Jordan Smith Commits to Arkansas
- Thread starter ComebackCats98
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How come no one wants to play 20 minutes a game for our 7 foot tall goofy cornball coach?
He was headed to Duke if Rip didn’t go there. It was always Arkansas or Duke. He’s an NBA fast track guy, Pope’s system isn’t landing those because he’s made it clear that’s not what we’re doing here. Calipari has a lot of fire power to use against Kentucky. “They don’t want NBA guys anymore it’s why I’m not there”. This is going to be used over and over.
The one good thing here is Calipari hasn’t got a chance in hell at winning a championship with his system. He’s got 2 years left and he’s out. Nothing he does is cutting down nets at Arkansas. Most freshman classes of late don’t have the caliber of player to get it done and Calipari gets what Duke doesn’t want. You’re not winning with that. Duke is Nike #1, not Calipari. It’s why he had to go his system cannot win championships unless Nike decides he is their choice and he’s not. Bad floor coaching and Dukes 2nd and 3rd choices + young team = not a chance in hell at a title.
The one good thing here is Calipari hasn’t got a chance in hell at winning a championship with his system. He’s got 2 years left and he’s out. Nothing he does is cutting down nets at Arkansas. Most freshman classes of late don’t have the caliber of player to get it done and Calipari gets what Duke doesn’t want. You’re not winning with that. Duke is Nike #1, not Calipari. It’s why he had to go his system cannot win championships unless Nike decides he is their choice and he’s not. Bad floor coaching and Dukes 2nd and 3rd choices + young team = not a chance in hell at a title.
Ain't the internet great with all the cowards hiding behind a sheet while they take shots at our coach?
When Cal left I vowed to not worry one bit about HS recruiting anymore. Because what had it really gotten us the past 10 years? I’m gonna stick to that, until Pope starts missing big on the portal. Then I’ll get pretty worried.
Might be the goofy IDIOT fans scaring them off.
I get that but again we’re venturing into extremes and Pope has missed his some main targets in the Portal too. It’s not like he gets his pick there. We can’t win without elite freshman talent and also 2nd and 3rd portal options. I’m concerned the issue is both Pope and JMI. Great players don’t want to be handcuffed and he’s not seen as a coach worth risking it right now.
We’ll see what happens moving forward, but it’s best not to get caught into extremes in either direction. Now if Pope could nab 3 top 10 portal guys in every cycle and match them with some decent freshman that stick around I’d get it. To me, just land a top talent, go heavier on portal, land top 5 portals guys, and find a good balance. So far it’s not happening.
Pretty crazy. He was considered a Duke lock, then it all shifted. I don’t miss the coaching, but I miss the Cal magic. Kind of like when we got Wiltjer and everything thought he was going to Oregon.
you say that as if caleb wilson or wilkerson wouldn't have completely changed the outlook of this team
In my opinion we had a good class last year. In hindsight there were probably mistakes made. If we could go back, I’d love to have had Lewis instead of Lowe and someone like Morez Johnson instead of Quaintance. All we can hope for is lessons have been learned and will be corrected.
I didn’t care for this quote from Smith Jr. Just me reading between the lines that he felt UK was recruiting him to help UK win games… more than the other schools.
We know Cal’s pitch was to get him to the league. Smith liked that self serving approach. Maybe winning big is secondary.
Personally I like Pope’s approach.
Grew tired of the one foot in one foot out some of Cal’s guys at UK
The standard that [Mark Pope] is going to hold me to if I commit is a really high standard to get me to where I want to be,” Smith told KSR+ after his official visit. “They want to have me on the ball and help them win at the highest level. That’s what I’m being recruited for at all these other schools, but their emphasis is winning the most, specifically at Kentucky.”
We know Cal’s pitch was to get him to the league. Smith liked that self serving approach. Maybe winning big is secondary.
Personally I like Pope’s approach.
Grew tired of the one foot in one foot out some of Cal’s guys at UK
The standard that [Mark Pope] is going to hold me to if I commit is a really high standard to get me to where I want to be,” Smith told KSR+ after his official visit. “They want to have me on the ball and help them win at the highest level. That’s what I’m being recruited for at all these other schools, but their emphasis is winning the most, specifically at Kentucky.”
I try to not respond to Cal only fans. UK fans usually get a reply.
Yeah
Maybe they could help us lose to Oakland in the first round of tournament
I used to say this a lot of the time to a lot of guys that would never say anything toward Calipari. He intentionally had them claim they picked Kentucky not for the program of the state, but for the NBA. Then the Calipari brigade would say “all kids want the NBA”.
The point I always made was yes they do but Calipari knows they need to be media savvy and talk more about committing to the program not just “he’s getting me pro”. Calipari intentionally did this because he wanted to be seen as the reason not the program.
There’s no reason for these guys to just say “CAL = NBA”. In Calipari’s early years they talked about UK a little more. He began to want it all about himself and I am so glad to be done with that. How hard is it to say “I really like the program and the history, I want to be a part of that. Also all of those NBA pedigrees, it’s a dream of mine”. How hard is that? It’s not. It never was.
“Hoping” to land top portal talent with zero elite freshman is a consistent 10 loss recruiting strategy.
A few things..
Why do guys nowadays try to look like girls?
It's funny how Cal always promises the NBA but if it doesn't work out your first year, recruits over you. Let's not forget about DJ Wagner, whose dad helped make Cal. He's hardly playing as a junior (#1 recruit in class)
He plays in DC. I'll be at his next home game with a sign with points 1 and 2 along with this photo (I live here)
Why do guys nowadays try to look like girls?
It's funny how Cal always promises the NBA but if it doesn't work out your first year, recruits over you. Let's not forget about DJ Wagner, whose dad helped make Cal. He's hardly playing as a junior (#1 recruit in class)
He plays in DC. I'll be at his next home game with a sign with points 1 and 2 along with this photo (I live here)
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Who was your favorite Nitro girl?
Gotta love the folks who will consistently trash the fan base rather than dare point a finger of blame at the head coach.
Pope having 0 recruits for next year is an abject failure. Some of us see it for what it is. Others have their heads in the sand.
I do like the way you put this. I believe that Pope needs that first top 5 recruit to show what his methods can do for the elite high school talents.
Pope offered Smith and recruited him hard. If you look at the top ten for this year and, for 2027, you will see that Pope has offered most of them. If what you are saying is true (that Pope has made it clear that 1 and done is not what we do here) then why is Pope even trying to get them? Seems odd. Is there a chance you are mistaken?
I think he’s doing a great job with fr Moreno. Chandler’s improving. Kam W was starting to perk. Oweh’s up for POY honors. Aberdeens better. Johnson will improve as he gets stronger. Hell I think all of his guys last year are playing professionally. Amari Williams had no shot and he’s with the Celtics.
He’s proving to be a good coach in development.
I’m surprised you aren’t aware.
In other words, Pope is doing EXACTLY what RR said they wanted, going after kids that care about the name on the front of the jersey. Polar opposite of Cal
yeah but if that just keeps ending in 10+ loss seasons does it really matter
It’s not that Pope is telling them no, and he is recruiting them, but Pope’s system is not designed for a freshman fast track NBA guy. He’s recruiting for a system, it’s one of the things that hurting him with those guys. Selling 20 minutes per game and the program itself is not what you’d normally see from a coach trying to land elite freshman talent.
Calipari landed them because he sells NBA and the ball in your hands. That’s how he gets these guys. That’s not what we do here. Then removing their pictures from the practice facility, being billed as brought in to stop the NBA Calipari era….
Not that I think he necessarily did wrong. Pope is selling to the fans desires, and although I do think he’s mismanaged it to some degree, he only put the posters in another place. But when the headlines read “pope removes NBA players from practice facility” and guys like calipari are definitely saying Kentucky doesn’t want the NBA guys, all in all, I’m not surprised it’s gone south with those players. We need moderation on all fronts.
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If you're confusing Jordan with a woman , you're probably into some weird stuff bruh
We’re still in extremes. How about some nuance. We want players to at least want to be here and respect the tradition, but we also want NBA Caliber players. “Succeed and proceed” was applauded. The issue became when Calipari stated “great night in UK history”, “I’m not here to win for the program”, “calipari doesn’t give a sht about winning basketball games” and allowed Duke to sell the program and laughed at the idea? That’s a problem.
Dan Issel played for the name and had a great NBA Career. Michael Jordan played for the name on the front and had a great NBA career. Guy cried during a UNC game and he’s the greatest NBA player of all time. The idea that it cannot be both was ONLY seen when Calipari did it. Pitino guys played for the name and had great careers. They love this place. Calipari is a divide and conquer personality type. Nobody, ever, said they no longer want elite talent. We want what everyone else has done in this sport since the beginning. Respect the institution and the tradition, and to represent us in the pros. This constant attack on anyone who points out Pope’s failures and misrepresent the facts aren’t going to get very far. It is squarely on Pope and potentially Barnhart that we aren’t getting these guys. Fans have nothing to do with it.
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None of these kids give a **** about winning a title. Period.
Some do. I watch a bunch of games and there is plenty of talent. The majority aren’t the spoiled 5 star mercenaries who want their bag.
I may be wrong but I don’t think Fla had any 5 star freshmen or any big contributing freshmen last title season. U Conn had Castle the year before but they weren’t dependent on the 1 and done or 5 star.
I see plenty of players that I’d take in a minute at UK and never saw them one time in the HS recruiting rankings. The NBA is also full of them.
However I agree that there are plenty that prioritize the money over team goals.
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i think that argument is flawed for a couple reasons
1. uconn has dan hurley as their coach,
who is one of the best in the last couple decades
2. weve seen time and time again that coaches work with certain players well, popes gone the older less talented route for 2 years and it hasnt been pretty
This is definitely a Pig fan and he’s still mad over getting smacked in the mouth by Pope a few weeks ago..
I keep seeing JMI get blamed for basketball recruiting but football recruiting seems to be on the fast track, I guess I just don’t understand the difference.