Why do we need another player?
- Thread starter EvilMD
- Start date
That's great stuff, for sure, and I've seen him play on TV a couple of times and felt very good about the player I was watching. However, we all know what value to place in highlight videos and how they might translate to how a player will do at the next level. I'm actually pretty excited about looking forward to seeing Matthews play at UK this year but am willing to wait to see just how much he will contribute right away. Murray does add a great deal to this team, if we can get him, and I would hope that even you can see the value in getting a player the level of Murray to add to what we already have.
No it was Nerlens injury that ruined the season.They were playing much better and would have made it in if not for that.
Right now, I see this as our rotation and scoring:
Starters
G Ulis- 10-11ppg.
G Briscoe- 12-13ppg.
G Matthews- 5-6ppg.
F Poythress- 10-11ppg.
F Labissiere- 13-14ppg.
Key Reserves
F Lee- 5-6ppg.
G Mulder- 5-6ppg.
Bench
Hawkins- 1-2ppg.
Willis- 1-2ppg.
I think our offense will struggle a little early in the year as new guys learn the system, but they will click at the end per usual for a Cal team. I think our offensive efficiency will be right there in the top 10 next season when all is said and done.
Murray would definitely help us out on offense for sure. He would battle Labissiere for top scoring honors. We would get close to double digit scoring from all five starters with Murray in the mix.
Starters
G Ulis- 10-11ppg.
G Briscoe- 12-13ppg.
G Matthews- 5-6ppg.
F Poythress- 10-11ppg.
F Labissiere- 13-14ppg.
Key Reserves
F Lee- 5-6ppg.
G Mulder- 5-6ppg.
Bench
Hawkins- 1-2ppg.
Willis- 1-2ppg.
I think our offense will struggle a little early in the year as new guys learn the system, but they will click at the end per usual for a Cal team. I think our offensive efficiency will be right there in the top 10 next season when all is said and done.
Murray would definitely help us out on offense for sure. He would battle Labissiere for top scoring honors. We would get close to double digit scoring from all five starters with Murray in the mix.
We were overcoming our weaknesses when Noel went down. That was the straw that broke the camels back, but there were lots of issues on that team and the main one we were fighting through was a lack of toughness, especially from the PG spot.
If you watched the All-Access show on ESPN that year before the season started, you heard the coaching staff talking about what to do about the PG spot. It was a concern from the start.
Harrow quit on the team, which led to Archie going off the rails trying to make up for it, which hurt the development of Poythress and WCS. It all started with Harrow. He wasn't a bad player, hell he played awesome against Louisville that year. He just had zero toughness.
That'a a pretty low scoring team you have in those numbers. I hope, with all the playing time that he could have, that Labissiere averages more than you are showing and that we can get a bit more out of either Mulder or Matthews. This is why I feel Murray would be a huge boost to our offense so I agree with you on his importance to the team.
If look at the last few national champions, each of them has had a handful of guards capable of taking over a game. In fact, even in 2012 when UK won it all, Lamb dominated the scoring column on a night when Davis was off offensively.
Look at last season - Allen and Jones were the difference.
In 2014, it was Napier and Boatright. In 2013 it was Siva and Smith.
Simply put, having a couple of elite guards who can score is often times the difference in a team winning it all, and a team that comes up short. Murray puts UK in the driver's seat next season.
Look at last season - Allen and Jones were the difference.
In 2014, it was Napier and Boatright. In 2013 it was Siva and Smith.
Simply put, having a couple of elite guards who can score is often times the difference in a team winning it all, and a team that comes up short. Murray puts UK in the driver's seat next season.
Jamal Murray should announce by June according to link below
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...al-murray-aspires-to-be-more/article24585521/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...al-murray-aspires-to-be-more/article24585521/
Last edited:
I define fine by having a top 20 team. UK could lose first weekend but I expect second weekend and with some luck and getting hot at the right time they can make the final weekend.
If Jamal Murray comes to UK, he'll be the 3rd best BASKETBALL player on the team. Without him the Kats will be a lock for the Sweet 16 and a possibility make the Elite 8. With Jamal they will be a lock for the Elite 8 and a possibility for the Final 4. The guy has a high B-Ball IQ coupled with excellent physical skills...possible NBA lottery pick. This past season we only had 4 high B-Ball IQ Players, Tyler, Trey, Devin, and Karl...the rest were outstanding athletes with limited B-Ball IQs.
How good with the team be with current roster and recruits? Alex may or may not be at the same level...a risk. Will Derek become a defensive player...a risk. Will Marcus ever score a basket without dunking...a risk. Will Dominique ever hit 2 baskets in a row...a risk. What if our best BASKETBALL player (Tyler) gets hurt...a HUGE risk.
If Jamal comes to UK, the number of players that will get double-digit minutes once SEC play begins will probably be 7 or 8.
Tyler, Skal, Alex, Marcus, Briscoe, Jamal, Mathews, and Mulder.
Skal, Tyler, and maybe Briscoe are gonna be great! With the addition of Jamal Murray we go from being a good team to a GREAT team.
Finally...you can win a National Championship without a great half-court offense unless Anthony Davis is on your team!!!! Anthony prevented the competition from having a great half-court offense.
GBB!!!!
That is a very oversimplified and incomplete explanation for what happened. Noel's injury was a major factor, and Calipari himself said more than once that he didn't have enough players that season.
Not everyone seems to see this, but there are a number of important uncertainties. Poythress is coming back from major knee surgery. Hawkins and particularly Willis have never shown themselves to be significant players. Lee has no offensive game whatsoever outside of 3 feet from the rim, and shoots 40% from the free throw stripe. Labissiere, Briscoe, Matthews, and Mulder have never even set foot in a college game before. And as currently constituted, our team doesn't have enough recruited players to run a full practice scrimmage. It boggles the mind to see how many delusional people don't understand why any of this matters. College basketball is an extremely competitive game, and strange things happen sometimes. I thought, maybe, I saw national titles coming in 1976, 1996, and this year. Of course, we got unpleasantly surprised this year, although with a deeper and better team than we will have next year. The title in 1998 came as a total surprise. Never thought it would happen. Things like that can happen sometimes, but the stars have to line up. But if Calipari works this new roster for a national championship, he would not only be a shoe in for COTY, he should also be cited for the most amazing college coaching performance of all time. I like this team, but it isn't a national championship team unless everything unfolds perfectly.
No depth at the 5 and no muscle down low minus AP.......we are counting on AP too much I think. Alot of pressure on that young man.
Losing Noel sank the ship but Harrow had hit it with several torpedos and it was taking on water fast already before the loss of Noel.
They would maybe have made the NCAA tournament without the injury to Noel but IMO it would have been a short stay. That was a dysfunctional team without any on court leadership, a rogue PG, an out of control 2 guard, and Two wide eyed freshmen in Poythress and WCS that just were not ready for prime time. The most stabilizing member of the team was the limited 5th year graduate transfer guard that likely wouldn't have seen the floor on a typical Calipari team.
Hawkins and Willis would have gotten a lot of playing time on that team.
Noel was the real deal but he didn't have much help.
If you omit the fact that this team is likely to have two very good PGs this team kind of reminds me of that team. Lack of depth and no scoring threat at several positions.
Last edited:
This was our rotation in 2011...
PG Brandon Knight (FR)
SG Doron Lamb (FR) Deandre Liggins (JR)
SF Darius Miller (JR)
PF Terrence Jones (FR)
C Josh Harrelson (SR)
Am I missing anyone? Notice the lack of depth down low? That team came within one shot of winning the national championship.
PG Brandon Knight (FR)
SG Doron Lamb (FR) Deandre Liggins (JR)
SF Darius Miller (JR)
PF Terrence Jones (FR)
C Josh Harrelson (SR)
Am I missing anyone? Notice the lack of depth down low? That team came within one shot of winning the national championship.
That's the point. Calipari didn't have enough players on the Noel Harrow team, and he said so himself more than once. We don't have enough players next year, either.
The thing that jumps out at you from this team is that it had four players that could hit the outside shot . Heck I guess you could say they had five that could shoot from outside because Harrelson had a decent outside shot. Another advantage that that team had was Miller who could play every position on the floor. This helped with the depth situation.
I would feel a lot better about the incoming UK team if it had that type fire power. They will need to hit shots because if they brick a lot of shots I just do not see the rebounding being available on this team.
You act like the field next year is the NBA Western Conference or something. Our roster as it is right now is one of the most talented in the country, yet I still see people like you acting as if it's some scrub collection. Is it ideal? No. Would I like to add another player or two? Sure. But as it stands we have a team capable of making a run if things go right. Add Murray to the equation and we have the makings of something special again with more margin for error. We have so many jaded fans thanks to this past season. You do not need 9 All-Americans to compete for a championship. We have a good team now, but it won't be smooth from the start. It'll take time.
It looks like a team that has a good deal of scoring threats and athleticsm in key spots.
Knight Lamb and Jones were outstanding scorers in HS, Liggins was very versatile and had nba level athleticsm, may not have been the scoring threat that he could of been but he was a lock down defender who could shut down about any guard out their. Harrellson could score the ball and was deadly at the top of the key UL found this out.
It was not a deep team but what was a team that could score the ball from every position on the court.
Hood, Polson, Beckham and Vargas was also on that team. If ur going to count Hawkins and Willis as major contributers you need to count the rest of the '11 team as well.
Cane said there was a pay site that had an article that made it sound like he thinks there is a spot open for him now but in some later interviews he said he was 2016 all the way so who knows?
