Do Coach Cal Players Get the "Benefit of the Doubt"?

[UKMustangFan]

Listening to the Doug Goettlieb show last night, he made an interesting comment regarding UK and Coach Cal. They were talking about after the past two nights of basketball it seemed that UK was on another level from the rest of the nation.

 

He said, just like Alabama with Nick Saban in football, it's all about the recruiting and how players who want to play in the NBA are realizing that UK is their best bet.

 

Now the main comment I want to focus on was when he went on to say (paraphrased), "Players are starting to realize that while they may not win (i.e. a national title) with Coach Cal, they're winning at life with him, because at the end of the day NBA teams are more willing to draft kids that have played for Cal and give them the benefit of the doubt over other guys who may be as talented".

 

So is this true? Do you think the NBA, all things being equal, is more likely to go with the UK kid based on playing for Cal and his reputation with putting players in the league?

[plantmanky]

Totally agree.

[powerfootball]

My answer is no. All teams in the league pay scouts alot of money to evaluate these kids. While it doesn't hurt, bottom line it comes down to what the scouts think. Just my opinion.

[MJAlltheWay24]

I don't think that is the case for the majority of NBA GMs and Coaches. But, I do think that the high school players believe that could be true, which helps to attract them to UK and Coach Cal in the first place.

[dto1177]

I think what he is saying is if a scout was to come back and say there is a player from UK and a player from Tennessee that are basically equal in the scouts eyes, that they would be more likely to draft the UK kid because Cal does so well at getting them ready for the transition to the big leagues.

[5wide]

I think it is absolutely true. I believe Liggins and Harrelson both benefitted from playing at UK under Calipari. I'm not convinced either guys gets drafted if they had had the exact same season somewhere else.

 

That's just an opinion that cannot be proven either way, but is how I see it.

[SLINK]

I would say they probably do.

[mobaar]

I think it is absolutely true. I believe Liggins and Harrelson both benefitted from playing at UK under Calipari. I'm not convinced either guys gets drafted if they had had the exact same season somewhere else.

 

That's just an opinion that cannot be proven either way, but is how I see it.

 

The thing is that neither of those guys would have had seasons anywhere near what they did under Cal. His players get drafted because he's AMAZING at player development. No chance Jorts develops into his current self playing under 99% of college coaches.

 

That's what is great about Cal, he recruits top 10 talent, and then proceeds to make them even better.

[The Professor]

He's one of the best at developing players to another level. And he is a psychologist when it comes to handling superstar egos and making them buy into his system.

[MNCM]

I say yes that they do. He outlines some of this philosophy during his "Kentucky Effect" speech during the Big Blue Madness.

[Alabama Larry]

Coach Cal is a Bama Football fan and of Coach Saban. There is article in the Birmingham News written on how during Time outs he yells at the team..."PLAY LIKE BAMA, WHAT WOULD BAMA, WOULD THEY QUIT?

 

Sounds like me at the Supper table...I'd start a new thread but don't know how to carry over the link.

[HammerTime]

I think that is true. Just ask Daniel Orton.

[MJAlltheWay24]

Coach Cal is a Bama Football fan and of Coach Saban. There is article in the Birmingham News written on how during Time outs he yells at the team..."PLAY LIKE BAMA, WHAT WOULD BAMA, WOULD THEY QUIT?

 

Sounds like me at the Supper table...I'd start a new thread but don't know how to carry over the link.

 

He is not shy at all about saying that he uses the NCAA Champions and the way they played in that game. He also uses the NYG and their Super Bowl victory as well.

[UKMustangFan]

^I'm sure going forward he'll use the UNC/Duke game as motivation as well. Say Saturday they're up 10 or so with a couple minutes left. Or even reverse the roles. He's the master motivator that's for sure.

[ColonelCrazy]

Most of Cal's players are definite lottery picks, but I think it could help the fringe players (i.e. Liggins, Harrellson, etc.) get drafted.

 

It's feasible that an NBA team would select one of Cal's players over someone else when their valued similarly because he has played under Cal. When they get to the next level, Cal's players are already prepared for what it takes and that helps create a relatively seamless transition.