Today only proves that we were originally right...

[FCFS82]

Billy Clyde (I think I have settled on that moniker) is going to focus on 2008 and originally upon his hire the feeling of the crowd was that we're going to have to weather the 2007 recruiting class because he arrived in April.

Sure as heck it was exciting that he got us to hang around with the Lucas lottery and got some interest going in Hamga and Sanchez. Heck, if Arkansas didn't feel threatened then Sanchez would have announced that he was going the prep route. BCG got involved and suddenly Arkansas had to change their plans to land their guy.

Patterson to me is still wide open. Call it reading tea leaves but I think Lucas would have joined him on the same day in announcing had they been a pair. It will be my thought until he (Patterson) announces.

Either way, we all knew down deep that this recruiting class was out of his hands, and we still got Alex Legion out of it to a program "loaded" with guards.

Let's all calm down and realize that Gillispie doesnt walk on water. He's human and in the coming months I expect we'll have some signings that will put this all behind us.

I still hold that the 2007-08 season should be about fun, period. These guys have had to walk around with furrowed brows playing a game they enjoy. Let's hope BCG puts the pedal to the metal and the boys spill it all out on the court.

Most importantly, I want this team to HAVE FUN and win to an expected amount with the team we have on the floor.

As said in Hoosiers, I would rather talk about who we are than who we aren't.

Lets. Move. On. (Hopefully with Patterson! :icon_biggrin:)

[BigBlue75]

If such an award existed, I would nominate this one for "Post of the Month".

Excellent job, FCFS82 :thumbup:

[Littlemeyer]

That was a good post, FCFS82. (Why do you only have 20 or so posts? You've been around longer than that...)

I'm not worried. Really, when Gillispie was hired I didn't expect much of anything for '07. Just being in it for as long as we were with Lucas and Patterson has been a treat. Not to mention landing Legion...that came out of nowhere and is a real bonus.

Sanchez....eh, it'd been pretty tough to steal him away from Arkansas. I'll admit that this one hurts a tad more than Lucas, but still. We'll be ok.

The Hamga situation is intriguing. Were we misled by a few internet recruiting gurus? (Actually, in hindsight, it seems like it was one person that really got the Hamga train going.) Or, did the visit go horribly? Or, is UNLV up to no good? (I doubt that, seriously....of course, I am naive.) Or, did Gillispie watch tape and talk to some people and realize that Hamga will not help us next year, and decide that there are better options in '08?

But again. A guy whose first name is like Diaz in Cameron Diaz is not going to make or break our program. Gillispie's had a month-point-five to get a recruiting class together. He got a top-fifty player in Legion. Not too shabby.

Sure would be nice to get Patterson, though. He'd fill a need in more ways than one. :thumbup:

[Craig the Blueheart]

The miss on Lucas, Hamga and Sanchez do not vitiate my view for the job BG has done yet. I am a firm believer that you should look at trends over a long period of time (3-4 years) before rendering any final verdicts. This thing is in its infancy stage still. BG just arrived, and I think 99% of the fanbase is smart enough to realize that it was amazing that we were still being metioned at the end with Lucas.

[wildcat74]

Good post, I agree.

[Caveman Catfan]

Billy Clyde (I think I have settled on that moniker) is going to focus on 2008 and originally upon his hire the feeling of the crowd was that we're going to have to weather the 2007 recruiting class because he arrived in April.


I think Gillispie was working his butt of for this class. He and Cyp were all over the place recruiting hard for next year.

Also, I have heard others say that Donovan has been in with Lucas while Gill has not. That is not really true. Lucas took Florida off his top tier list a while back. He also took A&M off his list, but after Gillispie recruited him to A&M. Both Donovan and Gill got back involved at a similar moment.

Donovan beat Gillispie for Lucas. That is a fact. And, it's an understandable fact, as playing time has always been a key whenever Lucas has spoken about the school he will choose. UK is guard heavy. I suspect that he saw a better opportunity to run a team in his frosh year at UF.

Heck, if Arkansas didn't feel threatened then Sanchez would have announced that he was going the prep route. BCG got involved and suddenly Arkansas had to change their plans to land their guy.


This is nothing but speculation, IMO. Sanchez certainly let recruiters know that he was considering next season as his frosh year, rather than prep. Gillispie might have played a role in that decision, or he might have just responded to Sanchez's intentions. But, Ark got a new coach and Pelphrey probably wanted Sanchez for next year as much as anybody.

Let's all calm down and realize that Gillispie doesnt walk on water. He's human and in the coming months I expect we'll have some signings that will put this all behind us.


I agree, but will say that not getting Patterson is going to put a lot more pressure on Gillispie to get it done as a coach next year. Patterson would make things a lot easier. Starting out with him greatly improves the chances of that fun season and a surprising record. Without him, it should still be a good team, but Gill will have to prove his court skills, of which he reportedly is gifted.

[RaleighCat]

My first thought on Jai Lucas is that his alleged connection to Tubby Smith might not have been that deep considering who he signed with: Billy Donovon. Is there a more different tactical recruiter from Tubby than Donovon? Billy D is the guy who flew to Raleigh one time to sit in a school parking lot and wave to Shavlik Randolph when he walked into class.

Anyway, seems to me that basketball- more than anything else- affects basketball recruiting. And who is more on top of the basketball world right now than Billy Donovon? Hard to ignore those back-to-back titles. Good luck, Jai Lucas. I'll enjoy beating you twice a year (or more) in the near future.

Sanchez and Hagma were mysteries compared to Patterson. Both jumped on the scene late: Sanchez was possibly better than PP but then got injured, thus affecting his ranking/recruiting/class year????? Hamga is a Cameroon-born late-bloomer who's following a former Cameroon-born late-bloomer to UNLV. Connections are everything, I guess. Hagma will either be the next Hakeem or the next Alleyne.

Before anyone takes a generous swipe at BCG on yesterday's Golden Sombrerro, hold your horses. I'm saving my hand-wringing until we know the Patterson news. Even then, if PP goes elsewhere, I'm not jumping off any ledges. Gillispie is my coach and has shown more recruiting energy in one month than the previous staff showed in a year. UK will be stocked in 2008, no matter what happens this week.

[Clam]

No amount of spin can hide the fact that yesterday was an embarrassment. Imagine how estatic we would all be if we got Lucas, et al. yesterday: whiffing on all three of them equally hurts.

That being said, none of this hurts my opinion of BCG. Legion was a "steal" considering the situation, and anybody else we get this recruiting cycle will be gravy. I fully expect to have a Kentucky-level recruiting class lined up for next year, and I can't wait to see how the current team plays this upcoming year. We almost assuredly would not have gotten any of these recruits if Tubby had stayed (notice Jai didn't look too closely at Minnesota), but BCG almost pulled off a tremendous class with very limited time, and he has one great addition, and of course all this could radically change for the better if Patterson picks UK.

UK fans need to realize that the important thing is that the tone of the program has dramatically changed for the better. We are recruiting better, and we will be playing better. Our fight back to national prominence will be a long one, and fans shouldn't be sidetracked by small loses when the overall momentum of the venture is going in the right direction. Personally, I look forward to tallying our victories over Sanchez, Lucas, etc. over the next few years.

While I'm in a defiant mood, I'll quote Churchill, which always gets my blood flowing: "We have not journeyed across the centuries, across the oceans, across the mountains, across the prairies, because we are made of sugar candy." The same goes for UK.

[Wildcat Larry]

I could list words that describe yesterday and the unfortunate outcome of some 18 year olds decisions yesterday, but I would come up with thousands of words before I would use the word embarassment.

How in the world could ANYBODY be embarrassed about what happened yesterday? Just doesn't compute with me. :icon_rolleyes:

[Josh]

UK fans need to realize that the important thing is that the tone of the program has dramatically changed for the better.

I think that the majority of Kentucky fans understand this, and that's probably why there isn't more of a backlash (at least, not from what I have seen). It's clear that we are heading in the right direction.

[wildcat74]

I could list words that describe yesterday and the unfortunate outcome of some 18 year olds decisions yesterday, but I would come up with thousands of words before I would use the word embarassment.

How in the world could ANYBODY be embarrassed about what happened yesterday? Just doesn't compute with me. :icon_rolleyes:


I agree with this. What is embarassing, IMO, is that we are put in this situation- having to wait for these guys to decide this late- to begin with. I don't beleive that we will have to resort to waiting on recruits to decide during the last week of the spring signing period if they want to come to UK from this point on.

[Terry L. Wildcat]

Gillispie is my coach and has shown more recruiting energy in one month than the previous staff showed in a year. UK will be stocked in 2008, no matter what happens this week.

Two Thumbs Up...GO BIG BLUE!!!

[Mark Blueblood]

I could list words that describe yesterday and the unfortunate outcome of some 18 year olds decisions yesterday, but I would come up with thousands of words before I would use the word embarassment.

How in the world could ANYBODY be embarrassed about what happened yesterday? Just doesn't compute with me. :icon_rolleyes:

Agreed!

[lighthouse]

I could list words that describe yesterday and the unfortunate outcome of some 18 year olds decisions yesterday, but I would come up with thousands of words before I would use the word embarassment.

How in the world could ANYBODY be embarrassed about what happened yesterday? Just doesn't compute with me. :icon_rolleyes:

RIGHT ON, LARRY!

[BigBlue75]

I could list words that describe yesterday and the unfortunate outcome of some 18 year olds decisions yesterday, but I would come up with thousands of words before I would use the word embarassment.

How in the world could ANYBODY be embarrassed about what happened yesterday? Just doesn't compute with me. :icon_rolleyes:

Amen! :thumbup:

[lribookend]

I think Gillispie was working his butt of for this class. He and Cyp were all over the place recruiting hard for next year.

I agree, but will say that not getting Patterson is going to put a lot more pressure on Gillispie to get it done as a coach next year. Patterson would make things a lot easier. Starting out with him greatly improves the chances of that fun season and a surprising record. Without him, it should still be a good team, but Gill will have to prove his court skills, of which he reportedly is gifted.

What?????

"Not getting Patterson.....aren't you a little quick on the draw here? I thought he was going to announce his intentions tomorrow.
And, I think signing Lucas and Patterson would have raised expectations quite a bit for next year for our coach. Rick Pitino lost 50% of his games his first year at UK, and many of us were ecstatic. Why? Because the expectations were so low. Many fans would have expected miracles from BCG his first year had he signed both Lucas and Patterson. (I have seen some people talk about a Final Four next year.....just goes to show how far out in left field some fans can be). Personally, I would rather see UK picked to be in 4th place in the SEC EAST next year, and end up 2nd, than to be picked 1st and then end up third.
Final Fours will come.....in 2 or 3 years. Until then, give the man time to succeed!

[Clam]

I could list words that describe yesterday and the unfortunate outcome of some 18 year olds decisions yesterday, but I would come up with thousands of words before I would use the word embarassment.

How in the world could ANYBODY be embarrassed about what happened yesterday? Just doesn't compute with me. :icon_rolleyes:


First, please note that I wasn't trying to be negative with my post (quite the opposite); however, I stand by my statement that yesterday was embarrassing. It wasn't "Kentucky's Shame" on the cover of Sports Illustrated embarrassing, but it was embarrassing to a degree. How? When three recruits, that your program has spent a lot of time and effort on, each decide, on the same day, that they would rather play at different schools; when Billy Donovan and Florida once again get something we wanted very badly; when you can almost hear the hooting and laughing of UofL fans at our misfortune. I call that embarrassing. It's not devastating; nor is it horrible (see the remainder of my original post), but zero-for-three in one day on recruits most fans assumed would sign with UK does not look good in the general perception of things (for example, I would laugh if this happened to Duke or UofL), and thus I feel somewhat embarrassed by it. I probably won't worry about it after today, but that was my initial reaction once the day was done.

[lribookend]

It takes a lot to embarrass me. The whims of 18 year olds certainly do not. I am a little surprised, but not much. The "ME" generation of 18 year olds (by and large, don't be insulted if you are in that category), want what is best for them, and that is how it should be. UK got in late with many players this year. I didn't expect to get very many, if any. In coming years, it may be a different story. But I expect the results may be different in coming years.....

[Clam]

It takes a lot to embarrass me. The whims of 18 year olds certainly do not.

Although I agree with the content of your post, please note that I never suggested I was personally embarrassed in the sense your comments suggest. I didn't personally blush, feel awkward, or refuse to go outside on Monday. I said that the events of Monday were "an embarrassment" for UK's program generally. I have no doubt that Lucas, Sanchas, and Hamga didn't embarrass you personally by turning down UK on the same day.

[WildFan]

Although I agree with the content of your post, please note that I never suggested I was personally embarrassed in the sense your comments suggest. I didn't personally blush, feel awkward, or refuse to go outside on Monday. I said that the events of Monday were "an embarrassment" for UK's program generally. I have no doubt that Lucas, Sanchas, and Hamga didn't embarrass you personally by turning down UK on the same day.

I get what you are saying. Living in Indiana, I hear a lot of Hoosiers wanting Billy G to fail. I think most UK fans would not call Mondays event a failure, but the Hoosiers certainly want to look at it that way. I never let these Hoosiers get under my skin, because of the fact that I know better, and I can see the momentum. This allows me to shrug Monday off. From an outsiders view, they would think we should be embarrassed, but that is their mistake and they will have to learn from it.

[Chaz]

Although I agree with the content of your post, please note that I never suggested I was personally embarrassed in the sense your comments suggest. I didn't personally blush, feel awkward, or refuse to go outside on Monday. I said that the events of Monday were "an embarrassment" for UK's program generally. I have no doubt that Lucas, Sanchas, and Hamga didn't embarrass you personally by turning down UK on the same day.
No matter how you try to spin it, Embarrass should not be a part of this discussion. How should UK be embarrassed because two recruits that we have just recruited for a very short time chose programs that they have been involved in for a long time? Why should we be embarrassed because Lucus chose UF?

These three recruits chose the programs that they felt more comfortable with, nothing more. They did not choose UK. UK has done nothing to be embarrassed about. We can feel down because we didn't sign them, but never embarrassed in this situiation.

[lribookend]

No matter how you try to spin it, Embarrass should not be a part of this discussion. How should UK be embarrassed because two recruits that we have just recruited for a very short time chose programs that they have been involved in for a long time? Why should we be embarrassed because Lucus chose UF?

These three recruits chose the programs that they felt more comfortable with, nothing more. They did not choose UK. UK has done nothing to be embarrassed about. We can feel down because we didn't sign them, but never embarrassed in this situiation.

I agree, Chaz......no one, OR the "UK PROGRAM" had any reason to be embarrassed about anything. I just don't follow the logic.

[poodoo]

I know that this is an old thread. Forgive me, as I am just catching up on some reading here.

I must respond, though. I certainly did not feel at all "embarrassed" about Black Monday. I thought just as highly of Gillispie as a potential GREAT recruiter that day as I do today. Naturally, the signing of Patterson MADE MY DAY. :) In all honesty, though, I would not have worried at all about Gillispie's ability to recruit, even if we had not signed Patterson.

Reading about his work ethic and organizational skills in the area of recruiting (and seeing him at the press conference and hearing many quotes since that time) is enough for me. We have a WINNER, folks, regardless of Black Monday. Again, I honestly felt that way BEFORE the Patterson signing. I felt no doubts about Gillispie's in the long run, FWIW. GO CATS! GO BILLY G!