Former players you would have liked to see play for Cal

[kyboy1998]

Rod Rhodes is an interesting choice.

He would be an ideal 3 man for Cal. He was long, had adequate handle, decent shot, good foul shooter, nice passer and could lock down people and had a lot of steals.

We may have won it all with him at the 3 with this team. I think Cal wouldn't have put him in a shell.

 

[bigdaddy741]

I gotta go with Rondo based on how he was used.

BUT, if Meeks had played with the 2010 team they probably win a title and maybe go 40-0...

It's funny some of you guys naming players that are older than Cal. Lol

 

[Titles1]

Feldhaus

 

[KopiKat]

Rondo and no one else comes close.

Enes Kanter says hi

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

It's funny some of you guys naming players that are older than Cal. Lol

Was there criteria in the question that said you could not name older players??? It says who you'd like to have seen play for Cal and who better than list guys it would have been impossible to see. What makes this good commentary. Many of those older guys would have been exciting to watch under Calipari. By the time I got to post, I'm not going to keep naming players already mentioned numerous times.

 

[TexKat]

Jamal Magloire

 

[bigdaddy741]

Was there criteria in the question that said you could not name older players??? It says who you'd like to have seen play for Cal and who better than list guys it would have been impossible to see. What makes this good commentary. Many of those older guys would have been exciting to watch under Calipari. By the time I got to post, I'm not going to keep naming players already mentioned numerous times.

I'm not saying there is a a criteria but in my own head I pictured players that were chronologically possible for him to have coached.

Somebody can pick Basil Hayden if they want to.

Also if you visualize a 12 year old Calipari coaching Dan Issel that's a funny image.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

I'm not saying there is a a criteria but in my own head I pictured players that were chronologically possible for him to have coached.

Somebody can pick Basil Hayden if they want to.

Also if you visualize a 12 year old Calipari coaching Dan Issel that's a funny image.

That's fair. I would have initially picked the younger guys myself but so many others already mentioned those recent players I'd like to have seen in Cal's system. Some of the other players I mentioned that I didn't see already posted was Delk/Jasper.

 

[YaySports]

Jared Carter. Wonder if anyone coulda helped that kid live up to his ranking. I still remember being at UK and people at the Johnson Center would take him to the shed.

 

[bluinbville]

Dwight Anderson
Derek Hord
Rod Rhodes
Richard Madison
Randolph Morris

Maybe those guys careers would have been different under Cal and our success with those kids may have been more.

Dang, we're drinking from the same mason jar on this one.

 

[JC CATS]

Saul Smith, Steve Massialo, Oliver Simmons. No seriously these guys

Anthony Davis MKG, John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Soph, Jr and senior years

 

[JC CATS]

Rondo.

Would have been nice to see him allowed to play without the rope here.

Would have been nice to see him played here without putting the rope around his neck and tying the noose

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Would have been nice to see him played here without putting the rope around his neck and tying the noose

Can't believe anyone would bench him for Brandon Stockton.

 

[JC CATS]

Can't believe anyone would bench him for Brandon Stockton.

You probably don't know what happened to make that happen. Look at his history in NBA nuff said

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

You probably don't know what happened to make that happen. Look at his history in NBA nuff said

WRONG!!! Don't pretend to know what all I know or don't. If you had in mind I was thinking he just benched him for poor performance or just for the hell of it, that's false! I've watched the Cats and followed them as closely as anyone my entire life. No excuse bench him for Stockton, with alternatives like Ramel Bradley/Patrick Sparks on the team that year. Stockton scored a whoppin 120 pts over 4 years. Smart move. Tubby benched Crawford/Sparks too for these bench warmers. Tubby to make a point to that team once started Rekalin Sims, Bobby Perry, Sheray Thomas, Randolph Morris & Joe Crawford in SEC Play. Where in the hell is the PG on that team? You don't need to inform me on what a 'hot head' Rondo is. That's common sense! Had Tubby unleashed Rondo to run the team instead of in a half-court plow ball offense, would have seen more of his potential. He's the perfect answer to this question as to a former player we'd like to have seen play for Calipari. Ignoring Tubby's drawn up play paid off real well here.

​

You can't take away what a great passer and floor general he has shown to be. Some NBA history for you since you only want to point out the bad in Rondo, starting PG for the 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics. 4-time NBA All-Star, 3 time Single Season Assist Leader in the NBA. Say what you want about conflicts with coaches but this proves you can win with him. Celtics had a winning record during his stint with them. A lot of NBA players and some of the Cats when asked about a former Wildcat they'd like to play for, name Rondo because he will get them the ball.

 

[JohnBlue_]

WRONG!!! Don't pretend to know what all I know or don't. If you had in mind I was thinking he just benched him for poor performance or just for the hell of it, that's false! I've watched the Cats and followed them as closely as anyone my entire life. No excuse bench him for Stockton, with alternatives like Ramel Bradley/Patrick Sparks on the team that year. Stockton scored a whoppin 120 pts over 4 years. Smart move. Tubby benched Crawford/Sparks too for these bench warmers. Tubby to make a point to that team once started Rekalin Sims, Bobby Perry, Sheray Thomas, Randolph Morris & Joe Crawford in SEC Play. Where in the hell is the PG on that team? You don't need to inform me on what a 'hot head' Rondo is. That's common sense! Had Tubby unleashed Rondo to run the team instead of in a half-court plow ball offense, would have seen more of his potential. He's the perfect answer to this question as to a former player we'd like to have seen play for Calipari. Ignoring Tubby's drawn up play paid off real well here.

​

You can't take away what a great passer and floor general he has shown to be. Some NBA history for you since you only want to point out the bad in Rondo, starting PG for the 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics. 4-time NBA All-Star, 3 time Single Season Assist Leader in the NBA. Say what you want about conflicts with coaches but this proves you can win with him. Celtics had a winning record during his stint with them. A lot of NBA players and some of the Cats when asked about a former Wildcat they'd like to play for, name Rondo because he will get them the ball.

Rondo was disease that only did what his handlers told him too. Anyone that says they wished he played for Cal obviously forgot that Cal didn't want him and has publicly said he doesn't want to coach players like that. Tubby had his faults but giving a Rondo a place to play (as a favor) when no one else would take him is not one of them.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Rondo was disease that only did what his handlers told him too. Anyone that says they wished he played for Cal obviously forgot that Cal didn't want him and has publicly said he doesn't want to coach players like that. Tubby had his faults but giving a Rondo a place to play (as a favor) when no one else would take him is not one of them.

Funny that Cal and him seem to have a good relationship nowadays for such a cancer as he does with many former Cats. Also, many posters in this thread here would have liked to seen what is game would have looked like with the mindset being systematically under Calipari. Not should Cal have recruited Rondo despite not even being here to recruit him. That's irrelevant to this topic and figured was pretty obvious based on the responses in this thread and is irrelevant whenever this topic comes up from time to time regarding players UK players we'd like to seen under Cal. I simply made a statement regarding the benching of Rondo by Tubby for a guy in Stockton at the end of the bench with better alternatives and now people start throwing Cal's name out there. Yes, he publicly says he does not recruit head cases, does an excellent job weeding those recruits out. However, he has had some questionable characters at Memphis (Jeremy Hunt is one example) trying to help get their lives turned around with an opportunity. No where in my post did I fault Tubby for recruiting Rondo, did not say that at all. I criticized his usage of Rondo, I'm not alone with that opinion.

 

[3rex]

Would have been nice to see him played here without putting the rope around his neck and tying the noose

Would've been nice to not see him play here at all.

 

[Wall2Boogie]

Here's a few not mentioned.

I think Ravi moss could of been a hell of a player under cal. He was a walk on with tubby, and became a nice player. Cal would of made him just as good as dom. Cliff Hawkins would of flourished as well under cal.

Estill/Daniels two guys that got better as they became upper class man but if cal had them with their speed, passing, and d we would have 9 already.

Bogans/Meeks/prince/Hayes- these guys were already really good players and are loved here. Cal couldn't of got much more out of them.

Bonus. Parker/carruth/ Crawford. I think cal could of saved the careers of the first two. Their problem was they didn't respect tubby, cal would of demanded their respect and they may of both gone to the nba. Joe Crawford, mr bipolar. One great game followed up with one bad. Part of his problem was having bcg as a coach, the other was he was a legend in his own mind due to his all American status and felt all plays Gould run through him. Had cal had a chance to work with him just two of his four years here, he could of had a semi decent NBA career, but he was always given free range to do what he wanted due to ranking and all American status.

 

[JC CATS]

WRONG!!! Don't pretend to know what all I know or don't. If you had in mind I was thinking he just benched him for poor performance or just for the hell of it, that's false! I've watched the Cats and followed them as closely as anyone my entire life. No excuse bench him for Stockton, with alternatives like Ramel Bradley/Patrick Sparks on the team that year. Stockton scored a whoppin 120 pts over 4 years. Smart move. Tubby benched Crawford/Sparks too for these bench warmers. Tubby to make a point to that team once started Rekalin Sims, Bobby Perry, Sheray Thomas, Randolph Morris & Joe Crawford in SEC Play. Where in the hell is the PG on that team? You don't need to inform me on what a 'hot head' Rondo is. That's common sense! Had Tubby unleashed Rondo to run the team instead of in a half-court plow ball offense, would have seen more of his potential. He's the perfect answer to this question as to a former player we'd like to have seen play for Calipari. Ignoring Tubby's drawn up play paid off real well here.

​

You can't take away what a great passer and floor general he has shown to be. Some NBA history for you since you only want to point out the bad in Rondo, starting PG for the 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics. 4-time NBA All-Star, 3 time Single Season Assist Leader in the NBA. Say what you want about conflicts with coaches but this proves you can win with him. Celtics had a winning record during his stint with them. A lot of NBA players and some of the Cats when asked about a former Wildcat they'd like to play for, name Rondo because he will get them the ball.

I don't recall arguing that he couldn't play! He wouldn't have been in the NBA if he couldn't play. He was benched because Tubby had enough of him... That play with Rondo knocking down the 3 is not indicative of who he is. I could beat Rondo in a game of horse.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

I don't recall arguing that he couldn't play! He wouldn't have been in the NBA if he couldn't play. He was benched because Tubby had enough of him... That play with Rondo knocking down the 3 is not indicative of who he is. I could beat Rondo in a game of horse.

I don't recall saying he was a saint or a perfect team player but you misconstrued my post as something else. I don't blame Tubby for not starting him over a period of time. What I said and you can go back and read it, I blasted Tubby for the guy Rondo was benched in favor of, Brandon Stockton. Tubby did not just bench Rondo in favor of scrubs. Sparks & Crawford got it too. He was fed up with a lot of guys and didn't have the best of relationships with Crawford. Almost transferred during his freshmen season. Smith started a line up in February of SEC play without a PG. Only guard in the line up was Joe. Not really smart. Ramel Bradley should have been the one starting over Stockton. I don't recall Bradley starting until being a JR. Sparks ran the point at Western and averaged 5.9 APG his last season there. He averaged 3.5 APG for UK. I would've used him before ever considering handing over the keys to Stockton though Patrick was better off a SG.

I'm well aware Rondo can't shoot well, don't need to be informed of that. Was not the purpose of that video to say, 'Oh if Tubby let him run wild and take over, he's the next Ray Allen from the perimeter.' I posted it saying he can win in a variety of ways and if let loose to take the game in his own hands, what could have been for him and the teammates? Rondo most definitely is not looking to pad his scoring stats but to get his teammates involved. He's hit game winners in the NBA and assisted game winning shots for his teammates in the NBA. He is one hell of a PG, attitudes aside. His speed would have been exciting in Calipari's offense. Crawford's ability to knock down 3's, slash to the rim at 6'5 would have been another Cat I'd like to have seen play for Cal.

 

[BlueEmpire]

It doesn't have to be star players. I think it's just as intriguing thinking about some good, but not great, guys and how they may have differed under Cal.

I would have loved to see Ramel Bradley play for Cal. He had that dog in him and was a gifted offensive player with the ball too. Tubby tried to suppress his swag but he had so much you couldnt lock it all down.

He would have flourished under Cal IMO. Especially given the ability to bounce it and show emotion.

Others? I'm sure there are plenty through the 80s up people can think of.

RONDO, and its not even close for me.

 

[Elliott Tim]

It doesn't have to be star players. I think it's just as intriguing thinking about some good, but not great, guys and how they may have differed under Cal.

I would have loved to see Ramel Bradley play for Cal. He had that dog in him and was a gifted offensive player with the ball too. Tubby tried to suppress his swag but he had so much you couldnt lock it all down.

He would have flourished under Cal IMO. Especially given the ability to bounce it and show emotion.

Others? I'm sure there are plenty through the 80s up people can think of.

Chuck Hayes. The perfect complimentary player. Team player through and through. Would have played his heart out for Cal.

 

[Col. Angus]

Rajon Rondo is at the top of my list as far as somewhat recent players.