WCS says Cal drew recruits not UK.

[cats#1again]

... for him maybe, like I said earlier. Cal seems to think UK is the Gold Standard while Pitino argued that UK is the Camelot of college basketball. Both those coaches are gone today and both lament having left. Seems odd that both regret leaving if every college BB program is the same as the next.

The program as a whole has been. That doesn't mean the top recruits care about that. You are kidding yourself if you believe all those players come here if he wasn't the coach. I'm glad it's over and I hope they go to Arkansas.

 

[cats#1again]

No one would have complained if he was winning enough with young teams . No one was complaining about being young 2010-2015.

I agree but the wealth was shared with Duke. That wasn't lasting forever.

 

[Cats192]

The answer, like most things in life, is somewhere in the middle.

When you're making a PB&J Sandwich--if you want the ultimate sandwich--you get your favorite bread, favorite peanut butter, and favorite jelly. No one gets bad bread and expects the PB to carry it. No one gets bad PB and expects the bread to carry it.

Calipari wanted Kentucky because he knew the brand mattered. The resources mattered. Kentucky wanted Calipari because he was one of the best coaches in the country at time. That mattered.

Cal will continue having success at Arkansas. That doesn't mean the Kentucky brand never mattered. Cal has a ton of NIL at Arkansas. NIL has changed things. If you aren't a big brand, money can help your ability to recruit.

So does the brand really matter in the world of NIL? Yes.

Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, UNC will be very competitive in NIL. Once the offers are the same or close enough, kids are going to pick the schools that give them the best exposure.

 

[Zissou87]

Like Willy but he is crazy, I guess he never saw some of the greats from UK's past play any. I know Billy took the roster down but even Tubby who hated to recruit the big time players because of all the hype etc, brought in NBA talent here and there.

Prior to Calipari, UK's success wasn't built primarily by future NBA All-Stars. Willie was born in 1993. What were "some of the greats" that he would have seen play?

 

[yoshukai]

I agree but the wealth was shared with Duke. That wasn't lasting forever.

Duke is still getting most guys they want. Hopefully they try and keep the one&done thing going. Cal also lost guys to teams like Oklahoma state and Georgia. Guys he REALLY wanted. He was getting those guys in his early UK years .

 

[Bluesbrother]

Yeah, Pitino regrets having left so much he didn't even throw his hat in for the job when it was open. And you're just delusional if you think Cal regrets leaving. Have you seen his team? He has something he was unable to build at Kentucky in recent years: experienced talent.

Gold Standard and Camelot are their words, not mine. We'll all see Cal's team when he drags is sorry ass back into Rupp, running his mouth along the way. Let's just play the game and see who wins. He has nothing at Arkansas that he didn't have at Kentucky. At the end of the day, we all have their own insight and opinion and we all should be happy with that. Who's delusional?