LSU sophomore Antonio Blakeney declares for NBA draft

And Calipari forces out middling sophomore center Isaac Humphries to fit a 7th (and potentially 8th) signee in the 2017 class. Humphries will try the NBA draft, but probably ends up overseas.

He didn't say for sure, but his twitter announcement looked pretty final

wacarnolds said:

---

And Calipari forces out middling sophomore center Isaac Humphries to fit a 7th (and potentially 8th) signee in the 2017 class. Humphries will try the NBA draft, but probably ends up overseas.

---

Will likely return to Australia and play in the pro league there.

Back door champs again???

If we were "back door champs" again, 2 out of 3 years, what would Texags basketball have to say about BK's coaching and contract extensions?

They were still dumb because he's not going anywhere?

Pumpkinhead said:

---

wacarnolds said:

---

And Calipari forces out middling sophomore center Isaac Humphries to fit a 7th (and potentially 8th) signee in the 2017 class. Humphries will try the NBA draft, but probably ends up overseas.

---

Will likely return to Australia and play in the pro league there.

---

Yeah they have some weird rules where Australian-born players are a huge benefit, salary cap-wise, to the Australian teams.

Method Man said:

---

Back door champs again???

---

Pretty much only Kentucky can afford to lose Fox (NBA lottery pick), Monk (NBA lottery pick), Briscoe (soph, 5-star out of high school, probably going to D-League), Derek Willis (senior, was national top-50 recruit out of high school, graduating), Bam Adebayo (NBA first round draft pick), Mychal Mulder (senior, graduating), and Humpries (Soph 7-footer going pro - probably in Australia).....basically all 5 starters plus more...

And it doesn't really matter. They will just reload with 6-7 and be pre-season top-5 again next year. Then 6-8 more guys move on and wash-rinse-repeat.

Kentucky's basketball program under Calipari probably would be more appropriate as an NBA D-League organization rather than a college athletic program, they would fit right in a summer D-League schedule IMO. But is what it is.

Quote:

---

They were still dumb because he's not going anywhere?

---

We've paid for less than satisfactory results for 4 years before any success. I would think we would pay more for success if/when it happens. Question is would Texags ever just accept and enjoy the results and not worry about the how as long as we're clean?

Dozier at USC declares for draft but does not hire agent.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.seccountry.com/south-carolina/south-carolina-pj-dozier-nba-draft/amp

Pumpkinhead said:

---

Dozier at USC declares for draft but does not hire agent.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.seccountry.com/south-carolina/south-carolina-pj-dozier-nba-draft/amp

---

If you're a South Carolina fan, you have to be rooting he bombs his tryouts, right?

txag72 said:

---

Quote:

---

They were still dumb because he's not going anywhere?

---

We've paid for less than satisfactory results for 4 years before any success. I would think we would pay more for success if/when it happens. Question is would Texags ever just accept and enjoy the results and not worry about the how as long as we're clean?

---

Go to a game at Reed and tell me how many people enjoy the results. 90% of my friends many of which had season tickets don't even watch Aggie bball on TV. It's a disgusting product except for the talent on the court so it's hard to fully let loose and enjoy. I mean with three minutes left against UNI you mean to tell me you weren't thinking "classic BK" before we pulled it out?

I stopped watching a lot this season because it was obvious we were poorly coached and weren't going to do anything. I'm sure it'll be better next year when our coach has enough talent to bail him out.

Quote:

---

I mean with three minutes left against UNI you mean to tell me you weren't thinking "classic BK" before we pulled it out?

---

I was thinking, 'Stansbury is sitting right next to Kennedy. Why has he been talking on his cell phone so much during this game? Is he speaking with his agent working out some final details for his next gig? Can't he see what is happening? We are #$%@ gonna lose. He needs to get off that *$#* phone and do something!'

Then, with about a minute left in the game, I noticed Stansbury toss his phone over to his jacket and start whispering in BK's ear. Kind of cut it a bit close in my opinion but fortunately things worked out in the end.

I don't think the SEC is good enough as a league to demand 7 bids this next year. But we ought to get 2x the number of Elite 8 teams we had this year just on the premise that the competition in the league is improving.

I like to make the joke we are the sixth ranked conference among the Power 5 conferences in basketball, so glad we at least finished in 5th...

We had five this year and Alabama and Georgia were three seeds in the NIT, so even a slightly better year and 7 should be doable.

We can debate on here all we want about how good the SEC actually was in 2016-17, but the truth is that league didn't do enough in non-conference to have the numbers to back it up. Schedules have to both get better, and the teams capable of winning big non-conference games need to win them.

7 isn't an insane number of bids if the league actually has a good season.

I agree that it is within reach. The real question is how much measurable improvement will occur and whether the combination of RPI and kenpom depicts it neatly. More ooc with continuing better opponents is going to drive perception if the rate of wins stays consistent driving RPI improvement during league play.

We had a good enough schedule at arguable two more good wins (top 50 would have been nice) and a couple more middling wins should have generated at least a 12 seed play-in or a decent NIT bid. But the reality is we weren't that good in spite of carryover advantages of the S16 trip.

Without improvement the number of bids the SEC got will continue to be predictive. With improvement it becomes a floor with more bids likely. Don't deserve any consideration for more except a base concept of a 3E8 and 2F4 conference at the very least exceeded expectations if not blasted them to pieces.

Who do we think is most likely to finish in the bottom four of the SEC rankings next season (having to thus play on the very first day of the SEC tournament)?

Missouri?

Cuonzo Martin is going to sign a top-10 nationally ranked 2017 recruiting class headlined by #1 national recruit Michael Porter Jr. He just added a 4-star top-100 ranked PG to that class, and is in the mix for 1-2 more uncommitted 5-stars (one of whom, Knox, recently went on an official visit to Missouri along with Porter Jr.). Cuonzo not known for superior X's and O's, but can a major recruiting upgrade start quickly paying off in terms of rising a bit off the bottom of the SEC?

LSU?

New coach, but their roster seems pretty decimated right now.

Auburn?

They have been bottom-4 bad for 3 straight years under Pearl, but all of those 4 and 5-star rated guys that he has been signing in back-to-back-to-back recruiting classes has to eventually mean some wins...right?

South Carolina?

They are losing SEC Player of the Year Thornwell, Duane Notice, and McKie. And Dozier just declared for the draft (though without an agent). If Dozier doesn't come back, they will have lost 4 of their 5 starters off last year's Final Four team and the two guys (Thornwell and Dozier) who South Carolina's offense mostly seemed to run through. A few nice role player pieces from last year's team still returning such as Silva and Felder, but could they end up like Oklahoma did last year and drop from Final Four to the bottom of their conference rankings (particularly if Dozier doesn't come back)?

Mississippi State? Tennessee? Georgia (where Mark Fox appears to be on a 'hot' seat)?

I'd put my money on LSU and Missouri (unless they sign like 8 guys) and then there's like a grab bag of Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Georgia. I don't particularly like any of those rosters.

Vandy?

If Vandy can find someone to rebound they'll still have Fisher-Davis, Roberson and LaChance. No reason they can't just go weapons free from beyond the arc again next year really.

Think it swung way too far in the opposite direction, but still worth noting

wacarnolds said:

---

Think it swung way too far in the opposite direction, but still worth noting

---

Way too far. Porter kid is supposed to be pretty good though.

USC also had kory Holden eligible this year. Pretty nice player. 18 points 4 assists per game. 39 pct on threes.

A&M tied with Arkansas and SC for the 6th best odds in the SEC

GE said:

---

wacarnolds said:

---

Think it swung way too far in the opposite direction, but still worth noting

---

Way too far. Porter kid is supposed to be pretty good though.

---

Well they also think they're gonna get Knox and Tilmon, two more top 50 recruits.

And that swung because if you're a mizzou fan, you put money on 250-1 (and many probably did), they're doing it to save their own asses just in case, not necessarily because they think it will happen.

Everybody should understand that there is no "sharp money" or "smart money" on lines like this. The odds don't add up for the field so it is a sucker's bet. So all you are looking at is basically who has the most optimistic fans.

The Lost said:

---

GE said:

---

wacarnolds said:

---

Think it swung way too far in the opposite direction, but still worth noting

---

Way too far. Porter kid is supposed to be pretty good though.

---

Well they also think they're gonna get Knox and Tilmon, two more top 50 recruits.

And that swung because if you're a mizzou fan, you put money on 250-1 (and many probably did), they're doing it to save their own asses just in case, not necessarily because they think it will happen.

---

How is this happening? Isn't this the same school that is shutting down multiple dorms because nobody wants to go there?

Didn't he hear about the poop swastika?

GE said:

---

The Lost said:

---

GE said:

---

wacarnolds said:

---

Think it swung way too far in the opposite direction, but still worth noting

---

Way too far. Porter kid is supposed to be pretty good though.

---

Well they also think they're gonna get Knox and Tilmon, two more top 50 recruits.

And that swung because if you're a mizzou fan, you put money on 250-1 (and many probably did), they're doing it to save their own asses just in case, not necessarily because they think it will happen.

---

How is this happening? Isn't this the same school that is shutting down multiple dorms because nobody wants to go there?

---

Porter lived in Columbia from like 5th grade to junior year of hs or something like that and his sister is on the womens team. He's also good buddies with knox and tilmon is from STL. The thought is they could be legends at mizzou vs another big body at uk, duke, unc, ku, etc.

mdanyc03 said:

---

Everybody should understand that there is no "sharp money" or "smart money" on lines like this. The odds don't add up for the field so it is a sucker's bet. So all you are looking at is basically who has the most optimistic fans.

---

It's a sucker bet, no doubt, but it still loosely resembles a power ranking