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I know the quick answer for some will be rule breaking. For those, exactly what do you think is going on that's breaking the rules?

Other factors? Do kids just see Kentucky as the ultimte one-and-done stop? Does Cal do a better job preparing them for the NBA?

Kentucky is the ultimate one stop to NBA shop. You go there, get A+ facilities, good coaching, national attention, and other good players around you, and then leave for the NBA.

pure speculation, but I would have to say he is breaking the rules, or at leat bending them. of course, the NCAA will never investigate Kentucky because they mean too much to their money making system.

Jake0890 wrote:Kentucky is the ultimate one stop to NBA shop. You go there, get A+ facilities, good coaching, national attention, and other good players around you, and then leave for the NBA.

i agree with everything except the good coaching.

ManualRam wrote:

Jake0890 wrote:Kentucky is the ultimate one stop to NBA shop. You go there, get A+ facilities, good coaching, national attention, and other good players around you, and then leave for the NBA.

i agree with everything except the good coaching.

Very much agree. Cal is a great cheerleader, but certainly not a good coach

Disagree. How do you balance all of those egos and get them to improve as much as they do year in and year out? He isn't the best X's and O's coach, but his player development is good.

jman3134 wrote:Disagree. How do you balance all of those egos and get them to improve as much as they do year in and year out? He isn't the best X's and O's coach, but his player development is good.

i'd say it's more player management than player development. a lot of of his one-and-dones leave the program just as raw as they entered it. another thing that doesn't help develop the players for the next level is his offensive system, which is very basic and doesn't involve a lot of pro sets. he makes things simple so that the transition from AAU and HS ball (mostly AAU) to college is easier, but i don't think it prepares them any more for the pros than other highly touted coaches' systems.

i wouldn't call him a great cheerleader either.

Coach Cal is a player's coach. He knows how to sell his program. As mentioned, it's the ultimate one and done location. Every year the guy ensures that he brings on 3 to 4 five star talents (lottery talent). He throws these kids in and let their basketball skills win him games as opposed to really drawing X and O's. Coach Cal has mentioned it on numerous occasion that if his players want to leave after a year, he strongly encourages them.

Selling points to a player
- Nike and facility
- Coach Cal's credential of putting players in the NBA. Esp lottery position.
- Coach Cal's track record of winning/reaching final 4 and championship/national attention
- Playing w/ other great freshmen and potentially winning it all (Fab Five mentality)
- There's a lot of freedom in his offense (Go on and light these boys up as long as you dominate and win)

If you think about it. Coach Cal is selling the ultimate college basketball experience. A player's mindset might be:

McDonald All American game > Winning/Reaching championship game and national exposure > NBA lottery

themaster07 wrote:Coach Cal is a player's coach. He knows how to sell his program. As mentioned, it's the ultimate one and done location. Every year the guy ensures that he brings on 3 to 4 five star talents (lottery talent). He throws these kids in and let their basketball skills win him games as opposed to really drawing X and O's. Coach Cal has mentioned it on numerous occasion that if his players want to leave after a year, he strongly encourages them.

Selling points to a player
- Nike and facility
- Coach Cal's credential of putting players in the NBA. Esp lottery position.
- Coach Cal's track record of winning/reaching final 4 and championship/national attention
- Playing w/ other great freshmen and potentially winning it all (Fab Five mentality)
- There's a lot of freedom in his offense (Go on and light these boys up as long as you dominate and win)

If you think about it. Coach Cal is selling the ultimate college basketball experience. A player's mindset might be:

McDonald All American game > Winning/Reaching championship game and national exposure > NBA lottery

if my ultimate goal was to improve as a player as much as i can during my short stay in college, playing under coach cal wouldn't be my first choice.

ManualRam wrote:

themaster07 wrote:Coach Cal is a player's coach. He knows how to sell his program. As mentioned, it's the ultimate one and done location. Every year the guy ensures that he brings on 3 to 4 five star talents (lottery talent). He throws these kids in and let their basketball skills win him games as opposed to really drawing X and O's. Coach Cal has mentioned it on numerous occasion that if his players want to leave after a year, he strongly encourages them.

Selling points to a player
- Nike and facility
- Coach Cal's credential of putting players in the NBA. Esp lottery position.
- Coach Cal's track record of winning/reaching final 4 and championship/national attention
- Playing w/ other great freshmen and potentially winning it all (Fab Five mentality)
- There's a lot of freedom in his offense (Go on and light these boys up as long as you dominate and win)

If you think about it. Coach Cal is selling the ultimate college basketball experience. A player's mindset might be:

McDonald All American game > Winning/Reaching championship game and national exposure > NBA lottery

if my ultimate goal was to improve as a player as much as i can during my short stay in college, playing under coach cal wouldn't be my first choice.

But that's not the focus of most players.

Playing for Cal pretty much guarantees a recruit getting drafted in the first round.

Jay10 wrote:Playing for Cal pretty much guarantees a recruit getting drafted in the first round.

talented players get drafted high. the majority of the kids he's gotten wouldve been selected in the first regardless.

Jake0890 wrote:

ManualRam wrote:

themaster07 wrote:Coach Cal is a player's coach. He knows how to sell his program. As mentioned, it's the ultimate one and done location. Every year the guy ensures that he brings on 3 to 4 five star talents (lottery talent). He throws these kids in and let their basketball skills win him games as opposed to really drawing X and O's. Coach Cal has mentioned it on numerous occasion that if his players want to leave after a year, he strongly encourages them.

Selling points to a player
- Nike and facility
- Coach Cal's credential of putting players in the NBA. Esp lottery position.
- Coach Cal's track record of winning/reaching final 4 and championship/national attention
- Playing w/ other great freshmen and potentially winning it all (Fab Five mentality)
- There's a lot of freedom in his offense (Go on and light these boys up as long as you dominate and win)

If you think about it. Coach Cal is selling the ultimate college basketball experience. A player's mindset might be:

McDonald All American game > Winning/Reaching championship game and national exposure > NBA lottery

if my ultimate goal was to improve as a player as much as i can during my short stay in college, playing under coach cal wouldn't be my first choice.

But that's not the focus of most players.

now this is true.

They go to the school knowing that he gets you to where you want to be within a year or two. And they pay really really well in the NBA. He has a proven track record and thats all these young kids see is the Evans, Rose, Wall, Cousins etc. in the NBA after 1 year and they have that same type of talent so it works for both of them.

I think the relationship with Worldwide West is instructive:

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... _Wes_Began

It's certainly possibly to overstate what Wes does single-handedly, but at this point here's the rep Calipari has:

1) He treats his players well outside of basketball (arguably too well).

2) He is willing to completely overhaul his system from year-to-year to fit in with new talent. Don't underestimate how much work that is, and how risky it is. The risk is why Kentucky can't be expected to have a true dynasty really ever, even with having the best talent at all times, and that's something Calipari is giving up with this approach.

3) He's had great team success with these overhauls with very different teams.

4) And most importantly, a track record of player's maxing out their draft stock only a year later where elsewhere the results have been much more spotty.

So far Calipari's one and done system has been working really well for the kids and Kentucky. I only have one question and I don't think we'll know the answer until next season.

Kentucky has 3 of the top 6 high school players committed for next year and two who are uncommitted have Kentucky on their "list".

BUT.........What happens when Kentucky doesn't have 6 guys go to the NBA draft and you have all this top end talent coming in? How are these kids going to deal playing 15-20 minutes a night instead of 30? Or what happens when a stud freshman comes in better than a stud sophomore and Calipari sits the sophomore?

So far it's been a recipe for success and I think what he has been doing is amazing I just see potential for it to get really ugly.

Oh and how does he do it? Money. Look at the dudes track record. Look at UMASS and Memphis. The guy bends the rules. I think his previous experiences speak loud and clear.

wiff wrote:So far Calipari's one and done system has been working really well for the kids and Kentucky. I only have one question and I don't think we'll know the answer until next season.

Kentucky has 3 of the top 6 high school players committed for next year and two who are uncommitted have Kentucky on their "list".

BUT.........What happens when Kentucky doesn't have 6 guys go to the NBA draft and you have all this top end talent coming in? How are these kids going to deal playing 15-20 minutes a night instead of 30? Or what happens when a stud freshman comes in better than a stud sophomore and Calipari sits the sophomore?

So far it's been a recipe for success and I think what he has been doing is amazing I just see potential for it to get really ugly.

Oh and how does he do it? Money. Look at the dudes track record. Look at UMASS and Memphis. The guy bends the rules. I think his previous experiences speak loud and clear.

No doubt that this is a system that puts pressure on immediate success as a freshman. There's no other program that will bury you with competition the way Kentucky does.

I feel for these kids, they can have things screwed up so bad my making the wrong choice, and there's no way to really know the right choice.

Doctor MJ wrote:No doubt that this is a system that puts pressure on immediate success as a freshman. There's no other program that will bury you with competition the way Kentucky does.

I feel for these kids, they can have things screwed up so bad my making the wrong choice, and there's no way to really know the right choice.

See and that's what makes it really tough for the collegiate athlete. If a kid goes to Kentucky and has a solid year but lets say most reports have him going in really late first or early second round in the draft. Like most kids he wants to set up his family, he's looking for a guaranteed contract. So he decides to go back to Kentucky to improve his draft stock, then say the next Durant or DRose or Anthony Davis rolls into Kentucky and now this kid is looking at more time on the bench then on the floor and at any other college he'd be dominating his league. And if he transfers he has to burn a year. You could go from being a "one and done" to being "three and out" with one stroke of a pen.

Again so far it has been working for him but it's going to be interesting to see what happens if one of his classes doesn't live up to expectations and not everyone bounces to the draft after year one.

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Johnson-Lee

Doctor MJ wrote:

wiff wrote:So far Calipari's one and done system has been working really well for the kids and Kentucky. I only have one question and I don't think we'll know the answer until next season.

Kentucky has 3 of the top 6 high school players committed for next year and two who are uncommitted have Kentucky on their "list".

BUT.........What happens when Kentucky doesn't have 6 guys go to the NBA draft and you have all this top end talent coming in? How are these kids going to deal playing 15-20 minutes a night instead of 30? Or what happens when a stud freshman comes in better than a stud sophomore and Calipari sits the sophomore?

So far it's been a recipe for success and I think what he has been doing is amazing I just see potential for it to get really ugly.

Oh and how does he do it? Money. Look at the dudes track record. Look at UMASS and Memphis. The guy bends the rules. I think his previous experiences speak loud and clear.

No doubt that this is a system that puts pressure on immediate success as a freshman. There's no other program that will bury you with competition the way Kentucky does.

I feel for these kids, they can have things screwed up so bad my making the wrong choice, and there's no way to really know the right choice.

Very well put. He bends the rules and he continues to duck the major consequences because he continues to successful. You cannot find another coach who has changed with the times in the past 20 years and found continued success.

I admire him and hate him at the same time. Look at the ESPN feature about the basketball dorm that these kids live in. Top notch technology, their own chef and amazing living conditions. Cal isn't a dummy, he knows how to make it work and apparently the boosters know how to hide whatever they're doing!

Benefits aside, he has created a dynasty and a very profitable destination for freshmen because they know they will have the chance to succeed.

wiff wrote:BUT.........What happens when Kentucky doesn't have 6 guys go to the NBA draft and you have all this top end talent coming in? How are these kids going to deal playing 15-20 minutes a night instead of 30? Or what happens when a stud freshman comes in better than a stud sophomore and Calipari sits the sophomore?

That's exactly what he does. He brings in a whole new starting lineup every year and they're all one-and-dones, and he has some bench players that get very few minutes, because they're just not as good.