Cal gets lifetime contract.

[McCat]

Arguable at best, but you can’t ignore their results overall... and they don’t have lifetime contracts. UK got played

OK, I'll bite. Who else is out there that can deal with the pressure cooker that is being the UK coach, with all the wild expectations of the fanbase? Also, applicant must be able to go to the Final Four regularly and win a title every decade or so. And win 78+% of your game.

Cal is the best fit for Kentucky in a long time.

 

[McCat]

30 years of coaching
100 NBA players
one NC thanks to the Unibrow.

The Unibrow could win the NC with my mother's bridge club as the other four.

So you're saying that AD is better than Zion because he won the natty and Zion didn' t sniff the FF? I mean, if it's all on one player, your logic must be true.

Your logic isn't true, FWIW.

 

[golfballs]

OK, I'll bite. Who else is out there that can deal with the pressure cooker that is being the UK coach, with all the wild expectations of the fanbase? Also, applicant must be able to go to the Final Four regularly and win a title every decade or so. And win 78+% of your game.

Cal is the best fit for Kentucky in a long time.

Fine. But ridiculous to respond to a bad UCLA offer with a lifetime contract. Even if Cal is the one and only, terrible business move

 

[McCat]

Fine. But ridiculous to respond to a bad UCLA offer with a lifetime contract. Even if Cal is the one and only, terrible business move

The data suggests otherwise. He's had a few bad games in March, but he is winning at a higher % than Rupp, has won more NCAAT games, and guess what....no recruiting violations. And his kids love him. Even many of the 1 and dones come back to finish their education.

 

[05_never_again]

Fine. But ridiculous to respond to a bad UCLA offer with a lifetime contract. Even if Cal is the one and only, terrible business move

Two totally different ways to look at this. There's the Kentucky fan's way of looking at it, and there's everyone else's way. I want to be objective as possible; both have their merits.

The non-fan's way of looking at it says that Cal is making an amount of money equal to one-third of Kentucky's entire basketball revenue. If Nick Saban made that equivalent percentage, he'd be making about $35m/year. He makes $9m at the moment. That seems excessive and hard to economically justify, to put it mildly.

The Kentucky fan's way of looking at it sees keeping Cal as a way of maintaining brand equity. Even though Kentucky brings in and makes more money in football, basketball is the school's identity. People see that "UK" logo nationwide and think Kentucky basketball. That's really difficult to put a price on, but that brand equity is pretty clearly worth more than one year's basketball revenue. Therefore paying a top coach that much money to preserve the brand identity is worth it.

 

[Sin City Vol]

I won’t be surprised if the NBA does away with 1 and done in the near future. That will hurt guys like Cal. Good for him though on the contract, hopefully the Vols can go 2-1 every year against them

 

[05_never_again]

I won’t be surprised if the NBA does away with 1 and done in the near future. That will hurt guys like Cal. Good for him though on the contract, hopefully the Vols can go 2-1 every year against them

He had great years before one-and-done too. If you can recruit top talent, you can recruit top talent even if the one-and-done guys don't go to college.

 

[golfballs]

The data suggests otherwise. He's had a few bad games in March, but he is winning at a higher % than Rupp, has won more NCAAT games, and guess what....no recruiting violations. And his kids love him. Even many of the 1 and dones come back to finish their education.

Im not disputing his quality as a coach. I’m challenging the AD’s handling of the situation

 

[Jax_Vol]

So you're saying that AD is better than Zion because he won the natty and Zion didn' t sniff the FF? I mean, if it's all on one player, your logic must be true.

Your logic isn't true, FWIW.

Yes. AD is much better than Zion.

 

[VolFreakJosh]

So you're saying that AD is better than Zion because he won the natty and Zion didn' t sniff the FF? I mean, if it's all on one player, your logic must be true.

Your logic isn't true, FWIW.

AD is a much better player than Zion.

He’s one of the Top 5 best players in the NBA.

 

[Jax_Vol]

The Lakers offered to trade eight players for Unibrow and New Orleans declined.

 

[blueblood]

And Barnes didn't even make the final four with Durant who most would put above AD. Having good players helps but it's not everything. It takes players, coaching, and luck to win a championship. Discounting a championship because the team had a good player seems silly.

The last 10 years:


You could add Jay Wright to the table there with his 2 titles but he didn't make the elite 8 in any other years.

I'm sure there are a small number of vocal Ky fans complaining. Every fan base has them. Most get it and roll their eyes at them too.

 

[Vol$_Deep_11_9]

The Lakers offered to trade eight players for Unibrow and New Orleans declined.

That was more of a middle finger to Lebron than anything else IMO.

I’ll say I don’t understand why they gave that to him because IMO he’s done less with more than anybody else. Flip side of that, I get where Kentucky fans are coming from. I mean I wouldn’t be upset with deep tourney runs and a natty every 6-7 years. I just can’t see paying a basketball coach that much. I also prefer football over basketball.

 

[McCat]

He is now, yes. At UK, he was 18 years old and still growing into his body. Compare their stats:

Anthony Davis averaged 14.1 points, 10.4 rebounds.
Zion Williamson averaged 22.6 points, 8.6 rebounds.

So one was a bit more focused on scoring, the other on rebounds and certainly blocks, too.

My point is that AD of course is better now. But 6 years ago, they're both a work in progress. Exceptional players who transcend the game- but still a work in progress.

He’s one of the Top 5 best players in the NBA.

 

[05_never_again]

And Barnes didn't even make the final four with Durant who most would put above AD. Having good players helps but it's not everything. It takes players, coaching, and luck to win a championship. Discounting a championship because the team had a good player seems silly.

The last 10 years:

View attachment 200493
You could add Jay Wright to the table there with his 2 titles but he didn't make the elite 8 in any other years.

I'm sure there are a small number of vocal Ky fans complaining. Every fan base has them. Most get it and roll their eyes at them too.

Yep. The only possible knock you can have on Cal is that he "should" have more than just the one title. He's got more Elite Eights and Final Fours than each of the other coaches in the list.

If we're picking Blue Blood coaches on the basis of underachieving, I'd have to go with Self.

 

[McCat]

I see that. It's frustrating to Kentucky fans, but most reasonable ones realize the "seeded probabilities" of the NCAAT.

Yep. The only possible knock you can have on Cal is that he "should" have more than just the one title. He's got more Elite Eights and Final Fours than each of the other coaches in the list.

If we're picking Blue Blood coaches on the basis of underachieving, I'd have to go with Self.

 

[508mikey]

I won’t be surprised if the NBA does away with 1 and done in the near future. That will hurt guys like Cal. Good for him though on the contract, hopefully the Vols can go 2-1 every year against them

yep, thats why it was a smart move on his part - nobody knows how well he will recruit if that goes away and its looking like it will

 

[volfanbill]

yep, thats why it was a smart move on his part - nobody knows how well he will recruit if that goes away and its looking like it will

He’s ALWAYS recruited well. Please

 

[508mikey]

He’s ALWAYS recruited well. Please

1 NC to show for it though - Im thinking like a UK fan here

 

[volfanbill]

1 NC to show for it though - Im thinking like a UK fan here

No you’re not. You’re thinking like a hater. Very few Kentucky fans are against this deal.

 

[volfanbill]

How many current coaches have a natty? How many have multiple Final Fours?

 

[508mikey]

No you’re not. You’re thinking like a hater. Very few Kentucky fans are against this deal.

No - I actually like Calipari -- I like coaches with hot tempers that arent afraid to get Teed up or ejected

 

[VolFreakJosh]

No you’re not. You’re thinking like a hater. Very few Kentucky fans are against this deal.

So if Cal stays till he retires without winning another National Title, you think UK fans are still going to believe he’s “earning” his lifetime contract?

You don’t win National Titles for recruiting.

 

[volfanbill]

So if Cal stays till he retires without winning another National Title, you think UK fans are still going to believe he’s “earning” his lifetime contract?

You don’t win National Titles for recruiting.

Putting the cart before the horse, eh? Brilliant

 

[volfanbill]

So if Cal stays till he retires without winning another National Title, you think UK fans are still going to believe he’s “earning” his lifetime contract?

You don’t win National Titles for recruiting.

You think if Barnes never wins any hardware fans will still like him?

If Izzo never wins another natty think Mich St turns on him?

If Roy never wins at UNC think they turn on him?

If Boeheim doesn’t get it back together at Cuse?

Self at KU?

We can play the what if game all day long. Cal
has proven he wins. And wins a lot. Championships are almost flukes the way the tournament is designed. Four Final Fours isn’t a fluke. Continue hating. Continue looking dumb.