I don’t really believe it but here’s what someone said on X about Ulis
Ulis returning?
- Thread starter LXWildcat
- Start date
I don’t really believe it either
But I’m gonna be honest here…would love it if true
He’d be the perfect bridge
But I’m gonna be honest here…would love it if true
He’d be the perfect bridge
One of my favorite UK players, would be overjoyed if he stuck around for the new era.
I agree. But also he hopefully looks at Cal’s coaching tree and see it’s pretty sparse.
Like many of you I would love to see him stay at UK.
Would be the icing on the cake to an unbelievable first few months.
Ulis has the potential to be UK's Jai Lucas when it comes to being an assistant.
He has instant street credibility. He has massive connections with the Chicago and Midwestern AU circuit. He's close to Towns, Murray, Fox, and obviously Booker.
He's be a perfect bridge to our NBA players.
He has instant street credibility. He has massive connections with the Chicago and Midwestern AU circuit. He's close to Towns, Murray, Fox, and obviously Booker.
He's be a perfect bridge to our NBA players.
I would love for Ulis to be on the staff!
Not to mention the dude was tough as nails and didn't back down from anyone. Loved him. He was a better at coaching on the court than Cal was from the sidelines. As a leader, he seemed to really hold his teammates accountable as well.
Come on home Tyler!
I would love to have him back.
Bleed Blue Network is the group of drifters who showed up during the coaching search. They have no insight in the program and are in the same spaces as Joe Adams.
This would be a massive coup. I doubt it’ll happen, but I really really want it to.
I would like him to go if it’s a difficult decision.
Ulis is probably my favorite Calipari-era player. God, he was so good. I’d love it.
I’ve heard rumors that he’s been extended an offer or had been extended an offer. A guy I know that has some decent connections to the program said he was definitely offered to stay and might be weighing it. This guy isn’t Joe Craft but he does give a lot to the program and usually has some program info as opposed to recruiting info. At minimum I believe Ulis was approached about staying on.
Would be great but I don't buy it. Where are we going to put him? Cal is the only one with room.
There is a weird fascination for having Ulis be part of this coaching staff. I loved the guy as a player, but I find it pretty strange that he gets brought up every other week on here. Nobody knows if he is a good coach or not other than unsubstantiated rumors. He learned from Cal for goodness sake. I’d love it if Gimel Martinez (the greatest player in the history of the school) would join Pope, but you don’t hear me going on and on about it.
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Should have already happened. The minute I saw him shaking his head at the last second lob play Cal was drawing up I figured he was about done with Cal. Then he follows him to Arkansas. Same for these recruits that continue to buy Cal's nonsense and keep playing for him when they could get to the NBA playing anywhere else and possibly have a successful season instead of mediocre results.
Cal's coaching tree is a stump.
He belongs HERE. Period. End of discussion.
He's one of the most beloved Cats in history. What history does he have with Arkansas? NONE.
Come home to where you belong Tyler. We love you waaaaaay more than Cal ever will.
He's one of the most beloved Cats in history. What history does he have with Arkansas? NONE.
Come home to where you belong Tyler. We love you waaaaaay more than Cal ever will.
If Tyler wants to become a coach down the road he stays at Kentucky. He knows already everything what Calipari will “Coach”.
With that said , I will be very surprised if he doesn’t follow Cal at Arkansas,
With that said , I will be very surprised if he doesn’t follow Cal at Arkansas,
Well, we've seen some strange things recently, but I have a hard time believing that one. I would love to see it happen because I think Ulis has great coaching potential and could be a benefit to the team, especially to the point guards. But I won't believe it until I see it or read it from some official source.
Ulis played for Mean Streets and still is plugged into the Chicago AU scene. I taught two of the Fears brothers and they said Ulis is a constant presence in the Chicago AU scene, knows virtually all the heavy hitters, including and especially Tai Streets and his staff.
That, and the fact that he played a full contract assignment in the NBA, helped at Kentucky under Calipari for two seasons, is close friends with Towns, Murray, Fox and Booker, etc.
Did you ignore the part about him being heavily connected to the Chicago AU scene?
Plus, if you want to bridge Pope to Cal's former guys, Ulis helps in that regard.
Unless of course you're one of those fans who doesn't think utilizing 10 former NBA all-Stars, plus Jamal Murray, is a wise move to make for future recruiting endeavors.
I just don’t think you’re thinking clearly. First UK players of past will be loyal to Cowl or not based on their personal relationships with him not just because TU is rocking UK gear after Cal. Second, I don’t rember a single player up to this point saying he was instrumental in making a decision to play for Cal. Do You have examples?
I think your lack of vision on establishing connections with Cal's former players is shortsighted and minimal.
Do you have specific examples of those players no longer wanting to have anything to do with Kentucky? Seems like quite an assumptive leap on your end, and a shortsighted one at that. Why not strengthen those relationships, especially when it's clear that guys like Booker, Dillingham, Sheppard and Wall (all friends of Ulis) have said they still support Kentucky?
Wisdom would dictate that Coach Pope use every advantage at his disposal; and presently, there is no college program in America that has more NBA success than Kentucky. Why throw that away over an assumption?
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Those guys that went to UK who embraced the experience I promise they identify as a Kentucky wildcat first. Former cal player second
It would all depend on what the current staff thinks the value of Ulis is, obviously. While we can’t know that it would appear Ulis is the exact type of guy that fits the bill of a solid coaching prospect at least. He’s got a lot of the coaching intangibles you’d look at including that he wants to be a coach in his career.
It all looks like even if he was approached by Pope he would stick with Calipari given that’s where he’s likely to get the most opportunity, and I think there’s no way Calipari would want to leave him behind and allow us to have a fan favorite future coach on our bench. Since it hasn’t happened yet I think it looks to me like he was probably approached about it but isn’t going to be. And Pope has shown that he isn’t afraid of cutting anyone associated with the Calipari era.
If Ulis ends up a great coach, or a solid recruiter, he’ll be back at UK. He’s a UK guy that would only be leaving to get a good start at his career under the coach he played for. It doesn’t have anything to do with much other than that.
It all looks like even if he was approached by Pope he would stick with Calipari given that’s where he’s likely to get the most opportunity, and I think there’s no way Calipari would want to leave him behind and allow us to have a fan favorite future coach on our bench. Since it hasn’t happened yet I think it looks to me like he was probably approached about it but isn’t going to be. And Pope has shown that he isn’t afraid of cutting anyone associated with the Calipari era.
If Ulis ends up a great coach, or a solid recruiter, he’ll be back at UK. He’s a UK guy that would only be leaving to get a good start at his career under the coach he played for. It doesn’t have anything to do with much other than that.
So did the players that played for former coaches. However they didn’t feel apart of the program over the last few years because of the disconnect. Ulis would be that connection on a personal level.
Mr. Wildcat was the anchor for years. Rock Oliver might end up being close to that. You need guys around that have relationships with former players to keep the blood running blue.
They should always feel welcomed and apart of the program. That establishes the culture of Kentucky across the chest means more because it does.
Right, the last thing we want to do is allow Calipari to disrupt our program in any way. He’s a divider so the best thing we can do moving forward is say ALL former players, including Calipari era players, are welcome here the same as anyone else. Rise above the pettiness and put the program first, be the opposite of what he stood for.
Our administration has already shown they understand that assignment and I’m glad for that. I was actually hoping Pope would speak to them in some ways during the press conference, but instead I think he felt the need to cement our traditions and just stay away from it. The way our administration allowed Calipari to exit as gracefully as they did / allowed shows me they do understand these concepts.
Never divide your institution it’s a recipe for disaster. We need the gatekeepers and Calipari players will need a role in that moving forward. John Wall is leading in this area and I love him for it.
One good way to get his foot into a full time assistants roll and be at a blue blood school that he played at. In my opinion the 15 years Cal was here he was probably the toughest Cal player.
