Kofi Cockburn cuts to 12

[Huskybass]

Not so fast.....the leprechaun will put up a good fight

Frosted Lucky Charms, they're magically delicious.

 

[Chief00]

Kentucky now in need of a Forward. They're gonna be all over Cockburn now.

He’s a center not really a forward.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Knowing the NCAA, they will start a huge investigation into Memphis and penny if Jeffries/wiseman go there. Non-power 5 schools taking big name recruits and money away from the blue bloods / premier programs in the power 5 is banned after all.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

That being said, if would be amazing if Memphis did get Jeffries/wiseman/other top area recruits. It would bring lots of much needed publicity to an annually underrated conference!

The AAC has had the coaches to match the power 5/6 in basketball for a while (ie. Sampson, dunphy, Cronin, jankovich). Adding another 3 great coaches in Greg Marshall, penny, and Hurley, with decent coaches with upside in Haith, dunleavy, and Dooley (and hopefully temples next coach) will make this conference into a basketball powerhouse that can start bringing in more top recruits soon! Very similar to how the old big east gained traction!

 

[UconnFanDC]

I feel like Final 12 isn't really narrowing it down at all.

Exactly my thoughts.

 

[WrenchFan69]

Nice

 

[StunningSteve]

That being said, if would be amazing if Memphis did get Jeffries/wiseman/other top area recruits. It would bring lots of much needed publicity to an annually underrated conference!

The AAC has had the coaches to match the power 5/6 in basketball for a while (ie. Sampson, dunphy, Cronin, jankovich). Adding another 3 great coaches in Greg Marshall, penny, and Hurley, with decent coaches with upside in Haith, dunleavy, and Dooley (and hopefully temples next coach) will make this conference into a basketball powerhouse that can start bringing in more top recruits soon! Very similar to how the old big east gained traction!

Landing the #1 recruit in the nation, James Wiseman, (plus DJ Jeffries, T Watford, etc) would come at a great time... with television negotiations commencing within the next year.
The Old/Original Big East really took off when Ewing came into that conference.

 

[8893]

In related news, UConn has cut the list of other conferences it would prefer to the AAC to five. Maybe six.

 

[CL82]

A Doors lyric comes to mind, "this is the end, this is the end my friend".....

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

 

[Scrutineer]

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Thanks, as I recall I never boast about my memory any more.

 

[StunningSteve]

Memphis INSTANTLY becomes the leader for Jeffries. Kentucky fans are going to claim that Penny tampered with him, I would put money on it! This is a really good sign that Memphis will also land Wiseman.

Sounds like Kentucky didn't take the news well. I don't think Cal's reaction helps their chances with Wiseman...

 

[NowInStorrs]

Cal has never had a player decommit from Kentucky before so he's probably a little shocked.

 

[pj]

Cal probably thinks Memphis used his own tactics against him. Of course he'd be upset at that.

 

[4in16]

Cal lost a commission check.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Sounds like Kentucky didn't take the news well. I don't think Cal's reaction helps their chances with Wiseman...

After getting and keeping just about whatever kid he wanted for nearly 10 years now, I’m not shocked dude will be all pseudo-sour-grapes in this kind of situation

 

[TheChamps990411]

Sounds like Kentucky didn't take the news well. I don't think Cal's reaction helps their chances with Wiseman...

Thats rather embarrassing. Not smart at all either.

 

[Slasher]

Thats rather embarrassing. Not smart at all either.

Can't say I'm surprised though it is Kentucky.

 

[Mokum]

I am a casual fan. Can someone educate me please as to why Kentucky gets the top recruits, or at least a lot of them, year after year. What is the attraction? Is it Calapari? A lot of Kentuckys championships were back in the dark ages of two hand set shots and under hand foul shots. They have not done better than other schools in recent decades when it comes to NC's. I do know that if a kid is NBA material, he can play at Vermont, doesn't matter, the NBA will be on him. What is it about Kentucky?

 

[temery]

I am a casual fan. Can someone educate me please as to why Kentucky gets the top recruits, or at least a lot of them, year after year. What is the attraction? Is it Calapari? A lot of Kentuckys championships were back in the dark ages of two hand set shots and under hand foul shots. They have not done better than other schools in recent decades when it comes to NC's. I do know that if a kid is NBA material, he can play at Vermont, doesn't matter, the NBA will be on him. What is it about Kentucky?

On top of The exposure Kentucky offers, perks like this are big:

 

[Mokum]

On top of The Exposure Kentucky offers, perks like this are big:

Certainly a nice facility. How do ours compare? There must be other schools with nice facilities.

 

[Pgh2Storrs]

I am a casual fan. Can someone educate me please as to why Kentucky gets the top recruits, or at least a lot of them, year after year. What is the attraction? Is it Calapari? A lot of Kentuckys championships were back in the dark ages of two hand set shots and under hand foul shots. They have not done better than other schools in recent decades when it comes to NC's. I do know that if a kid is NBA material, he can play at Vermont, doesn't matter, the NBA will be on him. What is it about Kentucky?

I'm sure there are differing opinions on this, so feel free to add-on or correct, but my thoughts have always been this...

1. Calipari is a snake, but there's no denying that he's the best in the business at recruiting talent. He's absolutely mastered the sales pitch of convincing kids that his only goal is their future rather than his or the university's and, in the age of one-and-done, these guys totally eat that up.

2. UK runs their program like a professional team. Similar to Alabama football, these guys are treated like professional athletes in terms of training, facilities, travel, etc.

3. Even though Cal's coaching ability is definitely up for debate, UK is and always will be a blue blood. Their fans are insane and the entire state lives for UK basketball, so that's also a big draw for kids seeking the biggest stage/brightest lights.

With all that said, I am convinced that Penny and Memphis are going to be a giant pain for Calipari at least for the next few years as kids who played for Penny at the HS/AAU level star filter into college. Will that last? That all depends on how Penny's coaching can adjust to the college game and if his pipeline will dry up the further removed he gets from the AAU world. It is certainly to our benefit if Memphis starts getting guys like Wiseman as that blows the whole "Why go play in the AAC against inferior talent" argument completely out of the water.

 

[ctchamps]

I'm sure there are differing opinions on this, so feel free to add-on or correct, but my thoughts have always been this...

1. Calipari is a snake, but there's no denying that he's the best in the business at recruiting talent. He's absolutely mastered the sales pitch of convincing kids that his only goal is their future rather than his or the university's and, in the age of one-and-done, these guys totally eat that up.

2. UK runs their program like a professional team. Similar to Alabama football, these guys are treated like professional athletes in terms of training, facilities, travel, etc.

3. Even though Cal's coaching ability is definitely up for debate, UK is and always will be a blue blood. Their fans are insane and the entire state lives for UK basketball, so that's also a big draw for kids seeking the biggest stage/brightest lights.

With all that said, I am convinced that Penny and Memphis are going to be a giant pain for Calipari at least for the next few years as kids who played for Penny at the HS/AAU level star filter into college. Will that last? That all depends on how Penny's coaching can adjust to the college game and if his pipeline will dry up the further removed he gets from the AAU world. It is certainly to our benefit if Memphis starts getting guys like Wiseman as that blows the whole "Why go play in the AAC against inferior talent" argument completely out of the water.

$ome of thi$ i$ a bit of a $pin.

 

[Bonk]

I'm sure there are differing opinions on this, so feel free to add-on or correct, but my thoughts have always been this...

1. Calipari is a snake, but there's no denying that he's the best in the business at recruiting talent. He's absolutely mastered the sales pitch of convincing kids that his only goal is their future rather than his or the university's and, in the age of one-and-done, these guys totally eat that up.

2. UK runs their program like a professional team. Similar to Alabama football, these guys are treated like professional athletes in terms of training, facilities, travel, etc.

3. Even though Cal's coaching ability is definitely up for debate, UK is and always will be a blue blood. Their fans are insane and the entire state lives for UK basketball, so that's also a big draw for kids seeking the biggest stage/brightest lights.

With all that said, I am convinced that Penny and Memphis are going to be a giant pain for Calipari at least for the next few years as kids who played for Penny at the HS/AAU level star filter into college. Will that last? That all depends on how Penny's coaching can adjust to the college game and if his pipeline will dry up the further removed he gets from the AAU world. It is certainly to our benefit if Memphis starts getting guys like Wiseman as that blows the whole "Why go play in the AAC against inferior talent" argument completely out of the water.

I agree with this for the most part. Correct me if I'm wrong though but it seems like the last couple years more of the can't miss blue chip recruits have chosen Duke over Kentucky. Kentucky obviously has still gotten a ton of 5 stars but guys like bagley, tatum, ingram, reddish, and Barrett all chose Duke, whereas Kentucky is getting 5 stars who still need further developing to get to the league.

 

[Mokum]

How many of you think Calipari is actually cheating, like paying money to these kids somehow. I see plenty of remarks here and there insinuating that. Who thinks it is really the truth? Just asking.

 

[auror]

I am a casual fan. Can someone educate me please as to why Kentucky gets the top recruits, or at least a lot of them, year after year. What is the attraction? Is it Calapari? A lot of Kentuckys championships were back in the dark ages of two hand set shots and under hand foul shots. They have not done better than other schools in recent decades when it comes to NC's. I do know that if a kid is NBA material, he can play at Vermont, doesn't matter, the NBA will be on him. What is it about Kentucky?

They have a top 5 basketball budget.

Cal built a perpetual recruit motion machine (he got talented guys who left right away, new recruits see guys getting easily into the league and go there because the path is proven, which means he gets pick of top guys, which means he gets even more guys into the league and always has ships available, etc.)

The school is centrally located near a lot of places where basketball recruits come from (Kentucky borders Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and North Carolina).

That's it.