This culture is going to be dealt with by everyone now transfers don't have to sit and get 1 time waivers. However, a word of advice to any Coach--it's best to not have a guy move in with you and still give him endless minutes if he's still playing like dog crap. That doesn't enhance a "team culture" at all.
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This culture is going to be dealt with by everyone now transfers don't have to sit and get 1 time waivers. However, a word of advice to any Coach--it's best to not have a guy move in with you and still give him endless minutes if he's still playing like dog crap. That doesn't enhance a "team culture" at all.
Things are never as great/bad as it appears. CBB things can improve quickly. For UK, I really think it's as simple as bringing in more new blood on staff--guys who have different abilities but at least one has to be join Lucas as a killer on the recruiting trail. When a HC has been around and loses two of the most trusted people around him (Peevy and Payne) and proceeds to have a rancid season, everything needs to be assessed and evaluated. What's lacking the most this year? I'd say player development and recruiting mistakes in some instances. When mistakes or guys who don't stay around can be traced to a certain assistant (Justus) he's easy to replace. But that's what I've been told, so we'll see how it goes rest of year and what changes after.
Agreed. I don’t see how Cal hasn’t lost the team yet with his “favoritism .” The lineup to start of the second half of Saturday’s game was pitiful. Everyone watching knew who should be playing.
Ralph you and I have been on the same page when it comes to assistants, outside of Jai I think they all need to be shipped out. IDC if barbee is a "special assistant" he has to go. The decline has been drastic. Also I appreciate you for posting things that I have been hesitant to post on this board. You are uh my hero today.
Ralph really does hear so many good things from the AAU circuit. If he speaks you should listen.
Don't blame you for not posting after the attacks that tend to happen. I'm fine if this doesn't go over well but I was cussed out by many when I trashed the Bruiser Flint hire and was told I was highly overestimating the loss of Kenny Payne. Meanwhile the NY Knicks are 7-8 right now. Having seen Thibs work in person in MN with young players in particular, I realize Payne's doing what he did in Lexington right now. Thibs deserves praise for altering his way of doing some things but player development and relating with young players....so far very impressive work for a guy who should've been running his own program by now.
As for Cal....he just is having a rancid year and trying to be far too much to everyone. I believe he was being honest about his "I'm not qualified" talk regarding how to handle certain things, but nobody in Lexington cares about that as much as they do the ***tty basketball product when he continues to taunt fans about what they "don't know". Saturday was an occasion that has now happened a few times in the last 2 yrs that shows he's dug in and not listening to people. He was told to handle Hagans in the loss at Auburn--he didn't listen. Look how that ended. NOBODY on the planet who supports UK basketball (current assistants I don't care to be around any longer either) agreed with his lineups and playing rotations last Saturday.
This is fascinating. Thanks to @ralphdaltonfan and @Rupp'sRunt for posting. Makes me know I’m not going crazy watching this team. What a gosh darn poop show this season has become!
I feel better about Kentucky recruiting picking up again, because usually when the experts predict one thing, the opposite happens.
First off, I'm not any expert and don't claim to be one. Just sharing what I was asked about and it's reality. If the people in power want change, do their jobs and get it done. Nobody is going to b upset to be "proven wrong" and if anything everyone is furious that they have been proven correct to this point.
Sadly, I stated Payne's loss was a lot more then everyone wanted to believe and was told how wrong I was prior to the season. How's the season gone to this point?
I wasn't singling you out, but most insiders as well. It just seems that accurate and up to date recruiting information is hard to come by from around the program.
I follow the insider board too and information is commonly vague. This is a contrast to a place like Duke where it seems the insiders get great info.
You pay for multiple recruiting services? Weird flex but OK. I have no idea what's said on either premium board but I've seen Andrew Slater and whoever is on the cats board eat their hat multiple times.
Mark this down tho, If Sallis comes to UK it will be the most unexpected recruit to ever come even over Knox.
Not a premium board member so I can't speak to what is/isn't shared.
I can tell you this much--working quietly is a good thing and what Calipari prefers. Used to be how things were done prior to '16.
I have so much to say about that I don't know where to begin so I'll give you a bottom line of what I think and it is that Cal will stick around
I think a lot of people are ignoring the fact that UK and are all in on Hardy and Sallis and if they wiff their are very space pickings. Get 2 great, not likely atm. Get 1, that would be nice. Miss both and theres no scrambling for a last second Tyler Herro type. Most recruits are spoken for outside of transfers or a reclass both of which have came back to bite Cal in the @$$ this year.
Just pay for premium here, and there's often not a lot of good detail. It just seems that information is notoriously hard to come by, so I think it's hard to get an accurate read until close to recruits' announcements.
Has he ever without someone leaving? The answer to that is no. The only person possible to fire is JJ and Cal is tied to him as hes stuck his neck out for him on multiple occasions. Does Cal have the grit to fire bruiser 1 year after a hire? I doubt that. Slice had to leave on his own. Cal's "special assistant" in barbee is just a joke and seems to be untouchable.
thanks for yalls insight! always appreciate the knowledge you all drop. i think for a few seasons people have clammored for a change to the staff.
i'm fine with lucas, robic, and even flint. not that flint is a great coach but he can hopefully play the mediator. the other 2 have simply been yes men since the day they got here. they won't express their opinion to cal if they know he won't agree. and here we are.
tubby hired his friends and look where that got him. cal did the same. he needs to change it after this year. dump barbee and justus. find another lock down recruiter like lucas and find one a coach who can coach the bigs as well as implement an offense.
i'm fine with lucas, robic, and even flint. not that flint is a great coach but he can hopefully play the mediator. the other 2 have simply been yes men since the day they got here. they won't express their opinion to cal if they know he won't agree. and here we are.
tubby hired his friends and look where that got him. cal did the same. he needs to change it after this year. dump barbee and justus. find another lock down recruiter like lucas and find one a coach who can coach the bigs as well as implement an offense.
I mean Cal has been coaching for 30+ years, why wouldn’t he be able to recognize that Justus isn’t up to snuff and let him go? He let Slice go after a year. Are you saying he’ll just never bring himself to ever fire someone or that he’s completely clueless that Justus is underperforming?
Cal has stuck his neck out for him to get a HC job. Cal won't turn on JJ bc of his own ego. There are other reasons I'm not a fan of JJ but thats just one of the top reasons. Also slice "walked on his own accord" JJ has no where to walk to.
What do either of these statements mean? Especially the first one, WTF does that even mean?
undortunately I don’t trust jai Lucas for anything. He’s too green and as soon as he left Texas they rise. He would be good if we had a couple assistants ahead of him to learn from but I’m not putting any hope to him.
Try to keep up here. Cal has put his own name on the line when trying to line up JJ a HC job. He vouched for him. Cal won't fire one of his own he's vouched for it would make him look bad. JJ has no other programs to mutually agree to go to like Slice and his buddy Chris Mullens at St Johns. Still having problems?
Exactly! Very easy to post vague, conspiracy type stuff to make yourself look like an insider and never have to offer up any real information.
Ok, I guess that’s the answer. Cal secretly doesn’t think Joel Justus is a good assistant and is damaging his own reputation and the Kentucky program. However, he can never fire him because he recommended him for a coaching job. Therefore he’s basically keeping dead weight on the sideline. Makes sense. 
Ralph has never been one to be vague. If anything he overshares here than in private threads. You should be happy he posts here.
*Tony Barbee enters the Chat* Cal keeps his Buddys on the staff. He likes them. They are "yes men". The fact you cant see through that is pretty dense man. Why else was bruiser flint hired?Ok, I guess that’s the answer. Cal secretly doesn’t think Joel Justus is a good assistant and is damaging his own reputation and the Kentucky program. However, he can never fire him because he recommended him for a coaching job. Therefore he’s basically keeping dead weight on the sideline. Makes sense.
Joel Justice called himself "family" to wiseman and missed. Hes flubbed many recruiting jobs.
I mean youre basically saying Calipari is an awful leader and HC that doesn’t know how to put together a staff. I mean that’s fine if you’re saying that, and you might be right, it just seems weird that after all these decades and success he just kinda has mailed it in. I’m a business owner, one of the most important and hardest aspects of my job is hiring quality staff as theyre crucial, and there are measures put into place to assess performance. So if Cal is that awful at it all of a sudden or doesn’t recognize it then that is pretty damning about Cal more than any of the assistants.
Complacency and a lifetime contract will do that. Go look at the differences at coaching staff today and when he was hired. He had something to prove then. He's now the top paid Bball coach in NCAA and almost America a mill behind greg pop. He won't even sit BJ Boston. You think hes just going to can his buddies?
Of course ESPN making excuses why Duke struggles with so many young players (Covid, no exhibition games and so on) Yet UK has six freshmen and four transfers trying to learn a system going against upperclassman for the most part and we are bashing the hell out of our hall of fame coach. I’m not saying Cal doesn’t deserve criticism because we all know he does but I feel like even this but definitely next year he will right the ship .
Seems like we were scrambling the year we got Murray at the last minute also . That year would have been a disaster without him .
Well Dukes struggles are not exactly on the same level as ours . And of course espn is going to make excuses for coach K , he is their god .