Khalil Whitney will transfer from Kentucky

[futurecoach]

Late to fringe first rounders aren’t really for Cal. I think they keep finding themselves in no mans land, hoping for sudden improvement. If he tries to be patient, he could be recruited over.

 

I don't think you can make that argument at all. Bledsoe wasn't suppose to be a top pick at all his rookie year, Cal did pretty well with him. Tyler Herro last year was not suppose to be, and he ended up a lottery pick. Booker wasn't suppose to be a one and done type. WCS an athletic freak like Whitney, ended up being a lottery pick under Cal. Nick Richards is going down the same route.

Cal has developed guys who many didn't think would be top picks in one year, he has had guys who has stayed also who have gotten better under him by staying. We have seen both types, including the type you just mentioned work out under Cal and do really well. It just comes down to if they are willing to put in the work, if it doesn't come natural for them right away.

 

As Cal has said he can't hide you here. If you can't produce, chances are there is another guy on the roster who can. Just like Quade Green last year, he probably would have been a great player to have had stay here. However, when you have Tyler Herro who showed to be a true baller out there. You weren't going to play Green just to play him when Herro showed he was better.

 

At the end of the day Whitney early in the year didn't take advantage or show much when he was getting minutes. He could have stayed and worked hard and possibly been a big contributor next year. He has decided he rather not chance next year someone else still being better than him. It is what it is.

[John Anthony]

I don't think you can make that argument at all. Bledsoe wasn't suppose to be a top pick at all his rookie year, Cal did pretty well with him. Tyler Herro last year was not suppose to be, and he ended up a lottery pick. Booker wasn't suppose to be a one and done type. WCS an athletic freak like Whitney, ended up being a lottery pick under Cal. Nick Richards is going down the same route.

Cal has developed guys who many didn't think would be top picks in one year, he has had guys who has stayed also who have gotten better under him by staying. We have seen both types, including the type you just mentioned work out under Cal and do really well. It just comes down to if they are willing to put in the work, if it doesn't come natural for them right away.

 

As Cal has said he can't hide you here. If you can't produce, chances are there is another guy on the roster who can. Just like Quade Green last year, he probably would have been a great player to have had stay here. However, when you have Tyler Herro who showed to be a true baller out there. You weren't going to play Green just to play him when Herro showed he was better.

 

At the end of the day Whitney early in the year didn't take advantage or show much when he was getting minutes. He could have stayed and worked hard and possibly been a big contributor next year. He has decided he rather not chance next year someone else still being better than him. It is what it is.

 

Furthers my point about this whole 5 star evaluation system. Outside of the top 5, maybe 10 guys, the rest should face the possibility of staying in college for a bit, unless they find their NBA skill in year 1.

[bamaboy89]

Kids want to play. There’s no millennial non work blah blah thing going on. Theses kids work hard and they want to play. Basketball is not like football where you might get 35 or so kids some playing time. There’s only so many that can get playing time on the court. The kid took his chances at a dream school, it didn’t work out. Let him go somewhere where the Coach might let him play more. Win win for everyone, it’s not rocket science.

[sportsfan41]

I hate to see him leave but I'm not overly surprised. I think he will be good down the road but he still needs time to develop his game. Hope he lands somewhere that gives him an opportunity to improve and eventually make it to the NBA.

[futurecoach]

Furthers my point about this whole 5 star evaluation system. Outside of the top 5, maybe 10 guys, the rest should face the possibility of staying in college for a bit, unless they find their NBA skill in year 1.

 

Now that I agree with.

[futurecoach]

Kids want to play. There’s no millennial non work blah blah thing going on. Theses kids work hard and they want to play. Basketball is not like football where you might get 35 or so kids some playing time. There’s only so many that can get playing time on the court. The kid took his chances at a dream school, it didn’t work out. Let him go somewhere where the Coach might let him play more. Win win for everyone, it’s not rocket science.

 

But yet it is a now a day thing. Players now expect to come in and play right away and be stars. In the past if players didn’t play right away, they didn’t basically quit and say ok I’m out. They would work harder and then then probably play more their sophomore or junior year. Now a days kids definitely need that instant gratification or else they want out.

[Carl Spackler]

He seems like a tremendous athlete, but I haven't really seen him display any basketball skill thus far. Because of the hype these kids get these days, I can understand why he would be disappointed with his playing time this year, but he hasn't really shown that he belongs on the court just yet.

 

Given the number of guards / wings coming in next year, he would have had to improve quite a bit to get additional minutes next year assuming that class all lives up to expectations. Unless he is condering a lower tier school, I can't see that he would be ready just yet to contribute at another elite program either.

 

It's too bad that not many of these highly ranked kids have any patience these days. He could look at his teammate Nick Richards to see what kind of growth can be attained if you just stick it out. His situation reminds me of Charles Matthews. Ranked pretty highly out of high school but just wasn't ready as a freshman to contribute at UK. Ended up having a nice career at Michigan but it took a few years for him to play up to the level that was expected. I think he could have had a similar career should he had stayed at UK.

 

I haven't read the announcement but it from prior post in this thread it sounds like he is leaving now. Not sure why the rush as it's already 2nd semester so I can't see that he would be eligible elsewhere any sooner than if he played out the rest of the year. A couple of additional months of practice under Cal and against this level of competition surly couldn't hurt. Hopefully everything works out for the best for this kid.

 

According to the Courier Journal he will be eligible the 2nd semester of next year. I think it has something to do with classes only starting back next week and the date to withdraw without getting even a W hasn't passed yet.

[MJAlltheWay24]

Kids want to play. There’s no millennial non work blah blah thing going on. Theses kids work hard and they want to play. Basketball is not like football where you might get 35 or so kids some playing time. There’s only so many that can get playing time on the court. The kid took his chances at a dream school, it didn’t work out. Let him go somewhere where the Coach might let him play more. Win win for everyone, it’s not rocket science.

 

Check out Kyle Tucker's tweets yesterday. I am not sure this should be on the coach not playing him enough. He just flat out wasn't productive in games, which leads me to believe he may have had similar results in practice.

[Hatz]

But yet it is a now a day thing. Players now expect to come in and play right away and be stars. In the past if players didn’t play right away, they didn’t basically quit and say ok I’m out. They would work harder and then then probably play more their sophomore or junior year. Now a days kids definitely need that instant gratification or else they want out.

 

I think you are right but let me offer some old school examples from UK.

 

Dan Hall left UK after one year because Robey n Phillips were in front of him.

 

Scott Courts left after’78 season.

 

Tim Stephens left after 2 1/2 years cause he never played.

 

Todd May left in the middle of his Freshman year as Kenny Walker took more of his playing time.

 

Carlos Toomer. Aminu Timberlake.

[newarkcatholicfan]

In the game today, it seems that how fast you run and how high you jump out weighs just how much true basketball talent a player has.

[The Professor]

Feels like an annual thing now. Will he interesting to see why. The recruiting services needs to cut down on the number of 5 stars.

I agree with downsizing the number of 5 stars.

Sometimes these 5 star McDonald’s All-Americans are actually White Castle All-Americans.

Whitney had ample playing time earlier in the season and he seemed lost and was unproductive. He just didn’t impress me at this stage of his career, but with time he may have developed.

[tcjkbt]

Sometimes there can be "addition by subtraction" when a disgruntled player leaves a team and takes his bad karma with him. I don't know if Whitney was a bad actor in this regard but possibly he was. At the minimum it's obvious he was unhappy.

[9068]

Furthers my point about this whole 5 star evaluation system. Outside of the top 5, maybe 10 guys, the rest should face the possibility of staying in college for a bit, unless they find their NBA skill in year 1.

 

Totally agree. How does a guy that's super hyped in AAU and HS adjust to being a role player at UK? Guys go from playing to sitting. The old "it's all about winning the national championship" line doesn't play out with guys who come there only to build their "brand". That's how they are recruited.....so when it doesn't happen...Adios Amigos.

[MJAlltheWay24]

Sometimes there can be "addition by subtraction" when a disgruntled player leaves a team and takes his bad karma with him. I don't know if Whitney was a bad actor in this regard but possibly he was. At the minimum it's obvious he was unhappy.

 

Kinda felt like what happened when Quade Green transferred last year.

[MBWC41]

I really would have loved to see this guy as a Sophomore.

 

Not everyone can come in and average 20 and 10 a game as a freshman and it’s mentally tougher on some than others.

 

For a lot of these kids, this truly is the first time they’ve faced adversity on a ball court, the first time they’ve questioned their ability and maybe the first time they feel as if they’ve failed in some way. That’s tough for an 18 year old to process...

 

If his heart wasn’t in it, it’s best for both sides to part ways.

 

I wish the guy nothing but success.