Thoughts on the Stacey Poole situation

There is nothing more difficult than seeing parents of grown men try and make life-changing decisions for them. It happens all too often that parents try to enforce their will on their children to make decisions that they would like rather than considering what the son or daughter wants for themselves. Should parents be involved in the decision making process of where their child attends college? Absolutely. But they shouldn’t make the decision for them.

In the strange and sad situation that is Stacey Poole’s place on the Kentucky basketball roster, Poole’s status is clearly up in the air as he continues to try and decide whether or not to transfer from the University of Kentucky for an opportunity for more playing time. Since the beginning of last season, Poole never really seemed to have a place on the team and it seemed like he may be a Calipari project. It appears the Poole has not reached the level of satisfaction that Calipari sees fit to play basketball at that level.

Poole came into Kentucky with high expectations and many people expected him and Doron Lamb to both play in that two-guard position. Lamb did, Poole did not. Poole rarely saw any action his freshman season and the walk-on Jarrod Polson ended up with more minutes on the season. Poole has a world of talent and upside that he has yet to tap and realize. It’s there, because Calipari obviously saw that he was capable of playing at that level, but it appears Poole is doing whatever he can to prove Cal wrong.

Yet, Poole seems to love the lifestyle of being a Kentucky basketball player, and why wouldn’t he? He’s one of the most popular people on campus, he gets to be part of one of the greatest programs in all of college basketball, he’s made a lot of friends on the team, and basketball players get all the girls. The lifestyle is great… unless he wants to play basketball.

The guard positions are strong, but their depth is thin and there are minutes to be had if Poole wanted to get them this year. He’s an athletic guard capable of shooting the basketball a little bit, but he must not exhibit the necessary intensity on the defensive end or willingness to learn. Calipari is not even giving him the tough love that he gave to Josh Harrelson last season. He is just not talking about him at all.

But what if Poole is not one of those guys who he came in with. What if he is a project that needs some time to grow and develop his game before he can be a successful player at that level? Not every recruit can be John Wall or Terrence Jones and make immediate impacts. And every player develops differently. Could Poole likely play on another Division I basketball team? Absolutely. But he may not be as happy there and he may not learn under a worse coach.

He definitely has some decisions to make, but it isn’t as if Calipari is running him off the team. This has came strictly from his father and perhaps Poole himself. It seems that he does not want to leave, but that he may in order to please his family. If Poole wants to start right now and not put in the effort to play at that level, then he probably needs to transfer. But if he is happy where he is at and wants to be a role player for a great basketball team, he needs to show his coaches that he’s capable of that.

Whatever Poole chooses to do, he needs to do what he feels is the best decision for himself. He needs not to please his parents, but to please himself. However, I do believe he needs to realize, wherever he ends up, why he is there in the first place. He is there to get an education and to play basketball for that university. Is it possible that Poole just isn’t good enough to play and Cal made a recruiting mistake? I guess. But my guess is that he just is not putting in the necessary effort to play and take his game to the next level. Kentucky fans would love to see Poole come back and contribute to this team. But does he want to? Only time will tell what Stacey Poole decides to do.