Call me when he wins something champ. Otherwise, just another no nothing from Possum Trott.
"Player's first" program
- Thread starter RoyKent
- Start date
Bro what is wrong with you? I’ve told you Cal is at fault butttt there was also a global pandemic that limited practices. I’m not sure how much else I can agree with you. I’m really not all that sure we are disagreeing but you seem to lose your mind a little more every time you reply to me
I'd say people in Possum Trot can tell the difference between "no" and "know". You don't junior.
If Cal wanted ALL of his players to succeed, Whitney, Hagans and EJ would still be playing. None of them were ready to go anywhere. And don't even try to say something stupid like "what was Cal supposed to do". Name another program that loses multiple players to the gl, transfer or overseas every year? Heck, just name another school that has lost anywhere near as many sophomores to non NBA destinations as UK. Seems to be a common issue, don't you think?
Also, while we're at it, why don't you give me a list of players that Cal has actually helped. What players did Cal personally get to the next level? I guarantee the list of players he failed is much larger. Players first my ***.
I'll give you a hint, SGA, Richards, Liggins, WCS and maybe PJ, are players I feel like Cal helped. He didn't" help" Wall, AD, Cuz, Knox, Clarke, Boston, Fox, Towns, Randle, Monk, Murray, Bam or Maxey, no, those guys were going to the NBA regardless of where they went to school. Cal is claiming "players first" because he thinks he got all those guys to the nba, but that's a farce. He failed all those guys that left early and went nowhere.
This is not about whether Cal's former players love him or not. Lets not be silly, most people take the high road when the mic is in front of them. Guys like Baker, Wenyen, Juzang, Allen, Mulder, Matthews, Wiltjer, EJ, Whitney, Briscoe and many others, would sing a different tune if they weren't going to be quoted. Of course the guys that got to the NBA aren't going to complain, for obvious reasons.
Again, tell me what Dwight Howard is doing at Michigan that is different than any other program in the country.
Yeah, that pandemic played hell with those 68 teams that made the tournament. Hell, Gonzaga and Baylor actually had covid issues and they have 2 losses combined.
Tell the truth, UK went 9-16 because the culture causes a huge roster turn over at least every other year. We had 1 sophomore return. Hagans and EJ bolted to… ..nowhere.
Cal created this, not Covid. You would have a point if everyone else struggled all year.
This team never got better, they never improved as a team. Cal didn't help matters by playing favorites either. He sucked this year, this is on him and him only.
Stoops went to the Swamp to play Florida with about half his team. Covid is a pathetic excuse. This team was bad from the head down. Covid didn't make it happen.
The culture Cal has created made this mess. Amazing how the pandemic didn't force any other HOF coach that I am aware of to go 9-16.
You and Cawood just go jack each other off and stab Cal voodoo dolls then come back maybe you all won’t be so blind to what I’m posting
SO, you can't discuss like an adult I see. I've noticed all of the Cal-ites have this same problem when pressed. Go play in the kiddie pool little boy.
Okay man, but Whitney, Hagans, and EJ not succeeding like we would have liked them too isn't because Cal was "players first" like what? It's just ridiculously naive to list every player who might not have panned out and act like you have all the answers for why things went wrong when there's SOOOO much that goes into that.
I think your point is more in relation to Cal's recruiting strategy: he has recruited so many one-and-dones, that players expect to leave after one year with the rare case of two, and if they don't, get discouraged and transfer or leave anyways.
Again, that's the point it sounds like you're making ^, which I can get behind. Whitney, Hagans, and EJ not succeeding has nothing to do with Cal being "players first" that makes 0 sense haha. They didn't leave UK because Cal was like "well players first, so you should leave!" and ran them out the door, they left because of the pressure put on them due to the years of our team being filled with 1st round picks, that has carried over even when we have players who don't end up being that good.
And don't seriously blaming Cal for Kahlil Whitney I mean c'mon hahah that dude wasn't good and was gonna go to the league regardless of anything Cal would have done.
But again man, you act like Calipari has complete control over these players, there is so many other factors at play, and you have NO IDEA why some of these kids go pro when they shouldn't, or transfer, or whatever they do. You can't just chalk it up to Cal "failing them" that's ridiculous. Cal isn't making all of these decisions for them and that's the case for all college basketball coaches.
And when you say "name another school that has more transfers" I'm not gonna take the time to do that but here ya go: https://www.verbalcommits.com/transfers/2020
you can filter by school and year and you will see players transferring happens literally everywhere and more than UK at many places (including Duke). And just to illustrate how ridiculous that statement was, even a school like Akron has had 11 transfers in the last 3 years haha
Also just gonna insert this quote from Kyle Wiltjer about Cal. But sure, if you wanna believe he's "taking the high road when the mic is in front of him" and try to make your own assumptions rather than actually listening to what people say, sure go ahead.
"He was awesome through all of that, a big help,” Wiltjer said. “And that’s rare because a lot of coaches, if you asked to leave, they’d turn the other cheek and the decision would be on you. But he wanted me to be successful and wanted me to find the right fit as well.”
Wiltjer said that when it comes to Cal, it’s all about loyalty. “He’s very loyal. If you’re in his system and give it your all, no matter how much you contribute he’s in your corner. He’s a very personable guy and gets a lot of attention nationally, he’s in the spotlight. But he really cares and has checked up on me along the way, letting me know he’s always there and wishes me the best"
Sounds pretty genuine to me. But you must know exactly how all of these players really feel about Cal right?
No, name another school that has lost even half the underclassmen that UK has lost to non NBA destinations. You can't, because those schools don't exist. UK loses underclassman to the GL at an alarming rate, I can't recall a single underclassmen from any other program that left after 2 years, can you?
It's the culture, a lack of an individual plan for each player and a lack of communication.
As far as Whitney, go ahead and blsme it on the kid and his family, but keep.in mind, Cal recruited him. Was he desperate? Again, lack of a plan and another lack of communication.
This system is eating Cal now and he needs to own it. Right now, he's throwing the players under the bus and talking down to the fans. Way wrong reaction, he needs to own this **** sandwich.
Do you want to compare that to what Wenyen and Whitney said? Probably not.
What do you think Allen is thinking right now?
Wiltjer was on a national title team, he had a great experience here. He also played in a time where Cal's system was at it's peak. It's at it's lowest point right now.
Well...... Duke and Louisville are two (assuming transfer is part of "non-NBA").... that's a ridiculous statement haha. 71 underclassmen entered the NBA draft last year which was actually on the low side, so yes I can name at least 70 underclassmen from other programs PER YEAR that leave after 2 years. C'mon man.
How do you know it's a lack of an individual plan for each player? Also isn't part of coaching adjusting on the fly? Do you think any coach in America has a set plan for each specific player that they follow to a T? Dude this is just incredibly naive.
Hypothetical situation: If BJ Boston makes his own decision to go to the NBA this year, is it because "Cal failed him?". Or will it be just because he knew he wanted to leave before the season, and is sticking to that even though he wasn't that good?
Maybe its Cal's fault that he wasn't more mature physically and got pushed around like a ragdoll, I guess Cal should have magically put 25 pounds of muscle on him.
Sure man. Obviously there are players who won't say good things. Doesn't prove your point. Cal has a widely recognized reputation in the basketball world, both college, NBA, literally everywhere, as being beloved by his players and truly caring about all of them, even the ones who leave. But I guess your opinion trumps a reputation that has been building for decades and is the correct one.
And I'm not going to speculate because WE DON'T KNOW, but maybe something like about being excited for next season to put this one behind him?
I'm interested to see what ridiculous negative nonsense you can come up with that he's thinking, even after he just implored the fans to "stay with us" the other day. Just like you and everyone else on this board who has a hotel room in Allen's head and "knew" he was gonna transfer
Call it what you wsnt, but UK is supposed to be the gold standard. The school did their part by paying Cal 10 million a year + a lifetime deal. The BBN has also done their part, but Cal has not.
He's turned this program into an NBA farm system and that is not okay. It is the reason why he just went 9-16.
Yeah man, thats the SOLE reason we went 9-16. Sure.
Dude its fine to be pissed about this season and not happy with things, but you can't look at things so narrow-mindedly.
Cool, you love Cal and you're okay with him turning our peogram into a farm system, orchestrating the worst season in UK history, losing at home to Evansville, losing record vs ranked teams since 2015, has beaten 1 power 5 team in the NCAAT since 2015 and just went 5-6 in Rupp arena. You good with all that? I'm not
Nah man, I'm not. But seeing as we are likely to have at least 4-5 players return at minimum next year, in addition to Cal openly stating he wants to recruit more 3-4 year players, if anything we are moving AWAY from this "farm system" more than ever before.
And yeah this season sucked, but I'm not gonna jump to conclusions when obviously this season was far different with more hoops to jump through than any before. If we're gonna have the worst season in school history I would much rather it be this year (especially given our rivals are bad as well) than any other.
Not going to a final four since 2015 sucks, but I just don't get how you all neglect to realize that we had damn good teams in 2017, 2019, and 2020, two of which were ONE SHOT away from a final four, and one obviously didn't get the chance. Of course I'm not satisfied, but its not like we've just sucked since 2015 that's just not even close to accurate.
I can pretty much do as I please actually.
We're a farm system and that's what caused the dominoes to fall the way they did this year.
You tell me, what's the difference between UK and Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan, Illinois, Alabama. There's a glaring difference.
Why are those programs so good, but we suck? Lets start from there, because you don't understand obviously.
Also what is this power 5 tournament stat haha like we don't get to pick who we play in the tournament. If we win, we win, I don't think anyone cares if it's against a power 5 team or not. Seems like basing the strength of opponent in the tournament by their seed would make much more sense than what conference they're in lmfao.
You could just say no final fours since 2015, would get your point across much better
There are a plethora of reasons, one of which being no returning players (which again man, scroll up, I said I agreed about the culture of players leaving too early due to pressure to make the NBA yada yada yada), along with Sarr, Boston, and Clarke being worse than expected, among other things.
Also man please do not sit here and tell me that you think Alabama's "program" is better than UK's lol
Also bad years just happen man. If we go 9-16 again I will spray paint "get outta town" on Cal's house. It ain't happening. We sucked, it's over with, if you think we're going to suck again next year we can agree to disagree
And again, blaming COVID is a weak excuse, but it's naive to say that not having practice time in the summer when you have a completely new team doesn't negatively affect you.
I'll admit to questioning the "players first" mantra. I feel like if not carefully navigated lines become blurry. It's easy for individual achievements and accolades to be the main concern. When players are hyper focused on the NBA team chemistry/development can take a backseat. It's easy for guys to play for the name on the back of the jersey and not the front.
Last edited:
In their 10th+ yr...probably not 9-16 with the #1 ranked class. Just saying.
How do you not get this?
The only power 5 team we have beaten since 2015 was UCLA.
Lost to IU, lost to KSU without their best player, lost to Auburn without their best player and lost to UNC.
We have beaten Abilene Christian, Wofford, Houston, Wichita state and Buffalo.
Gold standard my ***.
Cool, you are more passive than me. I would feel differently if the cause of the 9-16 season was something other than Cal's NBA hard on and player favoritism.
You have to look at why this happened instead of just the record.
I never said those "program's" were better than UK, but there is a reason those teams had great seasons and UK didn't. They are players first programs, but they also put the program as a priority. At UK, the NBA comes first.
Yes, I clearly understand or “get” the stat Jeez man.
What I’m saying is that it’s a dumb stat to use haha. Like why would you gauge tournament success by who you beat, rather than how far you go. Obviously that’s more relevant
Or maybe they just had better teams than us this year? If that’s what you think makes one team good and one team bad, why hasn’t UK been bad every other year, clearly we’ve had this “NBA culture” since 2010, and I’d argue even moreso then than now. Did the NBA culture suddenly disappear in 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020 and allow us to have better teams?
Also dude stop with the hyperbole, I agree Calipari says some suspect things at times especially this year, but to act like he just doesn’t care about winning or the program at all is just wrong. Again, if you listen to his interview with Matt Jones the other night I truly believe we were listening to a Cal that was finally understanding that he needs to change.
It’s not that Cal doesn’t prioritize the program, he was just slow to realize he needs to adapt and that the one-and-done system won’t work the way it did 10 years ago. He truly believed that was the way to win, it wasn’t that he did that for the sake of the NBA
It's a dumb stat because it doesn't fit your arguement.
You probably think all time wins and out three point streak were stupid too.
Those programs didn't allow covid to beat them because they are veteran teaks that don't play favorites to get certain players drafted.
Yeah great, Cal was all humble and **** during his interview with MJ, but it's too late for that, the damage is done. He rode the farm system wave too long and when it bit him in the ***, he talked down to the fans, got sarcastic with us and called us basketball Bennies. You can't do that, then turn around and expect us to say everything is okay.
That guy threw games away so Boston could get his. He did the same thing last year with Whitney. He waited until the last 2 games of the season to finally put Mintz at the 1. He parked Allen on the bench all year and part of me feels it was just to show the fans who the boss was.
This type of season was bound to happen eventually. Some of us saw it coming, but Cal didn't. You can't flip the roster like this and think everything is always going to work out.
He used the platform that UK provided to satisfy his nba draft desires instead of putting UK first and look what happened. You can't defend him, you just can't.
The worst in the history of Kentucky basketball is more than “a bad season”. Losing in the first weekend a few years ago was a bad season.
And your doe eyed idol worship of him is obviously about more than basketball. I mean glaringly apparent
Can you speak english?
If you're going to try to bust on someone, at least do it right.