Kansas dubbed “Best NBA Breeding Grounds”, Cal’s draft picks beg to differ

Apr 2, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self (right) and Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari (background left) during the first half in the finals of the 2012 NCAA men

In a NBC Sports article by Rob Dauster, Kansas head coach Bill Self describes his coaching style as “selfish”, stating that he wants simply to win and “have the best team on the floor”. That’s some innovative thinking from the guy who has been a head coach for 20 years, and at Kansas for 10. I’m sure Naismith himself planted that gem of coaching wisdom in his playbook.

The article dubs Kentucky as the “fast lane” to the NBA, but gives Kansas the title of “best NBA breeding grounds”.  Sure Kansas runs a great program that’s send numerous players to the league, but I don’t think the fact that Kentucky embraces the “one and done” rule makes us any less of a college program or “NBA breeding ground.” That’s where I disagree with this article, here’s why:

"“Cal’s greatest skill is as a salesman. He convinces these kids to play for Kentucky, and he gets them to buy in to a team concept for seven months and some 30-odd games. And while there’s no doubt that those superstar freshmen have gotten better under his watch, let’s be honest: I could have coached Anthony Davis or John Wall for a year and they still would have been the top pick in their respective drafts. Cal’s most impressive feat coaching Demarcus Cousins was controlling him between the ears, not between the lines.”"

Sure, Calipari does a great job selling UK to recruits, but honestly my 9 year old sister could sell UK to a top high school pick. Kentucky has NBA like facilities. In fact, NBA players that return to see the newly renovated Joe Craft Center and Wildcat Coal Lodge have said so. In fact, UK’s facilities are so up to par that during the NBA lockout the Oklahoma City Thunder came to Kentucky to train along with numerous Cats in the NBA. Not to mention the tradition and fan base of UK- it’s a recruiting dream. Second, Cal collects talent. This year’s incoming freshmen include half of ESPN’s top 10 players. That’s right, five out of the ten, a combined 25 stars. Kentucky also made the final list for two of those recruits. Talent wants to play with other talent. Sure he gets them to “buy into” his system, but there isn’t a whole lot of selling to be done for these high school guys. They get to go up against the nations best talent daily in practice, potentially dominate the college scene, and get showcased weekly on national TV. Of course that helps them get NBA attention, but isn’t that the eventual goal any way? As for the “superstar freshman” that improve under his watch, sure Anthony Davis and John Wall arguably could have gone straight out of high school, but lets not forget Daniel Orton (who was drafted without starting a game at UK), Josh Harrellson (a Billy G recruit who seemed destined to end his basketball career upon graduation until his breakout senior season), and DeAndre Liggins who Calipari coached up and got NBA ready.

"“Kentucky has become a factory for first round picks because of the brand that they’ve built more than as a result of the program’s ability to develop talent. In other words, they’re the nation’s best NBA holding tank; they’re not the nation’s best NBA breeding grounds. That title belongs to Kansas and Bill Self. Since 2007, Kansas has had 13 players drafted, eight of whom have gone in the first round. That’s before you factor in Ben McLemore, who is projected to be taken as high as No. 2 this year, and Jeff Withey, whom Draft Express currently has going late in the first round. Two more players — Sherron Collins and Russell Robinson — have spent time playing in the NBA despite going undrafted. Do the math, and 17 players from Self’s first nine recruiting classes have played in the NBA.”"

Granted, Kentucky is known more for our first rounders rather than the development of underrated players, but highly recruited players are being brought in, not as much development and turnaround is necessary. I don’t really see that as a bad thing, personally, but I don’t think that Cal lacks the ability to develop talent at all it just isn’t necessary with his recruits. Lets compare the stats: Self got to Kansas at 2003, Calipari got to Kentucky in 2009. Since 2007 Self has had 13 players drafted, Calipari since 2009 has had 15. Self has had 8 players go in the first round, Calipari has had 11 go in the first round, and two of his Kentucky players were the #1 overall. And since that’s “before you factor in Ben McLemore who is projected to be taken as high as #2 this year, and Jeff Withey whom Draft Express currently has going late in the first round”, we’ll throw in Nerlens Noel, who despite tearing his ACL and missing a significant part of the season, is projected to go #1 overall, and Archie Goodwin, who is also projected to go late first round. So lets “do the math” Self has had 17 players from his first nine classes play in the NBA. Calipari has also had 17 players go to the NBA…from his first FOUR classes.

"“Not impressed yet? How about this for a stat: since Bill Self’s first recruiting class in 2004, there have only been five rotation players that he’s brought into the program that didn’t play in the NBA and that didn’t transfer out of Kansas — Brady Morningstar, Tyrel Reed, Mario Little, Rodrick Stewart and Connor Teahan.”"

Since Cal’s first recruiting class in 2009 there have only been four players that he’s brought into the program that stayed at Kentucky and didn’t play in the NBA: Ramon Harris (a Tubby Smith recruit) who ended up playing professionally overseas, Perry Stevenson (another Smith recruit) spent some time in the D League and overseas as well, Mark Krebs (a Billy G recruit), and Eloy Vargas who is currently playing professional basketball overseas. So while they never played in the NBA, three of the four ended up playing professional basketball after their time at UK.

"“Now, Self hasn’t exactly been recruiting D-III athletes and magically turning them into first round picks. He’s landed 10 players that Rivals has rated as five-star recruits, and Kansas always ranks near the top of the annual recruiting class rankings. Hell, he’d have the best recruiting class in the country this season — headlined by Andrew Wiggins, who will be flanked by two other five-star recruits — if it wasn’t for Kentucky. But when you look at the numbers a little closer, six of those 10 five-star recruits entered the program between 2004 and 2006. Only two of those ten were considered one-and-done locks, and both of them — Josh Selby and Xavier Henry — ended up having disappointing seasons in Lawrence.”"

Self in his time at Kansas has landed 10 players that a ranked as 5 stars, Calipari has had 12 5-star recruits in his last 3 classes. And yes, Kansas may have been the #1 class this year if not for Kentucky…but like every other year with Cal at Kentucky, UK’s freshman rank #1 yet again. In fact, Kentucky’s incoming class is so talented and highly ranked that Archie Goodwin was advised to enter the NBA draft because he would play more in the NBA than over the freshman on his college team, let that sink in.

"“If Kentucky has built their brand around being the NBA’s premier layover destination, Kansas has become defined by its ability to turn those that are overlooked and under hyped into NBA players; the top 50 and top 100 recruits that don’t get at much attention nationally until they have spent a year or two in Lawrence. The Cole Aldrichs, the Morris twins, the Thomas Robinsons, the McLemores and the Witheys. ‘That’s something that we take great pride in, our individual development,” Self told NBCSports.com by phone this week. “We base everything off of what NBA teams are looking for and the things that they put their players through, and our assistant coaches do an unbelievable job with that program.”"

I would hardly call Kentucky a “layover” to the NBA. These with the exception of the 2012-2013 season, Cal’s teams have always made decent tournament runs. Since when is competition for a national title and developing as a player a “layover”? Kentucky has also had its share of underrated and underdeveloped players in the draft, the Patrick Patterson’s and DeAndre Liggins’s of the world. Self’s NBA strategy is not one that is unique to the NCAA, there’s another famous coach who also embraces the NBA in his college teams- John Calipari.

"“The biggest thing with our program, when guys get here, they’re not good enough. They’ve gotta get better. No matter how fast you are, you’re not fast enough. No matter how quick you are, you’re not quick enough. No matter how high you jump, you don’t jump high enough. No matter what you shoot, you’ve gotta get better. The whole deal is getting better.”"

If I didn’t know better, I would have dubbed this a Calipari quote. The fact is, the NCAA is harder than high school ball, and the NBA is harder than the NCAA. You have to improve no matter what league you’re striving to get to, that’s the evolution of the game.

"“Self is arguably the best coach in all of college basketball. His staff is as good as any staff in the country, and that includes a world-class strength and conditioning coaches. All of that makes a difference. It gives his players the best tools to develop their craft and the best teachers to learn from. But in the end, it’s really not all that different than what every program in the country is doing. There’s only so many variations of squats; how many different drills do you really need to learn how to shoot a pull-up jumper going left? What sets Kansas apart is that the players in the program have bought into what Self is selling them.”"

I am absolutely not denying that Bill Self is not one of the top college coaches on the scene right now. Kansas is always highly touted and makes great tournament runs (they were only 9 points away from a national championship in 2012). But I do think it is unfair to say that Calipari is not also on that list. Calipari also gives the players to best staff, the tools needed to develop and teachers to learn from and most importantly he gets his teams to “buy in” more than any other coach I can think of. If you recall the 2012 championship team, they were all highly touted recruits and high draft prospects, yet gave up individual stats for the greater good of the team, and it paid off. That team acted as brothers and pushed each other. Which is essentially what every coach strives for.

That is why I disagree that Kansas the “best NBA breeding ground” over Kentucky. With Calipari’s track record, he is set to have nearly double the NBA picks of Bill Self. Kansas may have invented basketball, but I firmly believe UK perfected it.  Bill Self doesn’t get out-recruited, he just runs out of time.