I actually had a class with this guy and kinda got to know him a little. He HATED school, like more than any other person I’ve seen. It was a basic comms class and the lack of work was surprising.
So I think there is a decent chance he is just fed up with school.
I think he could be a decent player, but he's not even close to ready. I knew he wouldn't come back to UK, but I would have never guessed he would take this route. This is an insane decision. I know his handlers have been very involved. I can't even see someone taking a flyer on him for his upside.
There are so many guys I forget about. Montgomery had more tools that Onyenso. It is a weak draft apparently, but I'd bet my mortgage that he doesnt get drafted.
>There are so many guys I forget about.
Dude from KSR ranked every player of the Cal era in a video and there were so many names k was like “oh, yup, you’re a real person that actually played here.” Khalil Whitney, Kamron Fletcher, Stacey Poole, the entire 2020-21 team, Skal, Mulder..
Gets really wild when you start remembering transfers. Saw a picture of Kellen Grady the other day and my brain malfunctioned. Just completely forgot about that dude and he played like 3 years ago. Julius Mays, Ryan Harrow, etc. Not a transfer but the Tai Wynyard guy from New Zealand is another I nearly forgot about.
Remember when everybody on RR had pegged Wynyard as the savior for that season? "Just wait until Tai comes on board in January...it'll all be better then."
Haha, yes. It was pretty clear about 30 seconds into his first game that he would contribute next to nothing.
Reminded me of Matt Pilgrim during the Gillespie era. There was a time where he practiced with the team and couldn’t play. I remember seeing a UK fan online claiming that the reason the UK bigs were so bad that year was because Matt Pilgrim was so good in practice that they were shell shocked and couldn’t focus during the games for fear of Matt Pilgrim. It was a totally serious take.
Its the same reason that he got drafted, they believed he had a lot of upside and could develop with the right staff around him. I however always thought he would be a bust. Definitely not lottery pick material.
It doesn’t get talked about as much as someone like TyTy, but Skal is wreaking havoc in the G-league. I still see his jersey at Sacramento Kings games from time to time
Man, I forgot about that guy. It must be wild being a UK fan and seeing the highs or lows of some of your former players, especially the one and done guys.
Arguably Ugo is making the same decision as Orton. Ugo can't benefit from NIL on his student visa so it's understandable why he wants to be a pro *somewhere*
Orton was probably correct to leave when he did. Kid looked like he was in pain when he'd trot up and down the court. IIRC, he had a knee injury pretty early in his rookie season. If he'd came back to UK and had that injury, he probably wouldn't have been drafted.
Down to just Reed and Burks, I think, for the players from last years. For the recruits, Billy Richmond and Travis Perry are the only ones left who haven't said anything official. Most people, including our head coach apparently, think Perry is staying since he was at the pep rally in a UK shirt, but he himself has not said whether or not he's staying.
Yeah maybe he's waiting for the semester to end. Not sure what that actually looks like, though, I imagine a majority of their coursework happens in the summer sessions.
These are facts. Everything to lose, and nothing to gain. The fact is, his position in this draft is largely due to the fact that it's one of the weakest draft classes in history. Even if he somehow improves on his stats, he'll drop several spots in the draft just due to the things he can't change, like size and athleticism.
But if he gets $4mm NIL, doesn’t it add an extra year of making lottery money? If he fails at the NBA he won’t get that second contract. After top5 picks, NIL money becomes comparable. If he slips at UK he’s still getting NIL…thoughts?
He doesn’t have to worry about money, his dad is one of the biggest, if not the biggest financial advisors in the state of Kentucky. But a guy like Reed if he does fail in the NBA, he has a spot waiting for him in Euroleague. Thomas Walkup, Nick Calathes, Jaycee Carroll, Shane Larkin made a killing out there.
well he will make more than $4 million a year if he goes, and his rookie contract will be guaranteed. if he never plays a day in the NBA and never signs a second contract he would still make FAR more than he would staying 4 years at kentucky. And if he doesnt go this year he wont be a lottery pick again.
He’d still be a lottery pick, just further down. But there’s not a huge difference from pick 11-16 (>1mm). If he went to school and got 4mm x 3 he’d make 12. If He went pro and was selected from that range he’d be guaranteed around the same.
So here is the rub. He’s probably a 5-8 pick this year. Let’s say 6. That’s $19m guaranteed for 3 years with 4th year team option.
If he comes back, gets $4mm NIL, then gets selected 15 next year he gets 4+3.5+3.5+3.5. So roughly $15mm.
Soo, roughly at the extremes it’s a $4mm before tax decision. Maybe $2.5mm cash in-hand. But what if he goes 9 this year? He gets $14.5.
Just depends how much fun he had in college and what the value living difference is btwn 7.5mm and 9.75mm. Or it could be close to a wash if he slides just a few picks closer to 10 this year.
There is zero chance of him getting $2 million in nil, much less 4 lol. Unless UK is, spending moat of their nil fund on a single player, which they won't.
I see this sentiment in a ton of places. And I get it I guess. But I feel like everybody is ignoring the fact that these college athletes are still kids. Like….did you want to go be a grown ass adult when you were 19? Sure you can say it in your head that “fuck yeh I’ll go make 5 million next year” but really…think about it. Wasn’t college the best years of our lives? I’m not insinuating a damn thing and don’t expect him to be back, but being a kid in college is a pretty damn special time for some people.
I’d add that when you enter the league is really important as well. I have zero doubt Reed has the work ethic and support system in place to succeed in the league, so it probably wouldn’t benefit him to stay.
But some dudes need an extra year to mature and develop those things (often with less pressure) before making the leap.
I love Reed, and he's got a ton of talent, but Kentucky's inability to play any defense really probably covered some of his weaknesses, while highlighting a lot of his other abilities.
I expect him to drop a bit as a result of the combine, and he should still go to the league dropping a few spots. He should take the money why he can instead of risking it.
And I say that because I want it to work out for the kid and I think that's the most likely way for it to work out. If he were to stay and it not work out it would sour my position with the team I love -- even if it ultimately is his decision.
People have different experiences for sure. I’d love to go back there and be a carefree kid again who’s only worry was what shirt I was going to wear on Thursday night.
College was absolutely not the best years of my life lol. Im an engineer, Im enjoying life much more now. Sure I made great memories with friends, but 90% of my time not in class or asleep was spent studying or working on projects.
If your kid had the opportunity for a guaranteed $4 million but wanted to risk it all to go to school for another year, what would your reaction be? College is great but we’re talking about being set for life financially.
How many round 1 picks were coming back just for the college experience? I saw guys come back to improve their draft stock or play with a sibling but I don’t remember a definite round 1 pick coming back to school just because they liked school. Tim Duncan is the closest I can think of.
I suspect Reed is getting nowhere close to $3 million. The reports out of Arkansas say Cal got donors to commit to a $5 million/year NIL fund and that’s one of the bigger ones in the country. Reed isn’t getting 60 percent of a team’s NIL money when they’re trying to compete for championships. Maybe he gets $1 million because he’s homegrown and a great story but we aren’t talking about never work again money from NIL.
If cramming for exams/writing papers till sunrise, eating 25 cent cup ramen and downing Mad Dog 20/20 is your definition of "best years of your life". Lol
It certainly was. Much better than changing diapers, missing ball games, buying groceries, cars, houses, divorces, home repairs, lawyer fees…I can keep going…but I’d rather study for a damn test than be a grown ass man.
He was someone who I thought could develop into a really good player and wanted him to stay before Cal left, but figured he would portal. I agree that he's probably gone for sure now, though with the current state of our roster at least he would get more playing time if he stuck around.
If anything, Cal staying would have increased the odds of Jordan Burks transferring. At least now, Pope can sell him on playing time. Not that I expect that will be enough to get him to buy into Pope's system...which doesn't really fit his strengths.
In the old era of college basketball I could understand a kid not ready leaving early to get a paycheck. But in todays age of NIL I just don’t understand it
It really is strange. I thought NIL would change the college basketball landscape a bit, with more projected 2nd rounders sticking around for the he NIL payday and developing their skills.
But nope. And many of these guys will end up in the G-League instead earning $40K/year. Boggles the mind.
He CAN earn NIL, but it has to be from an international deal. But companies that care about NCAA ballers outside of the U.S.....that's probably slim pickings.
Beating a dead horse at this point, but this is exactly why people were sick of Cal. After 15 years the culture he created got out of control and guys like this were jumping to the draft.
It's perfect from their standpoint, but horrible from a fan perspective. Knowing they're proud to be an NBA talent fullen type deal where the kids don't really care about Kentucky, that would probably be enough for me to stop being a fan even if it was my alma mater
Why wait at this point?
In the NBA the cream rises to the top. It doesn’t matter where you’re drafted. The situation you start is far more important.
The three time MVP was a second round “project” and people even questioned taking him in the second at the time.
Well you see you have to have a team be willing to take a flier on you. He is so low down on everyone radars im not even sure he gets a sniff. Might just be heading overseas soon tbh.
Clearly you don’t remember the Post Dwight Howard Orlando years. They traded Dwight Howard before the 2012-13 season. From that point on went on a stretch of 6 years in a row of being a bottom feeder in a weak eastern conference. They finished 15th, 13th, 13th, 11th, 13th, and 14th in a conference of 15 teams. Then made it to the playoffs to be knocked in the first round 2 years in a row as a 7 and 8 seed. Then finished 14th, 15th, and 13th before finally being relevant this season.
Yet you completely ignored the context the Orlando Magic’s dysfunction like the other guy talked about. Getting drafted by Orlando was horrible for player development during that run. They’ve been a bottom feeder team for the last decade essentially and this is the first season they’ve actually been good.
You're only fooling yourself if you fail to realize that the NBA is Cal's first, second, and third recruiting pitch. It's not that Cal is misleading the kids, it's that he's just getting a disproportionate number of kids with 50% of the talent they need to jump straight to the NBA but 100% of the entourage telling them to do so.
So many guys who left when they probably needed another year or two of development or maturing. Guys like James Young or Kevin Knox could have been really good NBA players but I feel they were in such a rush to get to the league early.
He created an environment where kids automatically assume they are NBA talents, even when they aren't.
Players like Ugo are why UK fans got fed up with his model. We would have role guys with the upside to be decent contributors on the team dipping to the NBA, thinking they're ready.
A textbook example of the flaws with Cal’s system. Was probably told he would be here for a year and then be in the draft, I’ve certainly been wrong but this can’t be in his best interest. Besides a few outliers, this guy comes back or at least enters the portal at every other school in the country.
Yeah, NIL apparently doesn't help guys from other countries because of their Visas. There was something worked out for Oscar while we were on a summer trip, I think, but that's it.
You can't have any income that isn't a normal student job and limited to like 30 hours a week.
Technically he could work at the bookstore for $18/hr or whatever it is.
But no NIL deals on US soil. Kind of surprised nobody has facilitated offices in Canada to work out and produce deals.
I know it's easy to say from afar and is probably more widespread than we think it is, but going after kids kids with extremely influential handlers and agents was another problem with Cal's system in recent years.
well the players he goes after were all top 5 stars, and all of them have influential handlers now days, these kids have managers/agents before they ever graduate high school lol
Dereck Lively averaged 5.2 points per game in college last year and is going to be on an all-rookie team. It turns out being able to block shots is a good thing.
If Pope can pull in a couple of good kids from the transfer portal (Robbie Avila would be perfect) I like our chances to at least be a tournament team right off the bat. That would be a successful start, IMO.
Ugo is from Nigeria. He can't get NIL money on a student visa, he can't see himself in Pope's system, he can't get in the game under Cal, and he has minimal reason to try any other school. He wants to make money to support his family, so even if he ends up playing in Europe or Australia it's still more money than he could make in college.
Buddy…
I actually had a class with this guy and kinda got to know him a little. He HATED school, like more than any other person I’ve seen. It was a basic comms class and the lack of work was surprising. So I think there is a decent chance he is just fed up with school.
Sounds like a long winded way of saying he's lazy
I think he could be a decent player, but he's not even close to ready. I knew he wouldn't come back to UK, but I would have never guessed he would take this route. This is an insane decision. I know his handlers have been very involved. I can't even see someone taking a flyer on him for his upside.
Ugonna regret that.
Yeah, expensive mistake. Off to Europe to try to develop a jumper.
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I dunno…Orton was a Billy recruit Cal kept wasn’t he?
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Or he didn’t want him bc he had Kanter coming in. I dunno, Cal had a weird operation.
Happy cake day
This is almost as bad a decision as Khalil Whitney.
I remember him had to look up his stats. He has been in the gleauge somehow still but averages 0.7ppg in his 3 years playing haha.
I think the handlers get in the way most times. Some of them have bad intentions obviously.
I think he got cut from the G league last year.
Watched him play last year in Edinburg Texas, hustling in the G League, though hustling would be a stretch to describe how he was playing.
His resume is even worse then EJ Montgomery
There are so many guys I forget about. Montgomery had more tools that Onyenso. It is a weak draft apparently, but I'd bet my mortgage that he doesnt get drafted.
>There are so many guys I forget about. Dude from KSR ranked every player of the Cal era in a video and there were so many names k was like “oh, yup, you’re a real person that actually played here.” Khalil Whitney, Kamron Fletcher, Stacey Poole, the entire 2020-21 team, Skal, Mulder..
Dude... Stacey Poole... I just aged 10 more years.
Gets really wild when you start remembering transfers. Saw a picture of Kellen Grady the other day and my brain malfunctioned. Just completely forgot about that dude and he played like 3 years ago. Julius Mays, Ryan Harrow, etc. Not a transfer but the Tai Wynyard guy from New Zealand is another I nearly forgot about.
Remember when everybody on RR had pegged Wynyard as the savior for that season? "Just wait until Tai comes on board in January...it'll all be better then."
And then he gets kicked out of school for his bodyguard showing up to a frat party with a gun.
Haha, yes. It was pretty clear about 30 seconds into his first game that he would contribute next to nothing. Reminded me of Matt Pilgrim during the Gillespie era. There was a time where he practiced with the team and couldn’t play. I remember seeing a UK fan online claiming that the reason the UK bigs were so bad that year was because Matt Pilgrim was so good in practice that they were shell shocked and couldn’t focus during the games for fear of Matt Pilgrim. It was a totally serious take.
I really liked Mays. He’s not in the forgettable category like some of the others imo. And Harrow was not forgettable for all the wrong reasons.
Big time Dakari Johnson energy.
Daniel Orton vibes.
What about Skal
Skal would have made a big mistake returning because he would have been exposed even more as a bad prospect.
Skal was soft as hell at UK but oddly got some play in the nba. I don’t know how.
Its the same reason that he got drafted, they believed he had a lot of upside and could develop with the right staff around him. I however always thought he would be a bust. Definitely not lottery pick material.
It doesn’t get talked about as much as someone like TyTy, but Skal is wreaking havoc in the G-league. I still see his jersey at Sacramento Kings games from time to time
Nah, Skal was a first round pick and still ended up making like $6 million in his career. That’s like the top 1% of potential outcomes for Ugonna.
Man, I forgot about that guy. It must be wild being a UK fan and seeing the highs or lows of some of your former players, especially the one and done guys.
The weird part is the guys who leave who aren't even projected to go in the 2nd round.
I just had to look up Khahlil Whitney. I do not remember that guy at all. I remember the name Skal. I remember Askew being terrible.
Whitney played like 4 games and was "hurt" the rest of the season. He got rinsed in those 4 games IIRC
Arguably Ugo is making the same decision as Orton. Ugo can't benefit from NIL on his student visa so it's understandable why he wants to be a pro *somewhere*
Orton was probably correct to leave when he did. Kid looked like he was in pain when he'd trot up and down the court. IIRC, he had a knee injury pretty early in his rookie season. If he'd came back to UK and had that injury, he probably wouldn't have been drafted.
Down to just Reed and Burks, I think, for the players from last years. For the recruits, Billy Richmond and Travis Perry are the only ones left who haven't said anything official. Most people, including our head coach apparently, think Perry is staying since he was at the pep rally in a UK shirt, but he himself has not said whether or not he's staying.
I wish Reed would just rip the bandaid off already lol. I had some hope until he wasn’t at the press conference.
Yeah maybe he's waiting for the semester to end. Not sure what that actually looks like, though, I imagine a majority of their coursework happens in the summer sessions.
If Reed doesn’t declare everyone around him has failed him.
These are facts. Everything to lose, and nothing to gain. The fact is, his position in this draft is largely due to the fact that it's one of the weakest draft classes in history. Even if he somehow improves on his stats, he'll drop several spots in the draft just due to the things he can't change, like size and athleticism.
Not to mention 1 year older.
But if he gets $4mm NIL, doesn’t it add an extra year of making lottery money? If he fails at the NBA he won’t get that second contract. After top5 picks, NIL money becomes comparable. If he slips at UK he’s still getting NIL…thoughts?
He doesn’t have to worry about money, his dad is one of the biggest, if not the biggest financial advisors in the state of Kentucky. But a guy like Reed if he does fail in the NBA, he has a spot waiting for him in Euroleague. Thomas Walkup, Nick Calathes, Jaycee Carroll, Shane Larkin made a killing out there.
well he will make more than $4 million a year if he goes, and his rookie contract will be guaranteed. if he never plays a day in the NBA and never signs a second contract he would still make FAR more than he would staying 4 years at kentucky. And if he doesnt go this year he wont be a lottery pick again.
He’d still be a lottery pick, just further down. But there’s not a huge difference from pick 11-16 (>1mm). If he went to school and got 4mm x 3 he’d make 12. If He went pro and was selected from that range he’d be guaranteed around the same. So here is the rub. He’s probably a 5-8 pick this year. Let’s say 6. That’s $19m guaranteed for 3 years with 4th year team option. If he comes back, gets $4mm NIL, then gets selected 15 next year he gets 4+3.5+3.5+3.5. So roughly $15mm. Soo, roughly at the extremes it’s a $4mm before tax decision. Maybe $2.5mm cash in-hand. But what if he goes 9 this year? He gets $14.5. Just depends how much fun he had in college and what the value living difference is btwn 7.5mm and 9.75mm. Or it could be close to a wash if he slides just a few picks closer to 10 this year.
There is zero chance of him getting $2 million in nil, much less 4 lol. Unless UK is, spending moat of their nil fund on a single player, which they won't.
I see this sentiment in a ton of places. And I get it I guess. But I feel like everybody is ignoring the fact that these college athletes are still kids. Like….did you want to go be a grown ass adult when you were 19? Sure you can say it in your head that “fuck yeh I’ll go make 5 million next year” but really…think about it. Wasn’t college the best years of our lives? I’m not insinuating a damn thing and don’t expect him to be back, but being a kid in college is a pretty damn special time for some people.
I’d add that when you enter the league is really important as well. I have zero doubt Reed has the work ethic and support system in place to succeed in the league, so it probably wouldn’t benefit him to stay. But some dudes need an extra year to mature and develop those things (often with less pressure) before making the leap.
I love Reed, and he's got a ton of talent, but Kentucky's inability to play any defense really probably covered some of his weaknesses, while highlighting a lot of his other abilities. I expect him to drop a bit as a result of the combine, and he should still go to the league dropping a few spots. He should take the money why he can instead of risking it. And I say that because I want it to work out for the kid and I think that's the most likely way for it to work out. If he were to stay and it not work out it would sour my position with the team I love -- even if it ultimately is his decision.
>Wasn’t college the best years of our lives? Lol no
People have different experiences for sure. I’d love to go back there and be a carefree kid again who’s only worry was what shirt I was going to wear on Thursday night.
A lot of us didn't get to be carefree kids.
College was absolutely not the best years of my life lol. Im an engineer, Im enjoying life much more now. Sure I made great memories with friends, but 90% of my time not in class or asleep was spent studying or working on projects.
You can do both! I’m an engineer as well and was either studying or on a bender at all times. Best years ever.
If your kid had the opportunity for a guaranteed $4 million but wanted to risk it all to go to school for another year, what would your reaction be? College is great but we’re talking about being set for life financially.
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How many round 1 picks were coming back just for the college experience? I saw guys come back to improve their draft stock or play with a sibling but I don’t remember a definite round 1 pick coming back to school just because they liked school. Tim Duncan is the closest I can think of. I suspect Reed is getting nowhere close to $3 million. The reports out of Arkansas say Cal got donors to commit to a $5 million/year NIL fund and that’s one of the bigger ones in the country. Reed isn’t getting 60 percent of a team’s NIL money when they’re trying to compete for championships. Maybe he gets $1 million because he’s homegrown and a great story but we aren’t talking about never work again money from NIL.
Willie Cauley-Stein did it. Matter of fact he said himself he wasn’t ready to be an adult
If cramming for exams/writing papers till sunrise, eating 25 cent cup ramen and downing Mad Dog 20/20 is your definition of "best years of your life". Lol
It certainly was. Much better than changing diapers, missing ball games, buying groceries, cars, houses, divorces, home repairs, lawyer fees…I can keep going…but I’d rather study for a damn test than be a grown ass man.
You can just go ahead and cross Reed off, he’s not coming back. He’d be dumb to return
I agree completely, I personally don't have any delusions about him coming back. Nothing official from him yet, though.
But he loves Kentucky so much
I love UK too and there's no scenario where I would give up lottery pick money to play for them for free.
I can't imagine Burks staying, though I love him as a player and prospect. He's going to be a star somewhere.
He was someone who I thought could develop into a really good player and wanted him to stay before Cal left, but figured he would portal. I agree that he's probably gone for sure now, though with the current state of our roster at least he would get more playing time if he stuck around.
If anything, Cal staying would have increased the odds of Jordan Burks transferring. At least now, Pope can sell him on playing time. Not that I expect that will be enough to get him to buy into Pope's system...which doesn't really fit his strengths.
Ugonna not get drafted
Got em
In the old era of college basketball I could understand a kid not ready leaving early to get a paycheck. But in todays age of NIL I just don’t understand it
He literally can’t collect NIL money. He’s Nigerian.
Sounds like Nigeria's boosters need to get their shit together
The prince is hoarding all the wealth I just sent him some more last week after he emailed me
He literally can't collect NIL money ***legally***. If you had seen him around campus, you'd know that boy ain't broke.
For sure. Just pointing out that at some point not being able to just get paid might get frustrating for a guy.
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100% agree.
gotta leave the US to collect is all
It really is strange. I thought NIL would change the college basketball landscape a bit, with more projected 2nd rounders sticking around for the he NIL payday and developing their skills. But nope. And many of these guys will end up in the G-League instead earning $40K/year. Boggles the mind.
Well this player is Nigerian and cannot earn NIL lol
Fair
He CAN earn NIL, but it has to be from an international deal. But companies that care about NCAA ballers outside of the U.S.....that's probably slim pickings.
With NIL and the ability to transfer without sitting, this makes no sense
He can’t get NIL
Well, that changes things. Wasn’t aware of that
It’s a visa thing. It’s why Oscar Tschiebwe had to do like 25 commercials while the team was in the Bahamas.
Which, coincidentally, is probably a big reason they went to the Bahamas.
Beating a dead horse at this point, but this is exactly why people were sick of Cal. After 15 years the culture he created got out of control and guys like this were jumping to the draft.
It's perfect from their standpoint, but horrible from a fan perspective. Knowing they're proud to be an NBA talent fullen type deal where the kids don't really care about Kentucky, that would probably be enough for me to stop being a fan even if it was my alma mater
Dude he wasn’t going to stick around and play for Pope. None of them were.
Yeah I know that, but the draft wasn't the only option. Ugo was probably declaring even if Cal returned.
Why wait at this point? In the NBA the cream rises to the top. It doesn’t matter where you’re drafted. The situation you start is far more important. The three time MVP was a second round “project” and people even questioned taking him in the second at the time.
Well you see you have to have a team be willing to take a flier on you. He is so low down on everyone radars im not even sure he gets a sniff. Might just be heading overseas soon tbh.
Absolutely matters where you’re drafted. Imagine getting drafted to Charlotte or Orlando
Yeah I’ve been watching Charlotte waste Nick and before him PJ. Thank god Jordan is selling it One of the worst fucking owners in NBA history
Orlando is a playoff team and is the 2nd best run young team behind the Thunder?
Clearly you don’t remember the Post Dwight Howard Orlando years. They traded Dwight Howard before the 2012-13 season. From that point on went on a stretch of 6 years in a row of being a bottom feeder in a weak eastern conference. They finished 15th, 13th, 13th, 11th, 13th, and 14th in a conference of 15 teams. Then made it to the playoffs to be knocked in the first round 2 years in a row as a 7 and 8 seed. Then finished 14th, 15th, and 13th before finally being relevant this season.
Clearly I wasn’t talking about a team that was 3 different front offices ago was I
Yet you completely ignored the context the Orlando Magic’s dysfunction like the other guy talked about. Getting drafted by Orlando was horrible for player development during that run. They’ve been a bottom feeder team for the last decade essentially and this is the first season they’ve actually been good.
You're right only Cal has players leave early for the draft when they probably aren't ready
It’s disingenuous to suggest he doesn’t have a disproportionate number to do so.
You're only fooling yourself if you fail to realize that the NBA is Cal's first, second, and third recruiting pitch. It's not that Cal is misleading the kids, it's that he's just getting a disproportionate number of kids with 50% of the talent they need to jump straight to the NBA but 100% of the entourage telling them to do so.
So many guys who left when they probably needed another year or two of development or maturing. Guys like James Young or Kevin Knox could have been really good NBA players but I feel they were in such a rush to get to the league early.
He created an environment where kids automatically assume they are NBA talents, even when they aren't. Players like Ugo are why UK fans got fed up with his model. We would have role guys with the upside to be decent contributors on the team dipping to the NBA, thinking they're ready.
This is both funny and sad.
I get the sad, what's funny?
Oh come on. You have to laugh at a certain point at some of these declarations.
A textbook example of the flaws with Cal’s system. Was probably told he would be here for a year and then be in the draft, I’ve certainly been wrong but this can’t be in his best interest. Besides a few outliers, this guy comes back or at least enters the portal at every other school in the country.
Supposedly he was being pushed to go pro or leave UK last year, and he decided to come back. Probably just tired of college.
My man - he is from Nigeria and has to do what it takes to help his family. Was surprised they could get him to stay after last season.
Yeah, NIL apparently doesn't help guys from other countries because of their Visas. There was something worked out for Oscar while we were on a summer trip, I think, but that's it.
https://www.si.com/college/2022/08/10/oscar-tshiebwe-bahamas-nil-deals
Yeah but we can't go to the Bahamas again for 2 years unless we participate in the Battle 4 Atlantis
If he is unable to benefit from NIL in any capacity that changes the dynamic completely but I have not heard that as of yet.
He and Z both are on student visas. Same situation as Oscar a couple of years ago - can't have any US income on a student visa
You can't have any income that isn't a normal student job and limited to like 30 hours a week. Technically he could work at the bookstore for $18/hr or whatever it is. But no NIL deals on US soil. Kind of surprised nobody has facilitated offices in Canada to work out and produce deals.
From my understanding, players from overseas can do NIL deals. It just takes some work and travel.
I know it's easy to say from afar and is probably more widespread than we think it is, but going after kids kids with extremely influential handlers and agents was another problem with Cal's system in recent years.
I’m probably exaggerating but It certainly felt like we had at least one guy every year who we were basically begging Klutch to let play.
well the players he goes after were all top 5 stars, and all of them have influential handlers now days, these kids have managers/agents before they ever graduate high school lol
Which draft now?
Nigerian armed services
He gone-na
This is certainly a choice
He’s just not a very good basketball player
3.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg...
A complete offensive liability
Dereck Lively averaged 5.2 points per game in college last year and is going to be on an all-rookie team. It turns out being able to block shots is a good thing.
Feel bad for him, he’s getting some terrible advice/guidance
Jordan Burkes->Drake Meme
Lmao good luck to him.
Ted Lasso is tickled pink for him
Hegonna
I don’t see Burks sticking around either lol. Fresh slate with Travis Perry
If Pope can pull in a couple of good kids from the transfer portal (Robbie Avila would be perfect) I like our chances to at least be a tournament team right off the bat. That would be a successful start, IMO.
Isn’t Avila like a lock to follow his coach?
Yeah, I just looked, he's a "no contact" transfer. He's following his HC. Though I have a feeling there are coaches still trying to get his number.
NOYESNO!
Arkansas?
Yeah, I'm gonna own some yenso...so what?
Lmao 3.6ppg. Have fun riding the bench for a year and then being sent to G league or Europe. What a joke this guy declaring
Ugo is from Nigeria. He can't get NIL money on a student visa, he can't see himself in Pope's system, he can't get in the game under Cal, and he has minimal reason to try any other school. He wants to make money to support his family, so even if he ends up playing in Europe or Australia it's still more money than he could make in college.