UK basketball off track
College athletics was never meant to be a one-year prep for professional basketball, as is now the case at the University Kentucky. College athletics was meant to provide an athlete with an education while participating in sports. Now it is “what’s in it for me and move on.” What an alarming circumstance for UK basketball!
Kentucky had a winning tradition before Coach John Calipari’s “one ’n’ dones,” which will continue after him. We will never have another Kyle Macy, Deron Feldhaus or John Pelfrey under Calipari. Players who stay are continually undercut by “one ’n’ dones.”
Take a look at Kyle Wiltjer playing for Gonzaga University. He left UK and developed into the ultimate example of a college player. Had he stayed at Kentucky, he would have been sitting beside Calipari on the bench because he couldn’t play defense.
I look forward to the day when the student athlete is brought back to Kentucky, either by Calipari moving on or a change in the rules. The “one ’n’ dones” do not represent what college athletics is about, and they do not understand the Kentucky basketball tradition or the concept of being a student athlete.
L. Glenn Shadoan
London
This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 7:54 PM with the headline "UK basketball off track."