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We need Diallo and/or Murray - here is why...

Galbpt02

Gold Member
Oct 13, 2012
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Here is a little comparison and why I think we need Diallo and/or Murray (preferably both) in a big way...

2012-2013 vs 2015-2016 Roster

PG - Harrow < Ulis - This is a HUGE win for 2015-2016, Ulis is a leader and what we sorely lacked
SG - Goodwin = Briscoe - I love Briscoe's handles and potential but both came in with similar upside and Goodwin is in the league currently, so he proved he could do it. Again I would take Briscoe over Goodwin simply because it gives us another PG (Goodwin did his best at times that year but was not a true PG).
SF - Mays > Mulder - Again hoping Mulder is better, but similar players when they transferred. Hopefully calming presence. Mays was very key for us that year, I would love if Mulder could be as good as him.
PF - Poythress < Poythress - A Sr. Poythress is a better than a Fr. Poythress as long as he is able to fully recover for the injury, which I think he will.
C - Noel ? Skal - I LOVE Skal, but Noel was the man in his class too and was a stud for UK that year, and likely the top pick had he not been injured. Skill seems much better offensively than Noel, but Noel had all the intangibles. This could go either way.

Bench

6. Cauley-Stein > Marcus Lee - Love Lee's energy, but give me Cauley-Stein in this matchup. Not talking about JR Willie either, as a freshmen I still take him over Marcus due to his ability to be more physical.
7. Wiltjer > Willis - Only reason I give the nod to Wiltjer is he had more court experience from his freshmen year.
8. Polson = Hawkins - again has to be a toss up.
9. ??? < Matthews - Matthews could be the X factor and hopefully shows why he was so highly touted prior to HS injuries.

Long and short - I like our starting 5 better in 2015-2016, but our bench was better in 2012-2013. The teams match up pretty evenly if you ask me and have surprisingly similar players.

If we get Diallo and/or Murray - that is a game changer for this squad. Calipari has always said he won't get in a situation again where his bench holds him hostage - getting one or both of Diallo and/or Murray would assure that and give us the extra pieces we need, in my opinion.

I am excited about Mulder but we NEED Diallo and/or Murray much more. Best case scenario, we get 2 of those 3 and Jaylen Brown decides to play for us!!
 
A quick reading of your post and I have a couple of thoughts

Mulder looks to be better than Mays

Briscoe appears to bring more to the table at this point than did Goodwin

Hawkins is better than Polson

Freshman Poythrees was very productive if we get 11+ppg out of the senior version we will be pretty good
 
Here is a little comparison and why I think we need Diallo and/or Murray (preferably both) in a big way...

2012-2013 vs 2015-2016 Roster

PG - Harrow < Ulis - This is a HUGE win for 2015-2016, Ulis is a leader and what we sorely lacked
SG - Goodwin = Briscoe - I love Briscoe's handles and potential but both came in with similar upside and Goodwin is in the league currently, so he proved he could do it. Again I would take Briscoe over Goodwin simply because it gives us another PG (Goodwin did his best at times that year but was not a true PG).
SF - Mays > Mulder - Again hoping Mulder is better, but similar players when they transferred. Hopefully calming presence. Mays was very key for us that year, I would love if Mulder could be as good as him.
PF - Poythress < Poythress - A Sr. Poythress is a better than a Fr. Poythress as long as he is able to fully recover for the injury, which I think he will.
C - Noel ? Skal - I LOVE Skal, but Noel was the man in his class too and was a stud for UK that year, and likely the top pick had he not been injured. Skill seems much better offensively than Noel, but Noel had all the intangibles. This could go either way.

Bench

6. Cauley-Stein > Marcus Lee - Love Lee's energy, but give me Cauley-Stein in this matchup. Not talking about JR Willie either, as a freshmen I still take him over Marcus due to his ability to be more physical.
7. Wiltjer > Willis - Only reason I give the nod to Wiltjer is he had more court experience from his freshmen year.
8. Polson = Hawkins - again has to be a toss up.
9. ??? < Matthews - Matthews could be the X factor and hopefully shows why he was so highly touted prior to HS injuries.

Long and short - I like our starting 5 better in 2015-2016, but our bench was better in 2012-2013. The teams match up pretty evenly if you ask me and have surprisingly similar players.

If we get Diallo and/or Murray - that is a game changer for this squad. Calipari has always said he won't get in a situation again where his bench holds him hostage - getting one or both of Diallo and/or Murray would assure that and give us the extra pieces we need, in my opinion.

I am excited about Mulder but we NEED Diallo and/or Murray much more. Best case scenario, we get 2 of those 3 and Jaylen Brown decides to play for us!!


Mulder is taller and more athletic than Uncle Julius and likely as good a shooter. One coach has said about Mulder "think Darnell Dodson without the baggage." I'll take that. Also, I love Nerlens but he was the best player in a very weak recruiting class. Skal is much closer, by all reports, to AD than Noel. I'll take that any day. Goodwin, same as previous. Very high ranked prospect in a very weak class. It's likely Briscoe is a much better player coming out of high school than Goodwin (and Goodwin seems to be doing just fine.) I think Polson was great as a preferred walk-on for UK but Hawkins had very good offers out of high school (and is on a full ride at UK) and is a much better defender and overall player than Polson ever was. Hawkins by a mile in any comparison. Willis / Wiltjer is the wildcard IMHO. Different players with different styles. Willis has far superior "handles" and seems to be more athletic than Wiltjer. Matthew will be a very good player for UK. Marcus Lee will also be just fine. His competitive fire may allow him to eclipse WCS as an asset to UK. Ulis is a special player that creates special problems for our opponents. Next year is gonna be fun!
 
I think most of us here already know why we need them without reading your post. No offense.
 
I also think Lee is more physical than Cauley-Stein was. Cauley-Stein rarely went for a monster putback. He tended to shy away from contact very often his first 2 years.
 
Ulis for sure over Harrow.

I would hope Briscoe's decision making is better than Goodwin's, probably not as good of an athlete but a smarter basketball player.

I don't disagree that Mays tried very hard and did all he could to help that team and I understand the reluctance to get hopes up for a JUCO, but in what little I've seen from and read about Mulder he's athletic, long, can rebound, jump AND shoot. He's also several inches taller than Mays. Julius was VERY athletically challenged, that doesn't appear to be the case with Mulder.

Poythress' level of production all depends on how he's able to recover.

Skal's offensive game is a lot more polished than Noel's. If he can provide anywhere close to Noel's defensive numbers like some believe then I would put him ahead of Nerlens just based on that.

Lee can jump out of the building and is a great energy guy, but I do worry about him getting shoved around by bigger posts when he's trying to defend down low.

Willis isn't as good of a shooter (still not bad for his position), but I think he's a much better athlete than Wiltjer. The unproven factor with Willis gives the edge to Wiltjer at this point, wouldn't be surprised to see that change by the end of the year.

Hawkins is a better athlete and defender, Polson the better point guard on offense and shooter. Just depends on what you need.
 
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