Thomas Bryant’s mom says UK is not the right place for her son
Four-star 2015 big man Thomas Bryant took an unofficial visit to Kentucky over the weekend, but according to his mother, it was nothing more than a fun trip with his friends. Linda Bryant said that her son is down to Syracuse and Indiana, with Syracuse the likely favorite. Bryant doesn’t have an offer from Kentucky, and realistically, his mother says UK is not the school for him:
“You have to give kudos to the man (Calipari) for being able to recruit like that,” Linda said. “But I don’t think that’s the right place for my son. He’s a young man who is still learning the game. He needs to be focused on that, not worrying which platoon he is on.”
Fair enough. Kentucky’s not for everyone. Besides, the Cats already have one commitment from a 2015 big man in Skal Labissiere and are still courting Cheick Diallo, Stephen Zimmerman, Carlton Bragg, Ivan Rabb, and Caleb Swanigan.
26 Comments for Thomas Bryant’s mom says UK is not the right place for her son
Because practicing against some of the best players day in and day out won’t help him “learn” the game? Playing against players that take you out of your comfort zone only makes you better.
Also, it’s very likely that there won’t be a platoon next year.
Either way, as Cal says, this place isn’t for everybody.
Wow, even mom doesn’t think hes good enough to be Top 10 at Kentucky…..
Was just watching ESPN Maui inv. and the announcers were taking up for Ricky P. saying that his comment of playing “4 white guys and and an Egyptian” was a statement of fact and in no way was he stereotyping. What a load of crap! He was trying to make a joke at the expense of his bench
That’s kind of like Rick Barnes removing his name from consideration. Sounds like a tantrum by not getting an offer.
Thanks for bringing it up, Barnes just today removed himself from consideration for the Florida football job.
So, in other words, he (or, possibly she..) thinks he needs more playing time?
Translation: “My son is worried he’ll ride the bench because he isn’t good enough.”
If any parent believes Cal doesn’t develop his players, they are complete fools. My guess is Crean and Boeheim have had some not-so-nice things to say about Cal and UK.
i’ll bet indianers coach is thinking about him—a lot.
I f he wants plenty of playing time i say Indiana is the place to go.
she also said Indiana is having too many off the court issues right now with failed drug tests, underage drinking, etc. so I don’t think they’re in it any longer … they like Syracuse, but you never know … they say the guy is a really hard worker so I’d still like to see him in blue
Reading the article, she reminds me of Alex Legion’s mom…overbearing/crazy. She is probably the reason Cal hasn’t offered. Thank God he hasn’t…this would be drama from day one with her. Talk about clutter, she would be the poster child for it.
IU is out if he wants to LEARN the game. He can LEARN how to defend a 6ft area at Syracuse. I actually LIKE the idea of a recruit ruling a school OUT early. Instead of a school wasting time with them.
Well if he needs to learn the game to help benefit him in the future then he has 2 horrible final choices in colleges.
IU will teach him how to lose (a lot, a whole lot) and Syracuse will teach him nothing about defense
You cannot tell me she’s not quoting Jim Boeheim directly. He’s notorious for badmouthing Cal and UK to recruits.
The “Cal doesn’t develop his players” criticism is about all they have left. It still rings hollow if you actually look at it, but the opposing coaches have to have something. They can’t just say, “Well, if your son can play at UK, by all means he should, as he’ll have the best shot there at increasing his skill set and becoming the best basketball player he can be. But you know, we’re 2nd best!”
Matt, @AdamZagoria seems to be butthurt from your tweet the other day. He is trying to troll UK fans. He needs a snickers…….
If the kid has Syra & God IU on his list over UK, he obviously isn’t very good & is a project. His Mom is smart & stupid at the same time; smart enough to realize UK isn’t the right place, but dumb for making the platoon comment. How many players has Syra & IU gotten to their long term goal being the league; enough said. Bye Felicia
HAHA… was about to post something about Alex Legion, but i’m a little late. I don’t know anything about the kid, but that one text from his mom says a lot about her.
Wish this kid nothing but the best at Syracuse.. and I don’t think his mother is anything like Alex Legion’s..lol Honestly don’t understand why this even got posted.. just invites trash talking about some kid and his mother, It only helps the 1% of BBN make us look like jerks.. just sayin! GO CATS!!!
I guess he’ll go to Syracuse, but honestly the guy’s mother is worried about the wrong things…. Anyhow it probably doesn’t matter anyways because UK probably wasn’t going to offer him.
During the Tubby and Billy days this would have disappointed me to think we lost a 4 star recruit. With Cal I don’t really lose any sleep over it. Heck, I don’t lose sleep when we lose a 5 star recruit anymore.
Hey, I have no problem with what she said – she is just being honest. I don’t think she is necessarily knocking Cal and the platoon system this year, just saying that she doesn’t think her son is ready for a stage that big. I would rather see him go somewhere else than end up at UK and become a negative influence because he is unhappy and having trouble keeping up with his teammates. One thing I have learned about Cal at UK – we NEVER have to worry about getting high quality recruits.
Agreed. We only show our insecurity when we get all offended by someone being honest with themselves about UK not being right for them.
How hard is it to figure out which platoon you’re on when there are only two choices. She wasn’t being honest she was being sarcastic and it does sound like a Boeheim phrase. Point is he has four stars and we usually go after those with 5. His mother does sound like a problem in this situation. His best fit-Cuse and the 3-2 zone.
If you are selfish and want 30 shots a game and are afraid of competition UK is not the place for you plus there will be no platoon system next year. Syracuse will be on probation when Bryant arrives!
His mom is a big fan of Syracuse. Has been like this for atleast 6 months. Pick the nose picker. No worries plenty of bigs around.