SGA is now back to back NBA MVP

Johnnie Africa

All-Conference
Feb 27, 2003
898
2,855
93
Has or is SGA in anyway involved in UK in any capacity whatsoever? MJ basically was a walking UNC billboard, Jayson Tatum currently works FOR DUKE and wears their stuff in commercials, is our current best player in the NBA even tied to or have a relationship with any of the absolute buffoons at UK athletics? We have back to back MVP and we can’t even get kids from Santa Clara to visit? Is there any better sign of how catastrophically disorganized and incompetent this mess of a UK administration is then the fact we have dozens of NBA players that aren’t even remotely associated with our basketball team? How damn incompetent is this administration? You realize this is literally Barnharts job? What the hell has he been doing? The new AD coming in better be AMAZING as he needs to completely blow up this thing and start from scratch. What a fumbled mess. Imagine any other top program having 25 NBA players and no relationship with them.
 

Ash Williams

Heisman
Aug 3, 2022
8,380
26,658
113
Has or is SGA in anyway involved in UK in any capacity whatsoever? MJ basically was a walking UNC billboard, Jayson Tatum currently works FOR DUKE and wears their stuff in commercials, is our current best player in the NBA even tied to or have a relationship with any of the absolute buffoons at UK athletics? We have back to back MVP and we can’t even get kids from Santa Clara to visit? Is there any better sign of how catastrophically disorganized and incompetent this mess of a UK administration is then the fact we have dozens of NBA players that aren’t even remotely associated with our basketball team? How damn incompetent is this administration? You realize this is literally Barnharts job? What the hell has he been doing? The new AD coming in better be AMAZING as he needs to completely blow up this thing and start from scratch. What a fumbled mess. Imagine any other top program having 25 NBA players and no relationship with them.
Not sure I'd want the flop prince associated with our program anyway. I know for a fact Cal didn't teach flopping.
 

Smeegs

All-Conference
Nov 19, 2025
827
2,373
93
I think Jokic is the League’s true MVP, but SGA gets the nod for having the better team. Nonetheless, SGA is an amazing player and deserving choice.

Nonetheless, i’ll admit I don’t enjoy watching him play as much as it seems like I should. And I think it’s for the same reason watching the MVP version of James Harden used to annoy me: the overdribbling and focus on trying to draw fouls. That is a legit skill, and SGA is an absolute master at knowing how to draw calls in his favor.

But it ain’t the most enjoyable style of play from a fan perspective.
 

Padsfs07

All-Conference
Jan 19, 2013
3,787
3,571
108
Has or is SGA in anyway involved in UK in any capacity whatsoever? MJ basically was a walking UNC billboard, Jayson Tatum currently works FOR DUKE and wears their stuff in commercials, is our current best player in the NBA even tied to or have a relationship with any of the absolute buffoons at UK athletics? We have back to back MVP and we can’t even get kids from Santa Clara to visit? Is there any better sign of how catastrophically disorganized and incompetent this mess of a UK administration is then the fact we have dozens of NBA players that aren’t even remotely associated with our basketball team? How damn incompetent is this administration? You realize this is literally Barnharts job? What the hell has he been doing? The new AD coming in better be AMAZING as he needs to completely blow up this thing and start from scratch. What a fumbled mess. Imagine any other top program having 25 NBA players and no relationship with them.


He was pretty involved in Cal's last year when we went on that trip to Canada.
 
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mash_24

Heisman
Sep 26, 2011
9,372
27,463
108
Has or is SGA in anyway involved in UK in any capacity whatsoever? MJ basically was a walking UNC billboard, Jayson Tatum currently works FOR DUKE and wears their stuff in commercials, is our current best player in the NBA even tied to or have a relationship with any of the absolute buffoons at UK athletics? We have back to back MVP and we can’t even get kids from Santa Clara to visit? Is there any better sign of how catastrophically disorganized and incompetent this mess of a UK administration is then the fact we have dozens of NBA players that aren’t even remotely associated with our basketball team? How damn incompetent is this administration? You realize this is literally Barnharts job? What the hell has he been doing? The new AD coming in better be AMAZING as he needs to completely blow up this thing and start from scratch. What a fumbled mess. Imagine any other top program having 25 NBA players and no relationship with them.
It’s 3 things. Mitch’s arrogance and ineptitude. And the Cal effect. It’s never about the school with Cal. It’s about him. And last how tied is anybody gonna be to a place they spent 6 months at and probably interacted with very few people?
 

Johnnie Africa

All-Conference
Feb 27, 2003
898
2,855
93
It’s 3 things. Mitch’s arrogance and ineptitude. And the Cal effect. It’s never about the school with Cal. It’s about him. And last how tied is anybody gonna be to a place they spent 6 months at and probably interacted with very few people?

Jayson Tatum is currently ON STAFF at Duke and helping with recruiting. Why? Because the people at Duke actually know what they are doing.
 

cawoodsct

Heisman
Apr 27, 2006
39,900
27,972
102
Has or is SGA in anyway involved in UK in any capacity whatsoever? MJ basically was a walking UNC billboard, Jayson Tatum currently works FOR DUKE and wears their stuff in commercials, is our current best player in the NBA even tied to or have a relationship with any of the absolute buffoons at UK athletics? We have back to back MVP and we can’t even get kids from Santa Clara to visit? Is there any better sign of how catastrophically disorganized and incompetent this mess of a UK administration is then the fact we have dozens of NBA players that aren’t even remotely associated with our basketball team? How damn incompetent is this administration? You realize this is literally Barnharts job? What the hell has he been doing? The new AD coming in better be AMAZING as he needs to completely blow up this thing and start from scratch. What a fumbled mess. Imagine any other top program having 25 NBA players and no relationship with them.
Terrible post. Enjoy being miserable. Too
Much bs in this post to even try to defend.
 
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Reactions: RunninRichie

ZaytovenCat

All-American
Apr 25, 2013
24,075
8,861
97
Has or is SGA in anyway involved in UK in any capacity whatsoever? MJ basically was a walking UNC billboard, Jayson Tatum currently works FOR DUKE and wears their stuff in commercials, is our current best player in the NBA even tied to or have a relationship with any of the absolute buffoons at UK athletics? We have back to back MVP and we can’t even get kids from Santa Clara to visit? Is there any better sign of how catastrophically disorganized and incompetent this mess of a UK administration is then the fact we have dozens of NBA players that aren’t even remotely associated with our basketball team? How damn incompetent is this administration? You realize this is literally Barnharts job? What the hell has he been doing? The new AD coming in better be AMAZING as he needs to completely blow up this thing and start from scratch. What a fumbled mess. Imagine any other top program having 25 NBA players and no relationship with them.
Thunder players were all asked to pick who would win the tournament this year. They all picked their schools for the most part except SGA and Cason who both picked Arkansas. That should tell you.
 

Johnnie Africa

All-Conference
Feb 27, 2003
898
2,855
93
Terrible post. Enjoy being miserable. Too
Much bs in this post to even try to defend.

😂 how am I being miserable saying UK has done a miserable job establishing a relationship with the dozens of NBA players we have. Good lord some of you are like talking to a toddler. Take a breath, relax, and tell me why UK shouldn’t be taking advantage of having the back to back MVP
 
Mar 16, 2022
247
524
92
Wow. Now imagine how dominant the thunder would be if Quade Green was on their roster! If I had him playing for me I’d make sure he kept feeding PJ Washington over and over and not initiating the offense at all. Probably try to draw up something for Green with the game on the line and have SGA as a decoy.
Amazing how much SGA improved under Cal’s tutelage. Just like all the great players he put into the NBA.
 

Cat_Man_Blue

All-Conference
Jan 5, 2003
1,800
1,570
113
Has or is SGA in anyway involved in UK in any capacity whatsoever? MJ basically was a walking UNC billboard, Jayson Tatum currently works FOR DUKE and wears their stuff in commercials, is our current best player in the NBA even tied to or have a relationship with any of the absolute buffoons at UK athletics? We have back to back MVP and we can’t even get kids from Santa Clara to visit? Is there any better sign of how catastrophically disorganized and incompetent this mess of a UK administration is then the fact we have dozens of NBA players that aren’t even remotely associated with our basketball team? How damn incompetent is this administration? You realize this is literally Barnharts job? What the hell has he been doing? The new AD coming in better be AMAZING as he needs to completely blow up this thing and start from scratch. What a fumbled mess. Imagine any other top program having 25 NBA players and no relationship with them.
I can't like this post enough and I couldn't have said it any better. I have been tired of Barnhart for years. He does nothing to promote the program and as far as I can tell the only fund raising he has ever done, is to hit up the wealthy boosters. Not to mention, he tried to weezzle out of town with a million dollar no show consultant deal.
 

Ukdaddy98

Sophomore
Jan 15, 2026
63
143
33
Thunder players were all asked to pick who would win the tournament this year. They all picked their schools for the most part except SGA and Cason who both picked Arkansas. That should tell you.
This. People need to let these dudes go. They came for Cal. They gonna roll with him. Heck, even a legacy player in Reed… who grew up with two parents who played at UK and his dad roomed with Pope and is still close… he wore Arky gear before the game last year. That said EVERYTHING!

It was what it was… let it go.

And in the NIL era, school loyalty will be even less.

Some of the Cal era players ended up loving UK and still show love. Mostly some of the earlier Cal players... the actual winners! Recent ones care much less about UK. Maybe bc they didn’t win anything of value those last handful of seasons. Hard to make memories with flameouts!
 
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bluedom44

Senior
Apr 7, 2019
253
623
63
The funny thing is SGA is the least dynamic star player I've ever seen in my lifetime. He's not someone that is a box office draw. He's not someone you would go out of your way buy tickets to see him play. He really doesn't do anything extraordinary. He's just learned how to hit mid-range shots and get a lot of fouls. He plays the refs big time. He gets half his points at the free throw line. He is very successful though.
 

CameronCat22

Sophomore
Apr 12, 2026
130
113
43
The funny thing is SGA is the least dynamic star player I've ever seen in my lifetime. He's not someone that is a box office draw. He's not someone you would go out of your way buy tickets to see him play. He really doesn't do anything extraordinary. He's just learned how to hit mid-range shots and get a lot of fouls. He plays the refs big time. He gets half his points at the free throw line. He is very successful though.
You can tell who the people are who watch clips on social media and doesn’t watch actual games.
 

Blue Jesus

Senior
Aug 24, 2013
497
733
93
Has or is SGA in anyway involved in UK in any capacity whatsoever? MJ basically was a walking UNC billboard, Jayson Tatum currently works FOR DUKE and wears their stuff in commercials, is our current best player in the NBA even tied to or have a relationship with any of the absolute buffoons at UK athletics? We have back to back MVP and we can’t even get kids from Santa Clara to visit? Is there any better sign of how catastrophically disorganized and incompetent this mess of a UK administration is then the fact we have dozens of NBA players that aren’t even remotely associated with our basketball team? How damn incompetent is this administration? You realize this is literally Barnharts job? What the hell has he been doing? The new AD coming in better be AMAZING as he needs to completely blow up this thing and start from scratch. What a fumbled mess. Imagine any other top program having 25 NBA players and no relationship with them.
I've said it before but after all the bragging the basketball program did about how many billions of dollars our guys have made in the NBA, it sure would be nice to tap into that money for our NIL funds. I get it's a little different now since Cal left, and those are almost all Cal guys, but surely some of them would pitch in.
 

UKWildcats1987

Heisman
Sep 9, 2021
19,914
35,035
113
I've said it before but after all the bragging the basketball program did about how many billions of dollars our guys have made in the NBA, it sure would be nice to tap into that money for our NIL funds. I get it's a little different now since Cal left, and those are almost all Cal guys, but surely some of them would pitch in.

They might if we had a coach they believed in.

And congrats to sga. Only Kentucky would have fans bitchinng about him winning back to back mvps. (Not you blue, others in thread)
 
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Johnnie Africa

All-Conference
Feb 27, 2003
898
2,855
93
Should have kept Cal. He would have used this to Kentucky's benefit. Pope is clueless about utilizing his NBA connections.

Cal had arguably his best freshman guard of last decade as well as multiple highly rated upperclassmen from a previous sweet sixteen coming back. He played two teams ranked in the top 15 the last month of the season. He lost to those two teams by a combined 56 points. It was well past time for Cal to leave. Why we landed on Pope is a whole nother issue.
 

Ash Williams

Heisman
Aug 3, 2022
8,380
26,658
113
Way to miss the point entirely. Go play in your golf simulator.
Well, you have to admit it is difficult at times to determine the point of an emoji. Try using words next time. Maybe if you read a few books, you might discover some words with more than one syllable.
 

BookofMormon

Senior
Mar 27, 2026
467
622
93
I've said it before but after all the bragging the basketball program did about how many billions of dollars our guys have made in the NBA, it sure would be nice to tap into that money for our NIL funds. I get it's a little different now since Cal left, and those are almost all Cal guys, but surely some of them would pitch in.
They've all followed Cal to Arkansas. I wouldn't be surprised if Arkansas is getting more NIL from UK players. Their connection is to the coach.

SGA's legacy and connection to UK are an interesting view - one and done, S16, so not a major run. No doubt, best UK player in the NBA of all time. It's not like a Castle, who won a title with UConn. I feel like anytime they feature him, UConn gets a free pump up because they cover Castle winning a national title.

Duke does seem to do the best job of marketing through their NBA alum with this whole "brotherhood" spin. As it comes to branding and marketing, no one really does it like Duke. If you look at their IG page, they have close to 2mm followers. The next best is around 600K and I think it's UK.

Right now, it feels like from a pure reputational standpoint, the two programs that are operating like "blue bloods" per Rothstein, are Duke and UConn. Duke is Duke, UConn has all the recent winning & Hurley, also has a stud like Castle out there who is super marketable, gets to play with Wemby. Right now as it comes to recruiting it feels like the 4 programs that call their shots:

Duke - Scheyer can clearly recruit and they have endless NIL it seems
UConn - very targeted, seems they have to be because NIL may not be as high as the others. Finds his kind of guys.
Arkansas - Cal could sell ice to an eskimo, and has NIL. Simply puts it all into OAD frosh.
Michigan - Dusty seems to be getting any big he wants.

Curious to see how Golden keeps it going once this crop of bigs take off. He kind of missed in the portal last year with Fland and Lee and lost out on that front court.
 
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