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Gut Wrenching

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brassnux66

Redshirt
Feb 15, 2007
563
15
0
At 48 I guess I qualify as an "old timer", but days like today are gut Wrenching for me. I start the year not know g these kids. By the time I warm up to them and really invest, they are gone. It's like getting divorced yearly. One reason is I will never watch one of these kids play a whole game again. I mean that quite literally too. I think the NBA is a terrible product that interests me less than cricket and croquet. Of course they don't care, because I'm no their very urban demographic. Kentucky...these kids aren't ruining college basketball, the NBA is.
I know it won't change. I know it would have been easier to take had we won. I'm sure I'll be back watching in November. But it's not as meaningful as it used to be. I hope the KY kids get to play this fall. It won't kill us to have one/both get some minutes. They dreamed of playing at UK. Instead they will likely sit and watch another group that will just be here a year.
On top of that I'm worried that this next group has a selfish streak and "handlers" that will cause problems.
That my rant.

This post was edited on 4/9 6:14 PM by bluefort

This post was edited on 4/9 6:15 PM by bluefort
 
A

anon_hvdd36eg5u05l

Guest
Originally posted by bluefort:
At 48 I guess I qualify as an "old timer", but days like today are gut Wrenching for me. I start the year not know g these kids. By the time I warm up to them and really invest, they are gone. It's like getting divorced yearly. One reason is I will never watch one of these kids play a whole game again. I mean that quite literally too. I think the NBA is a terrible product that interests me less than cricket and croquet. Of course they don't care, because I'm no their very urban demographic. Kentucky...these kids aren't ruining college basketball, the NBA is.
I know it won't change. I know it would have been easier to take had we won. I'm sure I'll be back watching in November. But it's not as meaningful as it used to be. I hope the KY kids get to play this fall. It won't kill us to have one/both get some minutes. They dreamed of playing at UK. Instead they will likely sit and watch another group that will just be here a year.
On top of that I'm worried that this next group has a selfish streak and "handlers" that will cause problems.
That my rant.

This post was edited on 4/9 6:14 PM by bluefort

This post was edited on 4/9 6:15 PM by bluefort
Click to expand...
I understand the part about wishing the players stuck around more for the sole reason of wanting to "get to know them better". I think hoping the KY players get clock is a little unfair. Think of the crazy balancing act that cal would have to do in order to appease all of the desires of our fans: win 90-95% of all our games, bring in fantastic, elite recruits, get them to stay beyond when they're ready to leave for the NBA, but also make sure that home grown talent gets meaningful playing time. Just impossible.
 
B

brassnux66

Redshirt
Feb 15, 2007
563
15
0
I'd respectfully disagree with you. We don't need 7 NBA players to win a championship. In fact the last three champions have done it with from 1-3 prospects.
History would say having a Kentucky kid start and/or play significant minutes is a key ingredient to ALL 8 of our Banners. See, Darius Miller, Scott Padgett, Anthony Epps and Jack Givens for our last 4. I think you need a couple of upperclassmen tgat play minutes to provide leadership. We need some balance.
 
C

Caintuk

Junior
Feb 25, 2010
273
341
0
Bluefort....Ive got a few years on you but your words capture my sentiments exactly. I detest how the whole landscape of college basketball has changed as a result of the one and done culture. The days of looking forward to watching a talented player hit his athletic stride while earning an education are long gone. I have absolutely no ill will toward our guys (current and past) who have bolted early. I do, however, wonder why some go when it appears they could certainly benefit for another year of seasoning.
 
B

bg'95

Redshirt
Mar 22, 2007
69
13
0
Me too. Now let's see how the draft goes and who the rest of the recruits are. Come October...Let's Go Cats!!!
 
B

Burly

All-American
Sep 3, 2002
17,129
8,631
113
Man I'm excited for the new batch of kids...not sad 1 bit. I was hoping Booker may comeback but if he is truly intop 18 you got to go. I knew Kat WCS and Lyle's were gone & we can recruit over the other 3 players. We are good
 
U

UK90

Heisman
Dec 30, 2007
31,460
27,814
0
Originally posted by Caintuk:

. I do, however, wonder why some go when it appears they could certainly benefit for another year of seasoning.
Click to expand...
Well, the most obvious reason why is $$. Even if it's not first round money, being paid something is still more than nothing.

And, to be blunt, the other reason is that I think it's simply become what's EXPECTED of UK recruits. That's the culture Cal created here and what UK has become known for--being the fastest path to NBA riches. The good part of that is it's made us an unbeatable unstoppable juggernaut in the battle to land recruits with NBA dreams, but the bad part is I think it also means our players face more pressure to leave early than at other schools. They know that the expectation is that UK recruits are supposed to leave early, and the longer they have to stay the more they are going to be perceived as failures on the court.
 
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anon_kxlrmusn5ugsm

Freshman
Apr 3, 2009
759
70
0
This seems to have become the gateway to the NBA. It would be nice a get another NC or two before Cal moves on. All these McD All Americans have given us a turnover rate that competes with McDonalds employees.
 
G

GonzoCat90

Heisman
Mar 30, 2009
32,377
34,559
0
Not even half of the guys who left today were freshmen. We also have another five guys coming back: one senior, three juniors, and a freshman. If you started this year not knowing these guys, that's mostly on you, because they had all played here before.


The rest about not liking the NBA because you're not "their very urban demographic" and this group of kids having "handlers" and "selfish streaks" while hoping that the Kentucky boys play comes across a little...interesting.

You're entitled to your opinion, and if you don't enjoy it, you don't enjoy it, but speaking only for myself, I'm having as much fun being a UK fan now as I've had in my 25 years.

I don't know what more UK fans could want. I mean, you want to win, and do it with seniors, and do it with Kentucky boys, and that hasn't been possible for about 50 years now--so when have you ever enjoyed this?
 
L

lacocat

Senior
Nov 7, 2007
2,606
501
0
I'm a 48 year "old timer" also. I watch NBA some in regular season, but watch all the playoffs. 20% of the league will be UK players soon at this rate anyway. I know what you mean about having players around for 4 years like when we were young, but the NBA takes younger players now, nothing can do about it.

At least they let us have them 1 year, and if they were not playing for UK, they would be somewhere else one year.
 
C

cal=8

All-Conference
Nov 3, 2009
2,049
1,417
0
Well, I'm 49! At 1st I hated the players leaving early and there were a few on this years team that I'll miss. Over the past few years though I'm starting to really enjoy it.. When the seasons over a whole new game starts.. Recruiting Wars! While most fan either move on to other things like Baseball or Golf, us KY fans have the after season season.. Who will we get? Who will we loose? Then there's the draft... At Kentucky it's always basketball season.. Be grateful.. Don't forget BCG or the final years of Tubby..
 
M

MakinMusic_rivals

All-Conference
Mar 21, 2006
10,715
3,597
66
Originally posted by cal=8:
Well, I'm 49! At 1st I hated the players leaving early and there were a few on this years team that I'll miss. Over the past few years though I'm starting to really enjoy it.. When the seasons over a whole new game starts.. Recruiting Wars! While most fan either move on to other things like Baseball or Golf, us KY fans have the after season season.. Who will we get? Who will we loose? Then there's the draft... At Kentucky it's always basketball season.. Be grateful.. Don't forget BCG or the final years of Tubby..
Click to expand...
I agree.....it's fun. Enjoy it!
 
K

kyjohn

Senior
Feb 5, 2003
1,273
508
0
I've been a season ticket holder for the past three years here in Charlotte and used to share your sentiments regarding the NBA.Not anymore.It's a treat to see these great athletes excel in their game.The playmaking skills,the ball movement,are things to behold.Believe me,seeing a game live beats a tv broadcast any day.

I can't wait to see Willie ,Karl,Devin,and Trey as they begin play.If they develop as Davis,MKG,Wall,Cousins,and Bledsoe i'm going to be in for a real treat,and won't be giving up my tickets any time soon.
 
F

FtWorthCat

All-Conference
Aug 21, 2001
6,721
4,532
0
The NBA is far superior to college basketball, especially during the playoffs. As of right now 5 of the 16 projected playoff teams have significant contributors who are former UK players, and one has a former UK player as head coach. You should check it out.

Do I have the same emotional attachment as I do with UK? Not even close. But to say it isn't fun to watch Lebron James, the Golden State Warriors, the San Antonio Spurs, Anthony Davis, John Wall, etc., etc. play, tells me you aren't really a basketball fan.
 
D

Dutycat

Sophomore
Jan 3, 2003
6,002
128
0
Everybody on Rafters get to rant once in a while. I guess if you are going to wish, you might as well wish for exactly what you want. Sounds like you not only want national champions, but on top of that you want them to match some perfectly balanced homogenized formula of Kentucky kids, and NBA prospects that hang around long enough so that it isn't too much work for you to get to know them.

 
C

catman111_rivals101557

All-Conference
Oct 29, 2005
9,114
1,835
66
The NBA is boring. I don't watch it and it will never be important to me. I can't picture ever watching or caring about the NBA draft. I wish the best for our guys, but it's not UK.
 
Mike-D

Mike-D

Heisman
Jul 14, 2001
50,036
74,200
113
Originally posted by bluefort:
At 48 I guess I qualify as an "old timer", but days like today are gut Wrenching for me. I start the year not know g these kids. By the time I warm up to them and really invest, they are gone. It's like getting divorced yearly. One reason is I will never watch one of these kids play a whole game again. I mean that quite literally too. I think the NBA is a terrible product that interests me less than cricket and croquet. Of course they don't care, because I'm no their very urban demographic. Kentucky...these kids aren't ruining college basketball, the NBA is.
I know it won't change. I know it would have been easier to take had we won. I'm sure I'll be back watching in November. But it's not as meaningful as it used to be. I hope the KY kids get to play this fall. It won't kill us to have one/both get some minutes. They dreamed of playing at UK. Instead they will likely sit and watch another group that will just be here a year.
On top of that I'm worried that this next group has a selfish streak and "handlers" that will cause problems.
That my rant.

This post was edited on 4/9 6:14 PM by bluefort

This post was edited on 4/9 6:15 PM by bluefort
Click to expand...
let it out. let it all out. now watch cal reload.
 
L

lacocat

Senior
Nov 7, 2007
2,606
501
0
Originally posted by Dutycat:
Everybody on Rafters get to rant once in a while. I guess if you are going to wish, you might as well wish for exactly what you want. Sounds like you not only want national champions, but on top of that you want them to match some perfectly balanced homogenized formula of Kentucky kids, and NBA prospects that hang around long enough so that it isn't too much work for you to get to know them.

Click to expand...
Straight fire to borrow from the great asshat Jim Rome. Roll a championship down my feed trough please so i'll not be bothered to raise my head.
 
T

takmashfan

Sophomore
Mar 1, 2002
517
173
43
My reply is this........ Has it been fun being in the final 4 4 of the last 5 years? How do you think we got there? Because we were having the #1 recruiting class year after year. How does that happen? Because the best players in the country want to play here? Why do they want to play here? Because the players know this is the best place to go to get better and realize THEIR dream of playing in the NBA. AS long as we have Cal, and I hope its until he retires, this is how it's gonna be. He's been here 6 years 4 final 4's a championship and 2 of only 3 38 win teams in the history of college basketball. I'll take it
 
MegaBlue05

MegaBlue05

Heisman
Mar 8, 2014
10,797
21,247
66
Originally posted by FtWorthCat:

The NBA is far superior to college basketball, especially during the playoffs. As of right now 5 of the 16 projected playoff teams have significant contributors who are former UK players, and one has a former UK player as head coach. You should check it out.

Do I have the same emotional attachment as I do with UK? Not even close. But to say it isn't fun to watch Lebron James, the Golden State Warriors, the San Antonio Spurs, Anthony Davis, John Wall, etc., etc. play, tells me you aren't really a basketball fan.
Click to expand...
I agree.

Even though I watch more college than NBA, the pro game is BY FAR superior in every way. I don't have an emotional attachment to any NBA team like I do with UK, but man, those guys are good.

Spacing is better (because of the wider land and defensive 3 seconds in the paint rule), ball movement is more crisp, pace of the game is better and the players are much more skilled. You can't play stall ball in the pros. And I like that,

College ball is micromanaged too much. Most coaches can't just let their kids play. They have to control every dribble, pass and shot.

College hoops has gotten so ugly with the zone and/or rugby-style defenses and "dribble out the shot clock and shoot a contested 3-pointer" offenses that I can't take much more. Watching a 57-53 grinder isn't my idea of entertaining basketball.
 
U

UKWildcatT

All-American
Apr 9, 2009
75,546
8,113
0
Originally posted by baseball is life:

My reply is this........ Has it been fun being in the final 4 4 of the last 5 years? How do you think we got there? Because we were having the #1 recruiting class year after year. How does that happen? Because the best players in the country want to play here? Why do they want to play here? Because the players know this is the best place to go to get better and realize THEIR dream of playing in the NBA. AS long as we have Cal, and I hope its until he retires, this is how it's gonna be. He's been here 6 years 4 final 4's a championship and 2 of only 3 38 win teams in the history of college basketball. I'll take it
Click to expand...
Honest to God, some of our posters act like this is the most miserable six years of UKs history. Guessing they forgot some of the Hall years. Oh what about the joyous Sutton years! Half of Tubby's years were ugh. And Gillispe? Well, speaks for it self.

If our fan base can't be happy with Cal's success, I don't know what to tell them.
 
A

Anon1668578572

Redshirt
Dec 14, 2005
682
10
18
Our last pg before Cal...Michael Porter! ...to John Wall !! I for one vote for Cals system. Enjoy seeing the stars of tomorrow today.
 
H

HartcoCat

Redshirt
Sep 15, 2006
753
0
0
Some of these posters have the all the same talking points as our rivals... makes you wonder?
 
K

KYDave32

Redshirt
Jan 26, 2010
5,651
18
0
Originally posted by catman111:
The NBA is boring. I don't watch it and it will never be important to me. I can't picture ever watching or caring about the NBA draft. I wish the best for our guys, but it's not UK.


If you don't watch the NBA playoffs then you are missing out on some entertaining basketball.. Nothing boring about it..
Click to expand...
 
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UKWildcatT

All-American
Apr 9, 2009
75,546
8,113
0
Originally posted by smackcats:
Our last pg before Cal...Michael Porter! ...to John Wall !! I for one vote for Cals system. Enjoy seeing the stars of tomorrow today.
Click to expand...
 
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lwbb_rivals101553

Sophomore
Dec 13, 2001
5,890
118
0
GonzoCat i agree and to all the fans who want them to stay longer ask your self if you had a son that was at Kentucky and had a chance to make millions would you say stay another year son so all these fans can get to know you.I know i would be telling my son go get that money
 
B

BigBlueFanGA

Heisman
Jun 14, 2005
26,435
23,456
0
Originally posted by bluefort:
At 48 I guess I qualify as an "old timer", but days like today are gut Wrenching for me. I start the year not know g these kids. By the time I warm up to them and really invest, they are gone. It's like getting divorced yearly. One reason is I will never watch one of these kids play a whole game again. I mean that quite literally too. I think the NBA is a terrible product that interests me less than cricket and croquet. Of course they don't care, because I'm no their very urban demographic. Kentucky...these kids aren't ruining college basketball, the NBA is.
I know it won't change. I know it would have been easier to take had we won. I'm sure I'll be back watching in November. But it's not as meaningful as it used to be. I hope the KY kids get to play this fall. It won't kill us to have one/both get some minutes. They dreamed of playing at UK. Instead they will likely sit and watch another group that will just be here a year.
On top of that I'm worried that this next group has a selfish streak and "handlers" that will cause problems.
That my rant.

This post was edited on 4/9 6:14 PM by bluefort

This post was edited on 4/9 6:15 PM by bluefort
Click to expand...
Well, I certainly agree with you, and if you read on here enough you'll see a lot of posters who hold at least similar beliefs. Then of course you'll usually get shouted down by most.
 
irishcat1965

irishcat1965

Heisman
Apr 22, 2012
20,481
43,359
113
Will I miss these kids ? Definitely. They are a great group. But days like yesterday are the reason Cal continues to get the top players and remain in the title hunt every year.
 
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