Pearl was supposedly offered 3 mil at Memphis, if true, I still think he stays at UT....I'd also wager that UT will up his salary significantly to give incentive for staying...who knows. Josh asked a simple question on UNC passing UK in alltime wins (which WILL happen IMO, if not already then early next year)....and that leads into racism? Ok, I guess it isn't THAT absurd. Vilarino was pretty much told to back out of his letter of intent by Calipari to insure he will get the playing time he deserves, which he likely wouldn't at UK under Calipari's dribble drive offense. They both mutually agreed it was for the best, and no hard feelings on either side. Williams has already been moved to walk on status (which he knew would happen over 1 year ago). Scholarships are freeing up on their own so far. Harrelson is likely to transfer, as is AJ Stewart probably. Porter is either academic or won't return due to his new wife and kid. They may have room for 1 or 2 all star previously Memphis recruits without giving anyone the boot at UK, which is how it should be. If Meeks or Patterson go Pro (which would hurt us deeply, there are even two more to offer up). Once he gets through this first year and all the Juniors graduate, he will be wide open to do exactly as he pleases with the team and scholarships. Calipari just told on ESPN that his plan is to NOT entice these Memphis recruits to follow him, if they want to he obviously won't turn them away, but he made it clear his intent is not to cripple Memphis. The next few weeks should be pretty interesting to see how it all pans out.
His question wasn't even about UK's wins was my point, is was about if UNC had passed them in wins. The 1 yr renewable scholarships are something I hadn't heard of before either, but I think they are pretty standard....apparently when a coaching position changes, they have the right to re evaluate the roster and who gets what at the end of each year....I hadn't heard of it before either until some guy on ESPN was explaining how UK has to fix their scholarship problem. Gillispie put them in this mess by taking on too many players, had he still been here...it would be him instead of Calipari making some of these decisions. Euton, Tucker, and Vilarino ALL reopened their recruitments to look elsewhere, on mutual agreements...they just won't jive well with Calipari's dribble drive offense. His offense calls for 4 out and 1 in, with alot of spacing to dribble drive in, the down low man cuts to the WEAK side to clear room, and they either have a layup, an open big man, or can dish it back out. It requires (usually) bigger more atheletic guards who can do it all, and a strong post man. It makes them more vulnerable to speed and possibly size on defense, but all coaching styles have a drawback somewhere....the Dribble Drive is designed to be a high scoring tempo game for you...no standing around pounding the ball, or passing it around the key for 25 seconds. So 3 of next years recruits aren't coming now. John Hood is 100% and Daniel Orton is 90% according to his dad (the only two truly really good recruits in the first place). Williams is already a walkon and Carter graduated. Porter will leave for his wife or go on academic scholarship. so 6 scholarships have freed up without any changes. Harrelson and possibly Stewart are looking to transfer...so it appears EIGHT scholarships will be available that would have been used under Gillispie, this puts them back below even and possibly 1-3 open for more recruits such as Wall, Cousins, or Henry (the type players Calipari recruits). If it works out this way, NOBODY will be harmed or screwed in this transition, and the roster will GREATLY improve as will the coaching style. Win win for everyone. The bottom line for the top recruits questionable right now is, how many current UK players transfer and whether Meeks/Patterson go to NBA (likely not to at this point, according to their excitement over Calipari) Walking, Crawling, Running, call it what you want....IF it works out the way it appears to be heading right now....UK is VERY likely to be a contender on the national level, and a favorite of the SEC. If the recruits dont work out and Meeks/Patterson enter the draft, they could be left with zilch for this year. Either way, 2-3 years it will be Calipari's players and things will for sure be on the up and up. Jeff, I don't see Calipari going anywhere. He already tried the NBA gig and failed miserably (as did Pitino)...and as far as colleges go, he couldn't have landed a sweeter gig than over 4 mil per year for 8 years coaching at KENTUCKY. He will be around for awhile, if he is smart.
Not even close, which is why all these changes are taking place. I see the UofL and UK rivlary getting pretty fierce in coming years with both having great coaches and great recruits. Not that I don't love WKU, but even on UK's worst year they are evenly matched with WKU. Western capitalizes on good instate recruits that UK has looked over in previous years, it will be interesting to see if Calipari continues this tradition that Tubby and Billy started...then again, Calipari may not be interested in these type players in the first place. With the number one seed overall for this year (who also was the regular season AND tourny champs of by far the toughest conference in basketball this year) being in the state of Kentucky, that'd be like me asking a Duke fan if they were even the best team in the state of NC, a loaded question which isn't really fair. UNC and UofL were something else this year, doesn't mean Duke wasn't a national contender as well, they had a team that could get them in the final four....likewise, it wouldn't mean UK isn't going to join the ranks along side of UofL very soon either. UK is down in a rut, which is why all these changes needed to take place in the first place. Doesn't make them BAD, just not UK good as of late.
I hate to interrupt all this UK talk but UT just announced it has reached a new deal with Pearl...looks like my boy is staying in orange!!
He has a 50,000 bonus in line for him if he gets the program to a 75% graduation percentage, with MANY other milestone bonuses....which, don't hold me to it, but I believe this means for every year he achieves this. UK has similar sentiments it seems, when it comes to academia being important. Calipari realizes he is no longer bigger than the program he works for, he will fit in here. Pearl staying is good news for UT, I don't particularly like them, but don't mind seeing them do good while not playing UK. I hope he keeps that program on the upward track he has so far.
Pearl staying orange is great news on my end. I just hope we can get a good player that can take charge of a game if need be and knock down jumpers. We are oozing talent but we aren't taking advantage of it. I'd kill to get Lofton or Jajuan Smith back.
Big difference is that the vacated Final Four was NOT proven his doings, it just happened on his watch. It's not that Calipari doesn't use all connections possible to land a recruit, he just has never been proven to break the rules even after being reviewed by the NCAA. The vacated years were due to the Marcus Camby incident....in which the agent that recruited him gave Camby cash for a hotel room and prostitutes one night out, classy on both ends, right? The agent hasn't recruited for him since. He is no different than Jim Calhoun's fiasco (from what it appears to be thus far), in that an agent broke the rules but it was on the Head Coach's watch so he takes the blame, probably rightfully so. Nearly ALL major colleges operate on the same level, it's just Calipari NEVER shies away from the one and out overtalented type players that other programs might not specifically target looking for their four year good ole boys. Calipari wants raw talent, whether they stay 1 year or 4 years, right or wrong. The bonus just goes to show academics won't be completely ignored....obviously winning will fetch larger bonuses than graduating, as with EVERY program in the nation....even Coach K will fetch a larger bonus for winning a title than reaching any number graduation percentage. Lofton could drain threes, but we at UK (or Tubby anyway) felt he wasn't up to our level, even if he was instate.LOL UT lacks drive. They have good players, for the most part, but 2-10 or 11 when down at halftime is the only stat you need to see in order to see they simply give up. They did it all year, and it was the ONLY reason UK was able to beat them handily both times...that and Meeks dropping 54 the first time around. :d Winning comes first with all programs, not at all costs, but it comes first. If Coach K started loosing, it wouldn't matter if he graduated 110% of the students, as with any coach at any program. Academics are important, but sports are about winning, within limits.
Not at Duke, athletics and academics are on an equal pedestal. It just so happens that they have the best coach in America (and that's coming from a UNC fan) so they do a lot of winning while getting degrees from a school that actually matters. Imagine Coach K with a team as talented as UNC, UConn, Memphis, etc. No offense, but the likes of Nolan Smith, Lance Thomas or David McClure aren't exactly the most talented guys you'll ever see and let's not even get started on Zoubek and Paulus:d
+1 Coach K no longer heavily recruits the Corey Maggette/Will Avery types who may be there a year or 2 and bolt. His success may have faded a bit nationally since then (still pretty dominant in the ACC!) but some coaches really do look at the bigger picture I guess.
A UNC fan talking DOWN on getting major allstars who don't graduate? Lest we forget their lineup a few years back in 2005 (last title they won), a roster that had FOUR players leave early to go Pro, including a freshman one and out player; I don't see how this isn't selling your soul anymore than what type of players Calipari recruits? UNC has 4 McD AAs on their roster now, that is the type roster that Calipari strives to have year in and year out. I guess he just has to settle for the dumber of the allstars. Calipari= good move and some big wins coming UK's way, might be next year or it might be in 8 years, but he will get them on the right track.
When Calipari took the Memphis job there were ZERO student athletes that graduated from the basketball team. After leaving Memphis the graduation rate is 80%. He addressed the KU team the other day. He told them if they don't go to class, don't have passing grades, or do the extra tutor work then we'll figure out another basketball team for you to play on. If I recall it was the same story at Umass. Took them from something like30% to 80%. Not sure where this "lack of concern for academics" came from. Maybe I'm missing something.
Sorry to inform you but UK has fallen OFF the map and are no longer on it. Yes the have a rich tradition and have been established for years. But as of today they are way off the radar as far as College basketball is concerned.
I don't know Jeff. Cant really fault him for the ones that don't make it to their senior year. We have no idea why. Did they jump ship to a different school for more playing time? NBA? did Cal guide them out the door because they weren't living up to his academic standards? Or did they just flat out fail out of school? Can't really tell. That being said, the only thing he does have control over are the ones that are in their senior year in college and playing for him. And taking that number from 0% to 80% is pretty darn impressive. Are the numbers padded a little to make him look like the messiah? Probably a little bit. But ... hey he's not the only one. The fact that he has left the last 2 jobs a world better academically than when he got there says a lot. Just can't argue those facts.
