G'bye KY!

[dailydoublecat]

The simple answer is yes!! Florida will be damn good but you will miss your seniors!! Look forward to the wars!

[MtownGator]

I don't know who is more happy that UK is out-- UF or the entire city of Memphis....

[UFG8rGuy3283]

Originally Posted by dailydoublecat

The simple answer is yes!! Florida will be damn good but you will miss your seniors!! Look forward to the wars!

You know I love you man, but a UK fan saying a team will miss its seniors? LOL

In all seriousness, UK will be very good next year, but I will be very interested to see how it works out and who stays.

I love our freshmen and transfers (especially with a year in the system). Damn right its going to be some fun wars!

[rtgator]

Originally Posted by dailydoublecat

To each their own. I never have understood why people hate on the one and done not all players can do it and don't you want to recruit the best of the best?? I know I do! I just think he needs to tweak it a bit and he is when it all shakes out you will see a difference.
Jeff

The sport is supposed to be about student-athletes. The perception that the UK program is built upon mercenaries is due to the fact that most of your recruits are on campus less than 9 months and never intended to become student-athletes. Few will ever come close to getting a degree.

Yes, we recruited Bradley Beal, who ended up being Billy's 2nd one-and-done. That's two in 18 years, compared to UK's 3-4 each year.

Most top programs benefit from an occasional one-and-done player. The UK program relies on them almost exclusively. This will force other top programs to try to replicate UK's model to remain competitive. That's not good for the sport long-term. College basketball will be reduced to a one-year development league for the NBA.

[dailydoublecat]

Originally Posted by UFG8rGuy3283

You know I love you man, but a UK fan saying a team will miss its seniors? LOL

In all seriousness, UK will be very good next year, but I will be very interested to see how it works out and who stays.

I love our freshmen and transfers (especially with a year in the system). Damn right its going to be some fun wars!

Yeah you know I don't like seniors much but you will miss Boynton, Rosario, and Murphy but what team wouldn't lol.
Jeff

[deathroll]

Originally Posted by rtgator

The sport is supposed to be about student-athletes. The perception that the UK program is built upon mercenaries is due to the fact that most of your recruits are on campus less than 9 months and never intended to become student-athletes. Few will ever come close to getting a degree.

Yes, we recruited Bradley Beal, who ended up being Billy's 2nd one-and-done. That's two in 18 years, compared to UK's 3-4 each year.

Most top programs benefit from an occasional one-and-done player. The UK program relies on them almost exclusively. This will force other top programs to try to replicate UK's model to remain competitive. That's not good for the sport long-term. College basketball will be reduced to a one-year development league for the NBA.

Yep. There's also the enjoyment factor associated with getting to watch a kid grow and learn and develop; to blend in and contribute. I like it when a mix of kids that I actually know something about combine to become a team and when being a team requires more than just showing up long enough to learn which color jersey this place wears.

[rtgator]

Originally Posted by dailydoublecat

To each their own. I never have understood why people hate on the one and done not all players can do it and don't you want to recruit the best of the best?? I know I do! I just think he needs to tweak it a bit and he is when it all shakes out you will see a difference.
Jeff

I want Billy to recruit players like the "04's" who are very talented and have NBA potential, but also care enough about the school and playing together to stay three years to achieve team goals.

I know the "04's" were special. But, I want Donovan to recruit players like that. They may not be the very best players on an individual basis, but they give us a chance to field the best team.

Who knows? Lighting could strike twice.

[REM08]

Originally Posted by rtgator

I want Billy to recruit players like the "04's" who are very talented and have NBA potential, but also care enough about the school and playing together to stay three years to achieve team goals.

I know the "04's" were special. But, I want Donovan to recruit players like that. They may not be the very best players on an individual basis, but they give us a chance to field the best team.

Who knows? Lighting could strike twice.

You're probably already aware, but Billy landed one and done potential in Kasey Hill for next year along with a guy who has already stated the stats he expects to get in his one year at Florida that will make him the one and done he's hell bent on becoming. Add this to the fact that Donovan went after Jabrari Parker and Julius Randle as well. Could have been 4 in one year.

I don't get demonizing kids who want to make it to the league as soon as possible. We don't do it for other professions.

I agree with you about the 04's, they were special and they sacrificed personal gain for team gain. Do keep in mind, however, that at two of the three were already financially secure - hardly a cross section of high school basketball players. Just don't confuse yourself into thinking that most other gators that have stayed 3 or 4 years did it for the same reason. Most stay (for any school) because their option to leave isn't very enticing.

I also don't get the mercenary talk. If something is wrong, immoral, unethical, a slap in the face to education etc (hired guns or mercenaries), then its wrong no matter what and no matter how many. Comments about "abusing" or "exploiting" a rule make absolutely no sense. If you're just talking about your personal comfort level or preference for the team you follow then thats fine. But if you're talking about anything else than its like saying its okay if we only pay one player, but we shouldn't abuse the system and pay several. Its amazing to me how many of you appear to feel very differently about this stuff than Billy Donovan does.

I'm actually in agreement with most of you about the one and done rule itself (as is Cal) and my personal preference is actually having less turnover every year. I just can't get on board with the demonization of one and done players. I have nothing against Chris Walker, but he's literally the epitome of what you guys claim to be so against. Other than maybe Brandon Jennings (who avoided college entirely), I haven't heard a recruit so brashly outspoken about his short stay in college. Slap in the face, right?

[rtgator]

As I mentioned in my first post on the subject, most top programs have benefitted from an occasional one and done. But, to stay competitive, they will have to follow the UK model more closely. I think Billy is faced with this reality.

After Mike Miller left following his sophomore year, Donnell Harvey left after one year, and Kwami Brown went straight to the pros, Donovan adjusted his recruiting to targeting talented players who weren't immediate pro players, like the 04's. The UF 04's weren't as highly recruited as UK's 04's. It couldn't have worked out better for him.

But, now he's faced with the reality that UK is stock-piling the top players every year. To stay competitive, he must adjust his recruiting approach accordingly.

I would still prefer that Donovan recruit players like the 04's, who will stay for 2-3 years, but we may have no choice at this point, if we are to remain relevant in college basketball. UK's success last year was a wake-up call to other top programs.

By the way, I don't blame or demonize the kids. Many of them have no choice either.

But, the system is deeply flawed to the detriment of college basketball. I'd like to see something like what is in place for college baseball. Those players who are ready for the pros can go straight to the pros. But, those who need further development must commit to staying in school for 2-3 years. This would help stabilize the sport by ending the revolving door and allowing players to develop over time until they are better, more experienced players. It would also even out the playing field, by reducing the likelihood that one dominant program can stock-pile all of the top talent every year.

[REM08]

Cant argue with that. Baseball rule is great.

[deathroll]

Not about the mercenaries, it's about the game. And no, Billy does not have to chase UK. The jury is still out on UK's new model. It may happen that their new game may in fact fail. As of right now, it has worked once. But that's all, once. I did not want it to work but it did. But there one win may have been an aberration. I want true teams (you know, a team that has a senior on it, a couple of kids that will never play pro ball, even a couple of one-and-dones) to beat out groups of 18 year old mercenaries. I'm not sure that they can but I want them to. If UK never wins another championship, they will have to abandon or modify their system. Till then, I get to root against them.

[ThePlayer]

Originally Posted by Tu_Gator

My guess would be not well. 10 Divas is 9 too many.

Don't forget the primadonna coaching them.

[wci347]

Kentucky is living proof that you can get every recruit you want and still end up not in the big dance. So it is a positive for us. We can tell recruits that 68 teams that all recruited more poorly than Kentucky made the dance and they didn't.

[mac4lyfe]

I don't like restrictions on anybody when it comes to them earning a living. I wish the NBA would do away with any and all restrictions. If you can play, you should be able to get paid. I think GM's need to stop drafting on upside but I think that was starting to happen as teams were blowing it on several picks.

I don't mind the one and dones that UK is employing. What I do not like is the way Cal goes about getting them. His affiliation with street agents, hanger ons, etc., just feels shady/wrong. Billy D seems to really like Cal so he can't be all bad but based on his prior record and smoke near fire, I just feel real slimy/oily watching him.

[REM08]

Originally Posted by wci347

Kentucky is living proof that you can get every recruit you want and still end up not in the big dance. So it is a positive for us. We can tell recruits that 68 teams that all recruited more poorly than Kentucky made the dance and they didn't.

Kentucky missed out on a LOT of players for this year. That being said, recruiting rankings alone don't cause success.

[BEH]

Originally Posted by wci347

Kentucky is living proof that you can get every recruit you want and still end up not in the big dance. So it is a positive for us. We can tell recruits that 68 teams that all recruited more poorly than Kentucky made the dance and they didn't.

UK did not get the guard it wanted. He went to UCLA.

Or if you lose the NBA number one draft you may not make the dance. Or if you lose 6 players to the NBA off last years team you may not make the dance.

[rtgator]

Originally Posted by REM08

Kentucky missed out on a LOT of players for this year.

That's a shame. UK only signed 4 of the top 10 players in the country.

[BEH]

Originally Posted by rtgator

That's a shame. UK only signed 4 of the top 10 players in the country.

Dang, I did not know that. I thought Cauley Stien was a four star, you know a guy that is between 25 & 50, not top 10. Kansas, his home state school, did not even recruit him.

[rtgator]

It's humorous seeing Wildcat fans bemoaning the loss of a couple of recruits after bringing in the top recruiting classes (by far) five years in a row.

Must be tough on you guys.

[gatordee]

Originally Posted by bullish

Kentucky going down is not good for the Gators. Why, because the the blue blood basketball school will now go out and recruit every superstar they can get. 13 new ones at whatever cost! I don't like that. Look for Randle to sign with them. When they wait, what are they waiting for. Not an education, but on here you will hear that they are looking at rosters. It makes me laugh at that folly!

You mean they will recruit harder this year than they usually do? I do not see it. Coach Cal recruits just as hard and good as any coach does every year. Plus, they already have some big time commits and will be VERY good next year. When you are team that relys on one and duns, you can expect some years like the one they have had. Not every year will UK land tpe of the players they rely on and Coach Cal does not have too many top veterans.