Blast from the past Kyky Tandy recruitment, UK fans got duped.

[LongliveWildcatDon]

Let's rip the Band-Aid right off and get to it. Kyky nor his dad never demanded playing time or starting role. About 10 people were in the gym when that conversation happened and all 10 to this day will tell you that not only was Cal's take completely not true but will also tell you Kyky's dad was very clear what they wanted.

Kyky's dad believed Cal favored 5 stars to the point he would play them over guys that maybe deserved their time. (cough cough). He knew Kyky wouldn't play much as a freshman but was direct with Cal and asked if his son would get a fair shake in the future if he earned the playing time. Cal started shaking his head insisting he doesn't play favorites or guarantee playing time. Kyky's dad repeated that he only wanted the playing time for his son if he earned it and wanted to know if he would play if he earned the time.

So many UK fans bashed Kyky and his dad over the years and never thought to ask themselves, why would he demand playing time from Cal just to go to Xavier and take a bench role his freshman yr?

As for Kyky he never developed in college for several reasons, but you couldn't ask for a better team first kid to coach.


Why I was the first UK fan to turn on Cal and loathe him to this day. (i can't verify this story to be true but believe it 100%)

I've been told several times Cal leaked his version to Kyle Tucker and exchange for the right to be the first guy they talked to about recruiting. If you doubt this check Tucker's Twitter feed shortly after he wrote the Kyky story. He became the go to guy for UK recruiting info immediately after.

"Players first" my ***!

 

[caytsBNA]

Let's rip the Band-Aid right off and get to it. Kyky nor his dad never demanded playing time or starting role. About 10 people were in the gym when that conversation happened and all 10 to this day will tell you that not only was Cal's take completely not true but will also tell you Kyky's dad was very clear what they wanted.

Kyky's dad believed Cal favored 5 stars to the point he would play them over guys that maybe deserved their time. (cough cough). He knew Kyky wouldn't play much as a freshman but was direct with Cal and asked if his son would get a fair shake in the future if he earned the playing time. Cal started shaking his head insisting he doesn't play favorites or guarantee playing time. Kyky's dad repeated that he only wanted the playing time for his son if he earned it and wanted to know if he would play if he earned the time.

So many UK fans bashed Kyky and his dad over the years and never thought to ask themselves, why would he demand playing time from Cal just to go to Xavier and take a bench role his freshman yr?

As for Kyky he never developed in college for several reasons, but you couldn't ask for a better team first kid to coach.


Why I was the first UK fan to turn on Cal and loathe him to this day. (i can't verify this story to be true but believe it 100%)

I've been told several times Cal leaked his version to Kyle Tucker and exchange for the right to be the first guy they talked to about recruiting. If you doubt this check Tucker's Twitter feed shortly after he wrote the Kyky story. He became the go to guy for UK recruiting info immediately after.

"Players first" my ***!

Averaged 8 points as a 24 year old at FAU last year. I would say it was good evaluation by Cal.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

He joined today to post this prehistoric ********. The guy never amount to anything.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

Kid wasn’t the kind of talent we could get under Cal honestly. Every team needs a guy who would work hard and play his role though. Who knows what is true and what isn’t. He didn’t come and he had a career elsewhere. I hope he enjoyed his college time.

 

[JwUKFan11]

Nobody cares.

 

[mjj_2K]

Let's rip the Band-Aid right off and get to it. Kyky nor his dad never demanded playing time or starting role. About 10 people were in the gym when that conversation happened and all 10 to this day will tell you that not only was Cal's take completely not true but will also tell you Kyky's dad was very clear what they wanted.

Kyky's dad believed Cal favored 5 stars to the point he would play them over guys that maybe deserved their time. (cough cough). He knew Kyky wouldn't play much as a freshman but was direct with Cal and asked if his son would get a fair shake in the future if he earned the playing time. Cal started shaking his head insisting he doesn't play favorites or guarantee playing time. Kyky's dad repeated that he only wanted the playing time for his son if he earned it and wanted to know if he would play if he earned the time.

So many UK fans bashed Kyky and his dad over the years and never thought to ask themselves, why would he demand playing time from Cal just to go to Xavier and take a bench role his freshman yr?

As for Kyky he never developed in college for several reasons, but you couldn't ask for a better team first kid to coach.


Why I was the first UK fan to turn on Cal and loathe him to this day. (i can't verify this story to be true but believe it 100%)

I've been told several times Cal leaked his version to Kyle Tucker and exchange for the right to be the first guy they talked to about recruiting. If you doubt this check Tucker's Twitter feed shortly after he wrote the Kyky story. He became the go to guy for UK recruiting info immediately after.

"Players first" my ***!

He wasn't a very good player. Maybe he would have thrived in D3. He would have added absolutely nothing, at any point, at UK. He was too small and not a good enough shooter to come anywhere close to making up for that. He ended his college career shooting under 40% and somehow less assists than Oscar Tshiebwe.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

These assessments are weird.

 

[LongliveWildcatDon]

Averaged 8 points as a 24 year old at FAU last year. I would say it was good evaluation by Cal.

I think we are missing the forest for the trees here. Regardless if Kyky had been a star player here or not the story is Cal planted a fake story to make the fanbase turn on him and a sports journalist went with it to further his career. And a blind man could evalutate talent better than Cal.

 

[LongliveWildcatDon]

He joined today to post this prehistoric ********. The guy never amount to anything.

Lets learn how to use a calendar before moving on to the internet bud.

 

[LongliveWildcatDon]

Nobody cares.

and yet you not only clicked but responded???

 

[LongliveWildcatDon]

He wasn't a very good player. Maybe he would have thrived in D3. He would have added absolutely nothing, at any point, at UK. He was too small and not a good enough shooter to come anywhere close to making up for that. He ended his college career shooting under 40% and somehow less assists than Oscar Tshiebwe.

Injuries dampened his development. But he had legit division 1 talent coming out of high school, but potential is fickle. But the point is Cal planted a fake story and UK fans trashed a kid based on it.

 

[LongliveWildcatDon]

These assessments are weird.

Your use of "assessment" is weird. Sorry you didn't enjoy...at least it was free.

 

[kfwa]

no opinion on KyKy but it was pretty easy to see from Cal's treatment Diallo that he was going to invest in "his" guys and if you weren't one of them, then you were going to transfer to another team the following year.

Kentucky lost games because Cal was invested in getting his guys ready for the NBA.

I hope Arkansas fires his *** after he does that crap with them.

 

[bnewt5]

no opinion on KyKy but it was pretty easy to see from Cal's treatment Diallo that he was going to invest in "his" guys and if you weren't one of them, then you were going to transfer to another team the following year.

Kentucky lost games because Cal was invested in getting his guys ready for the NBA.

I hope Arkansas fires his *** after he does that crap with them.

Absolutely agree
CCC tried to steer clear of home grown kids as he knew the fans would want them to play. CCC was a lousy bench coach and would not give the non 5 star kids a fair shake. He lost the undefeated season by allowing the Harrison twins to play the hero role instead of getting the ball inside to KAT. That is when I basically stopped following UK. The team that I had following for over 40 years. The ccc double talk was horrendous. So glad he moved on, but his recruiting is still hard to believe. He continues to bring in the big names as does Duke, while Pope and UK struggle.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

Lets learn how to use a calendar before moving on to the internet bud.

It says you joined Tuesday..... bud

 

[FactsOrOpinions]

He joined today to post this prehistoric ********. The guy never amount to anything.

Ol fossil talking about prehistoric lol

 

[Wunky]

Kyky wasn’t UK material, so I fail to see the relevance of your rambling. I also don’t remember “so many UK fans” bashing Kyky and his dad. In fact, the only times I saw UK fans even talk about that kid were when some pumper like you would come on here trying to convince us how great he was, only to get quickly shot down. UK fans were correct in their evaluation of the kid, and so was Cal. Move on.

 

[WallMash]

There was a kid named KyKy? what a cool name.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

Ol fossil talking about prehistoric lol

 

[Snarks]

He wasn’t a good player, I’d say good call to pass on him.

 

[Im The Village Idiot]

Biggest problem with bringing in local guys as Wildcats….stuff like this. People around here get into their feelings and it causes them to see the coaches as wrong for evaluating properly. Calipari has done this for every three decades — he isn’t making random guesses. Everyone is wrong sometimes, but he wasn’t wrong here. Yawn, not a story. Move on.

 

[Smeegs]

I also don’t remember “so many UK fans” bashing Kyky and his dad.

Oh, I definitely do remember what the OP is talking about. The alleged story back then was that Cal stopped recruiting Ky Ky because his dad told him he expected to start. I even seem to recall his dad did have a quote along the lines of “my son’s not going somewhere to just be a backup.” And folks here did bash him for it.

But considering Ky Ky turned out to not be much of a CBB player, who cares? Regardless of Cal’s reason for backing off him, it proved to be the right decision.

 

[LongliveWildcatDon]

It says you joined Tuesday..... bud

UMMMM, are you okay? You do know that Tuesday isn't Thurday right? Starting to think grade school failed you. I have some old preschool workbooks left over from my daughters if you care to better yourself.

 

[LongliveWildcatDon]

Kyky wasn’t UK material, so I fail to see the relevance of your rambling. I also don’t remember “so many UK fans” bashing Kyky and his dad. In fact, the only times I saw UK fans even talk about that kid were when some pumper like you would come on here trying to convince us how great he was, only to get quickly shot down. UK fans were correct in their evaluation of the kid, and so was Cal. Move on.

Sorry a post that was free for you to read caused so much discomfort in your life. Im just posting personal experiences as a UK fan and never meant to cause a fragile person like yourself to cry.

The point of my rambling, which came at no cost to you and a normal person would have just skipped if they had no interest, was Cal's way of handling it. I thought maybe some people with a slight grip on the English language would want to discuss that instead of letting their confusion devolve into the continuation of trashing a kid they know nothing about.

 

[SenseMaker_Cats]

Biggest problem with bringing in local guys as Wildcats….stuff like this. People around here get into their feelings and it causes them to see the coaches as wrong for evaluating properly. Calipari has done this for every three decades — he isn’t making random guesses. Everyone is wrong sometimes, but he wasn’t wrong here. Yawn, not a story. Move on.

I think you missed on this one my friend. That wasn’t what was in question. Now you don’t have to believe the story but evaluating talent wasn’t it.

 

[LongliveWildcatDon]

Biggest problem with bringing in local guys as Wildcats….stuff like this. People around here get into their feelings and it causes them to see the coaches as wrong for evaluating properly. Calipari has done this for every three decades — he isn’t making random guesses. Everyone is wrong sometimes, but he wasn’t wrong here. Yawn, not a story. Move on.

Biggest problem with bringing in local guys as Wildcats….stuff like this. People around here get into their feelings and it causes them to see the coaches as wrong for evaluating properly. Calipari has done this for every three decades — he isn’t making random guesses. Everyone is wrong sometimes, but he wasn’t wrong here. Yawn, not a story. Move on.

You missed the biggest part of the post. Recruits succeed and fail at all levels. Cal has a TON of 5 stars that not only missed but looked way worse than KYKY on the floor. You think it okay for a millionaire HOF to fabricate false stories about high school kids for people to trash them?

 

[CB3UK]

I'm with you OP on Cal saying one thing and doing another. Promising playing time to guys who didn't deserve it and giving it to them while other guys had earned it.

But this one is a terrible example. I didn't like Cal before he got here. Hated him. Bit my tongue once the results rolled in, because who could argue with those first 5 yrs. I was "OFFICIALLY" done with him after the Elite 8 Auburn loss. So I'm no Cal lover.

But saying the KyKy Tandy recruitment is where you drew the line in the sand with him.....that's an odd one. You're acting like this was the Rob Dillingham situation.

 

[UKGrad24]

I’ve said for years, said it and didn’t gaf and the Calipari Cult (a few are posting here) never knew the entire time they were defending a sociopathic lunatic. Calipari is a liar, a schemer, and a guy who doesn’t give a sht about anyone but himself. If his own children became an issue, he’d discard them. That’s who that guy is. He has very close friends that he made life a nightmare for in Memphis becuse they were simply not willing to manipulate for him or told him the truth. What he did to one of his former secretaries when her husband suffered a heart attack is a story I’ve never told, but it’s one of the sicker things he’s done. What he did to Robic, another twisted episode by that sociopath.

Calipari was manipulating the fanbase for years. He was manipulating Barnhart. He manipulates families. He doesn’t care about any of his players, he only uses them for his own gain. If you can’t do for him as a player then he will discard you. I’m friends with 2 of his former Memphis players (1 pretty close) and know a lot about what he is and how they view him. Absolutely despise the guy.

I personally know people in Mtown that are personal friends with Calipari, I have followed him closely from his younger years and know a lot about his antics. This story is very small compared to the things he’s done. It’s why he’s universally hated by just about everyone in the profession and why everywhere he’s been ends bad. But yes Calipari manipulates through media and social media platforms. Most of his former grad assistants were given assignments in this area (social media).

 

[LongliveWildcatDon]

I'm with you OP on Cal saying one thing and doing another. Promising playing time to guys who didn't deserve it and giving it to them while other guys had earned it.

But this one is a terrible example. I didn't like Cal before he got here. Hated him. Bit my tongue once the results rolled in, because who could argue with those first 5 yrs. I was "OFFICIALLY" done with him after the Elite 8 Auburn loss. So I'm no Cal lover.

But saying the KyKy Tandy recruitment is where you drew the line in the sand with him.....that's an odd one. You're acting like this was the Rob Dillingham situation.

That wasn't the point of my post. I had serious questions about Cal's coaching and treatment of players that were not NBA caliber talent. I thought Kyky's decision to go to Xavier was the best one for him and knew even if he developed into an all SEC caliber player at UK Cal would still find reasons not to play him.

But is was his handling of the recruitment that made me draw the line. A grown man with his clout thought the best way to end the recruitment was to fabricate a story and use a high school kid as a scapegoat. I already knew he lacked coaching skills and had loose morals, but this was a bridge too far

 

[MidseasonTweak]

He would have never earned time here. Just wasn't very good.

 

[ComebackCats98]

If Cal didn’t want Tandy why would he go to all the trouble of making up a false story to give Kyle Tucker? Wouldn’t he just not recruit him and no fans would be the wiser?

 

[LongliveWildcatDon]

There was a kid named KyKy? what a cool name.

You should look up his high school highlights. Only 6ft but i remember him dunking over the 7ft kid from Hoptown and could hit logo 3's all night long. Nagging injuries kept him from developing in college however.

 

[Wunky]

Sorry a post that was free for you to read caused so much discomfort in your life. Im just posting personal experiences as a UK fan and never meant to cause a fragile person like yourself to cry.

The point of my rambling, which came at no cost to you and a normal person would have just skipped if they had no interest, was Cal's way of handling it. I thought maybe some people with a slight grip on the English language would want to discuss that instead of letting their confusion devolve into the continuation of trashing a kid they know nothing about.

Nah bro I just think it’s funny that you’re out here telling us Cal is a giant douche like it’s some sort of breaking news scoop.

He most certainly is, was, and always has been. Kyky Tandy also wasn’t good enough to play here. Both things can be true.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

You should look up his high school highlights. Only 6ft but i remember him dunking over the 7ft kid from Hoptown and could hit logo 3's all night long. Nagging injuries kept him from developing in college however.

No he just was never very good. People have these emotional bonds with these KY boys like Allen and Noah,Perry and just can't admit they aren't very good.

 

[LongliveWildcatDon]

If Cal didn’t want Tandy why would he go to all the trouble of making up a false story to give Kyle Tucker? Wouldn’t he just not recruit him and no fans would be the wiser?

There was a buzz around Kyky starting his junior yr. By regionals his senior yr it had become a roar. Cal attended the regionals and Kyky put on a show. Against Caldwell Co he had 7 threes and 3 flashy dunks just in the 1st half.

People wanted Cal to recruit him and instead of walking away he made the kid and his father the scapegoat for the recruitment ending,

 

[Snarks]

I’d be okay if we never had another KY born player on the team. Tired of these threads, even 5 years later. I don’t care where our players are from as long as we’re winning.

Another unpopular opinion, the unforgettables should all be on one banner not individually in the rafters.

 

[Im The Village Idiot]

I think you missed on this one my friend. That wasn’t what was in question. Now you don’t have to believe the story but evaluating talent wasn’t it.

You missed the biggest part of the post. Recruits succeed and fail at all levels. Cal has a TON of 5 stars that not only missed but looked way worse than KYKY on the floor. You think it okay for a millionaire HOF to fabricate false stories about high school kids for people to trash them?

I probably missed the point. Wouldn’t be the first or the last time.

 

[MidseasonTweak]

I’d be okay if we never had another KY born player on the team. Tired of these threads, even 5 years later. I don’t care where our players are from as long as we’re winning.

Another unpopular opinion, the unforgettables should all be on one banner not individually in the rafters.

I always say, a KY 5 is a 4, KY 4 is a 3, etc in states like Florida, Texas, California, some NE states.

 

[SenseMaker_Cats]

No he just was never very good. People have these emotional bonds with these KY boys like Allen and Noah,Perry and just can't admit they aren't very good.

Who claimed he was?

 

[SenseMaker_Cats]

I’d be okay if we never had another KY born player on the team. Tired of these threads, even 5 years later. I don’t care where our players are from as long as we’re winning.

Another unpopular opinion, the unforgettables should all be on one banner not individually in the rafters.

But this wasn’t one of “those” threads.