Article from Larry Vaught on Otega Oweh.
Otega Oweh
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Missing Tipton around this time of year….
I know it's asking too much, but couldn't we just ONE TIME hear these kids say "I want to win a championship"? Just once? Instead, it's gimme, gimme, gimme. And the stench that Cal created is clearly still hanging around. It's going to take Pope some time until these kids start hearing "go to UK to win titles".
This may give some solace.
Noah changed his number to 9.
He wanted to set the goal. His words.
GBB!
You have heard players say that a ton. Oscar taped posters with the number "9" all over his room and Wildcat Lodge.
Reed, Tre Mitchell, Reeves, etc. last year echoed "championship" a bunch.
The motto of this team that Pope put together has been "We Understand the Assignment" is to win a championship, and we have heard them say that over, and over, and over again, "We Understand the assignment", Including in all of their introductory press videos "I'm here because I understand the assignment".
Koby Brea on why he picked Kentucky, "I was just looking for a program that was going to be able to compete for a championship. That’s my biggest thing, I wanted to be able to win this last year,”
Ansley Almonor just said 3 days ago in an article by Larry Vaught, "We are going to shock the world when we compete at the highest level,” the Fairleigh Dickinson transfer said. “A lot of people are not expecting us to go out and do what we plan and that is to win a national championship. We are going to shock the world when we win the national championship.”
Kerr Kriisa said in an interview this summer, "I felt like we were really close at Arizona, and it didn't fall our way." the two-time transfer stated. "Then West Virginia wasn't the type of season we wanted with everything that happened. My focus was getting back to place where I could win at the highest level and at the end of the day win a championship, that's my biggest goal."
I could keep going.
I agree with you that the culture completely shifted after 2017 (IMO) away from a championship mentality and championship mindset, but there has been plenty of that talk still and this team has already talked about it a TON.
They have said that, all summer they talked bout being a team and having team goals. It’s already different. This is a new era, kids want their money and rightfully so. It’s out there to get now, and everyone has individual goals, but guys like Butler wanna win. That’s evident in the way he plays and talks everyday.
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Tipton never wrote an interesting article in his life .
I'm just worn out from the previous era, probably even triggered at this point with all the stupid "UK as a hat on a table" and "UK is my dream team" and "UK is where you want to go to get to the NBA". These guys on the roster care more about the team.
Bro.
Sad much?
Most of us are on the same team.
All our keisters are sore.
Team is a real word.
Players first doesn't care about fans thirst for wins, or tourney wins.
Let's get in it again.
You in?
GBB!
Is it asking too much for you to stop complaining? Dude we get it, you’re mad and upset about EVERY SINGLE THING. Some of us are trying to move on and rally around Pope and you just can’t stop crying about Cal.
As long as I never have to hear anyone say "my goal is to get out of there as soon as possible" again I'm good.
Oh look, another Cal defender trying to get back in the good graces of UK fans
I guarantee you that if you were a 17 year old kid and your family wasn’t in the greatest financial situation, or even if your family was comfortable from a financial perspective, your NIL would be a huge (as in the main) factor when it comes to a decision. Following that, it is what school can prepare me for the nba and get me drafted as quickly and as high as possible. A college championship and school pride/history are way down the list.
Anyone who says differently is lying to themselves. This post is only an attempt to bash Cal and the kids that came here to play for him. It’s truly tired.
That's not true. I know me, and what I would say is that I am here to help UK win a championship. There would be no need to say anything about NIL or the NBA. Those things take care of themselves if you put in the work. Most people here are not most bothered by NIL or Cal. We're bothered by the character of players that NIL and Cal attracted, and the fact that up until Pope winning titles wasn't really the first thing to pop out of their mouths. Pope isn't there to get kids their NIL or NBA contract.
This is the truth. It’s about NIL money and the NBA, nothing more
You are worlds apart from an elite college basketball prospect. You’re of a different generation and could not be more opposed socially. It’s too easy to be pragmatic in your imagination
There is a universal truth I have come to accept regarding athletics:
The number one goal of all college athletes is to go pro (assuming their respective sport has a professional league). Yes, they may say their goal is to win a championship, or help to win a championship. But that is not, nor will ever, be their primary goal.
The number one goal of a professional athlete is to get paid as much money as possible. Sure, they may say winning a championship, or helping to win a championship is their goal. But that is not, nor will ever, be their primary goal.
The number one goal of all college athletes is to go pro (assuming their respective sport has a professional league). Yes, they may say their goal is to win a championship, or help to win a championship. But that is not, nor will ever, be their primary goal.
The number one goal of a professional athlete is to get paid as much money as possible. Sure, they may say winning a championship, or helping to win a championship is their goal. But that is not, nor will ever, be their primary goal.
I do not believe that the number one goal of all college athletes is to go pro. Many of them, especially the ones that come to Kentucky, that's probably their number one goal. But not all. Not even close.
Not really, while I’m sure every player wants paid and play in the NBA it’s pretty stupid to vocally say they are only using the school and want to gtfo asap, real stupid. Even if you don’t care, part of being a professional is knowing what is inappropriate to say.
I am looking forward to see Oweh play. He may be our best all-around player, offense AND defense, in my opinion. His effort and toughness will not be an issue. He is physical and plays hard.
Then, do I blame the parents who made them this way? No doubt the generational divide is large, but I don't think schools should be adapting to this sort of thing.
I doubt it’s a parental thing. It’s a society thing. Hate to break the shocking news but top athletes have always looked to get paid first and foremost, winning and school came a distant second. Only difference now, no one has to hide their true intentions anymore.
College sports going forward will always be about money and who can pay who. Yes, once in a blue moon you might get a Reed Sheppard or a Travis Perry who may actually be at a school because they truly love the school first. But those guys have become rarities, EVERYONE is looking for a payday now. And last I checked, this is America and an open market, more power to you young men for chasing your money while you can.
So then basically every persons goal on earth is to make as much money as possible? Probably true for 90% of everyone.
Right because it’s not possible to want what’s best for your future and want to win a championship too. You can tell all the frauds whose entire existence is virtue signaling BS.
It may be reality, but it's awful. I do agree that it's now out in the open. At one point in time I really thought athletes were going to schools they wanted to go to. Now it makes me wonder about the whole 'hat on the table' shenanigan. Was that just a facade for whatever was going on behind the scenes? If so, SICKENING
Surely schools would exist WITHOUT college athletics? If not, what's the point of them existing other than to sell merchandise? And I'll be damned if some college athlete is going to be part of bringing down schools because he or she "couldn't get their money". This bothers me in so many ways.
You are a presumed die hard UK fan and, from what I gather, a white female. You are the complete opposite demographic than the players being discussed. None grew up die hard fans in a state without a pro sports team, most are low to middle class and black. I’d guess there is a large age gap as well. How can you possibly relate what you say you would do today to the decision of someone who you know nothing about?
The character of the players??? Are you serious? Most of those boys came here for the cost of their education and attended class, got great grades, volunteered probably more than you and I combined, and kept their noses clean.
And who is we? You speak for most people here?
Apparently. Nearly every post of yours I happen to pay attention to is extremely negative and hung up in the past.
Move. On.
New coach. New players. New excitement. Stop living in yesteryear.
Actually a number of big schools would not be financially stable if it wasn’t for their athletic department and the revenue they get from T. V. Deals, marketing, ticket sales etc. UK is one of these schools that would struggle to stay afloat on state/federal funding alone without athletics.
That's really sad. Very sad. Why would in the world would funding DEPEND on athletics, when the purpose of the school is EDUCATION?
Because they overpay the higher ups and pay a bunch of salary for junk programs they talk kids into double majoring in that don’t lead to actual job fields.
Yes, every single college (and I am not talking about walk-ons, specifically those on scholarship) athlete's primary goal is to go pro. Not even debatable.
They may say otherwise in public/to the press due to good PR training, but every single one's primary goal is to go pro.
Doesn't matter if they are from KY playing for their home/dream school at UK, their primary goal is the pros. Sheppard would have stuck around if he cared that deeply about UK for another season if his primary goal was to win a championship for UK. It wasn't, going to the NBA was. Perry will do the exact same thing this year as well, if given the opportunity.
It's laughable to say otherwise.
Maybe you're confusing high level D1 guys with everyone else when you say "every single college athlete". I know a lot of people that play or played college sports (baseball, basketball, football) on full ride scholarships that never expected to make it to the professional level. Very few make it to that level and most are just happy to get their school paid for while they play the sport they love.
247 believes Oweh will be the best player coming off the bench. Mentioned how tough a defender he is but also may be the elite slasher on the team that can get to the rim one on one with his strength. Also said when the shots aren't falling we have this guy that is able to get to the rim and score in times like that.