Recruiting Question

[VikingCat21]

According to Rivals' rankings, the #2 recruit is picking Georgia over UK, the #3 recruit picked Memphis over UK, the #5 recruit picked Washington over UK and others, the #6 recruit is picking between UK and Washington, the #13 recruit picked Florida over UK, the #22 recruit picked WVU over UK, and the #27 recruit is deciding between IU and UK.

Georgia is 10-12 and 12th in the SEC.
Memphis is 13-10 and 6th in the American Athletic Conference
Florida is 12-10 and 10th in the SEC
WVU is 10-13 and last in the Big12
IU is 12-10 and 9th in the Big10
At least Washington is 19-4 and in first in the Pac12, but the Pac12 is terrible and nobody cares about Washington on a national scale.

My question is, what gives? I know that a lot of these decisions have come down to having a longer relationship with the coaches or wanting to stay close to home, but are those factors really so important that it allows these players to rationalize playing their one year of college for a bad team? Potentially half (or more than half if Cole Anthony doesn't go to UNC) of the top 6 freshmen next year will be completely irrelevant in college basketball. It just seems really weird to me.

 

[kevcat]

OP, this is the million dollar question.

Head scratching to say the least.

 

[DanHalen88]

As Cal says it's simply Kentucky is not for everybody. No guarantee on playing time, your gonna be in the spotlight, gonna work your *** off, held accountable and give off the court as well.

 

[JC43]

Simmons proved you no longer even have to make the tournament to get drafted 1st.
Fultz as well.
Porter and Vanderbilt proved that you only have to play a handful amount of games to get drafted.
Trey young proved that you can play aau ball and lose to still be a top 5 pick.
Nba is destroying college basketball as we know it, with other leagues, overseas money we are having a talent drain.
As long as the NBA 'penalizes' student athletes for remaining in school, we will see further denigration of the sport we all love

 

[akaukswoosh]

According to Rivals' rankings, the #2 recruit is picking Georgia over UK, the #3 recruit picked Memphis over UK, the #5 recruit picked Washington over UK and others, the #6 recruit is picking between UK and Washington, the #13 recruit picked Florida over UK, the #22 recruit picked WVU over UK, and the #27 recruit is deciding between IU and UK.

Georgia is 10-12 and 12th in the SEC.
Memphis is 13-10 and 6th in the American Athletic Conference
Florida is 12-10 and 10th in the SEC
WVU is 10-13 and last in the Big12
IU is 12-10 and 9th in the Big10
At least Washington is 19-4 and in first in the Pac12, but the Pac12 is terrible and nobody cares about Washington on a national scale.

My question is, what gives? I know that a lot of these decisions have come down to having a longer relationship with the coaches or wanting to stay close to home, but are those factors really so important that it allows these players to rationalize playing their one year of college for a bad team? Potentially half (or more than half if Cole Anthony doesn't go to UNC) of the top 6 freshmen next year will be completely irrelevant in college basketball. It just seems really weird to me.

Yet the common negative theme on social media is that Cal cheats and Kentucky pays recruits.

 

[BassProCat]

They don’t wanna work hard and wanna take the easy way out.

As @BBUK likes to say...piss on em!

 

[BlueBomb]

All of the reasons above would make sense if it weren't for the fact that we GOT those recruits a few years back. Nothing on the surface has changed. But SOMETHING has. We're definitely the shining start anymore. But these things are cyclical. Hopefully.

 

[chroix]

Best case: they want to stay home and be heroes.

Most likely: they know they’re getting paid in a year regardless so why not go be the big man on campus.

Worst case: getting paid to be there.

 

[kevcat]

As Cal says it's simply Kentucky is not for everybody. No guarantee on playing time, your gonna be in the spotlight, gonna work your *** off, held accountable and give off the court as well.

Yeah, perhaps this is part of it, but my suspicion is there’s something else at play here.

 

[CatScratchFever88]

Dirty recruiting plain and simple

 

[Pickle_Rick]

There's a reason UK players dominate when they get to the NBA. The players that sign with the lesser programs still get that initial high draft contract, then they bounce from team to team still making enough money to pay their baby mommas. As soon as they can't play any more, they're broke. They can't see past the next paycheck.

 

[kevcat]

They don’t wanna work hard and wanna take the easy way out.

As @BBUK likes to say...piss on em!

It’s getting to the point that pissing on them is not enough. I say we start defacating on them.

Yeah....I said it.

 

[CatfanMike47]

It’s a combination of some of them getting paid, some want to be the man, and some don’t want their one year to be a sacrifice for others!

 

[502 Wildcat]

Two key reasons.

Reason #1: Ja Morant at Murray State.

You don't have to go to a blueblood to get drafted high anymore. Ja Morant goes to Murray State as an unheralded recruit and is one of the two most hyped draft prospects in the country. And it's not just him, look at Charles Bassey at WKU, Young at Oklahoma, Ben Simmons at LSU. Recruits see this and know listen to coaches that sell being the hometown hero and promising "X" amount of touches/minutes per game.

Because of this, you will see more parity in regards to who gets the blue chip recruits.

Reason #2: USA Basketball.

Coach K and Bill Self are the two biggest beneficiaries of USA Basketball. Self gets A LOT of face time with elite college prospects, and K gets the added benefit of getting to name drop Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, etc etc when he visits with recruits. Recruits also get to watch his olympic teams win gold medals. It's very powerful, make no mistake.


As frustrating as it is, Cal is still recruiting well, but with the added parity (thanks to Ja Morant and others like him), it's just not as surefire as it once was.

Personally, I'll take missing on some guys because they are scared away by Cal's pitch of hard work. Look at the culture of our teams every single season and how they bust their *** and make dramatic improvements over the course the season. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

A lot of people are bringing up corruption in the sport. I think that's definitely a factor (Zion is one of the most blatant examples of this, along with the obvious issues brought up in the FBI fiasco), I just think the other two reasons I mentioned are more consistent and widespread elements of why recruiting has changed over the past few years.

 

[burnacct20]

According to Rivals' rankings, the #2 recruit is picking Georgia over UK, the #3 recruit picked Memphis over UK, the #5 recruit picked Washington over UK and others, the #6 recruit is picking between UK and Washington, the #13 recruit picked Florida over UK, the #22 recruit picked WVU over UK, and the #27 recruit is deciding between IU and UK.

Georgia is 10-12 and 12th in the SEC.
Memphis is 13-10 and 6th in the American Athletic Conference
Florida is 12-10 and 10th in the SEC
WVU is 10-13 and last in the Big12
IU is 12-10 and 9th in the Big10
At least Washington is 19-4 and in first in the Pac12, but the Pac12 is terrible and nobody cares about Washington on a national scale.

My question is, what gives? I know that a lot of these decisions have come down to having a longer relationship with the coaches or wanting to stay close to home, but are those factors really so important that it allows these players to rationalize playing their one year of college for a bad team? Potentially half (or more than half if Cole Anthony doesn't go to UNC) of the top 6 freshmen next year will be completely irrelevant in college basketball. It just seems really weird to me.

Brooks is going to IU but two of his buddies are going there too. I’m guessing that’s his main reason.

 

[ABlockalypseBrow]

I honestly don't mind missing out on recruits if they'd rather be elsewhere. I don't want anyone here unless this is where they want to be.

What irks me more is the culture we've built that 3-4 year players elsewhere leave here after year 1. It makes it feel like they don't really want to be here, but really just want to use Kentucky as a stepping stone. Certainly if you're a lottery pick, take the money and run. But a 2nd round pick leaving after year 1? Okay, that tells me you don't like it here, so don't expect any loyalty from the UK fanbase after you leave.

 

[caneintally]

All of the reasons above would make sense if it weren't for the fact that we GOT those recruits a few years back. Nothing on the surface has changed. But SOMETHING has. We're definitely the shining start anymore. But these things are cyclical. Hopefully.

We still get them. Whitney is the nations #1 SF and considered a top 5-10 pick in next year's draft . Maxey is a top 2 pg and top 20 pick in next year's draft. Allen is the best in state player in a few years. Mcdaniels , who we will get , is a top 5 player and top 5 pick in next year's draft.

Last season we got KJ , EJ and Hagans all top 10 recruits. Herro was hugely underrated at 30 or so. We got the best grad transfer in the country.

Nothing has changed . UK is not for everyone . If you want to win a lot and play with a ton of other great players go to UK , Duke , KU , UNC ect

If you want to be the big fish in a small pond do what Wiseman and others did . You won't win much and you won't be prepared for the NBA BUT you will still get drafted high.

Some of yall act like recruiting classes are supposed to be 15 man classes LOL. Every year you will recruit about 15 players tops and miss on 75% of them. Just get the guys you need and Cal has done that every year . He can't control if kids are stupid or if a certain year is weak in an area .

Does anyone really want to bet me Cal won't sign the #1 or # 2 class when it is all said and done? He never not has at UK.

 

[BlueBomb]

We still get them. Whitney is the nations #1 SF and considered a top 5-10 pick in next year's draft . Maxey is a top 2 pg and top 20 pick in next year's draft. Allen is the best in state player in a few years. Mcdaniels , who we will get , is a top 5 player and top 5 pick in next year's draft.

Last season we got KJ , EJ and Hagans all top 10 recruits. Herro was hugely underrated at 30 or so. We got the best grad transfer in the country.

Nothing has changed . UK is not for everyone . If you want to win a lot and play with a ton of other great players go to UK , Duke , KU , UNC ect

If you want to be the big fish in a small pond do what Wiseman and others did . You won't win much and you won't be prepared for the NBA BUT you will still get drafted high.

Some of yall act like recruiting classes are supposed to be 15 man classes LOL. Every year you will recruit about 15 players tops and miss on 75% of them. Just get the guys you need and Cal has done that every year . He can't control if kids are stupid or if a certain year is weak in an area .

I get you, but c'mon. You know recruiting has slipped a bit.

 

[caneintally]

There's a reason UK players dominate when they get to the NBA. The players that sign with the lesser programs still get that initial high draft contract, then they bounce from team to team still making enough money to pay their baby mommas. As soon as they can't play any more, they're broke. They can't see past the next paycheck.

BINGO WAS HIS NAME-O.

 

[caneintally]

I get you, but c'mon. You know recruiting has slipped a bit.

Yeah except it hasn't. Recruiting class rankings since Cal got here have been 1 or 2 every year. Last year was one of our best classes ever and this year is spelling that out . This is entirely a made up narrative partially due to UK fans having it so good they want to look for something to ***** about . Literally Cal is the best ever at recruiting at least in my life time and NBA drafts back this up. K might be the best at getting top 5 players but Cal is by far the best at getting great players overall. Just facts and NBA drafts and contracts spell this out clearly.

Another huge thing people don't understand is at this point the past few years who will be our class is still very murky. At this point Hagans and Travis weren't on our radar. EJ was a lock to Duke. A few years ago Murray was not even known at this point . Neither was Hump.

By July Cal will have signed a top 2 class of Whitney , Maxey , Allen , Mcdaniels , Hurt or Brooks or a reclass big , and maybe 1-2 others. Always happens , always will at least while Cal is here.

 

[WildcatfaninOhio]

Meanwhile, # 7 Khalil Whitney and # 11 Tyrese Maxey picked UK.

What’s up with that?

 

[DonkeyDwayne]

According to Rivals' rankings, the #2 recruit is picking Georgia over UK, the #3 recruit picked Memphis over UK, the #5 recruit picked Washington over UK and others, the #6 recruit is picking between UK and Washington, the #13 recruit picked Florida over UK, the #22 recruit picked WVU over UK, and the #27 recruit is deciding between IU and UK.

Georgia is 10-12 and 12th in the SEC.
Memphis is 13-10 and 6th in the American Athletic Conference
Florida is 12-10 and 10th in the SEC
WVU is 10-13 and last in the Big12
IU is 12-10 and 9th in the Big10
At least Washington is 19-4 and in first in the Pac12, but the Pac12 is terrible and nobody cares about Washington on a national scale.

My question is, what gives? I know that a lot of these decisions have come down to having a longer relationship with the coaches or wanting to stay close to home, but are those factors really so important that it allows these players to rationalize playing their one year of college for a bad team? Potentially half (or more than half if Cole Anthony doesn't go to UNC) of the top 6 freshmen next year will be completely irrelevant in college basketball. It just seems really weird to me.

Playing at home for a year. Some players want to be the hero of the local school. And any coach can get the elite players drafted.

 

[caneintally]

I honestly don't mind missing out on recruits if they'd rather be elsewhere. I don't want anyone here unless this is where they want to be.

What irks me more is the culture we've built that 3-4 year players elsewhere leave here after year 1. It makes it feel like they don't really want to be here, but really just want to use Kentucky as a stepping stone. Certainly if you're a lottery pick, take the money and run. But a 2nd round pick leaving after year 1? Okay, that tells me you don't like it here, so don't expect any loyalty from the UK fanbase after you leave.

This again isn't just at UK . It happens at Duke and anywhere where you get players like UCLA , Arizona ect. It just bothers you because it happens at UK too but it isn't a UK thing . It is a big time recruiting thing. If you don't want it to happen don't recruit elite players. We can always go back to Tubby and Clyde.

 

[DonkeyDwayne]

There's a reason UK players dominate when they get to the NBA. The players that sign with the lesser programs still get that initial high draft contract, then they bounce from team to team still making enough money to pay their baby mommas. As soon as they can't play any more, they're broke. They can't see past the next paycheck.

You need to see what is happening in the NBA then.

 

[JAC71]

They don’t wanna work hard and wanna take the easy way out.

As @BBUK likes to say...piss on em!

After watching the documentary on Ben Simmons at LSU, you are exactly right. The kid didn't want to go to class and I believe he was even late to some practices. After seeing that I can't believe LSU agreed for them to even film that mess.

 

[caneintally]

Meanwhile, # 7 Khalil Whitney and # 11 Tyrese Maxey picked UK.

What’s up with that?

But remember they aren't top 5 players so they don't count. [winking]

 

[BassProCat]

After watching the documentary on Ben Simmons at LSU, you are exactly right. The kid didn't want to go to class and I believe he was even late to some practices. After seeing that I can't believe LSU agreed for them to even film that mess.

What docu was that?

 

[ABlockalypseBrow]

This again isn't just at UK . It happens at Duke and anywhere where you get players like UCLA , Arizona ect. It just bothers you because it happens at UK too but it isn't a UK thing . It is a big time recruiting thing. If you don't want it to happen don't recruit elite players. We can always go back to Tubby and Clyde.

Edit: Sorry, I responded in the wrong thread. See my response to Donkey. I don't mind players leaving early, but some clearly could benefit from further development and leave anyway. That shows me they likely never wanted to be here, but were here solely because they had to. That's fine by me, but the UK fanbase owes them zero loyalty.

It happens more here because we have a much larger and active fan base than any of those schools you named. You don't get a huge Twitter or Instagram bump when add Arizona to your list of schools lol.

 

[DonkeyDwayne]

I honestly don't mind missing out on recruits if they'd rather be elsewhere. I don't want anyone here unless this is where they want to be.

What irks me more is the culture we've built that 3-4 year players elsewhere leave here after year 1. It makes it feel like they don't really want to be here, but really just want to use Kentucky as a stepping stone. Certainly if you're a lottery pick, take the money and run. But a 2nd round pick leaving after year 1? Okay, that tells me you don't like it here, so don't expect any loyalty from the UK fanbase after you leave.

Just look at the current team. Richards said he came here to a OAD. Hurt who we are recruiting has said he wants to be somewhere to get him to the NBA in 1 or 2 years.

Cal built this identity. We either live with or complain.

 

[dnabbott25]

It's a weird year. Not an overly talented class overall.
But lets be honest here guys, what do we really have to complain about? Are our expectations too high? lol? Lets look at it without the goggles....

Of the top 10 players in the class, Kentucky has 2 already. And are in great shape to possibly get 2 more. If we do that, that means we will have signed 4 of the top 10 players in the Nation. That would mean we would have signed 40% of the top 10 players in the Nation. We already have players ranked 8th and 9th. If we get the other two, we would have 6, 7, 8, 9.

so that accounts for 4 of the top 10.

The rest of the top 10???
Duke
Memphis (Wiseman is FROM Memphis)
Washington (theyve recruited Stewart the longest
Villanova
Each has 1 player signed.

That leaves 2 players
Edwards (going to Georgia, he is FROM Atlanta)
Anthony (UNC most likely, they need a PG, no shocker)

So if this plays out like it should, Kentucky would have 4 top 10 players, and no other school has more than 1. (we are already guaranteed to have 2)

Couple this with the fact that its still unclear who leaves and who returns next year. So guys, why are we complaining about this? Seriously

 

[ABlockalypseBrow]

Just look at the current team. Richards said he came here to a OAD. Hurt who we are recruiting has said he wants to be somewhere to get him to the NBA in 1 or 2 years.

Cal built this identity. We either live with or complain.

But I give Richards credit (for now). He saw he wasn't in the 1st round after year 1, lacked skills development we could give him, and would benefit from returning. If he didn't want to be here he would've left anyway like others did.

I don't mind players wanting to be OAD. But when its clear they're not ready, and they leave anyway - that's pretty clear that they saw Kentucky as a stepping stone only, and never really wanted to be here.

 

[CatPhight_rivals65113]

They want guaranteed minutes which most will never get here...

 

[track42]

It's a weird year. Not an overly talented class overall.
But lets be honest here guys, what do we really have to complain about? Are our expectations too high? lol? Lets look at it without the goggles....

Of the top 10 players in the class, Kentucky has 2 already. And are in great shape to possibly get 2 more. If we do that, that means we will have signed 4 of the top 10 players in the Nation. That would mean we would have signed 40% of the top 10 players in the Nation. We already have players ranked 8th and 9th. If we get the other two, we would have 6, 7, 8, 9.

so that accounts for 4 of the top 10.

The rest of the top 10???
Duke
Memphis (Wiseman is FROM Memphis)
Washington (theyve recruited Stewart the longest
Villanova
Each has 1 player signed.

That leaves 2 players
Edwards (going to Georgia, he is FROM Atlanta)
Anthony (UNC most likely, they need a PG, no shocker)

So if this plays out like it should, Kentucky would have 4 top 10 players, and no other school has more than 1. (we are already guaranteed to have 2)

Couple this with the fact that its still unclear who leaves and who returns next year. So guys, why are we complaining about this? Seriously

It's about the fact that many are expecting Herro/Hagans to go.Let's face it that we have more guys leave for the NBA every year so our recruiting haul has to be the best.

 

[JAC71]

What docu was that?

One and Done/ Ben Simmons and I think it was on HBO. But in my opinion it made the school and their coach at the time look bad. You can't let the star athlete get away the things he was doing.

 

[TopCatCal]

According to Rivals' rankings, the #2 recruit is picking Georgia over UK, the #3 recruit picked Memphis over UK, the #5 recruit picked Washington over UK and others, the #6 recruit is picking between UK and Washington, the #13 recruit picked Florida over UK, the #22 recruit picked WVU over UK, and the #27 recruit is deciding between IU and UK.

Georgia is 10-12 and 12th in the SEC.
Memphis is 13-10 and 6th in the American Athletic Conference
Florida is 12-10 and 10th in the SEC
WVU is 10-13 and last in the Big12
IU is 12-10 and 9th in the Big10
At least Washington is 19-4 and in first in the Pac12, but the Pac12 is terrible and nobody cares about Washington on a national scale.

My question is, what gives? I know that a lot of these decisions have come down to having a longer relationship with the coaches or wanting to stay close to home, but are those factors really so important that it allows these players to rationalize playing their one year of college for a bad team? Potentially half (or more than half if Cole Anthony doesn't go to UNC) of the top 6 freshmen next year will be completely irrelevant in college basketball. It just seems really weird to me.

Don't try to get in the head of a 17 year old kid & try to figure out what they're thinking. I mean 17 year old's aren't the brightest bulbs in the light. Like kev69 said, it's a head scratcher.

 

[W_Heisenberg]

Really? So NO ONE has been paying attention to the FBI/shoe scandal...people, the answers are right in front of you...

 

[TomTraubertsBlues]

But remember they aren't top 5 players so they don't count. [winking]

If you don't think that matters, I don't know what to tell you. We haven't gotten one since 2014 class, except for Skal who was MASSIVELY overrated. No surprise that we haven't been to a Final Four the last 3 years.

 

[JC43]

Yeah, perhaps this is part of it, but my suspicion is there’s something else at play here.

Just think Ant wants to play in front of his City. We were out of his recruitment at one point, remember? Cal wouldn't of went hard for him if him or his circle were suspect...
We ain't out of it til the ink has dried

 

[wildcatdon]

LSU has been cheating for decades. This wade kid is taking it up a notch.

 

[Col. Angus]

Recruiting is all about relationships. There ya go. Easy answer.