Kentucky

[west_tip]

Just don't see how their fans can really revel in their success given what they have done to achieve it.
Perenially stacked with the #1 class pretty much every year.
Whatever they win will almost certainly be vacated just like UMass and Memphis.
Virtually none of their players will graduate, few stay a second year.
Shady shit like the changing of Bledsoe's transcript to make him eligible shows the lack of integrity in their operation.
Sure they will probably go undefeated and blowout a lot of good teams but if doing that means making your program a glorified NBA minor league team is it really worth it?

The whole program is more or less a sham and an insult to the concept of the student-athlete and amateurism.

[DeuceWallaces]

Dat salt.

Welcome to D1 athletics.

[Clyde]

Dat salt.

Welcome to D1 athletics.


:applause:

[west_tip]

Dat salt.

Welcome to D1 athletics.

Calipari doesn't care about academics and seems to only want to coach NBA level talent, fine, coach in the NBA. Thats the natural place for him to be coaching.

However that would be too hard for him and the deck would not be stacked as heavily in his favor as it is now. Instead he prefers to coach with future lottery picks coming off his bench against kids the majority of which will graduate and become PE teachers and insurance salesmen.

[DeuceWallaces]

Calipari doesn't care about academics and seems to only want to coach NBA level talent, fine, coach in the NBA. Thats the natural place for him to be coaching.

However that would be too hard for him and the deck would not be stacked as heavily in his favor as it is now. Instead he prefers to coach with future lottery picks coming off his bench against kids the majority of which will graduate and become PE teachers and insurance salesmen.

You seem to be delusional and have no concept how top tier basketball works. Unless you're a Gonzaga fan you should probably shut the **** up.

[west_tip]

You seem to be delusional and have no concept how top tier basketball works.

I'm gonna be the bigger man here and ignore that uneccessarily belligerent last sentence and give you a chance to redeem yourself. Explain how top tier basketball works then.

[ukfan22]

Every player Cal has recruited has gone to class, and left in good academic standing

they all represent the University with class while they are here, none get in trouble with the law or anything like that

The starting lineup this season only features one freshman (two juniors)

I can't believe people are still on this tired shit, probably a UNC fan.

[Jailblazers7]

Cal seems like a genuinely good guy who does right by his players. I'm not saying he is squeaky clean (almost all D1 coaches have probably bent a rule or two somewhere) but he def isn't some posterboy of corruption like a lot of people like to think.

Shit like Bledsoe's transcript and D-Rose's SATs really don't matter imo. The NBA and NCAA have teamed up to make college ball the defacto NBA minor league ever since the 1&done rule was created. I'd rather see these kids get a shot to play and get drafted instead of forcing them to sit so that we can make ourselves feel better about the definition of a "student-athlete."

[AboutBuckets]

I can't believe people are still on this tired shit, probably a UNC fan.

Wasn't there an Ex-Pro who just came out over the summer saying UNC signed their basketball players up for sham-classes with grades basically handed to them?

[DeuceWallaces]

Every player Cal has recruited has gone to class, and left in good academic standing

they all represent the University with class while they are here, none get in trouble with the law or anything like that

The starting lineup this season only features one freshman (two juniors)

I can't believe people are still on this tired shit, probably a UNC fan.

Every player has not left in good academic standing, but they've never been compromised during the season. Bledsoe and Orton never went to class which is one of the reasons they left "early" as bench players.

[DeuceWallaces]

I'm gonna be the bigger man here and ignore that uneccessarily belligerent last sentence and give you a chance to redeem yourself. Explain how top tier basketball works then.

All you've been in this thread is belligerent, unsubstantiated, and ignorant. I don't see why I should be any different.

[ukfan22]

Every player has not left in good academic standing, but they've never been compromised during the season. Bledsoe and Orton never went to class which is one of the reasons they left "early" as bench players.

Orton did not leave in good standing, but he was not recruited by Cal. And Orton took a lot of heat for it from the fanbase. I've never heard anything like that regarding Bledsoe. I'm sure he wasn't taking molecular biology, but as far as I know he did what was needed the second semester before he left.

[DeuceWallaces]

You should try being less of a homer. It doesn't matter who recruited Orton or Bledsoe, they were ineligible and had to leave or sit out a long time to get back in good standing.

[ukfan22]

I don't really know what that means

[west_tip]

Cal seems like a genuinely good guy who does right by his players. I'm not saying he is squeaky clean (almost all D1 coaches have probably bent a rule or two somewhere) but he def isn't some posterboy of corruption like a lot of people like to think.

Shit like Bledsoe's transcript and D-Rose's SATs really don't matter imo. The NBA and NCAA have teamed up to make college ball the defacto NBA minor league ever since the 1&done rule was created. I'd rather see these kids get a shot to play and get drafted instead of forcing them to sit so that we can make ourselves feel better about the definition of a "student-athlete."

I guess.

To me it just seems like Cal is out of place coaching in collegiate sports. One of the most edifying aspects about coaching at an academic institution is the chance to watch your charges grow and develop as players and as men over the four year period they are under your stewardship. The culmination of which is being there and feeling like a proud father on the day they graduate. I say this from experience because I am a high school soccer coach and more important than wins and playoff appearances and tournaments and so on is the fact my players get their education.

By contrast Cal's model* runs counter to what I perceive the purpose of a collegiate program is for and as such given his penchant for coaching NBA caliber players and his obvious coaching ability I have to wonder why he is not coaching in the league. Why wouldn't a proven coach who is great at coaching talent, dealing with egos etc. be coaching in the league at the highest possible level?


* I realize that Cal is not the only guy recruiting NBA ready high school, one and done type players but he is the most salient example of this practice and it is what his Kentucky program is built upon.

[UK2K]

You should try being less of a homer. It doesn't matter who recruited Orton or Bledsoe, they were ineligible and had to leave or sit out a long time to get back in good standing.

Orton stopped attending class because his Dad told him he was better than Cousins and that he was destined for the NBA.

Bledsoe sat out maybe two games.

Other than those two instances (which Orton was already here when Cal came), UK is consistently on top of the SEC per the APR.

Truth hurts.

[RonSwanson]

Orton stopped attending class because his Dad told him he was better than Cousins and that he was destined for the NBA.

Bledsoe sat out maybe two games.

Other than those two instances (which Orton was already here when Cal came), UK is consistently on top of the SEC per the APR.

Truth hurts.


Hit em with that Ether. :applause:

[ILLsmak]

some old shit lol.

I just think it's funny when people are like COACH CAL DOING IT WITH FRESHMEN. That's the only facepalm moment anymore. I got over the possible shade and I don't think he's going to get vacated this time. He's finally 'made it.'

But to act like he's doing some great work to succeed with these guys is luls.

-Smak

[Real Men Wear Green]

Old thread but I'll toss in my .02
Calipari doesn't care about academics and seems to only want to coach NBA level talent, fine, coach in the NBA. Thats the natural place for him to be coaching.

However that would be too hard for him and the deck would not be stacked as heavily in his favor as it is now. Instead he prefers to coach with future lottery picks coming off his bench against kids the majority of which will graduate and become PE teachers and insurance salesmen.
The criticism leveled at LBJ whenever his GM does his job (teams are supposed to gather as much talent as possible) shouldn't leak into NCAA analysis. You are supposed to grab all the talent you can. If you don't, someone else will and they will beat you. That's just how it works.