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What Does Calipari Do Next Year

  • Azubuike24
    When I say stand alone, I mean they are known as 'UK' and 'KU'. Anyone who should really talk about college basketball should not make the mistake of confusing them. I've seen the same mistake in the media numerous times this year alone, and it's sickening.

    I didn't say it to say that UCLA, Duke, North Carolina, Indiana, etc...are not on par with them. The point was that you don't confuse the initials of these two universities when talking about basketball. It's an inexcusable mistake.

    Like I said, it's like calling Ohio State UOS or Southern California SCU. How ridiculous does it look/sound if someone referred to either like that? It's the same with the UK/KU thing. Know the difference or don't talk about it.

    Hell, it's ridiculous that we STILL see people talking about how great "NIU" was in this year's NCAA Tournament.
  • Azubuike24
    And ironically, the University of Kansas is TECHNICALLY, UK, but have always gone by KU. So if people were out of the loop since basketball stopped using peach baskets, they might be able to get away with calling Kansas "UK."

    However, calling Kentucky, "KU", no. There is no rationale for it.
  • SportsAndLady
    Azubuike24 wrote: Like I said, it's like calling Ohio State UOS or Southern California SCU. How ridiculous does it look/sound if someone referred to either like that? It's the same with the UK/KU thing. Know the difference or don't talk about it.
    I don't think it's THAT ridiculous to be honest. And I don't feel that comparison is a fair one. Now, if there were a team with the acronym UOS, then yes it would be a fair comparison. But no one calls OSU (besides Pryor :D) USO because they aren't used to saying USO because no other university has those letters as their surnames. UK and KU are so similar in terms of lettering, that it can easily be mistaken...especially since both programs are so great.
  • Azubuike24
    SportsAndLady wrote:
    Azubuike24 wrote: Like I said, it's like calling Ohio State UOS or Southern California SCU. How ridiculous does it look/sound if someone referred to either like that? It's the same with the UK/KU thing. Know the difference or don't talk about it.
    UK and KU are so similar in terms of lettering, that it can easily be mistaken...especially since both programs are so great.
    That's exactly why they shouldn't be confused.
  • mallymal614
  • Azubuike24
    It's going to be an interesting tenure for Calipari at Kentucky.

    Some reports and mock drafts have all 5 of the UK prospects going in the top 20! With the weak crop of PG's, some have 4 of them going in the lottery. Whether this means Calipari needs to change his recruiting, find better players that fit his system (he's going to do this in 2010 IMO) or what, something has to change.

    What could have been an all-time great team with historic NBA legacies may eventually go down as one of best collections of talent to achieve very little in-terms of college basketball success.

    Even outside of these 5, I think Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins have a shot at the NBA, and there are possibly 10 or 11 players on this roster who can play basketball professionally.
  • enigmaax
    Just caught a bit on First Take talking about Kentucky/Calipari. Jerry Tipton from the Lexington Herald-Leader said he spoke with the university president a few weeks ago. The way he made it sound, the president was not real excited about building a program with one-and-dones every year. Apparently he will soon be on some NCAA committee and will be pushing an exploration of reform in that area.

    Not sure what to make of it as it was a quick couple sentences (and obviously a second hand source), but surely the guy knew what he was getting with Calipari in that regard?
  • mallymal614
    Kids should be ALLOWED to go straight to the NBA after high school and earn a living. But if there were some kind of rule to go to college first, I say 2 years is more ideal.
  • thedynasty1998
    I'm sure the UK President is happy with UK basketball relevant again regardless of the one and dones.
  • centralbucksfan
    thedynasty1998 wrote: I'm sure the UK President is happy with UK basketball relevant again regardless of the one and dones.
    Actually, the UK president is probably irrelevant when it comes to mens basketball. He/she would be raked over hot coals by those with $$$ if need be.
  • enigmaax
    mallymal614 wrote: Kids should be ALLOWED to go straight to the NBA after high school and earn a living. But if there were some kind of rule to go to college first, I say 2 years is more ideal.
    The NCAA doesn't have any control over the NBA's rule. Other than trying to collaborate with the NBA on a "solution" for both entities, there isn't anything the NCAA can do about that.

    I've said before that if the NCAA is serious about avoiding one-and-dones, they could take back freshmen eligibility. If freshmen had to sit out a year anyway, there'd be no incentive to go to school for that one year minimum. Guys who aren't interested in the education could find another way to spend a year before the NBA. Would that be better for the college game? How long would it take the NBA to do away with its rule in that case?
  • Prescott
    Would that be better for the college game?
    It would further dilute the talent in the college game.Too many freshmen are contributors with no intention of leaving after one year. It isn't fair to punish the group because a few have the talent to get drafted after one year of college.
  • enigmaax
    Prescott wrote:
    Would that be better for the college game?
    It would further dilute the talent in the college game.Too many freshmen are contributors with no intention of leaving after one year. It isn't fair to punish the group because a few have the talent to get drafted after one year of college.
    I agree about it seemingly punishing the group. On the other hand, wasn't the whole reason it was in place initially to allow students to solidify their academics in the first year? In the long run, academically, I doubt it can hurt anyone and in that regard it isn't punishment.

    As for the talent issue, I'd say that is the larger point. A lot of people want to talk about this "problem", but when it comes down to it, the schools aren't going to do anything about it because it will take away from their real bottom line. There are very few figureheads that I take seriously for that reason. If they aren't willing to take dramatic action, it really isn't that much of a problem.
  • Prescott
    On the other hand, wasn't the whole reason it was in place initially to allow students to solidify their academics in the first year? In the long run, academically,
    It still isn't fair. Most freshmen have academic progress because they have no intention of leaving after one year. If they can handle the academic load and play basketball, they shouldn't be punished because a small minority chooses to be a "One and Done" player.
  • enigmaax
    Prescott wrote: It still isn't fair. Most freshmen have academic progress because they have no intention of leaving after one year. If they can handle the academic load and play basketball, they shouldn't be punished because a small minority chooses to be a "One and Done" player.
    Then since it is such a small minority, it isn't really a problem. Right?
  • Prescott
    Then since it is such a small minority, it isn't really a problem. Right?
    I don't think it is a problem. The problem is the "One and Dones" can't go straight to the NBA after high school and they are making mockery out the term student-athlete.
  • centralbucksfan
    Is it really a "problem"? I don't think it is. Are some using the system? Absolutely. I think its a win win for NCAA and NBA along with fans.
  • enigmaax
    Prescott wrote:
    Then since it is such a small minority, it isn't really a problem. Right?
    I don't think it is a problem. The problem is the "One and Dones" can't go straight to the NBA after high school and they are making mockery out the term student-athlete.
    I guess I just see it as a foolish pride kind of thing for the college rep types. How many one and dones per season are there? What is the percentage of all players that do this? You pointed out that it is a small minority, so why would they want to invest any real amount of time or effort in trying to prevent it? Who would it really benefit and how great is the benefit if they were to make a rule that prevents the X number of guys per year that do what they have to do to get to the next level?

    centralbucksfan wrote: Is it really a "problem"? I don't think it is. Are some using the system? Absolutely. I think its a win win for NCAA and NBA along with fans.
    This is exactly what I'm getting at. Every so often you hear those terms "mockery of the student athlete" and people saying something needs to be done. Well, the NCAA doesn't need to do anything. There is no good direction they could go that is going to make it better for the NCAA, but they could certainly do something that would further harm themselves.

    I've read/heard of some suggestions that NCAA tourney bids be qualified by graduations rates first. Yeah right. So again, that is my point. There's no need to act as though this is some travesty to the sport or that something needs to be done.