That's not quite my point, but OK. I was more noting that scummy behavior by Pitino is not a new thing. Facts are, Kentucky fans didn't much care about said behavior when he was in Lex. I find it interesting that they get all worked up about it now.

 

I'm not sure how old everyone is, but I'd imagine that a lot of us who frequently post in the College Basketball forum were a little too young at the time to know all the behind the scene stories while Pitino was at Louisville. Also, factor in how much the media and internet has changed.

I'm not sure how old everyone is, but I'd imagine that a lot of us who frequently post in the College Basketball forum were a little too young at the time to know all the behind the scene stories while Pitino was at Louisville. Also, factor in how much the media and internet has changed.

 

Word travels fast in a small town like Lexington. People heard lots of stuff, they just chose to ignore it because it didn't suit them to call Ricky out on it at the time. Now it's more convenient.

That's not quite my point, but OK. I was more noting that scummy behavior by Pitino is not a new thing. Facts are, Kentucky fans didn't much care about said behavior when he was in Lex. I find it interesting that they get all worked up about it now.

 

 

I was 9 1/2 years old when Pitino left for the Celtics so don't remember most of that. Would not surprise me though, Pitino does not evoke the thought of good character when thinking of him. Man can coach basketball though.

Why, when it involves Rick Pitino, post-UK, does intent ALWAYS have to be portrayed as nefarious?

 

I always liked him as a coach, especially the results he produced, but after a year or so, I learned to take much of what he said while he was at UK with a grain of salt. He may be getting a little worse as he ages.

I must be out of the loop... What instances are you talking about?

 

Like the Chris Smith instance where he tweeted something to the effect of, I give this man everything I have and he doesn't care enough to try help me. The statement was regarding Smith and Pitino's lack of help with him pursuing a pro career.

That's not quite my point, but OK. I was more noting that scummy behavior by Pitino is not a new thing. Facts are, Kentucky fans didn't much care about said behavior when he was in Lex. I find it interesting that they get all worked up about it now.

 

You are right, but people tend to turn the heads when it involves their team, and not just UK fans.

That's still shady business if you ask me. You can't sit in a kids living room and tell his parents I want you to be a part of this team and University, yata yata yata, and then turn around a couple years later and pull your scholly because somebody better came along and you have to make room. Buckles is definitely a sad case. He was a pretty big recruit coming in for Pitino a couple of years ago, but now after injury it is like he is no good to Pitino. I mean there is zero loyalty there. Kid comes in, gets hurt, and instead of support he gets pushed out the door. Same for Stephen Van Stink, sure he may not be the player Pitino wanted him to be, but you still can't just pretty much say Stephen you gotta go because you suck and we found someone better. They're not the only two, but just the most recent two. Swop and others are also victims of and this as well. Swopshire gave four years and everything he had to UL, but they cannot give him one last season.

 

There's no way Rick Pitino can ever go into a recruits home again and claim he is going to be there for them, because obviously he's not. In fact, its like he could care less. He had zero regard for his scholarship situation, and since he is the one who over recruited his team he should be the one to pay for it, not the kids. Look no further than Calipari and Jon Hood. Most people would be fine with Cal letting go of Hood and replacing him with a 5 star guy. However, that's just not good business. Calipari has stuck behind guys like Hood, Harrellson, etc. when he could have easily recruited over them and lead their way off the team or at least off scholarship. There are a couple of guys Calipari could add to his roster every season just for the sake of adding some players who may be able to develop into some decent players down the road. However, he chooses not to do so in order to save scholarships and not get into this type of situation. Rick on the otherhand the last few years just signs wide open regardless of how many scholly's he has to work with. That is showing a blatant disregard for all of the guys who are already on the team and who have already went through the process of earning a scholarship.

 

Is this the same Calipari that ran off half of the UK roster his first month in Lexington to make room for his top recruits

Is this the same Calipari that ran off half of the UK roster his first month in Lexington to make room for his top recruits

 

Calipari didn't recruit those players and had no obligation to them. That's something that happens every time a new coach comes in. Apples to Oranges.

Calipari didn't recruit those players and had no obligation to them. That's something that happens every time a new coach comes in. Apples to Oranges.

Every time a new coach comes in he forces players out? Come on now...

Is this the same Calipari that ran off half of the UK roster his first month in Lexington to make room for his top recruits

 

Calipari didn't recruit those players and had no obligation to them. That's something that happens every time a new coach comes in. Apples to Oranges.

 

Every time a new coach comes in he forces players out? Come on now...

 

 

Maybe not every time but you do see it happen from time to time. Not trying to be a hypocrite, but I see a big difference in taking over an entirely new team and managing the scholarship situation to fit it to your preference as to having ten years to manage your scholarship situation and still run kids off because you have recruited over them.

Calipari didn't recruit those players and had no obligation to them. That's something that happens every time a new coach comes in. Apples to Oranges.

 

 

Lot of coaches do this and IMO they have the right to. The team they are taking over is now their's and obviously there's going to be some players who do not fit what they are trying to do. In Calipari's defense he has not done anything like that after his arrival, and BCG had a full load of players on scholly so he had to do something if he was to get UK turned around in the short time he did. As well as Cal recruits he could recruit over guys every year and pull in 6-7 top 50 guys every year and replace the ones that he don't think will pan out. However, he only recruits the players he needs and saves scholarships when every season he could easily add one or two more talented players to the roster.

Every time a new coach comes in he forces players out? Come on now...

 

You're right, I shouldn't say every time. My apologies. But it does happen quite often when new coaches come in, doesn't it?

 

And like I said, what obligation does the new coach have to those players? Especially when those players are not the caliber that he could have join the team.

N .

You're right, I shouldn't say every time. My apologies. But it does happen quite often when new coaches come in, doesn't it?

 

And like I said, what obligation does the new coach have to those players? Especially when those players are not the caliber that he could have join the team.

 

The same obligation any coach has when dealing with one year renewable scholarships. That's the reality of the situation...

 

The same obligation any coach has when dealing with one year renewable scholarships. That's the reality of the situation...

 

Yeah true. I try to explain that to my friends about every year, but no one really believes that the scholarships are just for one year, but can be renewed.

 

Maybe its more of a moral obligation when a coach actually recruits the player to a school vs. coming in brand new. At the end of the day, I don't have any issues with what Pitino is doing. Just part of the game. I wouldn't have really commented until Calipari was being thrown in to the mix.

Calipari didn't recruit those players and had no obligation to them. That's something that happens every time a new coach comes in. Apples to Oranges.

 

The NCAA says you sign with a school not the coach. Cal met with them and either told them they had a future at UK or they should leave. Except for the Sloan kid who he refused to meet with. This happens all the time. However, when Pitino is honest with kids and their playing time he is unethical. I see nothing wrong with any coach telling kids the truth in how they have progressed and whether or not they would be better off at another school. You really think Cal hasnt told Hood he would get more playing time at another school? I give credit to Hood for sticking it out knowing he will prolly never play than Cal being loyal to him.