Thank you coach Cal.

[nasdadjr]

Not a Calipari fan at all but on mike and mike he made a great statement and might have won me over. On kids leaving early he said...
1. Your good enough why would you come back? What else can I give you?
2. What if you don't get drafted? If they still decide to go it is my job to make sure they get drafted.

What also got me is that he said no matter what your choice is it isn't going to affect this program. 50 years from now this school will still be here and our program will still be strong.

Thought I would mention this cause people want to blast kids for making their life decisions. I have not liked Calipari before but at least he gets it. He wants his kids to get their piece of the monetary pie ASAP and doesn't hold it against them and will do whatever he can to help them.

I bring it up cause people still rip semaj for leaving. Like I said before semaj owes you people nothing. In ten years time you won't give two flips about him if he got hurt and is hocking insurance for a living. Xavier will still be there and be strong for years to come whether he stayed or not. Thank you coach Cal for nationally putting people's warped perspectives on these kids in check

[xubrew]

Cal knows how to sound good.

There were years that he also forced players out of the program who wanted to stay to make room for guys who only wanted to be there for one season. I believe one year he had seventeen players on scholarship. The four that weren't renewed were not guys who left for the NBA.

I get what you're saying about fans blasting kids who want to leave, but at the same time Cal seems to care more about the guys who leave than the guys who aren't good enough to leave and want to stay.

[Muskie]

Cal's only as faithful as his options. He'd push a three year starter out for a one and done.

[nasdadjr]

Not disagreeing with you but I just like how he is doing what he can to help these kids. Let's face it 18-19-20 year old kids don't know how to protect themselves from adults who would exploit them for every penny they can and someone like calipari who has seen it all is more than willing to help these kids navigate their way through the early professional part of their lives.

Also I really wanted to make the point xavier will be fine with or without any kid who leaves early and hope people stop blasting kids for making a professional decision.

[nasdadjr]

And I can say a lot of fans are only as faithful as long as a guy is in their teams uniform so what is your point?

[MHettel]

In ten years time you won't give two flips about him if he got hurt and is hocking insurance for a living.

That would be ironic

[More Cowbell]

Cal's only as faithful as his options. He'd push a three year starter out for a one and done.

Chris Mack would never do that. Andrew Taylor "voluntarily" gave up his scholarship for Jordan Crawford.

[Muskie]

Chris Mack would never do that. Andrew Taylor "voluntarily" gave up his scholarship for Jordan Crawford.

I never said he didn't. But Chris also didn't just come out in an article trying to sound like he's doing these kids a favor out of the kindness of his heart and he just wants to help them.

[XU-XHI]

Chris Mack would never do that. Andrew Taylor "voluntarily" gave up his scholarship for Jordan Crawford. Scholarships are not given up. Scholarships are renewed year to year. Like it or not, every student and parent knows the situation when they attend a school on an athletic scholarship. Most academic scholarships are the same. The are only renewed if a certain gpa is achieved.

[More Cowbell]

Scholarships are not given up. Scholarships are renewed year to year. Like it or not, every student and parent knows the situation when they attend a school on an athletic scholarship. Most academic scholarships are the same. The are only renewed if a certain gpa is achieved.

Correct, but if you were a player on scholarship who has met the academic requirements, would saying it was not renewed make you feel any better?

For people to say Cal is a horrible person for recruiting the best possible players, every KY recruit knows the deal. Don't produce and you may be out. Do well and you can be a lottery pick.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Scholarships are not given up. Scholarships are renewed year to year. Like it or not, every student and parent knows the situation when they attend a school on an athletic scholarship. Most academic scholarships are the same. The are only renewed if a certain gpa is achieved.

Yes but it's a double standard as a player is locked into his commitment for four years and if he wants to leave is penalized by having to sit out a year.

[KC4X]

Yes but it's a double standard as a player is locked into his commitment for four years and if he wants to leave is penalized by having to sit out a year.

Great point.


Not disagreeing with you but I just like how he is doing what he can to help these kids. Let's face it 18-19-20 year old kids don't know how to protect themselves from adults who would exploit them for every penny they can and someone like calipari who has seen it all is more than willing to help these kids navigate their way through the early professional part of their lives.

Also I really wanted to make the point xavier will be fine with or without any kid who leaves early and hope people stop blasting kids for making a professional decision.

Maybe I've missed it, but I don't think I've seen anyone blasting Semaj. Some have stated an opinion that he may be better off staying at X this year, but I haven't sensed any animosity toward him for leaving. Of course selfishly most wish he would stay, but mainly they just wish him well and want him to succeed.

[BandAid]

Like I said before semaj owes you people nothing.

What do you mean you people?

Sorry, couldn't resist...

[BandAid]

Also...in the words of Drew Lavender...

"f*ck this white club!"

[PMI]

Not a Calipari fan at all but on mike and mike he made a great statement and might have won me over. On kids leaving early he said...
1. Your good enough why would you come back? What else can I give you?
2. What if you don't get drafted? If they still decide to go it is my job to make sure they get drafted.

What also got me is that he said no matter what your choice is it isn't going to affect this program. 50 years from now this school will still be here and our program will still be strong.

Thought I would mention this cause people want to blast kids for making their life decisions. I have not liked Calipari before but at least he gets it. He wants his kids to get their piece of the monetary pie ASAP and doesn't hold it against them and will do whatever he can to help them.

I bring it up cause people still rip semaj for leaving. Like I said before semaj owes you people nothing. In ten years time you won't give two flips about him if he got hurt and is hocking insurance for a living. Xavier will still be there and be strong for years to come whether he stayed or not. Thank you coach Cal for nationally putting people's warped perspectives on these kids in check

No offense, but you strike me as someone who is easily swindled by your run-of-the-mill smooth talking salesman.

[xubrew]

Scholarships are not given up. Scholarships are renewed year to year. Like it or not, every student and parent knows the situation when they attend a school on an athletic scholarship. Most academic scholarships are the same. The are only renewed if a certain gpa is achieved.

You greatly overestimate what students and parents know.

[bobbiemcgee]

Cal already has two vacated FF's. More to come. He cheats

[boozehound]

Not disagreeing with you but I just like how he is doing what he can to help these kids. Let's face it 18-19-20 year old kids don't know how to protect themselves from adults who would exploit them for every penny they can and someone like calipari who has seen it all is more than willing to help these kids navigate their way through the early professional part of their lives.

Also I really wanted to make the point xavier will be fine with or without any kid who leaves early and hope people stop blasting kids for making a professional decision.

He is doing what he can to help himself.

[nuts4xu]

I like coach Calipari, and I think he does very well for his players. I think he has some slime on him, and is very used car salesman-ish, but I don't recall any of his past players coming out against the guy, even the ones he ran out of the program. No one likes to see a kid pushed out of a program, especially one that wants to be there and is in good standing. But that is part of the deal. The bigger the program, the greater the pressure. You perform, or at certain schools, you will be replaced.

Good life lesson to learn in college. The business world is the same way. Many companies demand performance, or they force you out. Others see things different and will put a ton of effort into retaining their employees.

It may not always be fair, but neither is life in general.

[NY44]

Yes but it's a double standard as a player is locked into his commitment for four years and if he wants to leave is penalized by having to sit out a year.

Yeah, but the limit on the number of athletic scholarships pretty much nullifies this double standard. In relation to the number of academic scholarships, athletic full-rides are much more prestigious and therefore a bigger commitment by the school. A school can also cut an academic scholarship after a horrible first semester. I can't say I've ever heard of a basketball player's scholarship being dropped after his first semester/first half of the season due to a lack of athletic performance.

[jhelmes37]

This thread is weird. What's Cal supposed to say?

"That kid had better get the hell out of here or I'm recruiting over the top!"

That would go over well......

[xu82]

Cal already has two vacated FF's. More to come. He cheats

So, what's the over/under on when he has three? Does Vegas have odds on that?