He should have gone with ranting and raving about the FBI WITCH HUNT messing with his recruiting. I mean, we would totally get it.
on national TV...
I'm as f*cking homer as it gets, and I don't really see anyone calling for his job, but damn man. Last 2 weeks have been brutal.Some of you dipshits sure will miss Cal when he’s gone.
No, you idiot. There is NO LIMIT (#makeemsayughhh) in the NBA on practice, scrimmaging, coaching, one-on-one, drills, or anything else.
The notion that you can get better by doing these on a limited basis against teenagers and improve, but NOT in the NBA, is preposterously stupid.
Something you’d like to say to me, Chad?
hard to ignore them at the moment
As noted I'm all for guys chasing their dreams, getting paid, becoming professionals but we've also had a few transfer over the years. While unlimited practice is great it also comes with growing the f*ck up and paying rent/bills/etc where at UK you get most of that and have no bills or responsibilities other than a couple online gen ed classes.Exercising, pickup games, sex with white girls.
Not sure why any of these ball players ever leave college. Quite an impressive list.
From another board:
I didn't want to plug any name in the title as I'm just not a fan of spreading anything by prying eyes.
And I want it on record that I do not think Cal's recruiting has dipped much like many do. We have missed on some bigger targets the last few years. And it didn't seem we missed as much before. We have definitely slowed down with some of the Top 5 guys.
I also am one that thinks that some of this is just the lingering effect of that Duke blowout.
But, we aren't getting the top, top guys like we were early in Cal's tenure.
Personally, I think there are numerous factors into this:
1. Some cheat. I'm not sure Cal does (if he did not anymore).If you go back to the early 2000's, Wes was THE most influential broker in all of basketball. He was a genius at building relationships with top recruits when they were very young and keeping those relationships. He built trust with the family that he was in it for their benefit (and many believe he was).
2. Others have entered the OAD game. This means there is more competition for the top guys now more than ever. Cal was ahead of this trend and everyone else is catching up. That was inevitable.
3. Platooning in 2015: Maybe it only hurt us for a year, but Cal admitted it did. I believe him. I heard it myself from recruits.
4. Cal coaching the Under 18 squad. This hurt him with several guys.
5. The lessening influence of WWW. Which is what this post is about.
He built incredible relationships with NBA players, agents, shoe companies, celebrities, etc. He was the connector. The guy who could get Carmelo, Jay-Z, Denzel and Phil Knight all in the same room. And he was the only guy who could. Everyone trusted him.
As a teenager, he became close friends with a guy named Leon Rose. They met when WWW was working at a shoe store in a strip mall. Even then, WWW could sell anything. And he and Rose started a friendship over their mutual love for basketball.
Leon Rose is now one of the top agents in the world for CAA. And was Lebron's agent for many of his years in the NBA (more about that later).
This gave Wes even more influence all over the game of basketball. He and Coach Cal became close friends. At some point (and no one will admit this), he was Cal's agent. Officially, CAA represented Cal, but everyone knew who was really the agent. He also represented Barbee and Kenny Payne (even though they were all at different schools). He and Payne are very very close (more on this below).
I will skip some really fun details, but suffice to say Wes is the reason Cal got Derrick Rose and Dejuan Wagner. THE reason (side note: Pastner used to get a lot of credit for being Cal's big recruiter just like Antigua. Everyone in the business knows neither of them are the reason Cal gets recruits. Which is why both have failed miserably on their own).
Wes was responsible for Rose passing the ACT. Dejaun's father was close friends with Wes when Wes was younger. Dejuan was his godson and Wes watched over him while his father played overseas. This been the long term relationship with Wes and Cal. Rose came after of course.
Wes's secret to success was his relationship with Michael Jordan. Most think they became close when Dejuan Wagner's father Milt was in the NBA. Milt and Wes had become friends in Camden where Wes grew up and Milt was a star basketball player. Milt went to school at UL, where he met a young Kenny Payne. They became very close friends then and that led to Wes and Payne becoming close friends.
Back to Jordan: Over time, Wes became one of MJ's closest confidants. He would watch games from suites and gamble late nights with MJ. When Milt played with the Lakers Wes began forming friendships on the West Coast as well.
Leon Rose was a nobody agent in the NBA. But Wes began bringing him talent and before long he was a serious power broker. Almost everyone knows Wes was getting paid the majority of the agents fees. He was helping guys get mortgages etc.
In 2005, Lebron James signs with Leon Rose. Wes was the only reason why. Wes had been trying to get into Lebron's inner circle since his days in High School (he lived in Cleveland while Dejuan played there). And it wasn't until Wes introduced him to Jay-Z that Lebron finally let him in. Part of the agreement with Lebron and Leon Rose was that Rose would groom one of Lebron's close friends from Akron: Rich Paul (more on this later).
Wes served important roles for Nike and Reebok. He went with Team USA to the Olympics in Athens in 2004. Stayed with the team in their personal lodging. That is where he became very very close to Lebron, Carmelo, Wade and Paul. He was the architect of the banana boat crew.
Just an example of the power of Wes during this time: Wes convinced the Knicks to draft two of his guys (Balkman and Collins) in the 2006 NBA draft. He had use his influence with Lebron as a carrot to NY to draft those guys. The Knicks believed they had a legit shot to get Lebron if they drafted them. Both flamed out quickly and Lebron signed an extension with the Cavs a month later.
When Cal went to UK, Wes's influence went with him. Wall. MKG. AD. And more. When UK won the title in 2012, AD and MKG ran into the stands to hug their "Uncle Wes".
Two months later, Wes was there when the Heat won the title. Here he is pictured with Lebron's inner circle:
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Leon Rose is the white guy. Maverick Carter, Lebron's best friend and business mogul is in front. Lynn Merritt, the Senior VP of Nike. And Rich Paul (more on him to come) his friend from Ohio who Rose was grooming as an agent.
Problems started in 2013 for Wes/UK. Cal didn't leave UK for the Cavs as Wes had been trying to orchestrate in 2010. But they stayed close after that. Wes had officially begun working for CAA (against Cal's wishes) and that made it difficult for him to come around the program as often. Cal using CAA as his agency helped, but still made it more difficult. Btw, Cal and Drake's friendship was all because of Wes as well.
In the 2013 NCAA tourney, the NCAA had security escort Wes from the arena. There are pictures of it online. Most think Rick Pitino was the reason for it as he had been crying foul for years.
This began to shine a spotlight on Wes and Cal like never before and they eventually started backing away from each other.
Cal and Lebron were also very close (Wes is the reason Lebron was the "Y" at a UK game). When Lebron left Wes and Leon Rose to go with Klutch sports and his good friend Rich Paul it made things even more difficult.
Klutch and Rich Paul also represent Eric Bledsoe and MKG. They were two of his earliest signees. Cal wouldn't play ball with Nike and that caused an even bigger issue at the time.
Some people believe Cal saw the writing on the wall and backed away from Wes before the NCAA came calling. Some believe they are still very close and just do business in secret. Some believe James caused a rift between them. Some believe Wes doesn't have the same influence on recruits as he used to.
Whatever the case, he isn't seen or heard from nearly as much around UK (there have been spotted sightings). Wes is still VERY tied into the NBA.
Which is why when AD bought a house in LA and then signed with Klutch/Paul/Lebron over CAA/Rose/Wes many people on the inside believe the writing is on the wall for AD to join Lebron in LaLa land. It was a severe power struggle that Cal was in the very middle of as he has massive influence on AD and had friends on both sides.
How much has it all affected UK's recruiting? No one will know. But I could flat name you several recruits Wes has delivered to other Nike schools not named UK.
If you search hard enough, you can document most of what I posted here. Most of my info on this comes from two people I have known for a very long time. An AAU coach who has ties across the basketball landscape (and knows Wes well). And a D-1 basketball coach I have known since High School. They told me Melo was going to NY (Wes was the broker in that trade) before even Woj knew. And they told me Lebron was going to LA almost two years ago.
Maybe the AD thing never happens. Maybe the league squashes it (they won't) like they did with Wes's friend Chris Paul when he orchestrated the trade to the Lakers. Maybe feelings get hurt and things change. But for now, all signs point to it.
There is more. Lots of it. But my fingers are tired. Ha.
Kevin Knox did absolutely yam someone in the summer league, though. People forget that.
Knox will be fine and is still better than most of the players on the team.
Wasn’t part of why Knox wanted to go last year was to avoid this draft class?
Wiseman is more Tubby's fault than Cal's, IMO.