What's best for UK program going forward.

[Stenchymouse]

I'm not calling for anything...

I'm just going to give UK basketball less attention in my life for awhile.

I don't think complaining and criticizing the coach is ultimately good for UK basketball long term.

We have to deal with those consequences long after Cal is gone.

Seriously, it's better for the program, and actually sends a LOUDER message, to just check out.

I hope for the best, and may or may not watch the remaining games this season, but I limit my emotional investment into things that are important in the grand scheme of things.

Who knows where our program is headed, and it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out long term, but after the year we've had in this country, and the direction our country is headed, basketball isn't worth my emotion.

I hope some of my fellow fans check out too, instead of complaining and bashing Cal and the players.

 

[warrior-cat]

I'm not calling for anything...

I'm just going to give UK basketball less attention in my life for awhile.

I don't think complaining and criticizing the coach is ultimately good for UK basketball long term.

We have to deal with those consequences long after Cal is gone.

Seriously, it's better for the program, and actually sends a LOUDER message, to just check out.

I hope for the best, and may or may not watch the remaining games this season, but I limit my emotional investment into things that are important in the grand scheme of things.

Who knows where our program is headed, and it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out long term, but after the year we've had in this country, and the direction our country is headed, basketball isn't worth my emotion.

I hope some of my fellow fans check out too, instead of complaining and bashing Cal and the players.

Yep.

 

[acatnamedmyra]

I'm not calling for anything...

I'm just going to give UK basketball less attention in my life for awhile.

I don't think complaining and criticizing the coach is ultimately good for UK basketball long term.

We have to deal with those consequences long after Cal is gone.

Seriously, it's better for the program, and actually sends a LOUDER message, to just check out.

I hope for the best, and may or may not watch the remaining games this season, but I limit my emotional investment into things that are important in the grand scheme of things.

Who knows where our program is headed, and it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out long term, but after the year we've had in this country, and the direction our country is headed, basketball isn't worth my emotion.

I hope some of my fellow fans check out too, instead of complaining and bashing Cal and the players.

This is very well said. We’ve been hit by a perfect storm. Brand new team. No get ready games. Losing begets losing. Cal might need to adjust his recruiting theory but I think he’s better qualified to make those changes than I or any of you for that matter.

 

[Stenchymouse]

If the fans come on too strong, we'll never get players and coaches wanting to come here.

Either we positively support, or we check out.

That may not be the easiest way to go about it, but it's best for the program long term.

 

[John Henry]

I'm not calling for anything...

I'm just going to give UK basketball less attention in my life for awhile.

I don't think complaining and criticizing the coach is ultimately good for UK basketball long term.

We have to deal with those consequences long after Cal is gone.

Seriously, it's better for the program, and actually sends a LOUDER message, to just check out.

I hope for the best, and may or may not watch the remaining games this season, but I limit my emotional investment into things that are important in the grand scheme of things.

Who knows where our program is headed, and it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out long term, but after the year we've had in this country, and the direction our country is headed, basketball isn't worth my emotion.

I hope some of my fellow fans check out too, instead of complaining and bashing Cal and the players.

This is sound advice. There is no need to get emotionally involved in this team or this coach, Calipari. Calipari made this mess and only he can turn it around while he is coach. If he leaves someone else can take on the challenge.

Meanwhile I will not let the losses sting as they pile up and thankfully I have a lot of things to keep me occupied and happy in life without UK basketball.

 

[Swimcat20]

Signing a one and done class every year worked for about five years. It's over. Replacing the entire team every year obviously just isn't working anymore. I can see it with one or two players but we need players that are going to last.

 

[BoulderCat_rivals187983]

I'm not calling for anything...

I'm just going to give UK basketball less attention in my life for awhile.

I don't think complaining and criticizing the coach is ultimately good for UK basketball long term.

We have to deal with those consequences long after Cal is gone.

Seriously, it's better for the program, and actually sends a LOUDER message, to just check out.

I hope for the best, and may or may not watch the remaining games this season, but I limit my emotional investment into things that are important in the grand scheme of things.

Who knows where our program is headed, and it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out long term, but after the year we've had in this country, and the direction our country is headed, basketball isn't worth my emotion.

I hope some of my fellow fans check out too, instead of complaining and bashing Cal and the players.

Is watching the game on mute while reading checking out? That’s what I did yesterday. I’ve been doing the same thing with the Broncos lately.

 

[megablue]

Kentucky has always tried to sign the best possible players. How do you make a conscious and deliberate effort to drop down in your talent search? It is a real dilemma, to say the least. I do not pretend to have the answer, but would “we can’t sign him, he’s too good” really be it?

 

[Old Blue Fart]

Kentucky has always tried to sign the best possible players. How do you make a conscious and deliberate effort to drop down in your talent search? It is a real dilemma, to say the least. I do not pretend to have the answer, but would “we can’t sign him, he’s too good” really be it?

You make a very good point. We need to recruit the best players we can. What has to change is how we recruit them.
UK has this reputation of "One and Done, Off to the NBA no Matter What". That is what needs to be addressed.
How does Coach Cal do this? Biggest question going forward for me.
These young players need to hear reality instead of pushing some dream of the NBA.
Not a single one of these kids is ready for the NBA. Can't see how a couple more months is going to change that either.
Kids need to hear about a "journey they will be on at UK that will take them to the NBA" instead of this hopping on the UK bus for a short drive to the NBA.
The top schools in college right now are not loaded with OAD's and they are going very well. We got to find a way to blend the top talent with very good talent that understands the process of working towards the NBA.
Seems kids are getting this attitude they are ready for the NBA earlier and earlier every year. Hell, now we are looking at the top high school kids to skip their senior year and come.
We must have a stronger foundation this this.

 

[Panthur]

Kentucky has always tried to sign the best possible players. How do you make a conscious and deliberate effort to drop down in your talent search? It is a real dilemma, to say the least. I do not pretend to have the answer, but would “we can’t sign him, he’s too good” really be it?

It’s a valid question but I think there’s an answer: we have to start ignoring the ratings system.

Classically the Top 25 was a list of the top 25 most talented basketball players. Now it’s not. With the basketball world focus skewed towards the NBA, and the NBA’s focus skewed toward length and hops at all positions, the Top 25 is now increasingly a list of the 25 longest and highest jumping players in the country.....in many cases they are even among the least talented in terms of real basketball skills, basketball IQ, and basketball intuition. So all we actually need to do is return our strategy to doing what we always used to do, just like you said: recruiting the actually most talented high school players.

When we do that we’ll automatically be getting kids who’ll stay more than one year....unless they really do happen to be the generational talents we used to get occasionally, in which case we really will be happy to have them for one year. It’s not a perfectly cut and dry question, and we could certainly say that Boston looked like a skilled player and turned out not to be. But the more we trend towards bringing in real skill and talent instead of NBA potential, the less those busts will hurt us even if we have them. ...And the less we’ll have to think of a kid as a bust if he doesn’t blossom his first year.

What to do about the fact that Cal seems to be the single last coach in the world to really switch to an approach like that?

mmunknow ¯\_(ツ)_/¯?

 

[WeWant9]

This isn’t directed at anyone, and I myself have been going through it the last few seasons, but it’s damn sad to see so many in BBN lose their passion.

 

[mrhotdice]

This isn’t directed at anyone, and I myself have been going through it the last few seasons, but it’s damn sad to see so many in BBN lose their passion.

The fact UK can’t or won’t recruit real shooters from Kentucky that care about the program more than draft night says it all. Great shooters are gym rats, fundamentally sound and don’t have to be taught as freshman in college how to block out and dribble. These players are born with a work ethic and a refuse to lose attitude. Not many 5 Stars have to work hard because they are athletically gifted which is why many fell in college. Once you are out of AAU ball and the rubber hits the road in college they have nothing to fall back on.

 

[bucsrule8872]

I’ve lost passion for college basketball in general over the last several years. I rarely watch any games that are not UK (though my alma mater WKU has been on TV a lot this year so far and I have watched several of their games). I just can’t get into it anymore because of all the corruption and politics that has crept into the game.

As for UK, I will just continue to watch the Cats and hope for the best. I hope Cal makes some necessary adjustments to get us back on the right path, but if not, then so be it, it is out of my hands.

So I’m not really checking out, I just don’t take it as seriously as I use to. Too much other stuff to worry about. If UK/college bball doesn’t bring me joy, I just can’t make it a priority in my life. If a pass time causes stress, it’s not a very good pass time.

 

[Stenchymouse]

Is watching the game on mute while reading checking out? That’s what I did yesterday. I’ve been doing the same thing with the Broncos lately.

I watched the game, and afterwards, I went on with my evening as normal.

I didn't get on here and complain, and I damned sure didn't lose any sleep over it.

I'm not going to let a bunch of teenagers tossing a leather ball into an iron hoop take a chunk out of me emotionally, especially after what's happened to our country in 2020.

I'l probably watch games when they're on, and if we're getting killed, I'll turn the channel.

 

[Stenchymouse]

This isn’t directed at anyone, and I myself have been going through it the last few seasons, but it’s damn sad to see so many in BBN lose their passion.

I think it's more about perspective, and what's actually best for the program we love.

Getting too invested isn't good for my health, or the program itself.

We actually torture ourselves and HURT the program simultaneously by being TOO passionate.

 

[TFCat11]

The last thing I’d be doing if I were “checking out”, is starting a thread on RR about “checking out”. JMO

 

[Stenchymouse]

The last thing I’d be doing if I were “checking out”, is starting a thread on RR about “checking out”. JMO

I logged on yesterday morning and after seeing the ridiculous and self destructive posts on here, I figured that I'd try and add some perspective.

I log on every morning, and if you see my replies, I haven't been back on since yesterday morning.

I still love the Cats and I want to win.

Me checking out is a matter of focusing more on other things and not getting overly emotional about it.

Honestly, if people want to jump off a bridge because of the state of the program, that's their prerogative, but the "fire Cal" posts, and the "these players suck" and all that childish stuff, is counterproductive.

 

[KyFaninNC]

Kentucky has always tried to sign the best possible players. How do you make a conscious and deliberate effort to drop down in your talent search? It is a real dilemma, to say the least. I do not pretend to have the answer, but would “we can’t sign him, he’s too good” really be it?

Simple I think. Evaluate talent to what the needs are. Don’t just take the highest rated players regardless of what their skills are. We can all see we are lacking a true PG and shooters on this team. Askew should be a senior in high school. Stop taking all these kids that want to reclassify. We have ended up with a high school player as PG. Design a system that utilizes the skill set of the players. Quit trying to square pegs into round holes.

 

[liveblue92]

I'm not calling for anything...

I'm just going to give UK basketball less attention in my life for awhile.

I don't think complaining and criticizing the coach is ultimately good for UK basketball long term.

We have to deal with those consequences long after Cal is gone.

Seriously, it's better for the program, and actually sends a LOUDER message, to just check out.

I hope for the best, and may or may not watch the remaining games this season, but I limit my emotional investment into things that are important in the grand scheme of things.

Who knows where our program is headed, and it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out long term, but after the year we've had in this country, and the direction our country is headed, basketball isn't worth my emotion.

I hope some of my fellow fans check out too, instead of complaining and bashing Cal and the players.

If we could “check out” would we really be Kentucky fans?

If the STL Cardinals suck, I can check out.
If the Titans suck, I can check out.

I can’t check out of UK basketball and football.

 

[thepip]

If the fans come on too strong, we'll never get players and coaches wanting to come here.

Either we positively support, or we check out.

That may not be the easiest way to go about it, but it's best for the program long term.

Oh, I think there may be someone interested, that is just a guess $$$

 

[kyjeff1]

Need to stop recruiting guys that simply have NBA potential because they have size. The fact that Cal continues to recruit guys like Boston and Clarke, tells me he is still way too focused on the NBA draft.
Those kids are going to be here 1 year and it doesn't matter how badly they stink it up here. That is not the best thing if you want to build a strong roster foundation. That's a disruption.
Cal needs to get the NBA first culture out of the program first and foremost. He is no longer getting John Wall type talent, if he was, I would be 100% on board with it, but when your best players are projects that can't shoot, dribble, pass or defend, you get to be 1-6 and you lose to bad teams.
Now, if you had a team full of veterans and you had a need for a wing, sure, go get a guy like Clarke or Boston, just don't try to make them your primary go-to players. (See Suggs at Gonzaga, he can just go out and play, because is surrounded by veterans)
Cal needs to focus on recruiting freshmen to become sophomores and sophomores to become juniors and so on. Right now, he is clearly doing the opposite.
He likes to "help kids reach their dreams", well, 95% of the guys he has done that for, were already set to go to the NBA before they came here, so what's the hard-on for? I would figure he would get more out of getting guys like Herro, SGA, Richards and WCS to the draft, those are the guys that need the help. Boston and Clarke are already set. Instead of bringing them in, recruit Ashton Hagans, EJ, Juzang, Richards and IQ to come back. That team would be 7-0 right now.
Just stop with the NBA first crap.

 

[mhroe1984]

I’d say to win every game from here on out

 

[ManitouDan_anon]

I logged on yesterday morning and after seeing the ridiculous and self destructive posts on here, I figured that I'd try and add some perspective.

I log on every morning, and if you see my replies, I haven't been back on since yesterday morning.

I still love the Cats and I want to win.

Me checking out is a matter of focusing more on other things and not getting overly emotional about it.

Honestly, if people want to jump off a bridge because of the state of the program, that's their prerogative, but the "fire Cal" posts, and the "these players suck" and all that childish stuff, is counterproductive.

solid take and I admire it . Sometimes I certainly need to just say nothing at all. The players want to win , it’s just a mess . They don’t need piled on . Just wish Cal would stop antagonizing the very ones who pour their hearts into theprogram .

 

[seccats04]

Simple I think. Evaluate talent to what the needs are. Don’t just take the highest rated players regardless of what their skills are. We can all see we are lacking a true PG and shooters on this team. Askew should be a senior in high school. Stop taking all these kids that want to reclassify. We have ended up with a high school player as PG. Design a system that utilizes the skill set of the players. Quit trying to square pegs into round holes.

We keep striking out with our main targets and are left scrambling at the last minute to get kids to reclass to fill out the roster. It makes a young team even younger and some kids just aren't ready. We are seeing that this year.

 

[BlueRunner11]

More concerned about my 11 yo kid being able to play basketball. Despite any science, reasoning, or common sense.. so many kids are still not even allowed to enter a gym let alone actually play games. But ofc, kids don’t generate money like college and the pro players do so theyre deemed not “safe.”

Like was stated above, there’s bigger and more important things In each of our lives to focus on these days.

 

[NCPurplecat]

Rehash PosT: What is best for UK is to keep Coach Cal but tweak the definition of best player. Some players more so in football just cant stay available due injury off field issues. Talent does not help if not available. One and Dones have an availability max of 40 games. Not good and the development plan balancing weight class room xs and os and on floor experience does not work well for an 18 year old body. A couple one and dones is great, 5 wanna be OaD is too many.

 

[TheAnonymous13]

If the fans come on too strong, we'll never get players and coaches wanting to come here.

Either we positively support, or we check out.

That may not be the easiest way to go about it, but it's best for the program long term.

I know at this moment it sounds counter-intuitive, but the level of passion within the BBN fan base is exactly why the best players and coaches are attracted to uk.

 

[NCPurplecat]

One thing not discussed is UK administration. I think UK has a great University President and overall administration and the issues are some BBall losses in a Covid year where I am just glad there are games on. The state of the UK fan base is quite good and the University like others have Covid fiscal challenges of which UK sports revenue will help. Nothing wrong with UK that an experience guard like Quick would have solved with a few threes and steady play at clutch time. One 5 star that can actually shoot vs college players and things will be looking up soon.

 

[seccats04]

If we could “check out” would we really be Kentucky fans?

If the STL Cardinals suck, I can check out.
If the Titans suck, I can check out.

I can’t check out of UK basketball and football.

I've been a die hard fan for 35 years so it's not easy for me to just stop watching our games. I used to plan my day around the game. Now I watch the games if I have nothing else going on.

I've said for several years I don't like how Cal runs our program. We're not a training camp for the NBA and shouldn't have to be. We are the top college basketball program. We have guys like Vanderbilt, Diallo and now Brooks who are on scholarship but choosing not to play for whatever reasons. I don't like the ugly basketball every year until mid-March. I don't like replacing 90% of the roster every year. I don't like all the transfers. I don't like how Cal will not play a little zone at times when it may help the team because the NBA doesn't do it. I hate the NBA and how everything is one on one and somebody just go make a play. That's what we have become and it's awful to watch. I can go to the blue courts on campus and watch a similar offense.

Cal needs to change several things for the program to move forward like focus less on the NBA, recruit true basketball players who can actually shoot the ball and who are more likely to stick around, get a modern day offense and drop these dead beat assistants who can't coach. But arrogant Cal won't admit he's wrong and won't change and that is why apathy is setting in for many, including me.

 

[westerncat]

Need to stop recruiting guys that simply have NBA potential because they have size. The fact that Cal continues to recruit guys like Boston and Clarke, tells me he is still way too focused on the NBA draft.
Those kids are going to be here 1 year and it doesn't matter how badly they stink it up here. That is not the best thing if you want to build a strong roster foundation. That's a disruption.
Cal needs to get the NBA first culture out of the program first and foremost. He is no longer getting John Wall type talent, if he was, I would be 100% on board with it, but when your best players are projects that can't shoot, dribble, pass or defend, you get to be 1-6 and you lose to bad teams.
Now, if you had a team full of veterans and you had a need for a wing, sure, go get a guy like Clarke or Boston, just don't try to make them your primary go-to players. (See Suggs at Gonzaga, he can just go out and play, because is surrounded by veterans)
Cal needs to focus on recruiting freshmen to become sophomores and sophomores to become juniors and so on. Right now, he is clearly doing the opposite.
He likes to "help kids reach their dreams", well, 95% of the guys he has done that for, were already set to go to the NBA before they came here, so what's the hard-on for? I would figure he would get more out of getting guys like Herro, SGA, Richards and WCS to the draft, those are the guys that need the help. Boston and Clarke are already set. Instead of bringing them in, recruit Ashton Hagans, EJ, Juzang, Richards and IQ to come back. That team would be 7-0 right now.
Just stop with the NBA first crap.

This may be the best post you have posted and the only answer that is correct. One and done is not the answer anymore as you pointed out most players that come to KY for just 1 year do not really care that they play for the school they are just here for a quick path to the NBA. I really don't see Cal changing his approach on this and we may just keep loosing games. IMO the only answer is for UK to replace the coach to fix the problem.

 

[DraftCat]

Trust me I think a lot of fans are already checked out.... the die hards are on this board.

I'm not sure how many more UK games I watch this season personally.... maybe if they catch fire but not likely.

 

[KYWildCatsFan]

I can say all I want that I won't be watching the next game. But I know when the next tip off happens, I'll be watching.

What has actually changed for me is how mad I let it make me.

 

[Stenchymouse]

If we could “check out” would we really be Kentucky fans?

If the STL Cardinals suck, I can check out.
If the Titans suck, I can check out.

I can’t check out of UK basketball and football.

"Checking out" doesn't mean "stop being a fan", or "I'm done forever".

It means "I'm going to chill out and try to check out emotionally until things get better".

It's hard to do, but that's better than saying things that will only make it worse.

Give em some space, and let em figure it out.

I DO have responsibilities and other interests to tend to, that are more worthy of my emotion at this time.

Honestly, I have a lot of friends that are UofL fans, who are also struggling to care as much about sports right now.

There's a lot of crazy stuff happening in our country right now that is truly life impacting, that deserve our passion and emotion much more than basketball.

I had hoped that a great season from the Cats would be a nice temporary distraction for me, but I guess that's not going to happen, so onward with life it is...

 

[NCPurplecat]

UK has not checked out and needs to just keep playing. Now Missouri & Tenn Football checked out. Right decision but feel bad for Iowa. They really wanted to play and Iowa fans would have loved Nashville in a normal year. UK is gonna keep on playing. Scottish motto: "Sweeter after Difficulties" Feb will have much better results for BBN.

 

[kyjeff1]

This may be the best post you have posted and the only answer that is correct. One and done is not the answer anymore as you pointed out most players that come to KY for just 1 year do not really care that they play for the school they are just here for a quick path to the NBA. I really don't see Cal changing his approach on this and we may just keep loosing games. IMO the only answer is for UK to replace the coach to fix the problem.

John Wall, Cuz, Townes, Fox etc… , those guys care about UK. They rep UK constantly. Clarke and Boston won't be back to a UK game once they leave. They will have no connection to this program once they leave.
Cal has to be extremely frustrated too, maybe he'll be frustrated enough to change. This NBA first stuff just ain't working and it's not going to get any better.
I would be good with an NIT season if it meant Cal was building a solid roster foundation for the future, but that is far from the case. In fact, it very much looks like most of this team will be gone after this season, so we may have to go through another painful season next year too.

 

[UK2287]

Just focus on getting these kids NBA ready. That’s the key for this season

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

I’m a die hard fan. I used to work my plans around games. I haven’t done that for a while; at least last two seasons before this one. I haven’t been overly bothered by losses this season, as I expected them. I haven’t watched a full game yet this season. I don’t want this to be the case, but it’s just the way it is. So, have I checked out? Maybe a bit. Maybe I’m just busy? I don’t think so though. I think I’m just sick of seeing putrid basketball, and I am sick of what college basketball is becoming. I mean, look around. Most of all college basketball sucks *** this year. Not just us. I didn’t see anything resembling a really good team out there. It’s sad.

 

[Wildcats1st]

Fire Barney and hire and AD who will put lots of pressure and see what happens. Personally I think cal would leave on his own accord if asked to make tremendous changes but it has to start with the guy no one talks about. The AD

 

[BradleyCrawford08_rivals]

The funny thing is I barely paid attention to the UK/UofL game. It’s weird. You know what to expect. They play well for a half and then they can’t finish and end up losing. We’ll see how UK ends up doing in conference play. Maybe they can turn it around, maybe they can’t.

 

[SmedMoley]

I’ve lost passion for college basketball in general over the last several years. I rarely watch any games that are not UK (though my alma mater WKU has been on TV a lot this year so far and I have watched several of their games). I just can’t get into it anymore because of all the corruption and politics that has crept into the game.

As for UK, I will just continue to watch the Cats and hope for the best. I hope Cal makes some necessary adjustments to get us back on the right path, but if not, then so be it, it is out of my hands.

So I’m not really checking out, I just don’t take it as seriously as I use to. Too much other stuff to worry about. If UK/college bball doesn’t bring me joy, I just can’t make it a priority in my life. If a pass time causes stress, it’s not a very good pass time.

Excellent thoughts.

When I do try to watch the offense and lack of ability deters me. And it's not just UK. But we are not enjoyable at all watch.