They comically say recruiting isn't everything because UL does not--and cannot--recruit on UK's level. UL fans know this, and as a coping method, they have convinced themselves that Pitino is world's apart from Calipari as a bench coach.
Yet, when you remind them of Cal's 8-1 head-to-head record, they're quick to blame the talent gap between between the two schools. Oh, so recruiting is important??
Moral of the story: If an ace recruiter is consistently kicking the @ss of an ace "bench coach," then I think it's safe to say recruiting is much more important than UL fans would ever care to admit. In fact, recruiting is the lifeblood of any collegiate program.
I don't recall any college program regularly making Final Fours with scrubs.