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6,970 Views | 56 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by wacarnolds
agfan1030
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Quote:

With the multiple reports Monday that center Bam Adebayo is retaining an agent and will stay in the NBA draft, Kentucky has now lost its top seven scorers and eight of its top nine from the 2016-17 team. The Wildcats will return just 7.4 percent of their scoring from that team, with just one player who had even a marginally important role with the squad that made the Elite Eight before losing to North Carolina.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/facing-biggest-rebuild-yet-can-john-calipari-keep-kentucky-title-mix-201257287.html
zooguy96
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Doesn't matter. They will get their top 20 players, and be back in the tournament and win the SEC again
Pumpkinhead
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AG
Only Kentucky in the Calipari era could lose that amount of production and you still give them the benefit of the doubt because Cal is arguably the greatest college basketball recruiter of all time, and they will bring in multiple McDonald All-Americans and 5-stars to replace them.

That said....very good chance the SEC will be tougher next year overall than it has the past few years. Florida, Alabama, Texas A&M, etc...there will be several other teams with pretty salty looking rosters. And even some of the programs who have been finishing bottom-4 in the conference the past few years like Auburn and Missouri may be tougher outs than they have been.

Winning the SEC conference as of right now seems pretty wide open next season.

mdanyc03
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AG
zooguy96 said:

Doesn't matter. They will get their top 20 players, and be back in the tournament and win the SEC again
Of course it matters.

Sure they will make the tournament and they may very well win the SEC again (although I don't think it is a foregone conclusion).

But obviously the goal at Kentucky is Final Fours and National Titles and odds are they will miss out on that again. Tell a Kentucky fan that doesn't matter because they will be in the tournament again.
Pumpkinhead
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zooguy96 said:

Doesn't matter. They will get their top 20 players, and be back in the tournament and win the SEC again
They have an excellent 2017 recruiting class coming in, but the opinion of recruiting analysts seems to generally be that they still really need to land 5-star Mohamed Bamba to address a major hole in the post.

But the Texas Longhorns are pretty desperate for an elite post player and per the recruiting services, is battling Kentucky pretty hard for Bamba's services.

Some of the hoop analysts types have been opining that, if Kentucky doesn't land Bamba, they will be only a first weekend-ish sort of NCAA quality team.

Method Man
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How does one battle hard for a recruit? Call more?
brotheraggie
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Know Your Enemy
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AG
I literally bumped into Calipari on Saturday (well he actually bumped into me). He commented on my A&M shirt and I asked him to go easy on us this season. He laughed and said it's always a war when they play us. I guess he forgot about the game in Lexington last season.
sincereag
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The article also makes a very good point that teams making a deep run in the NCAA tourney with great freshmen usually have at least two veteran players who are big contributors. UK will likely not have that next year. I think I like our roster better than theirs at this point.
Double Diamond
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All this means is Bamba another top 5 big man will sign. I think he is actually way better than Bam.
Double Diamond
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They have a major hole in the post? They signed a 5star center and have handful of options at the power forward. If they get Bama that's two 5star centers signed.
zooguy96
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What I mean is that it doesn't matter much with reference to the SEC. They'll still likely win the SEC tournament and probably the SEC regular season.
Pumpkinhead
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Double Diamond said:

They have a major hole in the post? They signed a 5star center and have handful of options at the power forward. If they get Bama that's two 5star centers signed.


That is what some analysts seem to be opining.

To be clear, they are talking about Kentucky being a championship contender next season or not. They seem to feel like Cal really needs to land Bamba to be in that sort of conversation, vs just being an NCAA quality team. They are talking about being a top-5 team vs top-20 team...and seem to feel like Bamba is important to be the former.
Serious Lee
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bamba is certainly better than Bam, but im willing to bet any takers that even with him they will not win the SEC next year.
Hop
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Staff
AG
I agree w the opinion that a bunch of freshmen, as talented as they may be, need a few veteran leaders to stabilize the team.
Pumpkinhead
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From Parrish article talking about next season:

Quote:


Calipari has never been this young

Here's proof:
  • Calipari's 2010 team featured Patrick Patterson -- a junior who had averaged 17.9 points and 33.7 minutes the previous season.
  • Calipari's 2011 team featured Darius Miller -- a junior who had averaged 6.5 points and 21.2 minutes the previous season.
  • Calipari's 2012 team featured Terrence Jones -- a sophomore who had averaged 15.7 points and 31.5 minutes the previous season.
  • Calipari's 2013 team featured Kyle Wiltjer -- a sophomore who had averaged 5.0 points and 11.6 minutes the previous season.
  • Calipari's 2014 team featured Alex Poythress -- a sophomore who had averaged 11.2 points and 25.8 minutes the previous season.
  • Calipari's 2015 team featured Aaron Harrison -- a sophomore who had averaged 13.7 points and 32.6 minutes the previous season.
  • Calipari's 2016 team featured Tyler Ulis -- a sophomore who had averaged 5.6 points and 23.8 minutes the previous season.
  • Calipari's 2017 team featured Isaiah Briscoe -- a sophomore who had averaged 9.6 points and 32.2 minutes the previous season.

  • In other words, this will be the first time Calipari has coached a UK team without a returning player who averaged at least 5.0 points in the previous season. And it'll be just the second time he's coached a team without a returning player who averaged at least 18.0 minutes in the previous season -- the only other time being in 2013, when his Wildcats finished 21-12 and lost to Robert Morris in the NIT.

    Like I explained in February, Calipari's best teams have always had a decent balance of freshmen and non-freshmen. They might've been led by first-year players like John Wall (2010), Anthony Davis (2012) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2015). But they were supported by veterans like Patrick Patterson (2010), Doron Lamb (2012) and Willie Cauley-Stein (2015).


    Last season, besides Briscoe, Kentucky also got notable contributions from multi-year players like Willis, the 7-foot Australian kid Humphries, and a couple of others.


    BQ_90
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    AG
    greg.w.h
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    AG
    Cal gambles that talent wins support from fans, long-trips to the NCAAs including relatively frequent F4 and championship games. He bets on a very aggressive reloading and builds his bench with the best longer-term role players.

    Right now no one else can pull that off. So he's the place to go for one and dones.
    Double Diamond
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    Calipari owns the SEC. this ain't changing next year.
    sincereag
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    So you think Cal can win the SEC next year strictly with freshmen and no veteran leadership? I don't regardless of how highly touted his recruiting class is. I like our chances better.
    Bunk Moreland
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    sincereag said:

    So you think Cal can win the SEC next year strictly with freshmen and no veteran leadership? I don't regardless of how highly touted his recruiting class is. I like our chances better.


    This will be interesting to look back on in the event he wins the SEC and BK underperforms.

    If that happens I'll bet we'll hear no credit on this board to Cal, and more spin for why BK wasn't able to get it done.

    My opinion, FWIW, is that bk should do better than Cal next year with the roster we have returning, and should be no worse than 3rd in the league and a 4 seed in the tourney.
    Pumpkinhead
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    AG
    Double Diamond said:

    Calipari owns the SEC.


    I agree with this part. Since Calipari showed up at Kentucky only twice (Florida once and Texas A&M once) has another school won the conference.

    I think you always have to assume Kentucky is the favorite to win conference by default.

    However, Cal does not quite have the death grip on the SEC that Bill Self has on the Big 12. Hypothetically and particularly if some things don't fall Kentucky's way like Diallo stays in draft, Bamba goes to Austin, etc., it isn't far fetched to think Kentucky might lose 4-5 SEC games (just like they did in 2015-2016) and opens the door for another school to grab the regular season title.

    We'll see. still a lot of dominos out there. Besides diallo, bamba, and Knox, Kentucky is also going after a grad transfer or two to try to address some of their experience issues.
    Pumpkinhead
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    AG
    Bunk Moreland said:

    sincereag said:

    So you think Cal can win the SEC next year strictly with freshmen and no veteran leadership? I don't regardless of how highly touted his recruiting class is. I like our chances better.


    This will be interesting to look back on in the event he wins the SEC and BK underperforms.

    If that happens I'll bet we'll hear no credit on this board to Cal, and more spin for why BK wasn't able to get it done.

    My opinion, FWIW, is that bk should do better than Cal next year with the roster we have returning, and should be no worse than 3rd in the league and a 4 seed in the tourney.


    If BK significantly underperforms next season then he should be fired and the vast amount of TexAgs posts will be about wanting him fired. There won't be any shortage of upset fans venting on TexAgs I assure you. Don't worry about that,
    Double Diamond
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    I've learned to never doubt Calipari. Does it year in and year out. Took a really good UF team and losing Noel to derail him.
    Double Diamond
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    Calipari has a chance at Cam Johnson. Upperclassmen who can play.
    Pumpkinhead
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    AG
    Double Diamond said:

    I've learned to never doubt Calipari. Does it year in and year out. Took a really good UF team and losing Noel to derail him.
    And Texas A&M finished first in SEC hoops rankings in 2015-2016. Yes, Calipari @ Kentucky has been dominant, and they should be considered favorites, but some other school finishing first next season isn't some major stretching of imagination. roster wise, looks like there will be some other rosters in the SEC who may be able to give Kentucky a run for their money.
    Double Diamond
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    Yes I know. I'm talking outright titles.
    Pumpkinhead
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    AG
    Double Diamond said:

    Yes I know. I'm talking outright titles.
    Kentucky finished 13-5 in the SEC in 2015-2016 which is partly why a good A&M team was able to get up there with them (along with a favorable schedule). next year's Kentucky team *might* be more likely to be one of Cal's teams that finishes like 13-5/14-4...opening the door for somebody else to win the conference. Rather than being one of Cal's 18-0/16-2 type of Kentucky teams. We'll see.

    Double Diamond
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    Guessing UK will get piited against WVU. As Cal vs. Huggins is always interesting going back a long ways.
    Pumpkinhead
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    AG
    Double Diamond said:

    Guessing UK will get piited against WVU. As Cal vs. Huggins is always interesting going back a long ways.
    A&M will get first shot at WVU in Germany. We'll see how that goes.
    mikesyracuse1
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    Pitt's grad transfer Cam Johnson visited UK today. It's unusual because he can play immediately and will be eligible for two years. If UK offers, I expect him to be wearing blue the next two seasons. That would give UK some much needed experience the next two years.

    mikesyracuse1
    Pumpkinhead
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    AG
    mikesyracuse1 said:

    Pitt's grad transfer Cam Johnson visited UK today. It's unusual because he can play immediately and will be eligible for two years. If UK offers, I expect him to be wearing blue the next two seasons. That would give UK some much needed experience the next two years.

    mikesyracuse1
    Mike, he is a good player, but looks like a 5-year college player who probably won't get drafted after he uses up his eligibility.

    Going into a very unique environment like Kentucky where the majority of the roster is comprised of freshman with a 'one and done and then off to NBA' talent level and mindset, do you think it can be a pretty challenging for a grad transfer like Johnson to come in and play an 'experienced leader' role within that culture?

    I guess that is one of Cal's gifts, how he is able to manage all the egos/handlers/drama that is Kentucky basketball.

    mikesyracuse1
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    Pumpkinhead said:

    mikesyracuse1 said:

    Pitt's grad transfer Cam Johnson visited UK today. It's unusual because he can play immediately and will be eligible for two years. If UK offers, I expect him to be wearing blue the next two seasons. That would give UK some much needed experience the next two years.

    mikesyracuse1
    Mike, he is a good player, but looks like a 5-year college player who probably won't get drafted after he uses up his eligibility.

    Going into a very unique environment like Kentucky where the majority of the roster is comprised of freshman with a 'one and done and then off to NBA' talent level and mindset, do you think it can be a pretty challenging for a grad transfer like Johnson to come in and play an 'experienced leader' role within that culture?

    I guess that is one of Cal's gifts, how he is able to manage all the egos/handlers/drama that is Kentucky basketball.


    I think he can help them because of his experience and he's an above average shooter. He should be able to find himself into the rotation. However, alot of folks thought that would happen with Mulder over the last two years and that rarely happened. He was mostly a forgotten player.

    mikesyracuse1
    Oilfield Aggie12
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    Sometimes just seems unfair

    http://www.espn.com/recruiting/basketball/story/_/id/19326360/kevin-knox-five-star-recruit-chooses-kentucky-florida-state-duke-north-carolina
    mikesyracuse1
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    That gives U.K. 6 five star recruits for next year if Diallo pulls out of the draft. I expect him to stay in however.

    Mikesyracuse1
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