Matt talked to some people behind the scenes and they are saying Mulder is way better then what they thought they were getting. More good news! It sounds like we might be lil deeper then what people think. I am curious what he will bring to team.
KSR hearing Mulder
- Thread starter buckkiller
- Start date
Does anyone that has been to the scrimmages this week know how tall he really is? Wondering if he is as tall as Briscoe?
I think so too. He is an incredible athlete, probably the best on the team. He may also be the best shooter on the team, with better than average quickness and basketball IQ. I suspect he'll have some shakiness to his game in the early going but come on strong as the season progresses. The quality of his defense will determine his court time.
All i know is I am looking forward to this team big time. I just got a gut feeling they will be great.
Taller than Briscoe by nearly 2 inches. Mulder is about 6'4.5 - 6'5, with a 6'10 wingspan.
Great news. UK needs him to hit 3's and play solid D. I think he will do both. I like our team this year, but LOVE our guards (1s, 2s, and 3s even for the sake of this team). We have 5 guys who I think will be great. There won't be a platoon at those positions but Cal could if he wanted to an extent as they are all good players IMO.
I'm not saying this info is incorrect, and I have been a big fan of Mulder coming here, but I never put much stock in these reports. Happens every summer at every school. So and so is lighting it up in the scrimmages, Player X is shocking coaches with his improvements, etc. Sometimes it happens, but probably more often than not, it's just optimistic spin, which is fine. It's better than the alternative I guess.
That is pretty high praise. I would say that Ulis will be the best shooter on the team and Poythress the best athlete, but I sure hope you are right Dave.
I am around 6 foot and was around Mulder daily for about 6 days during camps. He is 6'4" to 6'5" range. Long arms, athletic, good shooting stroke, and great with the fans and the kids. Always smiling...commented that he was very happy to be here was going to take advantage of his opportunity.
A couple other observations for those that may be interested...
Skal looked much more muscular than I had previously thought. He has definitely bulked up a bit especially his upper body. Extremely skilled.
Only saw Ulis one day and he had two ice packs taped on both shins. Obviously still dealing with the shin splints problem.
Saw Poythress, Willis, and Lee in the Craft center putting work and working out every single day I was there.
Heard Cal talk a lot about teams past and this year's team which was awesome. It was interesting to me in regards to players leaving early that he spoke of "one player" that since he's been here who didn't finish out the term and of course we all know who that is. Cal said that he has yet to speak to him and will not talk to him except maybe the day before Cal dies he will. Tells his players if they don't finish out the term to just go ahead and lose his number.
All the players, coaches, and staff were accessible and great with all the kids and even the big kids like us parents too. It was a great week.
Last edited:
This team is made to peak come march.
Mulder adjusts to high level d1.
Ullis gets comfortable running the show.
Poy gets healthy at the right time.
Freshman aren't freshman anymore.
Etc...
Mulder adjusts to high level d1.
Ullis gets comfortable running the show.
Poy gets healthy at the right time.
Freshman aren't freshman anymore.
Etc...
My thoughts exactly. We hear it every single year. We hear......
Pilgram is a beast!
Harrow is amazing!
Willis is playing great!
Especially with shooters! Shooters tend to look really good in practice but its a whole other monster hitting shots with fans in the seats. So, take this all with a grain of salt. We won't much about this team until late December after we have played a few good non conference teams. That will tell us alot
2 questions:
Can he handle the ball? i suspect this will be a weakness for him. JUCO D tends to be soft, D1 defense is not. It's not important that he can handle like a PG (UK has plenty), but it is important that he can make 1 or 2 dribble moves past a defender. We've seen what happens when you can't with Poythress at the 3.
And can he hit shots in games, against real competition? He has some cred with that, given what he did in JUCO, but sometimes guys have a hard time finding a comfort level when the competition increases.
Can he handle the ball? i suspect this will be a weakness for him. JUCO D tends to be soft, D1 defense is not. It's not important that he can handle like a PG (UK has plenty), but it is important that he can make 1 or 2 dribble moves past a defender. We've seen what happens when you can't with Poythress at the 3.
And can he hit shots in games, against real competition? He has some cred with that, given what he did in JUCO, but sometimes guys have a hard time finding a comfort level when the competition increases.
It's summertime in Kentucky ... every incoming/returning player is Bill Brasky.
Probably is more athletic, but not nearly as physically imposing. Poy is very fast in the open floor, has a 41 inch vertical, very quick laterally, etc., all while being 6'8, 240#
Mulder looks like the kinda kid that has a solid 44 inch vertical, and he's also very quick laterally, and is also fast in the open floor. Has terrific body control as well, but he's 6'4.5 or so, and 190#
The important context here regarding Mulder is the role we need him for now as opposed to what we were going to be asking of him before landing Murray. Is the hype justified? Who knows?
That might be a problem if we needed him to be our best wing scorer. As it stands, whatever "surprise" he gives us is an added bonus, not a necessity.
That might be a problem if we needed him to be our best wing scorer. As it stands, whatever "surprise" he gives us is an added bonus, not a necessity.
- Thanks Dave K, your on top of things! I too feel Mulder is underrated . Good speed , sweet shot, and CAN DUNK ON ANYBODY!
I'm hoping he turns out to be awesome, and shoots over 40% from 3, and gives us a stud off the bench. We may have a really good 3pt shooting team after all with Mulder, Murray, Ulis, and Briscoe. Plus I think Mathews will shoot a little better than some think.
With our guards and their ability to penetrate, we should have a lot of wide open looks either off penetration when we see man to man or off the zone collapsing.
I am hoping our opponents will cringe at having to pick their poison by either stopping our penetration or giving us the wide open shot.
What can you do?
Duke and UConn won titles the last two seasons with the same principle.
Just a couple years ago James Young was all the talk during the summer. He ended up being a poor passer, a bad defender, and an inconsistent high volume shooter. Taking this with a grain of salt.
there was an entire thread dedicated to this a while back. welcome to the gun show....
Last edited:
He was a bad passer (I give him a pass on defense with the rules changing throughout the season)... but we don't win the Wichita State game without him.
I think he's gonna be good honestly. I could see him giving us 7-8pts off the bench easily. Maybe more depending on C-Dawg.
Yep I remember that. I was thinking he was damn Harden 2.0. But James Young wasn't just a bad passer. He was a terrible passer. And yes. Inconsistent as hell too.
Only people who thought he couldn't play is posters on this board. It seems if somebody come from Juco then they must not be very good. Cal would not have brought him in if he thought he was some kind of chump. Cal wants him to go to the NBA and thinks he has the ability to do so otherwise he wouldn't have got an offer.
IF Mulder and Matthews live up to their billing as our 6th and 7th man, only thing else really need off the bench is a big that can defend and rebound like a big dog. We can live inside with two shot blockers like Skal and Lee and a big ultra talented offensively like Skal. Just need another big to spell those two occasionally.
Afraid Poy may be slow out of the gate. May take him a couple of months to get up to full speed. So Willis becomes a very important piece to the puzzle.
Afraid Poy may be slow out of the gate. May take him a couple of months to get up to full speed. So Willis becomes a very important piece to the puzzle.
Yep. James Young definitely had his moments where he was very impressive. We needed him as much as anybody.
What? Young was an excellent passer! What are you smoking?
LOL! Who was it that listed him as a great passer before the draft? Can't remember who it was but he went on ESPN and said Young was an excellent passer. I about fell out of my chair! Its hard to imagine a worse passer at his level than Young. Its a good thing he does other things well cause passing is not his cup of tea. Lol
Does be so sure that Mulder or Matthews are the 6th man. I actually think Mulder will start at the 3 spot with Briscoe coming off the bench at the 1 or 2 spot. I don't think Murray wants to play the 3 at all. We could go 3 guards but I see the opening day lineup at Ulis, Murray, Mulder, Alex, and Skal. Could possibly see Ulis, Murray, Alex, Marcus, and Skal too. People just assume we will run a "3 guard lineup" but I'm not sure about that unless we run the DDM. Otherwise, I think we start off with a traditional lineup. Just my opinion though but its exciting to be so versatile with the possible starting lineups. That's what I see for opening night but who knows what it will be come January and February.
