Braylon Mullins-Jasper Johnson

[WilmoreCat]

Listening to KSR.Jack Pilgrim just said that Pope chose Johnson over Mullins with Mullins wanting to commit, when Johnson committed, Mullins cut UK.

Edit: He also just said Stokes delayed his decision for a week.

I take that as a positive.

 

[Bugs092056]

I love how they just want to talk themselves into loving Hurley as they say they hate him. Lol we did this with Cal before he came here. Not saying that Hurley is coming here but yea if a guy is a stone cold winner then you take him

 

[bnewt5]

Listening to KSR.Jack Pilgrim just said that Pope chose Johnson over Mullins with Mullins wanting to commit, when Johnson committed, Mullins cut UK.

Edit: He also just said Stokes delayed his decision for a week.

I take that as a positive.

Bad choice but I'm sure he felt he had to take the home grown kid

 

[Smeegs]

Yep, the report I heard was that Mullins said he loved Pope and UK …but was reluctant to sign here because he didn’t know if he could play with Jasper Johnson.

And now that I’ve seen Jasper play for a season, I must admit that he had a point.

 

[MegaBlue05]

Hindsight is great, but imagine the outcry if Pope let a “homegrown” talent like Johnson “get away” to a program like UNC or Bama.

Hindsight being what it is, I’d rather have Mullins. But at the time, I probably wanted Jasper.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

I've never really understood why people want a player more just because they are from here. Give me the best player no matter where he is from.

 

[Bugs092056]

I've never really understood why people want a player more just because they are from here. Give me the best player no matter where he is from.

Pope probably definitely felt the pressure of the hometown kid, hard to blame him in that situation

 

[MegaBlue05]

I've never really understood why people want a player more just because they are from here. Give me the best player no matter where he is from.

It’s this fanbase as a whole. There’s a line of thinking that Kentucky kids possess magic powers.

 

[nptb17]

It’s this fanbase as a whole. There’s a line of thinking that Kentucky kids possess magic powers.

The 2 Kentucky kids out of this years class are the 2 that the cats needed in the worst way.

 

[kyhankypanky]

Pope probably definitely felt the pressure of the hometown kid, hard to blame him in that situation

I mean maybe, but he is going to feel the pressure of losing more. The coach needs to pick the best roster possible and be willing to take the heat from locals. If you can't do that, you aren't right for the job.

 

[20MRoster]

Poop would have found a way to turn Mullins into Noah.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

Poop would have found a way to turn Mullins into Noah.

 

[Bugs092056]

I mean maybe, but he is going to feel the pressure of losing more. The coach needs to pick the best roster possible and be willing to take the heat from locals. If you can't do that, you aren't right for the job.

You're talking to a guy who laughs at the Pope era, just saying why wouldnt he take Jasper in that instance. The clock is ticking on his job, its possible it just may not matter in the long run

 

[yoshukai]

I believe CMP believed he could get both and took the commitment from Jasper hoping he could convince Mullins they could play together. But…..wrong.

 

[20MRoster]

Can you say with a straight face that Mullins did not do better for himself going to UConn? If so, you're just being disingenuous.

 

[20MRoster]

I believe CMP believed he could get both and took the commitment from Jasper hoping he could convince Mullins they could play together. But…..wrong.

He's wrong on pretty much everything. Nothing new there.

 

[megablue]

Listening to KSR.Jack Pilgrim just said that Pope chose Johnson over Mullins with Mullins wanting to commit, when Johnson committed, Mullins cut UK.

Edit: He also just said Stokes delayed his decision for a week.

I take that as a positive.

Here are their stats, for anyone wishing to review and compare:

Braylon Mullins College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Braylon Mullins - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

Jasper Johnson College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Jasper Johnson - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

 

[Littlecreek10]

I've never really understood why people want a player more just because they are from here. Give me the best player no matter where he is from.

Because a native Kentuckian more likely understands what it means to be able to play for Kentucky which probably means that he will give a greater effort than someone else of equal talent. Also he would be more willing to play for the team, and sacrifice himself, for the success of the team. If you have a Kentucky boy and another guy from another state and they are equally talented, you take the Kentucky boy every time. It’s not hard to understand.

 

[BlueSince92]

I think Pope must have been dealing with some beer goggles last recruiting season.

He had some major recruiting coups his first season here with Butler and Amari. I suspect what happened is that lulled him into thinking he had some kind of latent superpower as far as finding diamonds in the rough.

He didn't.

 

[20MRoster]

Here are their stats, for anyone wishing to review and compare:

Braylon Mullins College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Braylon Mullins - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

Jasper Johnson College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Jasper Johnson - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

My first reaction to this was "who needs to see stats when we saw what happened on the court yesterday".

Then I looked at the stats and, yeah, Jasper comes out looking as bad as he does from the eye test.

 

[Phil_The_Music2]

NM

 

[yoshukai]

Here are their stats, for anyone wishing to review and compare:

Braylon Mullins College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Braylon Mullins - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

Jasper Johnson College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Jasper Johnson - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

To be fair, I don’t believe Mullins would have done well as the backup point guard either.

 

[megablue]

Because a native Kentuckian more likely understands what it means to be able to play for Kentucky which probably means that he will give a greater effort than someone else of equal talent. Also he would be more willing to play for the team, and sacrifice himself, for the success of the team. If you have a Kentucky boy and another guy from another state and they are equally talented, you take the Kentucky boy every time. It’s not hard to understand.

If Kentucky kids are more willing to "sacrifice" for the success of the team ... why do they leave ?? Recently, Allen and Perry, as examples.

 

[20MRoster]

I think Pope must have been dealing with some beer goggles last recruiting season.

He had some major recruiting coups his first season here with Butler and Amari. I suspect what happened is that lulled him into thinking he had some kind of latent superpower as finding diamonds in the rough.

He didn't.

Butler was a FINAL FOUR PG. Amari was highly ranked in the portal. Neither are eligible to be called "diamonds in the rough" -- their previous coaches got that diamond out and they were shining for all to see.

Not to mention those guys, along with the other recruits like Brea and Carr, etc, were mostly seniors and super-seniors who knew what they were doing and could not get "messed up" by the staff. Though the staff did they their best, as evidenced by the inexplicable blowouts and lapses in effort. Really speaks to poor / nonexistent game prep.

 

[megablue]

Butler was a FINAL FOUR PG. Amari was highly ranked in the portal. Neither are eligible to be called "diamonds in the rough" -- their previous coaches got that diamond out and they were shining for all to see.

Not to mention those guys, along with the other recruits like Brea and Carr, etc, were mostly seniors and super-seniors who knew what they were doing and could not get "messed up" by the staff. Though the staff did they their best, as evidenced by the inexplicable blowouts and lapses in effort. Really speaks to poor / nonexistent game prep.

Good points !! That recruiting class is an anomaly, as the extra Covid year provided many experienced players to be recruited.
To his credit, Pope landed four (4) 1,000-point college scorers, had a team with the most college starts and the most game experience in college basketball history. KY could not help but be a pretty good team, even absorbing the injuries it had. Recruiting is tougher now ... unfortunately.

 

[BlueSince92]

Butler was a FINAL FOUR PG. Amari was highly ranked in the portal. Neither are eligible to be called "diamonds in the rough" -- their previous coaches got that diamond out and they were shining for all to see.

Not to mention those guys, along with the other recruits like Brea and Carr, etc, were mostly seniors and super-seniors who knew what they were doing and could not get "messed up" by the staff. Though the staff did they their best, as evidenced by the inexplicable blowouts and lapses in effort. Really speaks to poor / nonexistent game prep.

Piss off.

Butler was a fluke FINAL FOUR PG no one wanted because he couldn't shoot. Amari was from Drexel and was rated lower than Brandon Garrison.

 

[20MRoster]

Piss off.

Butler was a fluke FINAL FOUR PG no one wanted because he couldn't shoot. Amari was from Drexel and was rated lower than Brandon Garrison.

Brandon Garrison was a McDAA. That artificially inflates his value, even now.

Fine, have it your way. Poop found all diamonds in the rough in 2024. Keep telling yourself that.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

Listening to KSR.Jack Pilgrim just said that Pope chose Johnson over Mullins with Mullins wanting to commit, when Johnson committed, Mullins cut UK.

Edit: He also just said Stokes delayed his decision for a week.

I take that as a positive.

Just a terrible choice, Mullins was obviously a better player and fit for Pope. It just shows how bad he is a building a roster yet again to me.

 

[Wunky]

This is revisionist history by Pilgrim. Pope couldn’t risk getting neither. If Mullins was ready to commit, he could have given Pope an ultimatum: “me or Jasper”. I actually think the UK staff preferred Mullins… I know I did. But he was still considering other schools.

 

[CUJO_1970]

Here are their stats, for anyone wishing to review and compare:

Braylon Mullins College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Braylon Mullins - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

Jasper Johnson College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Jasper Johnson - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

Ugh, that comparison is truly sickening.

 

[Smeegs]

Because a native Kentuckian more likely understands what it means to be able to play for Kentucky which probably means that he will give a greater effort than someone else of equal talent. Also he would be more willing to play for the team, and sacrifice himself, for the success of the team. If you have a Kentucky boy and another guy from another state and they are equally talented, you take the Kentucky boy every time. It’s not hard to understand.

This is a myth that many old fart Kentuckians want to believe, but it’s not really true …at least not in today’s era. Honestly, did it look to you like Jasper Johnson, Malachi Moreno, Dontaie Allen, and Travis Perry played with a special level of effort and heart beyond that of mere mortals? It sure didn’t to me.

Meanwhile, when I think of UK players that did exhibit special effort/heart, names that jump out to me include the likes of Chuck Hayes, Tyler Ulis, MKG, Wayne Turner, Jeff Sheppard, Jamal Magloire, Tony Delk, Deandre Liggins, etc. none of whom were from anywhere near Kentucky.

 

[Beatle Bum]

Hindsight is great, but imagine the outcry if Pope let a “homegrown” talent like Johnson “get away” to a program like UNC or Bama.

Hindsight being what it is, I’d rather have Mullins. But at the time, I probably wanted Jasper.

We all thought we were leading for Mullins. If you pick Mullins and let a legacy go and then the legacy has a Mullins season and Mullins plays like Jasper ….

 

[peterpiper09]

The biggest difference I saw in Johnson and Mullins this year is the fact that Mullins has an actual point guard running the show, where Johnson had to kind of play point guard which is not his natural position. This makes a humongous difference.

 

[rivercatinfl]

Because a native Kentuckian more likely understands what it means to be able to play for Kentucky which probably means that he will give a greater effort than someone else of equal talent. Also he would be more willing to play for the team, and sacrifice himself, for the success of the team. If you have a Kentucky boy and another guy from another state and they are equally talented, you take the Kentucky boy every time. It’s not hard to understand.

This was in some part due to the unforgettables. Those guys just played their guts out. Loved that team.
I really enjoy a KY kid in a UK uniform IF THEY ARE GOOD ENOUGH.
I thought Noah was really gonna be special but alas he became Jon Hood. Couldn't miss in practice but couldn't make a bucket in a game.

 

[ZaytovenCat]

That sounds about right for Pope.

 

[rivercatinfl]

Has Jasper hit the portal yet? What the latest?

 

[Rainmaker]

Because a native Kentuckian more likely understands what it means to be able to play for Kentucky which probably means that he will give a greater effort than someone else of equal talent. Also he would be more willing to play for the team, and sacrifice himself, for the success of the team. If you have a Kentucky boy and another guy from another state and they are equally talented, you take the Kentucky boy every time. It’s not hard to understand.

The 1990s and before are long gone. The kids these days could care less even if from Kentucky, that ship sailed years ago.

 

[bigblueinsanity (the real)]

Pope probably definitely felt the pressure of the hometown kid, hard to blame him in that situation

Yes except it was a massive miss on talent assessment. This kid is at least one more year from contributing (positively contributing anyway) at a high level.

Yet we massively overpaid and spurned a legit talent. Great.

Also anyone who had jasper more than a 4 star top 50 prospect all just need to be laughed out of the talent evaluation profession.

 

[TFCat11]

There’s several guys playing in the FF that Pope completely screwed the pooch on! If he indeed prioritized JJ over BM, he needs to retire from the sport all together, because he is completely clueless when evaluating talent!

 

[Eagles_Ball_69]

I've never really understood why people want a player more just because they are from here. Give me the best player no matter where he is from.

Stop making sense. I loved the "Unforgettables". Legit loved them. I was a 16 yr old crying like a baby when Laettner hit that shot. Even I know you're not creating the Unforgettables again. Lets not forget, the Unforgettables would've been pretty forgettable had it not been for a couple of New Yorkers. Being from the Commonwealth doesn't qualify you if your skills aren't up to par.