Cal Needs The Most Elite Talent
- Thread starter jedwar
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Cal doesn't prioritize player retention.
We've gone 72-42 in the last few years, and he's still losing the Brandon Bostons and Chris Livingstons to the draft, even when their performance at UK has been overwhelmingly lackluster.
He sells these second and third tier five stars on their delusion, and he enables that delusion when they sit in his office and tell him, "I'm going pro, coach."
The few teams I have seen playing freshmen don't have anybody any better than Reed and Dilly. They are elite in this class,doesn't seem to matter any more.
Yep said it since the portal era started. You should target the freshmen to Juniors in the transfer portal and mix in any elite grad transfers or top 5 freshmen if they are elite and have a college developed body.
Getting underclassmen transfers means they’ve used their one free transfer and are more like to be in your program 2-3 years and you can actually build something in a system ……..if we had a coach with a system or a coach that ties his legacy to winning college games and titles and not how many NBA players and contract he produced.
There was no elite talent on 18,19,or 20
Not one top 5 pick
2014 didn't really either. Randle was good but not in discussion for top picks
When you can't teach players how to guard inbounds plays, you should just shut up because you can't be taken seriously
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Don't quite agree on any of that except not being a top 5 pick.
Randle
Young
Harrison's
SGA
Washington
Gabriel
Diallo
Herro
K. Johnson
Quickly
Maxey
Maybe more that I'm overlooking. Were they John Wall and Davis elite, not but I still contend they were elite, especially for the college game.
Here is the lesson: in 2015 Kentucky had a team in which most other good college coaches could have picked, from that team, one starting five, or another completely different set of starting five, and won a title. Cal had both groups to play minutes of his choosing, and lost to Wisconsin.
Cal has from some experts up to 7 NBA players on this roster and still can't win the big games against good coaches, The game has passed Cal by and his is too stubborn to change with the times.
But we have a guy that just dropped 35 on UT who hasnt even started much of the year ( he should have) plus Reed S and Wagner . three guys high on the NBA draft board .. and a big time returning scorer in Reeves and an experienced Old guy like Mitchell . Its not the players , its the coach
remember when the knock on Cal was he just rolls the balls out?
and UK fans along with Cal were all offended at that
but if you think about it. If you need overwhelming talent to win the games
then WTF are doing from a coaching standpoint?
I hate to say it but Tubby Smith isn't losing the Florida game and he probably isn't losing the UT game.
and UK fans along with Cal were all offended at that
but if you think about it. If you need overwhelming talent to win the games
then WTF are doing from a coaching standpoint?
I hate to say it but Tubby Smith isn't losing the Florida game and he probably isn't losing the UT game.
To those guys' bank account, I'm sure it means something. But to me and you, who want UK to be one of the best teams in CBB and a perennial contender for a championship, not anything I can see.
I wish CBB had trades, so we could trade projected draft picks for All-American and All-Conference players. Surely Kansas, UCONN, or UNC would always be willing to make that trade, right?
What I meant was, what does that say about Cal's ability to coach if he can't even get to a Final Four with 7 draft picks?
Again, to me it says very little. Projected draft picks don't equate with great CBB players, it equates with future upside potential. But not being able to get past the 1st weekend of the Tournament with a NPOY is hard to defend.
But whether it's Calipari or the next coach (who I've been ready for some time now), I don't want UK trying to build rosters that are reliant on OAD freshmen. I don't think it's wise (the nicest way I can say it), and I think about every CBB pundit and coach agrees with that sentiment.
Having some OADs as a piece on a team with good returning upperclassmen and the best transfers (not just afterthought Graduate transfers) might work well. But the wash-rinse-and-repeat roster building with a new crop of high school OADs is fools gold.
Diallo was not even decent man.
There's about 3 on that list that have an argument for being elite in college
Agree - Freshmen, 5* or not, cannot beat 4/5 year Seniors!!! The strength, maturity, and experience of these men far exceed the talents of a 5* freshmen child. The problem today is if the 5* freshman that you promised will be in the NBA 1st round does not play well, he is probably going to transfer. If he plays well, he is going to the draft. There is no continuity from year to year, it is a merry-go-round of players hopping on then getting off. We have no Juniors and only 2 Seniors on this year's team. The 2 Sophs (Ugo and Adou) have developed into top subs/starters mainly because they are a year older, wiser, stronger and have some experience playing against older and better players. Don't know anything about Edwards but I pray he does not put his name in the draft but either comes back or transfers. By the time he reaches age 22, he probably will be playing in the YMCA and not the NBA.
Build a team with transfers that have a couple years of eligibility left(you can watch film on them playing against other Div 1 players), start developing a "team" that has players returning for 3 years, recruit some 3/4* players that you feel could develop, and the occasional OAD, plus take a flyer on an under the radar player that is boom or bust. Of course, some of these developing players may transfer but you have to live with that reality. CCC does not build a roster but assembles a group of Top 20 players who may not have complimentary skills.
well the past 2 years shows Cal will not use the transfer portal to get traditional NCAA good transfer players and succeed because he will not change his program to play a traditional style which those players need actual plays and playbooks and traditional practices . thats why the past 2 years failed.. 1 on 1 iso offense with those types of players shows that winning games is far less important to Cal than getting players drafted and he'll destroy the program to get just 1 player drafted even if that style gets 10 losses.
now we are seeing that cal's ideal recruiting classes will struggle in his system . Cal will not change, narcissists do not change, they triple down... its time to force Cal out. Richard Pitino can do better than Cal now and thats saying something damning about Cal.
now we are seeing that cal's ideal recruiting classes will struggle in his system . Cal will not change, narcissists do not change, they triple down... its time to force Cal out. Richard Pitino can do better than Cal now and thats saying something damning about Cal.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. He needs to retain elite talent. In 2012, the NBA had a lockout which why we some continuity. You can't win a championship with a brand new team composed of freshmen.
To me, and many others agree with whom I regularly speak and who know a lot about this program, the problem is Cal's "business model." If you want to compete nowdays with the transfer portal and with the elite programs and coaches of the world, you'd better have some experience and you might want some beef to go with it. We have more experience than normal, but our "elite" high school talent is not so elite, yet are still deemed worthy of a high draft status and pick. Maxey, for example, was not a great UK player, but did show flashes of brilliance, enough so that he was a high draft pick and has now blossomed into a genuine NBA star.
I could sit here and provide other evidence that makes it difficult for us to win games, but my main point really is that Cal makes this whole process of winning and coaching much more difficult than for some coaches who do not employ this same business model. It is one that has inherent flaws no matter who the coach is, and I believe in today's basketball world, makes it next to impossible to win a championship. Our freshmen are really talented, but there is no substitute for experience, and when juniors and seniors are going against us, that can mitigate any edge we might have on talent. I do also think that it takes a different philosophy to put together a sound, team defense capable of winning championships.
The result of all of this: high levels of discouragement, having noo trust in Cal or his system (he is suspect in end-of-game situations), and being constantly worried that we and he have seen their better days as long as he's at the helm.
You're clueless. Blind to negative hatred.
What is elite to you? Are college greats not "talented" ? Just because someone had 4 /5 stars beside them coming out of highschool doesn't make them more talented than the guy that didn't
Who gives a rats as* how many get drafted. Drafts are based on pure projection from young kids. Give me the guys that are great in college
