My point is that I don't think it's too hard to get great players to come play for you when you have a fistful of other great players, and you're clearing most of the previous team out of the picture. For a player who wants to do his one year parole before he can go to the NBA, how hard of a decision is it to play for a coach who's landing the other top recruits with the same goal? It's not like it's a hard-sell recruiting job.

 

The man lands one of the top 2 recruiting classes of all time and it's not hard?

 

Did Cal break knock up your sister, steal your lunch money, and make you do his homework?

 

I'll just stand by my original statement.

 

H A T E R

Coach Cal was snubbed, no way around that.

 

Sure Stallings and others could maybe go 14-2 with UK's roster but Cal is the one who can get that roster. Stallings did a great job this year but to say he deserved it over Cal is just plain silly.

 

Congrats to all of the Wildcats who were honored!

 

I don't know...I'm just throwing out there that I think most coaches could have done as well with the talent he had, and I'm not 100% sold that he recruited them so much as they saw a chance to play together as an essential "all-star" team and improve their chances to go big sooner.

 

A huge part of coaching in the college game is recruiting. Cal gets punished for being able to get better players to his program? Makes sense to me :lol:

 

If he'd have kept those last year's players, and they were the ones winning the games, then yes, he would have a better case for COY, IMO.

 

It doesn't matter WHO he has on his team. How many teams are 29-2 this season?

 

Coach Cal has molded a group of freshman with a few other players & has done very well. That's GREAT coaching, IMO. He has transformed kids into young men and forced everyone to put aside their egos. When you are dealing with young superstars, that in & of itself is a commendable coaching job.

 

He was also a catalyst behind a fundraising effort that raised over $1 million. This shouldn't have a big effect on the Coach of the Year selection, but it's bonus points in my eyes.

 

I'd have Kevin Stallings third on my list, behind Coach Cal & Coach Bruce Pearl.

Possibly. But on the otherhand, would he have been so successful if one or two of those players had not come to UK? He has an unbelievably talented group of freshmen. What happens next year with at least 3 of the players on this team are gone? What if he doesn't get the same level of talent?

 

I think the team did great. But, although you can successfully argue that he did a great job of recruiting to get them there, couldn't as much be said for the fact that they saw a depleted team and knew they'd get their chance to be one and done there?

 

I don't know...I'm just throwing out there that I think most coaches could have done as well with the talent he had, and I'm not 100% sold that he recruited them so much as they saw a chance to play together as an essential "all-star" team and improve their chances to go big sooner.

 

Considering he'd have had the same class at Memphis minus Orton and plus Xavier Henry would seem to destroy that argument. :idunno:

It doesn't matter WHO he has on his team. How many teams are 29-2 this season?

 

Coach Cal has molded a group of freshman with a few other players & has done very well. That's GREAT coaching, IMO. He has transformed kids into young men and forced everyone to put aside their egos. When you are dealing with young superstars, that in & of itself is a commendable coaching job.

 

He was also a catalyst behind a fundraising effort that raised over $1 million. This shouldn't have a big effect on the Coach of the Year selection, but it's bonus points in my eyes.

 

I'd have Kevin Stallings third on my list, behind Coach Cal & Coach Bruce Pearl.

Exactly. Great post CC.:thumb:

Hence my post in #6. They are basically saying "your players did all the work." So its like him.. Self, Nick Saban, all have to prove themselves somehow. Or in other words your players are too good, anyone could coach them?

 

It seems the sentiment about UK has changed. At the start of the season, nobody denied the talent, but the consensus was this team would have some growing pains and would lose several games.

 

After finishing the season with two losses, the sentiment has changed to "anybody could win with that talent".

 

:idunno:

 

Calipari has done a great job with this group. I'd have voted for him as COY, but Stallings was deserving as well. I can see both sides of this argument. To pick Stallings is obviously to side with the doing more with less logic. And, that's often what people look at for this award.

Just for conversation why does everyone think Stallings is so deserving?

That's if you buy into the theory that Smith was their best player....I personally wouldn't.

 

Who do you think was?

Just for conversation why does everyone think Stallings is so deserving?

 

For me personally, I don't recall hearing much about Vandy when the season started. And, I don't particularly believe they're oozing talent. With that in mind, knowing they were right there with UK all season battline for the SEC East title, what they did was impressive to me. Stallings deserves some credit for it.

 

I'd have gone with Cal, but typically there are multiple guys who are each deserving of COY awards.

 

For example, National COY could go to numerous candidates. It's very subjective. What's the criteria? Best record? Best coach on best team? Who did more with less? Who exceeded pre-season expectations the most? Who overcame the most adversity during the season? You could get a different guy with every answer. :idunno:

Who do you think was?

 

I would personally take either Hopson or Chism over Smith any day of the week.

In addition to the oddity of Wall being POY and not Freshman of the Year, the SEC names 8 players to their 1st team and 8 players to their 2nd team. How they arrived at that number I don't know.

 

I wonder how Bledsoe is handling not being named 1st or 2nd team? There are 8 guards named to the 1st and 2nd teams and Bledsoe is not one of them. He did get named to the All Freshman team.

Bledsoe didnt deserve to be on the first or second team. If he thought he did, he needs someone to wake him up

Bledsoe didnt deserve to be on the first or second team. If he thought he did, he needs someone to wake him up

 

I agree. He has the talent and at times played at the level that would have warranted first or second team consideration, however, those instances were too few and too far in between.

Bledsoe didnt deserve to be on the first or second team. If he thought he did, he needs someone to wake him up

 

So true, but he probably does think he should have. I think he is full of himself and has some "team" issues.