UK basketball is in worse shape today, than it was in 1989 when we were placed on probation.

[TopCatCal]

In 1989 after we were put on probation UK hired a great young coach in Rick Pitino. We all could see the light at the end of the tunnel. We had reason for hope. Compare that to today. Here we are in early June and as of now we've got a 7 man roster for next season. And as bad as things have been around here for the last 3 or 4 years, there is no reason to think that things are going to get any better. I hate to say this. But I expect things to get even worse. If things doesn't change fast I'm afraid that the upcoming season that we are looking at our 2nd losing season in the last 4 years. The only remedy for this are 15,000 empty seats in Rupp Arena. Nothing fires coaches like empty seats.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

You are out of your mind.
#1 recruiting class says hello
Back away from the Bong and your Mom’s computer-you are in timeout.

 

[kydmb99]

I wouldn’t feel nearly as pessimistic if the man who is overseeing this disaster wasn’t given an insane contract that basically gives him free reign to destroy the program without consequence. Mitch is as much to blame as Cal

 

[Rockfly78]

Not true. Major hyperbole. I’m not taking up for cal at all. But come on

 

[SemperFiCat]

Ask IU what happens to your program when you've put an ineffective coach ahead of the program. At least Knight wanted to win for Indiana and Hoosier fans. I lived through it happening here in Indy. There are similarities in fan behavior. I saw IU fans become TT fans because of their love of Knight. Don't be surprised if you see a few UK fans defect to Cal's next school.

 

[Sparkaces1]

We prob are gonna have 4 first round picks, I think they are gonna be ok, he will get a couple of grad transfers and they will be top 5 preseason.

 

[gamecockcat]

You are out of your mind.
#1 recruiting class says hello
Back away from the Bong and your Mom’s computer-you are in timeout.

If recent history is any indicator, one or more of this recruiting class will prove to be underwhelming. The shooters will all of a sudden go cold. The elite PG will get burned on defense and find the sledding tough penetrating defenses that are just as athletic as he is. The newcomers will, of course, receive minimal coaching along the way. Don't forget that UK has a target on its back from the zebras more times than not and our recent bad luck with nagging injuries.

IMO, whoever we get to fill out the roster is not going to play many minutes and plenty of games will not play any. So, the 7 we've got right now are it, the way I see it. Thiero and Ugo played, what, a total of 300 mins between the two of them and almost none in SEC and NCAA tourney play. 5 FR who've never played a second of high level CBB are unlikely to lead UK deep in the NCAA tourney.

We'll find out who turns out to be the better prognosticator but your history is to always see UK hoisting a trophy in whichever thread you're replying to. Recent results should have toned down your blue tinted glasses but I guess nothing will.

 

[bowfreak]

 

[bballcat4]

@TopCatCal - You may not be happy, but there’s a lot of hyperbole in your OP.

We just brought in the top rated class and our best class in a long time!

I admit there has been too much drama this summer, but Oscar and Livingston did exactly what was predicted one week after the tournament. There should be NO surprises there.

Reeves is a different story. The bigger story sounds like Cal dropping the ball with NIL.

The Cal haters will not be happy until he leaves and will make negative comments and posts while ignoring some important facts.

The Cal Slurpers ignore problems and pump sunshine while there are some dark clouds overhead. Cal’s handling of transfers and NIL are a PROBLEM.

Here’s reality. Top transfers will not transfer to UK if there’s a 5 * freshman at same position.

Here’s another reality. Cal better realize he needs local boosters and he CANNOT build NIL on national brand alone.

I’m not a Cal hater or slurper.

We have a very good core group of 6. (Thierro is very good glue/plug and play guy for 15-20 mins a game.)

Cal got caught sitting on his backside thinking good transfers would line up out the door to play for him and UK. He needs to hit up former players and get quick infusion of cash into the basketball collective, then go spend it on (Reeves) plus 2 more rotation pieces.)

There ARE some dark clouds forming over the program.

UK basketball program is NOT currently experiencing anything like probation days!

We’ll see what they do in the next 4-5 weeks before going to Canada.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

No one knew pitino would do as well as he did in 1989.

The silver lining is if we hire the right coach things turn around quick here like with pitino and the real calipari this fat clone version murdered.

 

[JonathanW]

The OP must not have been around in 1989 (or not old enough) to remember. This ain't even close to that bad.

You could try to compare it to the BCG days, but I would even say those were worse, but it's a legit argument either way.

 

[Sparkaces1]

No one knew pitino would do as well as he did in 1989.

The silver lining is if we hire the right coach things turn around quick here like with pitino and the real calipari this fat clone version murdered.

Exactly, it is concerning that Cal basically is gonna lose at least 4 of these Freshman next year and again have to build a new team and he has no one signed for next year and he clearly is not doing well in the portal. On the bright side (if he left) the right coach can instantly come in and turn things around in one season so no matter how bad things get, unless you are truly on probation it can basically be turned around instantly.

 

[ukcat27]

just an incompetent original post...

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

We were as close to getting the death penalty as ever.

 

[BigRedMachineBigBlueNation]

Ask IU what happens to your program when you've put an ineffective coach ahead of the program. At least Knight wanted to win for Indiana and Hoosier fans. I lived through it happening here in Indy. There are similarities in fan behavior. I saw IU fans become TT fans because of their love of Knight. Don't be surprised if you see a few UK fans defect to Cal's next school.

They were Cal fans then, never UK fans

 

[ACT ONE]

I tend to agree with the OP. Pitino's first year provided a preview of a fun style of play. Granted it was a .500 record but even then it was fun to watch. Those guy's weren't 5 star players but he coached them up and they played hard.

 

[NavyCat88]

We prob are gonna have 4 first round picks, I think they are gonna be ok, he will get a couple of grad transfers and they will be top 5 preseason.

We will definitely be looking good for next year’s NBA draft. So we’ve got that going for us…which is nice.⛳️🏌️

GBB!

 

[chevyman 50]

I have been a UK fan for many years but never seen a situation where we only have seven players something is very wrong with this program.

 

[docholiday51]

Ask IU what happens to your program when you've put an ineffective coach ahead of the program. At least Knight wanted to win for Indiana and Hoosier fans. I lived through it happening here in Indy. There are similarities in fan behavior. I saw IU fans become TT fans because of their love of Knight. Don't be surprised if you see a few UK fans defect to Cal's next school.

Can't happen soon enough

 

[Steelman100]

In 1989 after we were put on probation UK hired a great young coach in Rick Pitino. We all could see the light at the end of the tunnel. We had reason for hope. Compare that to today. Here we are in early June and as of now we've got a 7 man roster for next season. And as bad as things have been around here for the last 3 or 4 years, there is no reason to think that things are going to get any better. I hate to say this. But I expect things to get even worse. If things doesn't change fast I'm afraid that the upcoming season that we are looking at our 2nd losing season in the last 4 years. The only remedy for this are 15,000 empty seats in Rupp Arena. Nothing fires coaches like empty seats.

You got a short memory. If you remember

 

[bbncal02]

Exactly, it is concerning that Cal basically is gonna lose at least 4 of these Freshman next year and again have to build a new team and he has no one signed for next year and he clearly is not doing well in the portal. On the bright side (if he left) the right coach can instantly come in and turn things around in one season so no matter how bad things get, unless you are truly on probation it can basically be turned around instantly.

Question is, is there a 2009 Cal-like dude out there?

 

[HagginHall1999]

We are not worse off than '89 or even '08. I know this off season is bleak to say the least and I agree we are not meeting expectations...but we are at least recruiting HS at a high level. The program is not an afterthought.

I am ready for Cal tenure to end. That said, he will likely leave it no worse than how he found it (save a couple of records). That is disappointing enough as is.

 

[bbncal02]

They were Cal fans then, never UK fans

This. When. Al leaves I will wish him well. But I will still be right here for my Cats.

 

[kywildcat41035]

How can it get worse than 9-16? Does everyone forget about that? That’s about as low as you can go…. The man is still in charge that’s responsible for that 💩

 

[kywildcat41035]

This. When. Al leaves I will wish him well. But I will still be right here for my Cats.

The rate he keeps going there won’t be too many people wishing him well if he keeps taking the program the way he’s taking it!

 

[HagginHall1999]

They were Cal fans then, never UK fans

I tested my theory on another site....my guess is most people that are still quick to defend Cal are younger fans. If you think about it, a fan who is 25 grew up on '09-'15 Cal (their age's 11-17). Those are some of the most impactful years of youth. Cal also had 4 FF and a Title during that stretch. He re-invigorated UK basketball and made us trendy again. It was/is Top 3 stretches in UK basketball history.

This was the same for me. My ages 11-17 were '92-'98 years. I defended Pitino to an extent, even when he took UL job. It wasn't until I was older than I realized how big of a back stab that was and even now I catch myself defending him.

Pretty sure this is the same for some Cal guys....and I get it because I lived it. I never rooted for Pitino (post UK) but I also have never really hated his guts or anything.

 

[Zissou87]

Question is, is there a 2009 Cal-like dude out there?

No, nor a 1989 Pitino-like dude. Those guys already had solid resumes when they got to UK.

 

[HagginHall1999]

No, nor a 1989 Pitino-like dude. Those guys already had solid resumes when they got to UK.

This is the scary sh*t IMHO.

It is a short short list and questionable who if any would want this pressure cooker. It takes a certain personality and some thick skin. We've even seen Cal crack and that is a guy who went nose to nose with John Cheney (known psycho) and has a huge ego.

Being UK MBB Coach is similar to President of US. You have to know people demand the best, you won't make everyone happy and some people will flat hate you no matter what. It is a lot of pressure and with having to manage NIL, portal, HS recruiting, egos...isn't going to be an easy task. It isn't just fan pressure now.

 

[irishcat1965]

In 1989 after we were put on probation UK hired a great young coach in Rick Pitino. We all could see the light at the end of the tunnel. We had reason for hope. Compare that to today. Here we are in early June and as of now we've got a 7 man roster for next season. And as bad as things have been around here for the last 3 or 4 years, there is no reason to think that things are going to get any better. I hate to say this. But I expect things to get even worse. If things doesn't change fast I'm afraid that the upcoming season that we are looking at our 2nd losing season in the last 4 years. The only remedy for this are 15,000 empty seats in Rupp Arena. Nothing fires coaches like empty seats.

I want Cal gone yesterday but this is ridiculous.

 

[BigRedMachineBigBlueNation]

No, nor a 1989 Pitino-like dude. Those guys already had solid resumes when they got to UK.

Guess we should keep Cal then…

 

[Big10Cat]

I tend to agree with the OP. Pitino's first year provided a preview of a fun style of play. Granted it was a .500 record but even then it was fun to watch. Those guy's weren't 5 star players but he coached them up and they played hard.

They certainly were not 5-star players. But can you imagine the NIL dollars that Pelphry, Feldhaus, Farmer and Woods could have attracted in 92?

 

[katwest]

We were as close to getting the death penalty as ever.

Yea, I remember it well, David Roselle laid down and spread his legs, then left shortly thereafter.

 

[crawfords corner]

Ill take dumbest effing things Ive read all day for $1000, Mayim

 

[LmdCat]

You are out of your mind.
#1 recruiting class says hello
Back away from the Bong and your Mom’s computer-you are in timeout.

The transfer portal has made the number one recruiting class a conversation for losers. If you could get your nose out of Cal's butt long enough to observe what is going on in college basketball, you would realize that the number one recruiting class without enough returning impact players means nothing. Only a true Cal lover continues with the number one recruiting class nonsense.

 

[LmdCat]

Ill take dumbest effing things Ive read all day for $1000, Mayim

Yeah, it is right up there with talking about number one recruiting class.

 

[crawfords corner]

Yeah, it is right up there with talking about number one recruiting class.

Technically, UK did eat first on the recruiting trail. Unfortunately, we didn't eat first with player returns or the transfer portal.

 

[LmdCat]

They certainly were not 5-star players. But can you imagine the NIL dollars that Pelphry, Feldhaus, Farmer and Woods could have attracted in 92?

Those players loved Kentucky and Kentucky loved them. They played with heart and courage which have been missing at UK for a very long time.

 

[kybassfan]

It’s not close. No where near as bad as that. Back then we were cheating scum like Kansas, U6, Auburn, The Filth.we could lose every game now and be better off than then. Better to lose than cheat.

 

[LmdCat]

I tested my theory on another site....my guess is most people that are still quick to defend Cal are younger fans. If you think about it, a fan who is 25 grew up on '09-'15 Cal (their age's 11-17). Those are some of the most impactful years of youth. Cal also had 4 FF and a Title during that stretch. He re-invigorated UK basketball and made us trendy again. It was/is Top 3 stretches in UK basketball history.

This was the same for me. My ages 11-17 were '92-'98 years. I defended Pitino to an extent, even when he took UL job. It wasn't until I was older than I realized how big of a back stab that was and even now I catch myself defending him.

Pretty sure this is the same for some Cal guys....and I get it because I lived it. I never rooted for Pitino (post UK) but I also have never really hated his guts or anything.

You are correct. They are younger fans who know nothing about the days when teams were truly afraid of playing Kentucky.

 

[TheBlueMax]

In 1989 after we were put on probation UK hired a great young coach in Rick Pitino. We all could see the light at the end of the tunnel. We had reason for hope. Compare that to today. Here we are in early June and as of now we've got a 7 man roster for next season. And as bad as things have been around here for the last 3 or 4 years, there is no reason to think that things are going to get any better. I hate to say this. But I expect things to get even worse. If things doesn't change fast I'm afraid that the upcoming season that we are looking at our 2nd losing season in the last 4 years. The only remedy for this are 15,000 empty seats in Rupp Arena. Nothing fires coaches like empty seats.

I too am very frustrated with the developments in our program, and with the lack of "care and feeding" of our fan base. However, I am going to withhold judgment until this roster is complete.

It is now, and has been, a maddening offseason made worse by the obvious lack of information until this latest tweet of Calipari's. For now, I'm going to trust him and trust the process that our gutted roster can be repaired. A championship contender that wins games is what we want.

I'm thoroughly sick of this "individuals first" program philosophy -- make no mistake about it, "players first" is a definite misnomer -- and I can only hope that with this talented group we can add some experience to make us a truly elite team. I do hope also that Calipari knows that he is under rightful and intense scrutiny.