Before the weekend gets underway, I wanted to talk to everyone about our decision not to have the large number of walk-on players some of you may have become accustomed to in recent years.
In my 17 years of college coaching, I have very rarely had walk-ons and when I have it’s usually been another student-athlete, who could help us in practice or game situations because of his size, speed or skill level. I find my practices run at optimum performance when there are 12-13 players. Any more than that and we’re not able to accomplish what I want in each practice.
Believe me, I appreciate the work and effort that goes into being a walk-on.
In meeting with the most recent group of walk-ons, we let all of them know how much the UK family appreciated their hard work and dedication to Wildcat basketball. Any of the former walk-ons who want to transfer and try and play elsewhere will have my staff’s full cooperation in helping them.
I can tell you that we are considering a scholarship position on the team for walk-on Mark Krebs, but we still have some things to decide on that front. I will keep you posted. If we do, at any time, decide to have walk-on tryouts, I will be sure to let everyone know.
I wish we would could make every young boy’s dream come true to suit up in the blue and white, but that’s just not possible. We want to be as fair and as forthright with everyone as we can be.
Thanks for listening to my explanation and have a great weekend.
Go Big Blue!
-Coach Cal
Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
July 31st, 2009 at 4:01 pm
It’s all good Coach!!!
July 31st, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Give Krebs a scholarship, let Dwight back on the bench. Dwight’s important to the team.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Cal’s got to be able to run the team how he sees fit. We don’t have to like it, but he was brought in to fix a broken program. You can’t expect him to run it the same way it was run in the past. I just hope he agrees to keep the walk-ons in the program in some different capacity if they choose to stay at UK.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
GRR ARGH TRADITION CAMERON MILLS!!!! j/k
I do think its funny that Cal sees the need to keep The Enforcer on the bench with a scholly.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Or in other words, “OKAY WHINERS, SHUT UP OR I SICK MY DOG ON YOU!!”
July 31st, 2009 at 4:22 pm
if they have try-outs, i will make the team. well, i will if i grow roughly 5 inches between now and then. otherwise, dont bother with the mockery that would create, Cal! let d-wight back on, and quit bein a hater
July 31st, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Only walk-on I really have a problem with being cut is Dwight Perry and it’s for 2 reasons: First, he’s a senior. Second, it’s known that he is very well liked on the team and I believe he helps team chemistry.
Hopefully he’ll still be involved with the team in some capacity. He may not get to go out on senior night as a player but he could at least be recognized for the time he has put in the last three years.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:26 pm
At the end of the day, life is a bitch and you can’t make everyone happy. Let’s win a championship.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Good enough explanation for me. I’ll shut up now…
July 31st, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Well I for one wish that Dwight could have stayed. It was kind of a family thing I’m sure for Dwight after he followed his cousin to UK. Fact is most of these kids could have gone somewhere else and gotten good minutes, but they came here for one thing, that blue and white jersey with Kentucky on the front. I think most of us would sit the bench for UK over getting minutes at St. Bonaventure, or Utah Valley University. Best of luck to all of these guys. For now I’m going to give Coach Cal the benefit of the doubt on this one. We don’t know what kinds of conversations they had (or did not in Sloan’s case) or what kinds of things he saw in workouts. I hope that in the end this all works out for the best.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:35 pm
That is a good straight forward and very reasonable.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:37 pm
It’s good to see that Cal gave his Freedom Friday response and that KSR is shaping the news. Message to Cal keep DP on the team!!! He needs to get that standing ovation on Senior Night for all the turmoil that he had to go through with the BC era. All the gripes and complaints that he shoulder and kept the team together , he deserves the recognition on Senior Night and I trust that you, Coach Cal will do the right thing.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Bubba, are you in Glenpool Oklahoma?
July 31st, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Bubba… Very well stated ^^^
July 31st, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Message to Cal - Just Win! However, you want to run your program will be okay with me. Just bring us back to Elite Status and Win!
July 31st, 2009 at 5:01 pm
12 - Keep telling yourself that, but we lost a lot of other players who went through the same thing as Dwight Perry…why the outcry over Perry but noone else? We have lost 12 other players…they deserve to be on the team as much as Perry.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Works for me. Krebs’ good shooting in pick-up games has apparently earned him a shot at a scholly as a scout player. I wouldn’t mind seeing D. Perry stick around though…that would be a nice gesture to the masses.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:03 pm
16- very good point
July 31st, 2009 at 5:05 pm
When a tradition takes a back seat to the new system it’s going to be uncomfortable. Coach really didn’t owe an explanation to anyone besides the impacted players, but in typical Cal PR mastery, he gave a straight-forward and classy statement. He had plenty of time to think this through and made the decision he felt was best. IMHO Cal knows best on running his program - despite the growth pains in the rebuilding process.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:15 pm
@#13 TulsaCat, yes sir, I’m part of the Big Blue Nation tm Expansion Project!
July 31st, 2009 at 5:23 pm
@16 The difference between DP and the others is that he’s a 3rd year WALKON. He footed the bill, went to the practices, individual workouts, study halls and everything else except he paid to do it where the other fellas got paid to do it. There’s a big difference! The other kids transfer and get paid to do it elsewhere, Dp is willing to pay to do it at the best university on the planet and he should be allowed to do it now. The other kids weren’t good enough to keep their scholarships, I guess the argument is that DP isn’t good enough to pay the tuition and stay on the team.
Cal do the right thing and let DP have the honor on Senior Night…like you said you would from the outset, all the seniors will keep their scholarships should be extended to all the seniors can continue to pay for their education and be on the team.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:59 pm
It’s sad Cal has to even explain things to some of you because all you do is bitch. It’s his team. He’s the coach. Let him do his job so he can spend his time winning championships instead of explaining the situation to a bunch of crybaby fans. He said he doesn’t have walk-ons. What part of that do some of you not understand?? It’s a new era of winning so get used to it and quit crying.
July 31st, 2009 at 6:07 pm
22) Well said. Im with ya brother.
July 31st, 2009 at 6:12 pm
It is what it is.
And that is all.
After landing the best recruiting class of all time, he can do whatever the hell he feels necessary.
July 31st, 2009 at 6:18 pm
http://hereticdhammasangha.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/54/
here’s my entry for fan of the day. I nominate myself. Pic taken at 2 AM, 1 August 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Gimme some love. lol
And, oh, by the way, I got your back Coach Cal.
July 31st, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Pitino and Tubby had walk ons, but they never had as many on a team at a time like Gillispie. So I dont really see the point in complaining. It allows the core players more practice time and better competition to go against in practice. It’s not high school basketball. Yeah it does suck for Perry cuz he was always the first one on the court to support the players, but if he really loves the team he will ask Coach Cal about bein a manager and still bein a part of the team. He knew being a walk on with a new coach he could be cut. But he can still try and be part of the team.
July 31st, 2009 at 7:26 pm
20) Bubba, lol, we’ll have to catch a game at Louis in Jenks or somewhere — once we prove each other isn’t a craigslist killer. ukrulz@gmail.com
July 31st, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I understand the feelings of those who want kids to stay who are not going to be staying. But one thing we have to keep in mind is that Smirky the Clown had a very rare large number of walk-ons. In that sense, Cal is trying to get us back to “normal”. But beyond that, Cal said it best when he said that any more than 12 or 13 players and it becomes difficult to accomplish what he wants to do in practice. I, for one, want Coach Cal to be able to mold this team with optimum efficiency. We do, after all, have 6 newcomers…none of which has played even one minute of major Division One NCAA Men’s College Basketball. Cal knows what he is doing. And he is not out to hurt anyone or to take anything away from these kids. He is simply trying to to what he was hired to do…take UK back to where we belong in the upper-echelon of College Basketball. And win Championships. Clyde left a big mess and Coach is simply going about the business of cleaning it up. That’s all.
August 1st, 2009 at 10:25 am
I agree with all that DP being booted off the team sucks, but I also understand that when you have too many folks on a practice floor you may run the risk of injury to a scolly like Walls or Cousins….and folks THAT would really suck. Lets just let Coach do his job and then we can do our jobs….rooting for the Cats!!!!
August 1st, 2009 at 10:31 am
Booting DP is not fair but neither is life. This is the best decision for the team as a whole so let’s move on and win #8.
August 1st, 2009 at 11:34 am
I love Cal but he is a DOUCHEBAG for cutting Dwight. F****ing Senior walk-on who didn’t hurt the team. I don’t give a crap about your BS Cal. You’re a fag lover for that.
August 2nd, 2009 at 2:02 pm
^^Fag lover? Really?