… and to be honest that doesn’t bother me in the least.

But, it does make one wonder what the Henry’s were thinking — They’ll play for Cal at Memphis, but not UK?

Not only the Coach, but they look hard at wins and losses, and don’t kid yourself, 30 win seasons stick in the kid’s decisions also.

For players to decide on UK for tradition, our in state recruits, such as John Hood, who grew up the tradition, understand what is behind UK basketball.

I remember Pitino saying when he was here that tradition to the modern high school player was who played on ESPN last Saturday night.

bledsoe mentioned the uk tradition – or at least wanting to come to a school where basketball was THE sport.

I do believe the type ball played has an impact (one of the reasons i believe tubby began to have less success recruiting). Cal’s recruiting at memphis was good, but did not take off until the DDMO was implemented…

add Cal/DDMO with UK tradition and SEC/BCS league and it is a very tough combination to beat. now the wins have to come to cement the deal…….

Live Uk1972 said about Jon Hood, he came for the tradition…. but you can bet that most non-Kentucky recruits don’t know a whole lot about UK tradition… they were probably eight or so the last time we were a perennial national powerhouse. They are definitely coming for the coach. I think it takes a special coach to realize that you need both types… you need the super athlete using the program as a vehicle to the NBA and you need the Kentucky boy to let him know what the program means to the millions of us fans along the way. IMO, That’s when it becomes special. Every Jamal Mashburn or Antoine Walker needs a Travis Ford or an Anthony Epps and vice versa.

the kids in the class of 09 where between 6 & 8 years old the the last time uk won the nc. these kids grew up with tubby as the uk coach. hes a descent coach who can keep u in the middle of the pack, but he belonged at a school that is happy with being in the middle. uk strives to be at the very top. tubby had a couple good recruiting classes, but alot of mediocre ones as well, and there in lies the problem. todays recruits grew up watching uk settle for mediocrity with players and playing style. they r simply too young to remember pitino’s uk teams. they don’t remember uk basketball being exciting to watch and contending for and winning nc’s like they were in the late 90s. what these kids do see is calipari’s ddmo and the freedom and success in it, both in college and as preparation for the next level. its faced paced and exciting, much like pitino’s uk teams of the 90s. the ddmo really does unleash these guys, more so than any other offense ive ever seen, and it’s up to coach cal to rebuild the uk brand just as tubby destroyed it from what pitino created. it just makes u wish there was no such thing as the new jersey nets and maybe we couldve made this hire a long time ago. i wasn’t a fan of tubby and i didnt like the idea of grabbing gillespie from a&m, but i have no problem putting my trust in coach cal, and in time he will rebuild uk basketball into his own image with his expectations and when we get it right, we will be 1 seeds and winning nc’s. then these kids will see uk as uk again, and maybe follow that tradition. Go Cats!

 i seen that list the other day. #1 last time in 04 and did nothing with it. then he followed it up with a class that wasn’t even ranked. thats like donovan winning back to back titles and following it up with back to back nit’s. i look for coach cal to keep us at the top of recruiting classes for years to come. he’s not even finished with this years #1 and he’s all over some of the top recruits for next year. these kids have to see that this is the start of something special in uk. take what it was at memphis in the cusa hardly ever on tv, now flip it to uk one of the most storied programs in the ncaa, in the sec, one of the toughest conferences in the ncaa, with a huge contract that puts every single game on tv. its gonna b like calipari on hgc or something. cause now these kids have every reason to wanna go play for cal at uk. the only problem is gonna b the scholarship limit. go cats!

As others mention above, a coach is going to do far, far more to get someone ready to play professionally (NBA or overseas) than a school choice will. By that I mean, picking between Calipari and Pitino will have a far greater impact on a player’s chance to play professionally than the choice between UK and Louisville will.

There’s certainly a benefit to playing for UK over a school such as EKU for instance, because at UK you’ll be on tv more, play against better competition, and get talked about more in media circles. That helps keep a player in the sights and minds of NBA teams and scouts. It’s not impossible for that to happen at EKU of course, it’s just harder. But once you make that small school-big school leap there’s not a lot of difference between going to UK and Kansas or even UK and South Carolina – the scouts are going to see you either way. At that point the choice of a coach becomes much more important.

Another point about UK tradition. There have been many players who came to UK not knowing about the storied history, and the passion, but by the time they left Lexington, they knew what it really meant to wear the uniform. Why do you think Cal is talking to past players about becoming involved again. He knows how much having their passion for program around will mean to the new players, who will tell their friends coming along, who will tell… That’s how we get the best of the best again. I think a game between players from the past, and the current players would be great.

One of Calipari’s most accurate and relevant comments came when he proclaimed the need to rebuild the UK brand. It was no accident that the marketing major-cum-basketball coach chose that particular term because in today’s multi-media dominated and choice-ladened society a brand neglected is a brand soon forgotten. And when you’re speaking of marketing to millennials (the generation born 1977-1998 including those of recruitable talent and age) the constant and ubiquitous presence of brand is ultimately important. Much has to do with the attention span — consistently shrinking — of the millennials, one need only look at fads and celebrities and how fast they appear then languish and evanesce. Gives a whole new meaning to:

‘Brightest stars burn quickest, rest in peace’

Point is that the UK brand was allowed to languish for a decade or more, fade from minds of those to whom tradition means little and it was replaced by more marketing savvy, talent focused (hot, if you will) programs and coaches. But as so often happens with warp speed change and millisecond attention spans the opportunity for regeneration comes around more often. So it is with the arrival of John Calipari at UK: He’s hot and provides the spark to reignite the mere smoldering embers of what was. That he is the flame attracting the most athletic moths is obvious, it’s the responsibility of us fans to fuel it.

GJ’s dad speaks his mind:

“The bottom line is somebody tells you basically, in a nice way, you’re not good enough, frankly,” said Gerry Vilarino, the player’s father. “You can sugarcoat it all you want. That’s basically what he was saying. … It’s never good to hear that or feel that.”

If a few players lose scholarships we’re likely to hear from other disgruntled dads — and moms.

I feel that UK tradition has been shaped by excellent coaches. Compared to the UNCs and UCLAs, UK has had less talent (when judged by the eventual NBA careers of the players) but has consistently won as well as or more than those other schools.

Instead, I feel that the UK tradition has been to have innovative or excellent coaches.

Coaches know about this and want to coach here. That in turn brings the players.

I voted for Calipari U – though I think both answers to the poll are essentially the same in that the latter (the coach) creates the former (the winning tradition).

Recruits generally play for coaches, not schools.

As frightening as it is, that is the critical point BigSkyCat makes. And the way kids think seems to have changed drastically over the past 20 or so years. Or perhaps the greatest change has been in those who influence what kids are thinking.

Thirty years ago, I suspect the biggest influences on a prospect was his/her parents, high school coach and high school friends. In this environment, a school’s tradition was a huge plus because parents and coaches knew the tradition.

With the emergence of the summer AAU circuit and the various all-star games, the dynamics have changed. The top players get to know each other and talk about the hottest schools the same way they talk about their favorite music. AAU coaches play the up-tempo game that is “fun” for the kids. How many times have we heard players say in the past few years, “I just want to have fun”?

Kentucky’s previous coaches and recruiters didn’t adapt to this change quickly enough or effectively enough. Cal did — maybe more effectively than any other coach.

If things play out as we expect, a few years down the road UK/Calipari will be one and the same. One factor influencing kids is the NBA. Add several of the current Cats to the UK alumni in the NBA and the UK brand will be back with a vengence.

In recent years ACC and Big East schools have snared a lion’s share of high school all-Americas. The elite kids who play against each other in AAU and all-star games seem to want to continue the competiton in college (and the NBA). They all want to go against the best, which in their minds is each other. In recent years, this desire and TV coverage has favored the ACC and Big East. The contract with ESPN should help the SEC. The coach, the style, the tradition and better TV should keep us at the top for a few years.

As one might empathize Memphis folks have a hard time letting go. From Commercial-Appeal:

Don’t be too hard on new Memphis basketball coach Josh Pastner for getting beat at every turn by his old boss John Calipari. Thanks to recruiting Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans the past couple of years, elite high school guards know if they have to go to college for at least one year, they want to sign with the man who can showcase their talent to the point that they can be an NBA lottery pick. Every great high school player wants that Pied Piper and that guy is Cal.

And he’s TIED with him.

That would be 28-7 average (almost 80%) to get there.

Who wouldn’t be?