Should KY's Mr. Basketball Get an Automatic Scholly to UK?

Wildcats1st

Heisman
Sep 16, 2017
18,949
28,911
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UK needs to take the best player they can from Kentucky 3 out of 4 years maybe every other year
 

Dablueman

All-American
Feb 5, 2003
16,981
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Our fans are to fickle. If Cal did that since none of them are anything but multi year players. So u would have 3 or 4 on ur team. Now does anyone remember a few years ago the great Stokes The Unstretchable uproar. We didn't have a scholly for him and he went on to UT and played well against us. Everybody jumped on Cal for giving unfilled schollys to walk on season by season and not having one for Stokes. You just can't have a third of ur roster be 2 and 3 star Mr Basketballs and compete at the level we are
 

Dablueman

All-American
Feb 5, 2003
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Perhaps a guarantee of a preferred walk on status and the chance to earn a scholarship that would work. I imagine they do that some with ky kids anyway we probably just don't hear about it
 
Apr 26, 2007
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2022-2023 would have had
Senior-dontaie Allen
Junior- dayvion mcknight
Sophomore- Ben Johnson
Freshman- turner buttry
Jacob Toppin, CJ Frederick, sahvir wheeler, Damion Collins, Antonio reeves, Oscar tshiebwe, lance ware were our returning players that year. Those 4 scholarships were used on adou, Chris Livingston, Cason Wallace, and Ugo.
not every Kentucky Mr basketball should have an offer.
 
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crxohio

All-Conference
May 6, 2009
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All should be atleast scouted, but honestly... walk on vs yearly Mr. Ky basketball. I think every one should have the opportunity to be on the team. Your good enough for scholly or choice to walk on. But the problem is. It can get crowded, therefore taking scholarship away space for bigger needs. That's the drawback.
 

meow_cat

Junior
Dec 5, 2008
2,518
379
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Yes, and a case of bourbon and free pony rides at the Kentucky Horse Park for a year.
 
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*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
43,160
76,951
113
Not saying they should or shouldn't.

So, I've seen on here over the last couple of weeks the mention of the importance of a born/bred Kentucky boy being on the team. What do you think?
Nah, most years the level of talent in state isn’t good enough to play here. Recently that seems to be changing but it should be based on talent and ability. Nothing else.
 
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Bkocats

Heisman
Jan 2, 2011
80,834
69,676
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Absolutely…
IF the talent level is good enough
Every one should at least get a courtesy evaluation.
Should we sign them all? No of course not
 

ThrowBackCat9

All-Conference
Apr 12, 2024
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It’s cool to add in state kids if they are good enough and if they fit our system. Under Cal, sure, add every Mr. Basketball. He didn’t have a system or didn’t recruit to fit a role. Also didn’t fill all scholarships, ever.

With Pope, it gets a little more complicated. He plays his bench, he has a structured system and he recruits based on needs to fit certain roles. He will fill all scholarships or come close to it every year as well. So not as much room.

So if the player fits our system, (Perry does), then you take him. If not, a coach shouldn’t be forced to waste a spot on a guy who isn’t good enough or the right fit because he played his HS ball in KY.
 
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Jan 3, 2003
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No. That would be 4 (possibly 5 if there were a redshirt) of your 13 scholarships. KY can go years without a top-half P5 quality player.
The past 34 years, 17 went to P5 schools, 13 went to mid-majors, and 4 didn't even go to D1 schools. Of the 17 that went to P5 schools, 8 of them went to UK, and surprisingly Cal brought in 5 of the 8 (if you count Hood and Perry both, although you probably shouldn't count 1 of the 2).
Yes, there have been some good ones: Houston, Lofton, Sheppard, Darius Miller, Fishback.
But there have been a lot more disappointments, too many to list, many I've never even heard of.

Interesting fact, UT has signed 2 KY Mr Basketball players "ever", and those 2 are probably both in the top 5 UT players ever.
 

mrhotdice

All-American
Nov 1, 2002
21,923
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As long as they bring something to the table. Being athletic is not enough. And you cant go by star ratings because Kentucky,in the past, had great players from Kentucky that lead UK to titles. You can go back to the 50s and 60s and find them on Rupps teams. Pitino in the 90s the same. For a Kentucky kid playing for UK makes them better I believe. Perry and Noah are shooters and neither are 5 Star players but in Popes system of pressure defense and 3 point shooting they are open when they cross mid court.
 

katwest

Heisman
Feb 16, 2003
39,555
13,267
113
There have been some hits and misses thru the years, but most of the time I think Kentucky makes the right decision on who they offer. It also seems like some that we pass on end up hurting us in head-to-head match ups. There is pressure to sign certain ones, but I don't think a scholarship should be an automatic thing on the Mr. basketball. I think Cal hated having to make that decision because he didn't think Kentucky kids were good enough to play here most of the time. I also think every Kentucky team should have a couple of Kentucky boys on the roster, whether they be walk-ons or scholarship players. For example, Derrick Willis and Scott Padgett neither were Mr. basketball, but both were good enough to play here.
 

KFuqua

All-Conference
Oct 24, 2001
2,093
2,345
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I don't think it should be guaranteed. I think it's always worth taking a look at them to see if they would be a good fit, but it shouldn't be automatic.
 
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DreadLox

All-Conference
Mar 30, 2022
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No. Turning it into a monetary award instead of an honorary one would increase bad blood.
 

fs-ripcord65

All-Conference
Apr 29, 2009
5,712
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I certainly don't disagree with this. Could it be any worse to have . . . say . . . another Jon Hood vs. a Tai Wynyard? Neither really major contributors.

Just being devil's advocate. . . . not saying they should or shouldn't.
I would argue that Jon Hood's enthusiasm for and fidelity to the University of Kentucky basketball program, as an historical and ongoing entity, brought an intangible value to the teams of which he was a member that far outweighed that of Tai Wynyard. I don't think that comparison is apt.

I think there are two latin phrases that are equally applicable to this question. Granting a scholarship to Kentucky's Mr. Basketball, per se, should not be a de jure rule. However, I think Coach Pope and all U.K. head basketball coaches who follow him would be well advised to accept it as a de facto rule of practice, rarely broken !
Go 'Cats ! ! !
 

IFerg1969

All-Conference
Oct 3, 2009
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I wouldn't mind giving the Mr Basketball from KY a scholarship when it makes sense and we think the player can contribute possibly at some point. God knows UK had numerous walk-ons under Cal that were basically wasted roster spots just to add practice players. This would be a scholly though, so the thought needs to be that the kid could be more than just a practice player. If the Mr Basketball in any given year though is just clearly not UK material, then "no".
 
Nov 29, 2023
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We don't even usually give the best player the award, so absolutely not.
Yeah, I've seen that occur more often because the guy who commits to UK early wins it.

One of the worst was Josh Carrier winning. Patrick Sparks had way more success than Carrier ever did but Carrier committed to UK and won it.

I think UK has only had like five Mr. Basketball winners the last 15 years.
 

ukwildcatwildfan

All-Conference
Oct 17, 2008
1,358
2,215
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Not saying they should or shouldn't.

So, I've seen on here over the last couple of weeks the mention of the importance of a born/bred Kentucky boy being on the team. What do you think?
I think no, and I think it could eventually cause the voting to become political. Not as in repub/dem, but like local, interpersonal politics.
 
Nov 29, 2023
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To answer the OP's question, no, I don't think it should be automatic. However, I think anyone of that level should already be on the coach's radar to recruit. If they're not, that really kind of says it all with Cal being the exception as he just was going to ignore most of those guys regardless.

With Sheppard and Perry winning being kind of the recent exception, I feel the majority of the Mr. Basketball winners in more recent years hasn't been worth offering. Big drop from the 2000s.


2000Scott HundleyScott CountyVanderbilt
2001Josh CarrierBowling GreenKentucky
2002Brandon StocktonGlasgowKentucky
2003Ross NeltnerHighlandsLSU
Vanderbilt
2004Chris LoftonMason CountyTennessee
2005Domonic TilfordJeffersontownSouth Alabama
2006Walt AllenSouth LaurelPresbyterian
2007Steffphon PettigrewElizabethtownWestern Kentucky
2008Darius MillerMason CountyKentucky2012 NBA draft: 2nd round, 46th overall by the New Orleans Hornets
2009Jon HoodMadisonville North HopkinsKentucky
2010Elisha JusticeShelby ValleyLouisville
Pikeville
2011Anthony HickeyChristian CountyLSU
Oklahoma State
2012Nathan DieudonneTrinityBoston University
2013Dominique HawkinsMadison CentralKentucky
2014Quentin SniderBallardLouisville
2015Camron JusticeKnott County CentralVanderbilt
IUPUI
Western Kentucky
2016Carson WilliamsOwen CountyNorthern Kentucky
Western Kentucky
2017Taveion HollingsworthDunbarWestern Kentucky
2018Trevon FaulknerMercer CountyNorthern Kentucky
2019Dontaie AllenPendleton CountyKentucky
2020Dayvion McKnightMartha Layne CollinsWestern Kentucky
2021Ben JohnsonLexington CatholicBellarmine
2022Turner Buttry[14]Bowling GreenEastern Kentucky
2023Reed Sheppard[15]North LaurelKentucky
2024Travis PerryLyon CountyKentucky
 

CatsPaws270

Heisman
Dec 7, 2015
24,177
63,261
113
Yeah, I've seen that occur more often because the guy who commits to UK early wins it.

One of the worst was Josh Carrier winning. Patrick Sparks had way more success than Carrier ever did but Carrier committed to UK and won it.

I think UK has only had like five Mr. Basketball winners the last 15 years.
Some fun memories about Carrier....he actually grew up a Louisville fan. And remember, he was the one the caused Tubby to have to self-report a recruiting violation during his recruitment.
 
Nov 29, 2023
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Some fun memories about Carrier....he actually grew up a Louisville fan. And remember, he was the one the caused Tubby to have to self-report a recruiting violation during his recruitment.
I definitely do not remember that. What happened?

The case for Carrier winning was awful. Never went to a Sweet 16. Meanwhile, Sparks went to three Sweet 16s, led the state in scoring, and even had a 70 point game.
 
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Kybluedude

Heisman
Nov 19, 2005
9,398
12,075
0
IN the last 20 years there are only a handful of worthy guys: Lofton, Miller, Hickey, Hawkins.

So...no.
We’re you surprised your guy -Adou-moved to Arky?

You were his biggest supporter. I thought he and his dad were upset with Cal. Now he’s got Knox and a couple others in front of him

Thought he might stay but perhaps his game wouldn’t fit.
 

Skyguyb27

All-American
Feb 12, 2008
4,473
7,446
113
No. Earned not given amirite Brad? Seriously though, with the whole Covid extra year and redshirt you could have like 5 or 6 walking around campus burning up scholarships if this was a thing?
 

Kybluedude

Heisman
Nov 19, 2005
9,398
12,075
0
Absolutely…
IF the talent level is good enough
Every one should at least get a courtesy evaluation.
Should we sign them all? No of course not
You’re letting down the female side.

Where’s the Ms Kentucky interjection? The Ladycats could use those girls.
 
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permdaddy_rivals45705

All-American
Mar 29, 2002
16,057
6,644
0
I definitely do not remember that. What happened?

The case for Carrier winning was awful. Never went to a Sweet 16. Meanwhile, Sparks went to three Sweet 16s, led the state in scoring, and even had a 70 point game.
If I remember correctly they were in the gym with him working out at the wrong time maybe even participated in the workout something really minor.
 

CatsPaws270

Heisman
Dec 7, 2015
24,177
63,261
113
I definitely do not remember that. What happened?

The case for Carrier winning was awful. Never went to a Sweet 16. Meanwhile, Sparks went to three Sweet 16s, led the state in scoring, and even had a 70 point game.
Carrier lost to Russellville if I remember.

But the sanctions were Coach Finley and another assistant were throwing Carrier basketballs in an open gym workout. Some NCAA ****.