Listening to Pilgrim will put you off them forever. Aren't they tied to LBJ? What happened between him and Cal anyway?
Can we stop recruiting players involved with Klutch?
- Thread starter TomTraubertsBlues
- Start date
I was asking the same question after they told Cal how Livingston was going to play and that Livingston will play the 3 and not the 4.
Then, after the season, Klutch complained about how CL was played. Like, what? Cal catered to Chris' every need and somehow it wasn't good enough.
Then, after the season, Klutch complained about how CL was played. Like, what? Cal catered to Chris' every need and somehow it wasn't good enough.
I have a theory on how Cal and LeBron had a falling out. Back in 2014 after we had just lost to UConn in the title game, this was around the time Cal to the NBA rumors were at an all-time high. This was also when LeBron would announce he was returning to Cleveland.
My theory is that Cal and LeBron had a handshake deal in place that Bron would work his magic and get Cal that Cavs job after announcing his return to his hometown team.
But then, the Harrison twins announced they would return for their sophomore year, then Willie CS announced his return. 3 surprises returns and Cal starts to think “holy **** I might have something special here and I want to win another title”.
Cal breaks this news to LeBron, who ultimately has to settle with David Blatt as his coach and we saw how quickly that flamed out.
Also this is around the time Coach K is heavily involved with Team USA so LeBron naturally gravitates towards him. Coincidence that this is around the time UK starts losing top high school guys to Duke?
My theory is that Cal and LeBron had a handshake deal in place that Bron would work his magic and get Cal that Cavs job after announcing his return to his hometown team.
But then, the Harrison twins announced they would return for their sophomore year, then Willie CS announced his return. 3 surprises returns and Cal starts to think “holy **** I might have something special here and I want to win another title”.
Cal breaks this news to LeBron, who ultimately has to settle with David Blatt as his coach and we saw how quickly that flamed out.
Also this is around the time Coach K is heavily involved with Team USA so LeBron naturally gravitates towards him. Coincidence that this is around the time UK starts losing top high school guys to Duke?
Sadly Cal is at a point in his career where he’s going to have those kind of relationships.
It's possible, but do we really believe LBJ has ever cared to play for Calipari that much?
Pilgrim is an idiot. We should embrace Klutch. Yes, they are tied to LeBron and that's a good thing. And Cal and LeBron get along just fine.
I saw Cal, AD and LeBron having dinner together a year or so ago and they seemed like best friends. I get it that people are going to put on a good front. But why have dinner at all if there's a problem.
Idiots like Pilgrim and Matt Jones just make up **** to make up ****.
I saw Cal, AD and LeBron having dinner together a year or so ago and they seemed like best friends. I get it that people are going to put on a good front. But why have dinner at all if there's a problem.
Idiots like Pilgrim and Matt Jones just make up **** to make up ****.
Lebron runs the show, but he does like to surround himself with hype. 2014 Cal was one of the hottest coaches out there.
I do agree with the poster saying Cal returning for 2015 was what caused a lot of friction behind the scenes.
Bradshaw will probably be the last player we get that deals with Klutch. If you heard what went on behind the scenes according to Pilgrim, I highly doubt Cal will recruit any player associated with Klutch. I don't know any high major coach willing to deal with an agency like them who tries to call all of the shots.
Klutch Players:
Eric Bledsoe
Anthony Davis
De'Aaron Fox
Keldon Johnson
Tyrese Maxey
John Wall
Eric Bledsoe
Anthony Davis
De'Aaron Fox
Keldon Johnson
Tyrese Maxey
John Wall
Nothing specific. Didn’t hear anything.
It just makes sense if reports of Klutch problems and interference are true. AND I’ve lost faith in our UK media. KSR in particular seem to speculate or make up scenarios.
All that Livingston and Bradshaw interference stuff could be false.
Cal needs a title I don’t care how he gets it. I don’t care for lbj I really don’t like him but if cal wins a title I’ll pat him on the back
Yeah, we should definitely stay away from those guys. Lol
Klutch is going to be involved with some or most of the top prospects every year. There is no way we should stay away from a kid who's "a Klutch kid". Just takes too many top 10/15 kids off the table for recruiting if you do.
As for Klutch "interfering" it is only because Cal allowed it.
I don't understand why Klutch gets a say in how Cal plays them. Look, if the guy is a 4, Klutch can funnel him to a school that needs a 4. Why can't Cal just tell them, "Your 4 is a nice player, but my team needs a 3. Thanks but no thanks."? That's the part I don't understand. Klutch isn't the only place to find a quality player.
I remember an article that circulated around that same time that stated Coach K had developed a close relationship with World Wide Wes through LeBron James. I believe that might have been what shifted the recruiting wars from around 2014.
Klutch is unfortunately way too influential to just avoid.
NBA really messed up letting lebron more or less proxy own an agency.
Those guys weren’t Klutch players in college. It had no bearing on them while here so idk what that’s supposed to mean. Livingston was a headache, Bradshaw is starting out iffy.
So is this happening with Justin Edwards too? Why not? He is signed with Klutch.
Or is Pilgrim just making stuff up like a lot of media?
This is what makes no sense to me.
Why has Klutch been so hell bent on getting their way with Livingston and Bradshaw but we've heard nothing about Edwards?
It doesn't add up.
Chris was just an average Freshman and I don't think that would have been different if he went to Ohio State instead of UK.
Because Cal has to take any high rated kid he can get and in most cases, he has to make promises to sweeten the pot.
He is never going to be in the position to tell any handlers to check themselves, because he knows if.he does that, then he loses the recruit.
Now, I'm not saying Cal is wrong, these 4 and 5 star players are generation z punks that are used to getting what they want. The problem is, Klutch isn’t helping by catering to these kids, they're rolling the red carpet out for them and shielding them.like body guards.
But you're right on one thing, Cal needs to meet with Klutch and tell them they can't call the shots on how a player plays once he comes to UK. That’s ridiculous. Cal should never allow that, but he has been.
Probably because Edwards has nothing to hide. Edwards is a bonafide lottery pick that is polished and doesn't need to play a certain way as a facade to hide flaws.
Livingston has flaws and Klutch wanted him to play a certain way to hide them.
That’s my guess anyway.
But what is it with the positions? There is a world in which Bradshaw is a 4. A world at least...
Livingston a 2G? Never happening...ever.
I think they wanted him at the 3, but he's a 4 in college. Klutch told Cal not to do that and Cal listened to them. He lied to us and said he couldn’t play CL at the 4, because he hadn't played him there before. That was a huge lie.
I think everyone involved knew better than to put Chris at the 2, he would have looked like a fool trying to guard 2's.
Just for discussion, and speaking generally (you can always suggest exceptions), are we sure that taking the top 10/15 players off the table is necessarily a bad thing for the competitiveness of a top program?
Maybe it depends on whether it is known in advance that the player is OAD regardless of performance? Because if those top ten freshmen are only going to be in college for one year, how valuable are they really? Because where they are drafted is irrelevant. And how good they eventually become after a few years in the NBA is irrelevant.
The relevant question is whether the OAD freshmen usually impact winning more than the best upperclassmen (i.e., the great majority of the All-Americans) or the top transfer portal guys? My belief is that the answer to that question is that they (the OAD freshmen) usually don’t. I think UK can learn something by looking at the way the more successful programs recently are doing it now.
I don’t feel anyway about him yet, if he comes and plays hard with no stupidity attached I’ll love him. I don’t love that he’s a client of Klutch though.
We are in a strange sort of one off era with the extra year of COVID eligibility. Also more elite HS prospects skipping college for Ignite, OT elite, NZ. So you've seen an (imo) temporary shift towards veteran teams winning.
When the last class of super seniors times out it will revert closer to the mean. With tons of 5th+6th year players on lower level P5 and mid major rosters there has been a ton of artificial parity in CBB.
At the peak of the one and done era freshman+sophomore laden teams were competing for titles every year. It probably won't go fully back to that since again more guys are skipping college but we will see the occasional young super team. I hope we are one this year but who knows.
You created a new account for this?
That thing actually might be Bradshaw's girlfriend.You created a new account for this?
Tend to agree, but OTOH, what choice did he have? He can’t coach.