A rational person would realize just how much luck and chance goes into a single elimination tournament, so no, I don’t think it’s “rational” to think it’s “scary” that he didnt win a title with 2010 or 2015. It’s disappointing and will hurt Cal’s final legacy here, but sometimes you win games you’re supposed to lose and sometimes you lose games you’re supposed to win.
A rational person would realize that holding a coach’s talent THAT THEY RECRUITED against them isn’t really an objective view. A part of coaching is recruiting. Cal does that better than any coach we’ve had. Why not just look at his results - which have been extremely good - and stop trying to diminish them by saying he only did it with great players? At the very least, if you’re going to keep trying to throw that in, shouldn’t you also account for the insane lack of experience he’s routinely working with?
I do understand the fear about not landing the top players anymore. That one is fair, but it’s not like we’ve “fallen” completely beyond any success since he stopped landing those top tier recruits. 2016-2020 wasn’t some drastic failure. We still won a lot.
My hope is that he either gets back to landing those top guys or starts returning more good not great players, and I think there’s reason to be optimistic that he’ll do the latter. People think we just never return players here or that this year is the norm, but last year we started three sophomores and a junior. I think it’s very possible we return most of: Askew, Ware, Fletcher, Allen, Brooks, Jackson from this current team. Maybe one leaves early or one transfers, but we should return a solid core, just like we had last year.
A rational person can realize that Cal is more about putting players into the NBA than he is about winning games, making Final Fours, and winning NC’s at UK. He was even greasy enough to have no on court incentives built into his current contract and Barney went for it.
Wording in his current contract.
“There are no bonuses for on-court performance and the only incentive, as was the case under the old deal, is for the program to maintain a score of 950 in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate. That would earn him another $50,000 per year.”
At least Cal is outspoken about his goal at UK
2015
“Last year we started the season with a goal," Calipari said. "You may think it was to win a national title or win all the games, [but] it was to get eight players drafted. Well, how can you be about your team if you're worried about getting players drafted? We kind of work it the other way. What are your dreams? What are you looking for? What are you trying to get out of life? How can we help you with that?
"For me, the mission for me is to be a vehicle to help others reach their dreams, to be the stone that creates the ripple in their lives that goes on and on and on. Now in our state, they want my mission to be, 'win national titles, win national titles.' My mission is bigger than that."
Cal does tell us it’s ALL about getting players drafted over winning National Titles
Even what Cal thinks is the greatest day in the history of Kentucky basketball is the complete opposite of the fans
2010
“When Kentucky had five players selected in the first round of the 2010 NBA draft, Calipari
riled longtime fans and former players by proclaiming it "the biggest day in the history of Kentucky's program."
Only an irrational person can’t realize that Calipari has hijacked the greatest program in college basketball and turned it into a NBA farm league. If you don’t have enough stars as a recruit or aren’t projected to go to the NBA you ride the pine here until you transfer in most cases. Or you just get tired and bolt for the NBA and go undrafted.
Cal is not and will never be about winning at Kentucky. He has stated this himself and even had his contract structured so that his performance at UK had no affect on his salary. His HUGE salary!
If Kentucky wins games as Cal is pumping players into the league, Cal just views that as a bonus for us fans!
We start the season with Pro Day and end it in June with Cal having someone record him watching the draft!
It‘s pathetic!
Have you ever seen a college coach cater to the NBA like Cal? Rupp would’ve never done that. He would’ve told the scouts to come to the games and watch his boys play like everyone else, that he had a team to coach and didn’t have time for that nonsense!