[Moderated by Matt Jones]
Ideally we’d like to see every student athlete graduate or turn professional but with the news breaking earlier this week about Ridge Wilson being dismissed from the team we must face the sad reality. Wilson joins a long list of players whose time in Lexington had to be cut short. The Cats have lost a lot of great players over the years to many different factors. Once those players were gone we can simply wonder what might have been if they had the chance to finish their career with the Cats. Here are some of the players that have left me wondering what might have been.
Ridge Wilson
Ridge is our newest member of this list and one of the most disappointing. There are so many questions with his situation. Why was he on that street in Louisville? Why did he have a bag of Xanax and two grand? Well I guess those two questions are pretty clear. But one question remains, what was he thinking?
What might have been: Being broke in college can make life hard, but there is no justification for a student athlete to be caught up in trafficking. Wilson had a chance to be one of our leaders on defense next season with Danny Trevathan’s departure. Now the future is unclear for our defense and for the soon to be senior linebacker. I wish him the best and a hopeful turnaround to his life.
Rodrick Rhodes
Rodrick Rhodes just didn’t work out with the Cats. For more on the story check out the latest KSR podcast, it’s worth the $2.50 for every tale. The Rhodes story is one of the most interesting/funny.
What might have been: Rhodes’ talent was undeniable but for whatever reason he couldn’t gel with Pitino. Upon transferring to USC he became their leading scorer averaging 14 points per game. With the decreased pressure that came with Southern Cal. Rhodes found his way to the league and had a nice, if short career. Rhodes’ story has recently taken another interesting turn and he has made his way back to the bluegrass state and now is the head coach at Cordia High School.
Curtis Pulley
When I arrived on campus in the fall of 07 Curtis Pulley was the next big thing. He was a Kentucky Mr. Football and had been named the starter in spring of 06. Andre Woodson beat him for the position that fall on his way to leading a renaissance of the program. After Andre Woodson graduated I remember talking with my brother about Pulley stepping in and continuing the football team’s recent success. Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.
What might have been: Pulley was cited in Louisville for marijuana possession. (Side Note: Can we keep our players out of Louisville?) After that arrest he found himself in even more trouble with the law when he was arrested for speeding and driving with a suspended license. The quarterback was dismissed from the team. Curtis then transferred to Florida A&M where he became the MEAC offensive player of the year. Cat fans where left to wonder what the 08 and 09 seasons could have produced with Pulley at the helm.
Derrick Jasper
Jasper was a top forty prospect and the fifth ranked point guard in his class. Unfortunately for him he developed knee problems and ran into a coach name Billy Gillispie.
What might have been: It’s hard to play basketball when your knees are gone. Jasper had microfacture surgery following his freshman year and sat out the first ten games of Billy G’s first season. When he came back that season many had questions if his decision was rushed by the madman Gillispie. Jasper transferred the following season to UNLV where he averaged 23 minutes per game in two seasons but his production was never quite what is expected of a top 40 prospect. What kind of player could he have been without the injuries? How would he have fit in as a senior point guard under Coach Cal? Derricks’s story has recently taken an odd turn as he rejoined Billy G as a grad assistant at Texas Tech.
Darnell Dodson
Darnell Dodson couldn’t stay out of trouble. Upon graduating high school he was declared ineligible by the NCAA clearinghouse and could not play for Pitt. That lead him on a path to Kentucky and Coach Cal’s first number one class. Dodson showed a couple of flashes of brilliance during his time at UK having 8 games with double digit scoring and averaging 6 points per game. He wasn’t quite the sharpshooter from three we hoped he would be shooting 34% from downtown with an abysmal performance in that year’s tournament that included 2-9 performance in the elite eight against WVU. Dodson was “released” from the team to work on his grades following his first season with the possibility to return this year. Following his release Dodson was arrested for fighting outside of two keys tavern and transferred to Southern Mississippi.
What might have been: Dodson found more trouble at Southern Miss when he was arrested for breaking into a So. Miss. fraternity house. He was dismissed from that team but his story has a happy ending. Dodson was allowed back on the team and made his debut this year with the Golden Eagles. In his first game he scored 17 points in fifteen minutes against Arizona St. He is currently averaging 11.2 ppg. We can only wonder the impact that Dodson could have had on this year’s team or even last year’s.
Sometimes things just don’t work out. All of these players could have done great things for the Wildcats. However their time was cut short by issues like chemistry, injury, or problems with drugs that ruined their chance for success. We are left wondering what the future could have held for those one time Cats.
So, do you wish you could’ve seen more of these Cats or were you glad to see some of them go? Was there a player I missed that you wonder what could have been had they not left the team?
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February 29th, 2012 at 7:15 pm
Derrick Jasper will always be the most depressing departure for me, especially out of the group you mentioned. I hated the way it all went down with him and Billy G. Hate that Billy G quite possibly messed w/ the kids future by “encouraging” him to return too early from an injury. Great post though…really good idea on bringing up the most disappointing exits. As with any program, there have been quite a few. I am so happy that Darnell Dodson left….for the record.
February 29th, 2012 at 7:19 pm
- Rashad Carruth, Michael Bradley, Desmond Allison, Marvin Stone, Ryan Hogan, Bernard Cote, Jason Parker, Matt Pilgrim (CAL should have kept him especially seeing the mass exodus of 2010), and I am sure there are more.
February 29th, 2012 at 7:26 pm
Ally, I agree about Dodson…his loss, not ours.
Although I really liked Jasper and what happened to him was unfortunate, his departure I think aided to the departure of Billy G. I think Jasper leaving was a blessing in disguise because we may have been just good enough to make the tournament the next year with him, and who knows, maybe Billy G would still be here.
The one that I think hurts the most is Curtis Pulley. He could have really been a STAR and kept UK football on the “rise” for real after Woodson had graduated. He was a dual-threat QB and could play WR as well. Even if Hartline was the starting QB, he’d have 2 great playmakers to throw to and we’d have 2 separate guys to use in wildcat formations in the backfield, instead of just Cobb.
February 29th, 2012 at 7:30 pm
UKFan4Life, Michael Bradley actually lives in Northern Kentucky now. He is a client of where I work at and is the head basketball coach accross the river at Summit Country Day High School. Great guy, but I think he was just at UK at the wrong time to get a lot of playing time. He ended up being an 8 year NBA veteran though.
February 29th, 2012 at 8:03 pm
Wow I forgot about Pulley. Woodson is my #2 all time favorite Football Cat, behind Cobb.
February 29th, 2012 at 8:13 pm
John, I think you are right that his departure aided in the departure of Billy G….but in the grand scheme of things for Jasper was the one who got screwed in the situation and I feel bad for him. I don’t think Billy G would still be here if the whole Jasper thing had not happened. I think Jodie Meeks has a lot more to do with his departure. THat’s a whole diff convo though…
Curtis Pulley was a tough one. Maybe the biggest blow to the football program. Certainly bigger than Ridge Wilson if you ask me.
Michael Bradley…what a blast from the past. One of the more puzzling UK stories. Would have never guessed he would have a solid NBA career.
February 29th, 2012 at 8:20 pm
Thanks Ally. I was mad at Billy G at the time but it just proves what a maniac the guy was. I agree Pulley was a bigger blow than Wilson.
UKFan- I dont thin Cal should have kept Pilgrim. They guy may have been a beast, but his time at OK St proved there were some character issues. You compiled a great list though.
John- I agree we may have won more games with him but Billy should have still gotten the boot. Plus when Cal did come we wouldnt have brought in Wall and Bledsoe if we had a senior point guard. I forgot we coulda had Pulley throwing to Cobb, that would have been awesome!
February 29th, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Mat(t?) Pilgrim would have been a bust. The dude had trouble written all over him, otherwise Cal would have given him a chance. He was just talented enough to the point where if he had only minor issues, I bet Cal would have kept him.
February 29th, 2012 at 8:43 pm
What about Alex Legion? He showed some promise in his brief time here but ended up being more trouble than he was worth at FIU.
February 29th, 2012 at 8:58 pm
Legion played for 3 schools, was commited to 4. He is honestly the only college player I can think of who has ever played for 3 d-1 schools. Plus, he didn’t even finish his eligibility up at FIU. Obviously, he had issues everywhere he went but actually never did anything I know of against the law…he might have been an okay kid if his mom wasn’t a lunatic.
Bily G probably still wouldnt be here right now, but he probably would have been given another year at least…and would we have hired Cal a year later? After (instead of just before) the Rose thing came out? We could be stuck with Travis Ford or Pelphrey right now if things didn’t work out as perfectly as they did. But I do feel really, really bad for Jasper. It is so strange that he is now on Gillispie’s staff at Texas Tech after everything that happened.
February 29th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Do you follow Alex Legion on twitter? If not, go do it right now. You will be so , so, so happy that he didn’t pan out at Kentucky.
February 29th, 2012 at 10:49 pm
Really good lists both in the post and the comments. Really takes me back. I’m with Ally, I think Pulley may have been the biggest loss and the impact is still being felt throughout the program. I remember when he was kicked off the team team in the summer of 2008. He was supposed to be the quarterback for the next two years which would have meant the following things. One, Mike Hartline would have never played. Two, Morgan Newton would have been able to redshirt his freshman season. Three, Randall Cobb would have played more RB/WR than QB.
February 29th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
Also, we must never let the legend of Alex Legion (and his mother) die.
March 1st, 2012 at 12:41 am
But Hartline was better than we ever gave him credit for. Look at how we’ve been since he’s been gone. KSTV made a good comparison today…the way we thought about Tubby while Billy G was our coach is the same way we felt about Hartline when Newton was our QB last year.
The reason they were even talking about Hartline was because the Patriots actually signed him for a 1 year deal to hold a clipboard for Tom Brady…which I’d argue is the easiest and best job in the world. I hope he gets to do it for more than 1 year.
March 1st, 2012 at 11:28 am
It’s funny, I’d almost forgotten about Darnell Dodson. I thought he was a pretty good player when he was here, certainly a disappointment to see him go. As for Pulley…. I remember that whole saga and couldn’t believe it ended that way
March 1st, 2012 at 12:40 pm
Thanks David. Hartline wasn’t that bad, especially compared to this last season like Wilmhoff said. It’s just sad that Pulley Dodson and Wilson could have had great careers but they did so much stuff without considering the consequences. They all hurt themselves more than they hurt the program
March 1st, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Being from Hopkinsville, the writing was on the wall for Pulley. He was an idiot, always was. You can take the kid out of Hoptown, but when you dont know any better you can never take the Hoptown out of the kid.