I mean, if you were looking for me to disagree on Jones' credibility, you'll have to look elsewhere. They're cut from the same cloth, and neither has any credibility with me.

 

Agreed completely. I just laugh at some fans who immediately say "Clay Travis, trying to get ratings or hits on his articles" and then will turn around and defend Matt Jones. They're the same dang person!

This is simply inaccurate and false! uk was not recruiting at a high level nor achieving at a crazy high level until Cal and World Wide Wesley arrived! Heck, uk fans themselves said he was the biggest scumbag cheater in sports, but when he comes to uk, all of a sudden clean! SMH!

 

I disagree. Kentucky has always been a blue blood college basketball school, long before Calipari got there. The name recruits for itself. And it's not like Tubby wasn't getting solid players and competing, until his last few years when, I admit, things went sour with his recruiting efforts that not even the Kentucky name could help. That's why he left. Recruiting should be easier at programs like Kentucky simply because it is Kentucky. Still, his team went undefeated in the SEC in 2003 and might have won it all that year if not for a Bogans injury prior to the Marquette game in the regional finals. Tubby was able to recruit adequate players until his last two or three years at UK.

 

Calipari was already a great recruiter before he became UK's coach. But being at Kentucky has enabled him to recruit even better. He knows how to use the Kentucky brand to full effect. He doesn't need to buy his recruits.

So Cal cheated at UMass and Memphis but not at uk, because uk always get the best recruits (NO THEY WEREN'T) and because a kid is just dying to go play basketball in Lexington (NO THEY AREN'T). The truth is that uk started recruiting when Cal and World Wide Wesley arrived, just as he did at UMass and Memphis.

 

uk fans need to wake up and understand that you were saying the exact same thing when he was at Memphis, but now, he's at uk so all good.

 

1. UMass didn't have great recruits. They had a handful like Marcus Camby, Lou Roe and one other whose name slips my mind. He didn't recruit 5 stars there except for a couple of kids.

 

2. You are right that UK had slipped greatly in recruiting prior to 2010 season. But I seem to recall they did recruit Patrick Patterson between Tubby and Billy G. Tubby did land Rondo, Randolph Morris, Azubuike in the later years. I think all were pretty highly touted. The problem was that there was no depth in UK recruiting from about '05 till '10. Cal brought in depth. Suddenly UK was highly rated in recruiting because he brought more players in of the 5 star variety instead of the 1 or 2 at most.

 

3. Why did they all come to UK right away? The Derrick Rose effect. Everyone saw himself that way and wanted the one and done experience to the money.

 

4. Did or does Cal work in the gray areas? Probably. I'm not naïve enough to believe he doesn't. Maybe less now than when he first arrived. As I've said to many down here in ACC country: "Sure he's Satan. But he's OUR Satan."

 

5. I find it hard to believe that if there was something very overt happening that some reporter would not have done a factual expose on it. (Remember Lex Herald in 1983 or so?) But if UNC can literally walk away from that academic scandal without even a cuff to the back of the head, then I doubt they are going to look too hard at Cal and UK and make something stick.

Couple things that should not be disputed...1) a high percentage of the elite one & done recruits receive illegal benefits and many times it starts before they are recruited by any college. People in the game that understand the future dollars at stake are investing money to become close to the kids with the potential to be lottery picks.

2) No college coach is going to allow the cash trail to lead back to them. It is suicide to do so and as long as there is plausible deniability then a coach will never be on the hook. What coaches do and some better than others is allow the practice of buying players take place to their benefit. Call it look the other way or whatever, but they will never be tied to it or even mention it to their players or parents. They don't need to do that and by staying out of the effort it takes away an opportunity from a disgruntled player ever linking them to paying for players. If done right, there will never be any evidence. And it happens at almost every school with the Top 10-15 players.

So Cal cheated at UMass and Memphis but not at uk, because uk always get the best recruits (NO THEY WEREN'T) and because a kid is just dying to go play basketball in Lexington (NO THEY AREN'T). The truth is that uk started recruiting when Cal and World Wide Wesley arrived, just as he did at UMass and Memphis.

 

uk fans need to wake up and understand that you were saying the exact same thing when he was at Memphis, but now, he's at uk so all good.

 

Hmmm let's see here UK is one of the most storied programs in history. Kids who go to UK get great exposure and always on national TV. UK's facilities are some of the top if not the best in the nation, compares to nba teams in facilities. Have the biggest fan base and as a player you are basically a movie star. Those are the things that sells UK on its own. Then when you add a coach like Cal who is a good sales man and can sale a kid on if he goes to UK he will be more prepared and be a top nba pick. Then yes you get the recruiting results he has.

 

When Cal was at UMass he recruited well but very few stars, actually only one star. At Memphis it wasn't until his last few years when he really started to do well recruiting. At UK when you add his recruiting and the things that already sell itself then you get top 2 classes every year. Especially now Cal has the draft pick results that recruit kids for him now. Kids dream of the NBA and they see he gets more kids there than anyone.

 

When you add all those things up, there is very little you need to do to get a kid to come here now.

So Cal cheated at UMass and Memphis but not at uk, because uk always get the best recruits (NO THEY WEREN'T) and because a kid is just dying to go play basketball in Lexington (NO THEY AREN'T). The truth is that uk started recruiting when Cal and World Wide Wesley arrived, just as he did at UMass and Memphis.

 

uk fans need to wake up and understand that you were saying the exact same thing when he was at Memphis, but now, he's at uk so all good.

 

Your theory holds very little water. I bet I can present as good or Better argument that Coach K cheats and pays players. Doesn't mean it's true but I can make a good case for it. For many years Coach K had very little players actually leave early especially after freshman seasons even if they were capable. Would seem there is a better chance someone stays longer if they are already being paid correct? So maybe he was paying them to stay. Now he has switched to the one and done out of nowhere because he wasn't paying kids enough to stay more than one year. So might as well switch to the one year too.

 

Do I actually think Coach K paid players, no. However it's much more reasonable to think a good player is getting paid if they could leave but stay longer. Than it is to think a player is getting paid for one year. Most of these players have to go to college for one year anyways. So might as well go to a school that gives them the best chance to get paid after the one year. Which UK and Duke are the two best at that, and doesn't mean they are paying anyone.

I disagree. Kentucky has always been a blue blood college basketball school, long before Calipari got there. The name recruits for itself. And it's not like Tubby wasn't getting solid players and competing, until his last few years when, I admit, things went sour with his recruiting efforts that not even the Kentucky name could help. That's why he left. Recruiting should be easier at programs like Kentucky simply because it is Kentucky. Still, his team went undefeated in the SEC in 2003 and might have won it all that year if not for a Bogans injury prior to the Marquette game in the regional finals. Tubby was able to recruit adequate players until his last two or three years at UK.

 

Calipari was already a great recruiter before he became UK's coach. But being at Kentucky has enabled him to recruit even better. He knows how to use the Kentucky brand to full effect. He doesn't need to buy his recruits.

 

I am not arguing that uk is a blue-blood in college basketball, but the evidence clearly shows that they were not recruiting anywhere remotely close to what happened when Cal and WWW arrived. Those kids were not going to Lexington, and then Cal gets hired and boom, they're going to Lexington. Those are the facts, and you all know that.

 

Of course now you can say "well of course his recruiting is great, look at all of those players uk gets drafted" but uk doesn't get them drafted, Cal and WWW get them drafted.

 

I agree that he no longer needs to cheat because heck at this point, the bed has been made and he can simply say "look at all of those kids uk gets drafted", but you can't with a straight face tell me that the first 3-4 years were not completely due to Cal and WWW. John Wall and Cousins and Bledsoe were not coming to uk folks. Those are the facts.

Your theory holds very little water. I bet I can present as good or Better argument that Coach K cheats and pays players. Doesn't mean it's true but I can make a good case for it. For many years Coach K had very little players actually leave early especially after freshman seasons even if they were capable. Would seem there is a better chance someone stays longer if they are already being paid correct? So maybe he was paying them to stay. Now he has switched to the one and done out of nowhere because he wasn't paying kids enough to stay more than one year. So might as well switch to the one year too.

 

Do I actually think Coach K paid players, no. However it's much more reasonable to think a good player is getting paid if they could leave but stay longer. Than it is to think a player is getting paid for one year. Most of these players have to go to college for one year anyways. So might as well go to a school that gives them the best chance to get paid after the one year. Which UK and Duke are the two best at that, and doesn't mean they are paying anyone.

 

Where did I say that DukE does not cheat? Heck, I think they're cheating as well and you can go back to Myron Piggy AAU situation, along with the kid from Alaska, which was a joke. I think they're cheating as well, and don't even get me started on UNC's academic crap. College basketball is a cesspool right now across the board at the top.

When you combine a great recruiter with a great program, you can get great results. Hence Kentucky's last 7 years.

 

The #1 reason that I don't think Calipari cheats at UK...Guys like Pat Forde, Dan Dakich, Jeff Goodman, and Clay Travis would do anything they could to write a real story with real facts proving him as a cheater...if they could. It would take their career to a whole new level, plus the amount of pure enjoyment for themselves, if they could do it. But they can't, so tools like Clay Travis write these type of stories hoping to get more clicks, which turns into more advertising money for themselves.

 

So Calipari is either the greatest cheater in the history of college bball if none of those guys can prove anything, or he isn't cheating at Kentucky. Sorry haters.

 

I do believe he was somewhat shady before he got to Kentucky. I was worried about the first class, but once they got passed that, I have no worries at all and this is just dumb.

Does Cal have a case for slander? He could easily ruin this dudes life just in legal fees

 

I'm no lawyer, but I THINK he would have to prove he had been damaged by the comments, either professionally and/or financially. That might be hard to prove.

I do believe he was somewhat shady before he got to Kentucky. I was worried about the first class, but once they got passed that, I have no worries at all and this is just dumb.

 

I'm no UK or Coach Cal fan, and I will just leave it at that. BUT, if someone thinks Cal was shady at his other stops, I don't know why you would think he suddenly became "un-shady" at UK while at the same time grabbing recruiting class the likes of which no one has seen since the days of Wooten and UCLA. And we all know now how UCLA got those guys. Let me say though that in todays age, when everybody has a cell phone, things are recorded/videoed with ease and without people knowing, and every other person fancies themselves as some sort of media person, it would be darn hard to get away with much for very long before you were exposed I would think.

I'm no UK or Coach Cal fan, and I will just leave it at that. BUT, if someone thinks Cal was shady at his other stops, I don't know why you would think he suddenly became "un-shady" at UK while at the same time grabbing recruiting class the likes of which no one has seen since the days of Wooten and UCLA. And we all know now how UCLA got those guys. Let me say though that in todays age, when everybody has a cell phone, things are recorded/videoed with ease and without people knowing, and every other person fancies themselves as some sort of media person, it would be darn hard to get away with much for very long before you were exposed I would think.

 

Coach K is pulling the same quality of recruiting classes though. In fact, you could say better lately even. But you never hear turds like Clay Travis make these types of comments about him. Granted, he doesn't have the skeletons in his closet like Cal, so it makes sense. But if you're saying "he's probably cheating because of how good his recruiting classes are", you gotta say the same about Coach K. I won't say it about either.

 

Once Kentucky got passed Bledsoe, I stopped worrying about getting caught cheating in some capacity at Kentucky. He is under a total microscope there compared to Memphis and/or UMass. There are certain investigative reporters out there that would do anything they could to find a real story with facts about Coach Cal cheating. He would be a total fool to give them any fodder whatsoever.

I was as ignorant to Calipari's past record as many are. When all I knew was UMass got penalized and then Memphis had to forfeit a season, I figured just like that ignorant Bobby Knight, that the Coach must be dirty. When I took the time to look into those cases I saw one where a player while already at UMass started taking money from a potential agent and the other where a player supposedly cheated on a test while they were in still in high school.

 

Camby took money because, well he needed money for his family and figured no one would find out. He didn't run it by the coach to see if it was OK, Calipari didn't hook him up with this guy...he was approached and did this on his own as he has said many times.

 

Rose cheated, according to the NCAA, on his ACT. Why did he do it, because he wanted to go D1 and get drafted by the NBA ASAP. NCAA initially cleared him and Calipari played him, just like every other coach in the country would have. Then the NCAA said, "Nah he cheated and since you played him you have to forfeit all of those games."

Pretty much, yeah, if the guy's got no real proof to speak of. For Cal, however, it would be a PR nightmare and something his advisers would suggest he avoid. Even if Travis is wrong, a whole bunch of other stuff could come out that Cal and UK would rather not make public. Former players can ignore NCAA requests to testify. Whole 'nuther situation in the US court of law.

 

Ask Roger Clemens what the world finds out when you file a suit for Slander.

How the hell did Coach K get pulled into this??? :lol2: :lol2: