Kentucky Sports Radio


Hold this L, Coach K


How does that loss feel, Mike Krzyzezwszjkzski?

After taking a few hits to Coach K, Coach Cal is back in business with a head-to-head recruiting victory after E.J. Montgomery chose UK over Duke.  If you thought John Calipari lost his recruiting mojo, you thought wrong.

A one-time Auburn commit, Montgomery’s recruitment was essentially a two-horse race between Kentucky and Duke.  As the Cats gained late momentum, Duke backed away.  Duke might have backed off Montgomery because they have already signed a pair of power forwards, or because Coach K knew it was a battle he could not win.

Many may see this Calipari victory as a flash in the pan.  Don’t.  Montgomery is the first recruit to turn down Duke since Jeff Capel departed.  This could be the first move to swing recruiting momentum back to John Calipari.

Time will tell how significant Montgomery’s commitment is in the recruiting landscape, but for now, enjoy John Calipari’s victory over Coach K.

Article written by Nick Roush


33 responses to “Hold this L, Coach K”

  1. jr_hopkins

    Theyre sitting with the #1, 2, and 3 overall players at duke. As much as I hate them I doubt they wanted him that badly. Really happy we got EJ but it doesn’t really feel like telling duke to “hold the L” is justified here.

    1. ukjaybrat

      “the #1, 2, and 3 overall players” all play the same position and none of them are the same as EJ.
      On top of that, at least one of those players are going to get their minutes slashed if they even play at all. i can all but guarantee this is not going to end well for all three of those players.

    2. kenny

      I agree with jr. Ej is a forward just like Barrett/zion/reddish. I do think Cal has a ??under his butt right now. He hates losing to K, and he wants to show that he’s still the best. Now we see what Hagans does.

    3. kenny

      So fire emoji turned to ? Marks in the comment section.

    4. LaRueBlue

      EJ is nothing like either 3, RJ is a 2 in college and NBA, Cams a facilitator in the Ben Simmons mold and Zion’s an incredibly undersized 4. You’re reaching.

    5. ukjaybrat

      yeah, duke’s 1,2,3, are hybrid 2/3s. EJ is a solid 4. not the same

    6. chris gettelfinger is not walking through that door

      kenny, few teams seem to have true 5’s anymore. Mo Bambas don’t come around very often it seems.

    7. Luether

      Gotta agree with Jr and LaRue…

  2. LaRueBlue

    Chose UK over Vandy. Duke supposedly backed off.

    1. LaRueBlue

      Also to those who think all 3 think will play the same the spot at Duke are insane. Zion is a 4 and RJ is a two in college and the NBA.

    2. ukjaybrat

      Coach K (according to you): “I didn’t lose to Kentucky, I LET THEM have a top 15 player who happens to be the #2 player at his position.”

      Just shut up. you sound like an idiot when you say crap like that. they backed off because they knew they weren’t getting him.

    3. chris gettelfinger is not walking through that door

      Just like when a coach has “withdrawn his name from consideration” once he knows someone else is getting the job.

    4. ryan1723

      Jaybrat, you’re an oddly angry person. Maybe basketball is too serious for you.

    5. makeitstop

      Like when a politician who’s down 20 in the polls backs out to “spend more time with the family”? The old “you can’t fire me I quit.” Coach K would’ve loved to have this kid bc he needs a big man and Bolden hasn’t panned out for whatever reason. Moreover, he didn’t want us t get him. But I’m equally glad Vandy didn’t get him bc they have a loaded class of their own and playing there is hard enough, without a 6’10” power forward guarding the rim.

    6. catsarerunnin

      Cal can’t win with the “cryin minority” of the fan base. He lands a 5 star but it’s only because dUKe didn’t really want or need him. Yet had he chose dUKe they would have continued with their whole “Cal can’t out recruit Coach K” narrative. And had he went to Vandy all hell would have broke loose.

  3. ClutchCargo

    This helps us a lot more than it hurts Duke, so let’s just be happy we got him.

    1. SuperTroy18

      Absolutely. Well said.

  4. Blue Jesus

    (This is a slightly embarrassing article.)

    1. rabblerabblerabble

      Hahaha. Yes it is.

  5. UKLugo

    Great get, but let’s pump the brakes a little. A lot of recruiting is luck and timing. The momentum the dookies had was mostly due to connections they had to those players long before they were deciding on a college. I get the feeling Cal is tasking it personally and is going to personally work to sway that momentum back to UK.

    1. UKLugo

      Now if he can get a commit out of Vernon Carey….

    2. catsarerunnin

      Yeah I’m tired of getting only those low level 5 star recruits…

  6. sprtphan

    Me thinks you’re a tad overboard on this one.

  7. TBW3011

    He can’t hold the L Roush. Too many rings in the way.

    1. chris gettelfinger is not walking through that door

      Hello Slater. Yet another screen name I see. The count is still 8-5.

    2. catsarerunnin

      Slater huh? Ok let’s look at his latest moniker. TBW must stand for The Big Wuss. 30 is his age and 11 is his $11 weekly allowance from mommy.

  8. antiquefurnitureandmidgets

    Headline should read, “Coach K is in Nick’s head”. Come on man, don’t embarrass the rest of us.

  9. nybrasky

    Once again, Roush is a tool. Hopefully new EIC Mrs. TT won’t let him write anything other than football posts.

  10. chris gettelfinger is not walking through that door

    Lighten up you guys. Is Nick overreacting? To be sure. However, just celebrate and don’t worry about it. We got a guy we needed and we’ll probably get Hagans very soon once Shai announces tonight.


    1. makeitstop


  11. Matty Arbuckle

    Lol. While EJ may be a great player, I don’t think K is taking any L’s with this recruiting class.

  12. njCat

    Great to see Cal win one over K. Sure hope it continues.

  13. Racerr11

    Never thought Cal lost it anyway that’s the way some UK fans are just negative. We are and always have been the GOLD standard in college basketball . Cal is the man.