari , was not he better than anything Arkansas money bought for the 5 position?

Our NIL, also bought the best 3 point shooter in college basketball …. Too bad Pope left him on the bench so he can play Chandler.

You are not going to be able to buy all the best players. We are not the Yankees. We need to use what we have properly and give Pope time to build the program and learn from his mistakes.

It's a shame that Duke is the Yankees, though.

 

[Terrapin_Station]

We've been punked repeatedly when trying to close on the truly elite guys.

We couldn't pull in Davis, or Lanier, or Wilson, or Osobor. Instead, we keep ending up with good but no great players. Ament is a longshot for the same reason. Pope went after Peterson, but we couldn't match what Adidas was offering him to go to Kansas.

This next Spring will tell me everything I need to know about how Pope's tenure is going to go here. Fan interest is at a fever pitch. The NIL is as high as it ever will be. Can Pope manage to bring in a superior haul, or will we get outflanked and outbid?

If we want to win at an elite level, the NIL budget needs to be top 3 in the nation. It was embarrassing getting outbid by Carolina for Wilson, just like it was embarrassing getting outbid by Tennessee for Lanier.

That kind of inferior positioning needs to end this Spring. If we can't spend big, we won't win big.

Oweh
Johnson
Lewis
Moreno
Garrison
Chandler
Perry
Noah

We will possibly be worse next year. Have to find an elite shooter and a guy who can score at all three levels.

 

[Thecycle27]

I think they put together a really good roster but injuries have killed them. That is the thing about NIL injuries can derail a 20 million budget.

 

[TankedCat]

At the moment I don't think we have an issue with NIL.

If you look at UNC, they broke the bank to get Wilson, and unless he is the next Anthony Davis spending the money in the portal is a better option than having a freshmen who is marking the calendar until he leaves.

 

[kywildcat41035]

I don't think Pope zoned one time, did he?

He switched to zone one time late in the game and Wagner got a layup.

 

[Woodrow_Call_1998]

He switched to zone one time late in the game and Wagner got a layup.

Yep you’re right. I forgot about that

 

[kywildcat41035]

Yep you’re right. I forgot about that

Point still being you zone a Cal coached team plain and simple for more than one possession.

 

[TankedCat]

I'm also not a fan of the idea that UK return to being mercenary U

I thought that's what we got rid of with the last coach.

It remains to be seen if it will work or not, but I like the idea of players coming to UK because they played their way here proving themselves on a different team. Yes, NIL is part of getting them but at least playing for Kentucky means something to them, they don't come in thinking they are entitled to it because of what they did in AAU ball.

 

[Thecycle27]

Here is the reality and what makes what UConn has done amazing everyone has enough NIL to pull in players. It may on be one or two instead of 10-12 but that had a trickle down effect. UNC throws money at Wilson. BYU throws money at the 1 player. Louisville lands Brown. The pooling of players in the high school ranks is less likely.

Kentucky for the longest time cornered the market in a conference that didn’t care about basketball. They landed whomever they wanted. Those days are gone. You name a team in the SEC they all kept keys players and add good players. They all are throwing resources toward basketball.

The tournament is going to wild like usual. Not sure seeding will matter moving forward.

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

I agree with you. I give to the UK NIL, and they said it was allocated for the basketball team. If they start splitting my donations with the football team, I will stop giving.

I don't give a dog hair's worth of interest about the football NIL situation.

Give 90% to the basketball program, and let the football team go 2-11 for all I care.

I'm glad you're not the AD.

 

[Terrapin_Station]

I'm glad you're not the AD.

He’s right tho. What exactly do you think the football team is ever going to accomplish?

 

[Aike]

This team looked pretty good when fully healthy.

A little more money for a slight upgrade or 2? I’ll buy that. But we actually just went into Knoxville short-handed and beat Lanier’s teams.

Nelly Davis has been hot trash for most of the season, whatever they are paying him.

No, I think we mostly just need to be healthy and let Pope implement his system. See where that takes us. I’m looking forward to the prospect of guys like Perry/Noah with multiple years in this system. I’m looking forward to watching Acaden Lewis work.

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

He’s right tho. What exactly do you think the football team is ever going to accomplish?

I don't know, but I want them to improve. Football is the king of college sports, and we need to feed the bulldog to compete.

We've shown we can compete

 

[blubo]

We are reportedly Top 4 in NIL money. If you have a problem with quality of players you probably need to look at the top and not lack or money.

not saying you’re wrong but is there someplace that ranks programs according to their nil?

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Oweh
Johnson
Lewis
Moreno
Garrison
Chandler
Perry
Noah

We will possibly be worse next year. Have to find an elite shooter and a guy who can score at all three levels.

We get 15 scholarships next year, and I'm hoping we use 14 of them on legitimate division one players. That means some guys like Perry and Chandler might end up being 12th or 13th in the rotation, and as of right now, I'd be okay with that. They're not physically ready to compete at this level (yet), but they will be.

 

[LmdCat]

I'm just not sure KY has as many big time donors that some of the other schools have.

I guess now that paying players is legal, they have lost interest.