ousdahl wrote: ↑Tue Jan 10, 2023 9:01 amwhat correlation is there between the legitimizing of NIL and Cal just not getting the "twenty-six of the top 25 recruits that all go on to be first round picks" sort of talent that he needs for success? Or is there not a correlation?
There's not a correlation. His recruiting classes started taking a "dip" way before NIL when K took hold of USA basketball and Nike.
Roster management is more important now, partly because of NIL but the other change that never gets mentioned, and I believe is something that Cal is still getting used to, is the transfer rule changes. 4 of Kentucky's 5 starters began their career elsewhere. One of the reasons for that is Kentucky is also losing players to the portal in addition to the draft now. That's not sustainable. You fill in a hole here and there with transfers, but it seems to be better to recruit and develop HS players to be your core.
They need an identity. Their defense is bad right now and their offense is not much better. You can't run dribble-drive to a top level if you don't have guard talent like John Wall and Derrick Rose.
UK fans also need to calm down a little. They should be good this year, so that's unacceptable. But they had good teams in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2022.