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I'd like to see Cal keep a couple of lesser...

  • Matt May said...

    I haven't heard it from anyone directly connected to Calipari, but have been told by people in and around the program that he's probably not here for the long haul, especially if next year's team (2013-14) does what he thinks it will.

    Can't seen him leaving anytime soon. Maybe in another 4-5 years and I don't think a good enough NBA job will be knocking on his door. He's not leaving for another college job.

    Ioannis

  • Chris Fisher said...

    This this this.

    I'm sure Cal could pull it off if he actually wanted to. Frankly, he just hasn't recruited many 4 star guys. Willis, Poole, Cauley were some of the very few and he got them. If he made it a priority, no doubt in my mind he could mix in a few 4 star guys. I think it has more to do with Cal not wanting to scare away 5 star players in future classes more than it has to do with 4 star players being afraid of being recruited over.

    For example would you rather have a Junior Trevor Lacey or a freshman James Young? That's what it comes down to and I will take Young 10 times out of 10.

    This post was edited by Ioannis on 2/2/2013 at 1:54 PM

    Ioannis

  • Cal has built a brand at UK, that it is the best of the best...

    Start recruiting a bunch of 4* kids and you hurt the brand.

    Let those 4* kids develop and now you have schools using that against you in recruiting for the 5* kids. They will say...you have 4* Jr. at UK blocking your minutes...you won't play 30 minutes a game there.

    I get the point, but it's just not that easy in practice.

    As far as Cal is concerned, I hope he coaches here for a very long time, but if he were to leave after next year I would still love him forever (unless he went to coach UL). He gave us our program back.

    jamccain

  • jamccain said...

    Cal has built a brand at UK, that it is the best of the best...

    Start recruiting a bunch of 4* kids and you hurt the brand.

    Let those 4* kids develop and now you have schools using that against you in recruiting for the 5* kids. They will say...you have 4* Jr. at UK blocking your minutes...you won't play 30 minutes a game there.

    I get the point, but it's just not that easy in practice.

    As far as Cal is concerned, I hope he coaches here for a very long time, but if he were to leave after next year I would still love him forever (unless he went to coach UL). He gave us our program back.

    Yup. Great post.

    Ioannis

  • This team isn't struggling because we have too many freshmen and not enough experience. They are struggling because this crop of freshmen aren't as good as the guys we had here the previous 3 seasons. The 2012 class was just a very weak class. Some years that happens.

    Replace Noel and Poythress with a freshman Davis and a freshman MKG and UK is ranked #1 and the favorite to win the national championship.

    This post was edited by Ioannis on 2/2/2013 at 2:17 PM

    Ioannis

  • poole and hood are supposed to be those guys this season that help the younger guys...poole left cause no playing time and hood hasnt develpoed like they thought he would...wiltjer shouldnt leave after this year and there is your upperclassman on next years team...cal probably thought poole would be around this season and harrow is a 3 year college plyer doesnt matter if he had to sit last year he practiced everyday against best team in country he should be that upperclass guy this year

    esupp24

  • Bottom line is this: Using the one and dones, Cal's UK teams will be really good generally speaking.

    If he happens to have one or two stick around for another year, that subsequent team will be great.

    signature image

    Chris Fisher

  • Ioannis said...

    This team isn't struggling because we have too many freshmen and not enough experience. They are struggling because this crop of freshmen aren't as good as the guys we had here the previous 3 seasons. The 2012 class was just a very weak class. Some years that happens.

    Replace Noel and Poythress with a freshman Davis and a freshman MKG and UK is ranked #1 and the favorite to win the national championship.

    This. Some late misses also hurt. Replace Julius Mays with Mark Lyons and I still think this team is a title contender.

    signature image

    Chris Fisher

  • esupp24 said...

    poole and hood are supposed to be those guys this season that help the younger guys...poole left cause no playing time and hood hasnt develpoed like they thought he would...wiltjer shouldnt leave after this year and there is your upperclassman on next years team...cal probably thought poole would be around this season and harrow is a 3 year college plyer doesnt matter if he had to sit last year he practiced everyday against best team in country he should be that upperclass guy this year

    This.

    Everyone says that Cal should do this and the reality is that he already is. Everyone needs to face that last year was a perfect storm. Senior leadership, experienced sophomores return, and incredible freshman. They all leave at once and we get what we have now, a team that while talented is still learning. Lucky for us we are looking to have that same perfect storm next year minus maybe the returning sophomores.

    bmac ●

  • Chris Fisher said...

    This. Some late misses also hurt. Replace Julius Mays with Mark Lyons and I still think this team is a title contender.

    I agree with that Chris. Would have made a huge difference.

    Ioannis

  • RV is right and its a point I've made several times and on different boards. I'm alright doing it with frosh, 5th year seniors, JUCO's whatever it takes to find seasoned talent to come in and provide leadership. The problem is you can't bury these guys on the bench. You have to find a way to get them consistent minutes early on. And I don't think its as tough a sell as some seem to think. Coming in and playing with NBA player year after year for National Championships at UK while being developed into an NBA player just at a slower pace than the rest. Not a tough sell at all.

    tWhit ●

  • Agree with RV and Twhit...If the 8th ,9th and 10th men are 4 stars your practices are going to be very competitive and it will make everyone better..You will have quality depth most
    likely at every position and that will enable the starters to rest more and in that way they can play more efficiently..On the 96 team,Delk led in minutes played with 28 per game and you never heard him whine about it..You can play a lot harder when you are not trying to pace yourself..Lyons and Harrell would have made us a hell of a team this year..

    On another note I want cal to bust the whole bubble and sign Wiggins,Randle and Gordon....No depth problems next year..

    wildcatdon ●

  • wildcatdon said...

    On another note I want cal to bust the whole bubble and sign Wiggins,Randle and Gordon....No depth problems next year..

    He must not. We need a hard to get 4* sarcasm

    poliglotcat

  • ...this topic is insane...

    1. We have recruited lesser talent... they didn't have the patience to develop themselves. Darius Miller happen to be the only one that stayed. Stacey Poole? He was athletic player that if he stayed could have been CRITICAL this year.

    2. We do have talented player staying. Why do people quickly forget. Wiltjer is a second year player that as of now is likely to stay another year. This year reminds me of darius miller in his junior year. Remember the heat he took? Wiltjer is learning to play harder and slowly becoming leader. This will all come to fruition NEXT YEAR.

    Also, WCS is likely to stay at this point. His injury has set him back, which is obvious. I also don't see Harrow leaving, which would combine nice back court, and interior.

    The problem is the fans, who expect every year to be favorite NCAA title team. Absurd.

    This post was edited by Wildmoon on 2/2/2013 at 7:59 PM

    signature image signature image signature image

    Wildmoon

  • Ioannis said...

    This team isn't struggling because we have too many freshmen and not enough experience. They are struggling because this crop of freshmen aren't as good as the guys we had here the previous 3 seasons. The 2012 class was just a very weak class. Some years that happens.

    Replace Noel and Poythress with a freshman Davis and a freshman MKG and UK is ranked #1 and the favorite to win the national championship.

    yeah, this is also true.

    It's unfortunate, when we don't have good mix of raw talent and skilled player.

    signature image signature image signature image

    Wildmoon

  • Wildmoon said...

    ...this topic is insane...

    1. We have recruited lesser talent... they didn't have the patience to develop themselves. Darius Miller happen to be the only one that stayed. Stacey Poole? He was athletic player that if he stayed could have been CRITICAL this year.

    2. We do have talented player staying. Why do people quickly forget. Wiltjer is a second year player that as of now is likely to stay another year. This year reminds me of darius miller in his junior year. Remember the heat he took? Wiltjer is learning to play harder and slowly becoming leader. This will all come to fruition NEXT YEAR.

    Also, WCS is likely to stay at this point. His injury has set him back, which is obvious. I also don't see Harrow leaving, which would combine nice back court, and interior.

    The problem is the fans, who expect every year to be favorite NCAA title team. Absurd.

    Would you like to bet me your next 2 paychecks that WCS is going to stay? Most NBA scouts and GMs expect him to move up into the lottery once he works out for the draft (based on comments after his knee procedure). His stock has not dropped at all and in no way has he been 'set back'. Even saw it mentioned that the knee procedure was done now (as opposed to later) in preparation for the draft workouts.

    WildcatKNH :: my NCAA Resource Center > www.knhayes.com/NCAA

    wildcatknh ●

  • wildcatknh said...

    Would you like to bet me your next 2 paychecks that WCS is going to stay? Most NBA scouts and GMs expect him to move up into the lottery once he works out for the draft (based on comments after his knee procedure). His stock has not dropped at all and in no way has he been 'set back'. Even saw it mentioned that the knee procedure was done now (as opposed to later) in preparation for the draft workouts.

    still leaves wiltjer, my point still remains the same.

    Also, if he stays he will be top 10 pick, possibly lower. (I believe it was chad ford who said it.) Just because he is in first round doesn't guarantee he leaves.

    signature image signature image signature image

    Wildmoon

  • Reading comprehension and math struggles abound. To have a legit debate both must be included.

    I'm done with this.

    IamRV

  • Chris or matt just how good do u think we will be next year? Matt brought it up earlier concerning cal

    John Stewart

  • Wildmoon said...

    still leaves wiltjer, my point still remains the same.

    Also, if he stays he will be top 10 pick, possibly lower. (I believe it was chad ford who said it.) Just because he is in first round doesn't guarantee he leaves.

    Wiltjer could very well be gone too.

    tWhit ●

  • NashvilleCat197 said...

    I made this very assertion when Cal was first brought in and was lambasted. The contrast with this years team as compared to last years team truly shows the importance of having some senior leadership. I suppose it is hard to bring in the strong 4* talent when they know they are going to be recruited over but you know Cal could pull it off.

    If you insisted that he recruited lesser players I see why you was lambasted. That thinking is the dumbest thing that I have ever heard. In the past that didn't really work out for us unless you like the 10+ losses a year and getting put out of the tournament(if we made it)in the 2nd round.

    UKlaw82

  • Next year will say a lot for Cal's way of doing things. We're gonna have a monster crop of freshman at every position that are natural born killers. And Hood and Polson will provide some leadership. Hopefull Willis will be one of these guys that we can develop over 3-4 years. I'm still holding out hope we can find a 5th year transfer to add to next years team. I guess that will depend on who else we add to the class though and whether or not we can get Wiggins, Randle or both.

    tWhit ●

  • IamRV said...

    I don't think that's what folks are saying at all. Of course you don't stop trying to bring in the very best talent you can but the point many are trying to make is that there is always room in each class to add one or two kids that are not likely one and dones. The state of Kentucky (and I would include Huntington prep in WV) produces these on an annual basis. Kids that can be sold on coming in and being that defensive stopper or microwave off the bench that would be here 3 or 4 years so that you would have a returning core of 3 or 4 guys every year to give stability and experience at the very least in practice and be in the 7-8 man rotation when Cal brings in his 5-6 McD guys. It would take out a lot of the bumps in the roller coaster we're now on.

    I don't usually disagree with you RV but until you can find these great kids who just want to sit on the bench and watch the TOP ten kids start and play every year, I don't see it. Kids are not like they were 20 years ago, the name Kentucky is not magic anymore unless the coach is Cal. Plus when you start bringing in 3 and 4 star kids who feel that they have a right to minutes, he will have troubles that he doesn't have now.

    UKlaw82

  • For next season lets assume we lose everybody. All we get back is Polson and Hood, but we land Wiggins. That team will be so good at every position that they will kill just about everyone. There isn't a player in CBB that can match up with Andrew Harrison at PG this year or next. Same goes for the wings.

    Same goes for the post if we somehow get 1 or 2 back of AP, Wiltjer, WCS or land Randle. The younger version would probably lose a few games, but will be the clear cut favorite next year.

    Can you imagine if we got Wiggin/Randle and a couple of guys back from this team, namely one of the three listed or Goodwi!? That team would murder people.

    signature image signature image signature image

    Nate87 ●

  • IamRV said...

    No because you are not grasping our point. We all know that Cal can develop most any top 40-50 player into an NBA coveted guy in a year or two. What we're saying is ADD one more each year that doesn't fit in the top 40-50 criteria. IOW, when he feels like he's gotten all the top guys he can ADD ONE MORE. It's not going to botch up his scholarship numbers as we are always going to lose more than one might project as you just said. He will always coach up the guys he has into being better than they are expect to be. Just look at the less heralded players he's had here. Just look at Polson for goodness sakes. The idea is that by doing what we suggest there is more chance that there will always be holdover players for future teams.

    Well Polson is a walk-on who liked the idea of playing at Kentucky. I think he is talented and has done well here but look at the other walk-ons, one out of four gives us something and remember STOKES, if we hadn't given all of the extra scollies away to the bench guys, he might have been here so its not cut and dry when it comes to bench players. And again if we have the extra scollies, and I read where a four star kid complained that he wanted to come and sit on the bench and CAL said no, I will have to backtrack.

    UKlaw82

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