http://usatodayhss.com/2017/all-acc...sketball-recruiting-roundtable#undefined.uxfs
His dad clearly loves Kentucky, but the family wasn't impressed with UK's dorms. Bizarre. He's not coming to UK but it was nice to see them talk about Kentucky, both the pros and cons.
They eventually eliminate UK (although the Cats haven't recruited Young since Green committed) and Young is down to Kansas, OU and OSU. Kansas will likely be the pick.
Nice article from Jason Jordan.
Kentucky
As soon as Ray says, “Alright, let’s talk about Kentucky,” Trae and Candice burst into laughter.
“What?” Ray says with a cunning grin. “Hey, I like Kentucky.”
“Oh, yeah, you’ll probably need another page for all these pros you’re about to list,” Trae says while laughing.
“Well, you already know how I feel,” Ray says. “If it was up to me this would be my pick. Coach (John) Cal, man! Coach Cal!”
Ray talks in-depth about the importance of playing the percentages when the goal is making it to the NBA. Since he took over in Lexington in 2009, Calipari has sent 28 players to the NBA.
Still, Candice is quick to point out that the knock there is the one-and-done players he gets credit for “would be one-and-done players wherever they went.”
“The track record is second to none to me,” Ray says. “Then you’ve got K.P. (Kenny Payne), we really liked him. Honestly, the best thing about that visit was seeing Coach Cal outside of the basketball arena and spending time with he and his wife. I love how Kentucky prepares you to be a pro because that’s all it is in Lexington – Kentucky basketball.”
“I really like Coach Cal and K.P. and their workouts were crazy,” Trae says. “I definitely like that I was the first point guard that they were on. They made me a priority. That was big, especially with it being Kentucky.”
When the conversation turns to cons, Ray peers over at Candice, smiles, and then motions for her to reel off her list.
“Keep it real,” he says. “I know you’ve got ‘em.”
“I’ve actually got more pros,” she says matter of factly. “But the housing… They’ve got the worst dorms out of all the schools.”
“Yeah they did,” Trae says with a laugh. “But to Coach Cal’s point, you don’t pick a school based on the housing.”
“Yeah, but you’ve gotta live there for nine months,” Candice replies. “I mean come on now it was one room, the sink was in the bedroom; definitely traditional old school dorm room.”
“Yeah, the rooms couldn’t compete with Kansas, Oklahoma State and those other schools,” Trae says. “It’s not up to date.”
Trae Young’s dad, Ray (left), tries to sell Young, (center) and his wife, Candice (right), on the Wildcats. (Photo: Alonzo Adams/USA Today Sports Images)
“That’s why you’re gonna be in the gym!” Ray says.
“Well, it forces you to,” Trae says. “The other con is that, going there, if you’re not a one-and-done you’re looked at differently. Like you weren’t built for Kentucky or something like that. I didn’t like that.”
Ray conceded that point.
He said to be successful in the NBA it’s more about going when you’re ready and less about being one-and-done.
“I think you can go there and get drafted, no doubt,” Ray says. “But it’s not about that. Look at Tyler Ulis, I love him and he got drafted, which is great, but is he gonna use his whole rookie contract on the bench? You want to be a top 15 guy playing right away or do you want to be a career backup?”
Ray is unabashed in his lean toward college basketball’s famed “blue blood” schools – Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas – but makes a strong point about where those schools’ point guards stand when it comes to the NBA’s top 10.
“Only two of the top 10 are from blue bloods,” he says. “Think about what Chris Paul told you. He could’ve went to a blue blood, but he went to Wake Forest, stayed two years and look at his career. See, when you talk Kentucky, you’ve gotta dig deeper. That said, I love Kentucky.”
His dad clearly loves Kentucky, but the family wasn't impressed with UK's dorms. Bizarre. He's not coming to UK but it was nice to see them talk about Kentucky, both the pros and cons.
They eventually eliminate UK (although the Cats haven't recruited Young since Green committed) and Young is down to Kansas, OU and OSU. Kansas will likely be the pick.
Nice article from Jason Jordan.
Kentucky
As soon as Ray says, “Alright, let’s talk about Kentucky,” Trae and Candice burst into laughter.
“What?” Ray says with a cunning grin. “Hey, I like Kentucky.”
“Oh, yeah, you’ll probably need another page for all these pros you’re about to list,” Trae says while laughing.
“Well, you already know how I feel,” Ray says. “If it was up to me this would be my pick. Coach (John) Cal, man! Coach Cal!”
Ray talks in-depth about the importance of playing the percentages when the goal is making it to the NBA. Since he took over in Lexington in 2009, Calipari has sent 28 players to the NBA.
Still, Candice is quick to point out that the knock there is the one-and-done players he gets credit for “would be one-and-done players wherever they went.”
“The track record is second to none to me,” Ray says. “Then you’ve got K.P. (Kenny Payne), we really liked him. Honestly, the best thing about that visit was seeing Coach Cal outside of the basketball arena and spending time with he and his wife. I love how Kentucky prepares you to be a pro because that’s all it is in Lexington – Kentucky basketball.”
“I really like Coach Cal and K.P. and their workouts were crazy,” Trae says. “I definitely like that I was the first point guard that they were on. They made me a priority. That was big, especially with it being Kentucky.”
When the conversation turns to cons, Ray peers over at Candice, smiles, and then motions for her to reel off her list.
“Keep it real,” he says. “I know you’ve got ‘em.”
“I’ve actually got more pros,” she says matter of factly. “But the housing… They’ve got the worst dorms out of all the schools.”
“Yeah they did,” Trae says with a laugh. “But to Coach Cal’s point, you don’t pick a school based on the housing.”
“Yeah, but you’ve gotta live there for nine months,” Candice replies. “I mean come on now it was one room, the sink was in the bedroom; definitely traditional old school dorm room.”
“Yeah, the rooms couldn’t compete with Kansas, Oklahoma State and those other schools,” Trae says. “It’s not up to date.”
Trae Young’s dad, Ray (left), tries to sell Young, (center) and his wife, Candice (right), on the Wildcats. (Photo: Alonzo Adams/USA Today Sports Images)
“That’s why you’re gonna be in the gym!” Ray says.
“Well, it forces you to,” Trae says. “The other con is that, going there, if you’re not a one-and-done you’re looked at differently. Like you weren’t built for Kentucky or something like that. I didn’t like that.”
Ray conceded that point.
He said to be successful in the NBA it’s more about going when you’re ready and less about being one-and-done.
“I think you can go there and get drafted, no doubt,” Ray says. “But it’s not about that. Look at Tyler Ulis, I love him and he got drafted, which is great, but is he gonna use his whole rookie contract on the bench? You want to be a top 15 guy playing right away or do you want to be a career backup?”
Ray is unabashed in his lean toward college basketball’s famed “blue blood” schools – Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas – but makes a strong point about where those schools’ point guards stand when it comes to the NBA’s top 10.
“Only two of the top 10 are from blue bloods,” he says. “Think about what Chris Paul told you. He could’ve went to a blue blood, but he went to Wake Forest, stayed two years and look at his career. See, when you talk Kentucky, you’ve gotta dig deeper. That said, I love Kentucky.”
