WAAAAY OT - congrats to ukcatfan for Calipari landing John Wall

[Todd_H]

Been a roller coaster of a ride watching this kid try to decide where he wanted to play. Being an NCSU grad, I kind of wanted him to come to Raleigh (we still desperately need a PG), but he's a better fit under Calipari, IMO. Calipari will be able to reign him in and get the best out of him in the one year he'll spend at the collegiate level. Sidney Lowe would not have been able to control him.

Should add another level of excitement to UK basketball now. That's quite some depth that Calipari has at the PG position now.

 

[steery1]

Been a roller coaster of a ride watching this kid try to decide where he wanted to play. Being an NCSU grad, I kind of wanted him to come to Raleigh (we still desperately need a PG), but he's a better fit under Calipari, IMO. Calipari will be able to reign him in and get the best out of him in the one year he'll spend at the collegiate level. Sidney Lowe would not have been able to control him.

Should add another level of excitement to UK basketball now. That's quite some depth that Calipari has at the PG position now.

What on earth is this about?

 

[RBennett]

What on earth is this about?

Collegiate basketball. Incredible player ended up going to UK (hence the shout out to ukcatfan).

 

[steery1]

Thanks.
What does UK stand for?

 

[Todd_H]

What on earth is this about?

College basketball (that's why I listed the thread as WAAAAY OT).

John Wall is the #1 recruit for collegiate basketball right now and he had narrowed his search for colleges down to NC State, UK, Memphis, Miami, Duke, and couple of others. It seemed he was leaning toward UK and NC State for the longest time, but it appears he has finally chosen UK. I am an NC State grad and I was just congratulating ukcatfan because his team has emerged with the #1 basketball recruit in the country for the 2009/2010 season.

 

[Angrypenguin]

Yup, I saw it on espn this morning. Nice pickup! I wish Michigan would get some recruits like that. Oh well, at least my Wolverines actually made it into the tourney this year.

 

[Todd_H]

Oh well, at least my Wolverines actually made it into the tourney this year.

That's more than I can say for my Wolfpack right now... sooooo frustrating on the hoops side for us.

You guys have a great coach in John Beilein. We almost landed him 3 years ago from WVa when Sendek resigned.

 

[handicap18]

Thanks.
What does UK stand for?

University of Kentucky. Thier nickname is the Wildcats... thus ukcatfan.



Calapiri has done excellent everywhere he's gone (though he royally screwed up UMass with the Camby thing. They haven't been the same since).

Getting the #1 recuit is huge in his first year. Kentucky certainly has a lot of history behind them. Lets see what Coach Cal does with what he's getting.

 

[steery1]

University of Kentucky. Thier nickname is the Wildcats... thus ukcatfan.

You know I often wondered about that username. I always thought it had something to do with UK (as in United Kingdom) cats (as in pussycats)
How stupid do I feel now.

 

[Pugrpooh]

There sure seems to be a lot of excitement among cat fans here in Kentucky now. The past few years there's been a lot of disgruntlement with the program and where it was headed -- now today they were talking about preseason top 5!

It'll be fun when UofL and UK square off -- Pitino vs. Calipari, the old Louisville/Memphis rivalry, the UMass connections. There's a lot of different layers there. And only 6 more months left before basketball season starts!

 

[ukcatfan]

All this about little ole me?

Yeah, that was a pretty nice thing to hear, especially since the past week has been rough. My wife started the process of having two caps put on last Tues. On Thurs. one of the temporaries popped off. She has been in a little bit of pain. Well, last night she slipped on the kitchen floor and gave herself a mild concussion. To top it all off, her crown just came off again about twenty minutes ago!!!!!! She goes back tomorrow morning. Sooooo, anything positive is a real good thing for me It was already supposed to be the best class before this, so the expectations are high for about two seasons from now.

Don't worry about thinking it was an English feline thing b/c many have thought that. Back when I joined here (eons ago!) I tried to make it UKCatFan, but the caps didn't take.

 

[Todd_H]

All this about little ole me?

Yeah, that was a pretty nice thing to hear, especially since the past week has been rough. My wife started the process of having two caps put on last Tues. On Thurs. one of the temporaries popped off. She has been in a little bit of pain. Well, last night she slipped on the kitchen floor and gave herself a mild concussion. To top it all off, her crown just came off again about twenty minutes ago!!!!!! She goes back tomorrow morning. Sooooo, anything positive is a real good thing for me It was already supposed to be the best class before this, so the expectations are high for about two seasons from now.

Wow. Sorry you guys are having a bad couple of weeks. I hope your wife gets better soon.

I think Calipari is going to be great for UK. It's the kind of job that his ego wants and I think he'll be there for a long time. He's already a dynamite recruiter and look what he was able to accomplish at Memphis. Even if NCSU would have landed Calipari 3 years ago (instead of our AD botching the deal completely) I am convinced he would still have taken the UK job this year.

 

[ukcatfan]

Wow. Sorry you guys are having a bad couple of weeks. I hope your wife gets better soon.

I think Calipari is going to be great for UK. It's the kind of job that his ego wants and I think he'll be there for a long time. He's already a dynamite recruiter and look what he was able to accomplish at Memphis. Even if NCSU would have landed Calipari 3 years ago (instead of our AD botching the deal completely) I am convinced he would still have taken the UK job this year.

Thank you!


It is hard for a coach wanting to get into that elite status to turn UK down. If you can win a championship there, you go down in the history books. Plus, the coffers are probably the biggest in the college world. (Which is why our football program always gets the shaft!) I am still scratching my head on why they picked up Billy Clyde a couple years ago. He never fit the mold. You have to want to be a statewide deity figure, and all that goes along with it. He didn't want that.

On a funny note, my friend was the news cameraman that chased Billy through the hallways of Memorial Coliseum right after they announced his firing.