1 hour ago, Irish Cat said:

I guess I don't get how averaging 6 points and 3 rebounds a game suggest that one is ready for the NBA.  He was playing behind Brooks, who himself is unlikely to ever play in the NBA.  I hope it all works out for him, but I just don't see how some of these kids aren't self aware enough to realize they're not ready for the NBA.  He's a freak athlete but that alone won't cut it at the next level.  It hasn't even been enough to secure a starting spot at his current level. 

Every player has 1 opportunity to put their name in the draft, go through the process and get valuable feedback from NBA execs about their game and what they need to work on.  Then come back to school.  Toppin is a Junior, so this is a no brainer to declare and get the information and experience he will receive.

Plus I think Toppin might be the best long term pro prospect on this years team.  I felt Cal held him back as much as any player in a while at UK.  

21 hours ago, GOREDDEVILS said:

Kentucky is now expecting Sharpe to Stay in the NBA draft. I am not sure if I can pull for Sharpe like I can Enes Kanter because at least Enes tried to play. I don’t follow the nba much but I do at least follow how former UK players perform in the NBA.  This kid would have been better off to have went to the gleague if he wasn’t going to play at UK when he knew he was going to go top 10.  I agree with the many other people who think Cal dropped the ball.

To the bolded, what do you want Calipari to do differently in the Shaedon Sharpe situation?

Do people think that Calipari is the one that chose not to play Sharpe in the spring semester?  I do not.  I think the family/player said they didn't want to play and that they'd come back.  Family/Player either lied or changed their mind.  Either way, Calipari can't say that to the media because he's not going to bash the family/player.  So he's stuck.  

19 hours ago, Irish Cat said:

I guess I don't get how averaging 6 points and 3 rebounds a game suggest that one is ready for the NBA.  He was playing behind Brooks, who himself is unlikely to ever play in the NBA.  I hope it all works out for him, but I just don't see how some of these kids aren't self aware enough to realize they're not ready for the NBA.  He's a freak athlete but that alone won't cut it at the next level.  It hasn't even been enough to secure a starting spot at his current level. 

I'm not Jacob Toppin but I think a lot of times, for guys like him, its not about putting your name in for the NBA draft because you know you'll get drafted.  It's a strategic decision to get NBA analysis of your game and can then work on that more throughout the year before truly declaring the next year.  

Maybe I don't understand how it all works, but I don't know why a player like Topping wouldn't do it.

5 hours ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

I'm not Jacob Toppin but I think a lot of times, for guys like him, its not about putting your name in for the NBA draft because you know you'll get drafted.  It's a strategic decision to get NBA analysis of your game and can then work on that more throughout the year before truly declaring the next year.  

Maybe I don't understand how it all works, but I don't know why a player like Topping wouldn't do it.

Correct. It is silly not for him to be evaluated and have the pros tell him what he needs to improve upon to make basketball his profession, whether next year or years following.

45 minutes ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

To the bolded, what do you want Calipari to do differently in the Shaedon Sharpe situation?

Do people think that Calipari is the one that chose not to play Sharpe in the spring semester?  I do not.  I think the family/player said they didn't want to play and that they'd come back.  Family/Player either lied or changed their mind.  Either way, Calipari can't say that to the media because he's not going to bash the family/player.  So he's stuck.  

Cal knew what was at stake. If the timing worked out better, Sharpe probably sees the court for Kentucky. Unfortunately (for UK fans) his NBA eligibility ruling came when it did, and I see Sharpe doing nothing but potentially harming his draft stock if he plays this past semester.

11 minutes ago, bugatti said:

Cal knew what was at stake. If the timing worked out better, Sharpe probably sees the court for Kentucky. Unfortunately (for UK fans) his NBA eligibility ruling came when it did, and I see Sharpe doing nothing but potentially harming his draft stock if he plays this past semester.

Totally.  I'm confused on why people think Cal dropped the ball regarding Sharpe and/or what Calipari could've done differently.  Tell the kid that he can't enroll early?  That's not happening.

There's a lot of criticism I toss at Calipari for how this season unfolded.  His handling of Sharpe is not at all one of those things.

2 hours ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

To the bolded, what do you want Calipari to do differently in the Shaedon Sharpe situation?

Do people think that Calipari is the one that chose not to play Sharpe in the spring semester?  I do not.  I think the family/player said they didn't want to play and that they'd come back.  Family/Player either lied or changed their mind.  Either way, Calipari can't say that to the media because he's not going to bash the family/player.  So he's stuck.  

I want Calipari to recruit kids who are for sure going to play. It did zilch for Kentucky but hurt them because this kid could have played and just maybe Kentucky makes it past the first round.

10 minutes ago, GOREDDEVILS said:

I want Calipari to recruit kids who are for sure going to play. It did zilch for Kentucky but hurt them because this kid could have played and just maybe Kentucky makes it past the first round.

Right, but you are looking at this in a vacuum and removing variables from the equation. Remember, Sharpe was supposed to be a class of 2022 kid, enrolling next fall but he reclassified and was able to get to UK earlier than anticipated. Now had he got to UK last August and took up an available scholarship, I would more understand your argument.

To me it still don't matter the kid chose to come early and could have played and helped Kentucky. If he was as good as Davion Mintz said he was then he should have played. Isn't the goal to play your best players and win a national title?

1 hour ago, GOREDDEVILS said:

To me it still don't matter the kid chose to come early and could have played and helped Kentucky. If he was as good as Davion Mintz said he was then he should have played. Isn't the goal to play your best players and win a national title?

Perhaps Sharpe himself didn't want to play halfway through the season.

Perhaps Sharpe does play and since he takes the court halfway through the season, he has a lot of rust and his draft stock is hurt.

The person with the most at stake is Sharpe.  His livelihood is on the line, not mine or yours or the program's.  When in doubt, do what's best for the kid.

My position is if you don't want to play to win a title don't come to UK.  This is UK where national titles are expected not some no name college. If you don't want to play for a title go somewhere else. I don't care how good they are.

3 minutes ago, GOREDDEVILS said:

My position is if you don't want to play to win a title don't come to UK.  This is UK not where national titles are expected not some no name college. If you don't want to play for a title go somewhere else. I don't care how good they are.

Maybe he wanted to play and Cal didn't let him.

My whole point is we don't know the truth behind this.  If Cal was looking out for the kid, I have no qualms with how this was handled.  If the kid didn't want to play because he'd be a half-season behind everyone else, I have no qualms with that either.

We are going to have to Agree to disagree.  The kid should have played and I'm sticking to that. You don't come to UK not to play.

1 minute ago, GOREDDEVILS said:

The kid should have played

I don't see that as my decision to make.

As you said, we'll have to agree to disagree.