Honest opinion about Arkansas roster
- Thread starter Dontworryboutit23
- Start date
A lot depends on Fland, Davis, and the motivation level of the head coach
I mean Kal traded John Welch for Brad. What could possibly go wrong?
I ( you said be honest) couldn't care less.
I just don’t see it. They may turn out good but I don’t see it with that roster.
I mean they are a SEC opponent and are probably going to be Kentuckys biggest regular season next year.
They have no shooting at all. Davis fland and Wagner all need driving lanes, and there isn’t anybody that you have to play off of on that roster.
Talented roster but largely unproven.
Wagner and Z are unproven. All the freshmen are unproven. Thiero is a massive talent and showed glimpses of that; same with Z.
The kid from whatever directional school in Florida is super talented but ball dominant...so is DJ...will likely be a problem. Not sure about either playing off the ball well.
Tennessee guy is decent but not great.
A lot depends on backcourt and how Cal can mesh them. Feel like it will be feast or famine.
Wagner and Z are unproven. All the freshmen are unproven. Thiero is a massive talent and showed glimpses of that; same with Z.
The kid from whatever directional school in Florida is super talented but ball dominant...so is DJ...will likely be a problem. Not sure about either playing off the ball well.
Tennessee guy is decent but not great.
A lot depends on backcourt and how Cal can mesh them. Feel like it will be feast or famine.
It’s the same roster as UK last season minus the offense. Yes, some players are older but what have we learned about Calipari’s players as they age? They largely remain the same player. DJ Wagner will progress the same as any #77 4 star would but with Calipari’s coaching there won’t be much improvement besides an average output.
It will literally be the same cycle as UK has seen except this time Brad is on staff so Calipari doesn’t change, his players don’t really change (still a non shooting roster as you can see), but his staff lost points and his program lost points.
Also I keep seeing people say Calipari will “have something to prove”. But I don’t understand why they’re afraid of that? That means Calipari will be inserting himself more. That’s not good for Arkansas.
Not a terrible assessment at all, but Thiero is a work horse with a limited skill set, I wouldn’t call him a massive talent. And Z is a skilled big man but I wouldn’t call him a massive talent either.
DJ is going to name the green light all season long and he wants to live up to his name and be a pro. Lots and lots of bricks coming because Calipari won’t step in at all.
It’s the same roster expect you replace shooting with athletes.
I would have some concerns:
Lack of depth
The Freshmen need to produce and Richmond and Knox are underwhelming
I like Thiero, but he’s just not talented enough to carry a team
Ivisic gets abused defensively and unless he’s improved greatly, teams will take advantage of him
Davis has to prove he’s SEC good, I can’t see him on any all-conference teams.
Lack of depth
The Freshmen need to produce and Richmond and Knox are underwhelming
I like Thiero, but he’s just not talented enough to carry a team
Ivisic gets abused defensively and unless he’s improved greatly, teams will take advantage of him
Davis has to prove he’s SEC good, I can’t see him on any all-conference teams.
Not only that, but the opportunity to have a good offensive coordinator follow him to Arkansas left!
Another team that can't shoot, can't play a lick of defense. Will go out in the 1st or 2nd round. If they even make it that far.
Anytime Aidoo played a talented big man, he got cooked! Look for Williams and Garrison to handle him fine
Cal didn’t have much more time than Pope to build his roster there, BUT did benefit from basically bringing everyone he wanted from his UK team with him. The roster is fine. It’s got talent and athleticism, just how Cal likes it. And it has more experience that what he typically has.
The big questions are: shooting, defense, and coaching. Cal will have zero good assistants to rely on outside of Payne (I do think he’s a good assistant but I don’t think he makes or breaks a team). So the offense will be slow and the defense will be pitiful. I really think you throw different zones at them and they wilt.
If Cal is going to have a resurgence it will be this coming up season. I’m skeptical because he got blasted fairly hard by the national and local media while here for his disappointing results over the past half a decade + and yet no he showed no fire. Maybe the change of scenery will do it but we’ll just have to see. I think it’s more likely Pope has a breakout first year than Cal given the personalities and work ethic of both.
The big questions are: shooting, defense, and coaching. Cal will have zero good assistants to rely on outside of Payne (I do think he’s a good assistant but I don’t think he makes or breaks a team). So the offense will be slow and the defense will be pitiful. I really think you throw different zones at them and they wilt.
If Cal is going to have a resurgence it will be this coming up season. I’m skeptical because he got blasted fairly hard by the national and local media while here for his disappointing results over the past half a decade + and yet no he showed no fire. Maybe the change of scenery will do it but we’ll just have to see. I think it’s more likely Pope has a breakout first year than Cal given the personalities and work ethic of both.
Garrison will start over Williams IMO. That dude is good.
Cal won't do anything because his staff is putrid. When he was killing it here he had Orlando, Rod Strickland (A BIG HELP), Robic, and Payne. It was a great staff. Now he has Payne (solid), his son who has very little experience, Bruiser Flint, and Chin Coleman. That is not a staff that is gonna help Cal resurge.
When Cal hired Brad it should have told everyone the guy is done. I give him 2-3 years at Arkansas and he's out. He'll retire and ride off into the sunset.
I can’t see Cal at Arkansas more than 3 seasons. He’ll be 65 by the next tournament
Gonna disagree with one point. I’ve said for years and still believe that Payne is nothing more than another yes man and lacks in the coaching department. When you hear a coach “is for the bigs” but he’s the lead assistant, it tells me what I need to know. It’s like people have to try and find something he’s good at but a lead assistant should be an extension of the head coach. He’s not.
Calipari’s coach tree is one of the worst of all championship coaches ( long career ones anyway) that I’ve ever seen. Payne looked awful when he’d take over games. Payne doesn’t recruit either, he’s just there to collect checks.
My skin used to crawl when I’d hear people claim he should be looked at as the next head coach. I said day one he’d flop at Louisville. I’ve never thought he was a good coach at all and still don’t.
Payne might be the most overrated name ever associated with the UK brand. He’s done nothing to deserve the tag of a good coach. He didn’t do anything with the bigs he just had AD, Randle, and Kat put square in his lap. If he was a good coach WCS would have been able to hit layups by his junior year.
To me Payne might be the worst coach on the roster other than Brad. I still cannot understand why he still gets tossed around as a quality coach. The guy completely embarrassed himself at Louisville and did nothing but smile at UK. A lead assistant that can’t coach a team past 4 wins, can’t develop a roster, doesn’t like to recruit? He’s there for one reason. He stays out of Calipari’s way, plays into his ego, doesn’t challenge him, and he’s a really nice guy that Calipari wants to do for. That’s it. Kenny has the ability to charm the f out of people and so it clouds their judgement when they look to who he is as a coach.
Aidoo and Brazile are good players but it seems Brazile may cause some issues most would have thought unthinkable even 15 years ago. I can’t believe with all the injury problems we had here the last 5 years he would want to go into a season with 9 players. I know he only likes to play 7 but he’s gonna wear these guys out over the year and practice is the biggest concern.
Its a mediocre roster by cal standards which should scare hog fans.
Imo it all depends on z. Welch used z in a way cal never would and barely did anyway. Plus now z isnt going to have incredible passers with him like reed and rob. Instead kp will have him in the post and that part of his game will greatly improve but it will start at 0.
Then you have the typical logjams and cal will play everyone. That part of the 2015 team killed him as a coach way more than losing. He used to play 6-7 guys but after that he kept trying to basically platoon even though it was counterproductive.
Their entire offense will be: weave, then high ball screen but nowhere to go because aidoo will be in the lane. Z and his very streaky shooting will be left to shoot s contested 3 or dj flip up a fallaway scoop.
Imo it all depends on z. Welch used z in a way cal never would and barely did anyway. Plus now z isnt going to have incredible passers with him like reed and rob. Instead kp will have him in the post and that part of his game will greatly improve but it will start at 0.
Then you have the typical logjams and cal will play everyone. That part of the 2015 team killed him as a coach way more than losing. He used to play 6-7 guys but after that he kept trying to basically platoon even though it was counterproductive.
Their entire offense will be: weave, then high ball screen but nowhere to go because aidoo will be in the lane. Z and his very streaky shooting will be left to shoot s contested 3 or dj flip up a fallaway scoop.
What I have been saying. I don't understand the hype. Outside shooting is glaring. Imagine this roster at UK. We would be fretting.
Who will be the designated stand in the corner guy?
Unpopular take on this board, but it's a top 10 roster. Calipari will probably have some good seasons at Ark.
It’s one of my favorite all time vids. It’s unreal how stupid the guy is he can’t even come up with words after all these years in coaching. Just listen to him my God. If that guy worked next to you you’d know early on you’re dealing with a certain type of action hire. Jeez man.
I think he’s dumb as sht but people like him so he got jobs. You never hear how influential he is to the programs, always about how liked he is. “But Kenny is good with bigs, he is come on now. He’s so good with the bigs!! Kenny had AD really slammin them home!!!
And Louisville went full retard, didn’t realize it, and hired the guy thinking they’re getting something off the UK brand. I bet Calipari was just dying inside and probably Kenny too. Those two have made more money off straight con jobs than anyone in the sports history.
Not tryin to bash the man too hard but it just surprises me how many can’t see that Kenny - he seems kind of slow. Dddddaawwwww shucks Cow, we fightin, we fightin out dare…. I picture cal at airports sayin “come on Kenny!!” And Kenny fumbles around grabbing bags then thinks to walk towards him. I see Kenny at practices trying to say stuff and Cal shakes his head then walks over - “ hey Kenny why don’t you just go over there with AD and teach him some stuff”. “Okay Cow, I goin to AD”. AD sees him coming and tells the players just leave him alone, he’s a nice guy.
“HEY ANTUNNY!!!”
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How is this team going to weather even the preseason injuries and surgeries that Cal’s squads always seem to have in recent years? If he makes it to October without any of those, I may start thinking maybe something’s up. Not something Cal-proof. But maybe something.
Its still surreal to think cal is coach at arky. The guy had it made here and
let his ego pride stubborness etc screw it up.
let his ego pride stubborness etc screw it up.
His ego will force him to..at least for one season
He needs to show us what we’re missing out on..try to make us regret
He will have a good first year there. After that who knows
With Brazile I think Ark. is (barely) deep enough if no injuries. I think the Center spot is solid. Some good potential at PF with Adou and Brazile, but it’s pretty much up in the air. At PG, Wagner will be good enough I think; and Fland a good freshman backup. I wouldn’t want to see Wagner and Fland in the backcourt together much if I were an Ark. fan. Davis at 2G looks really good, but he would need to play close to 40 min. I think. My guess is that the SF spot will be a weakness and problem for Ark. in that it just won’t produce enough shooting, efficiency or overall positive impact in comparison to the competition. It might work best if Davis played SF, but I suspect Calipari won’t do that. Regardless, I certainly wouldn’t trade rosters with Ark.
I am interested to see if Cal's team at Arkansas are injury prone, like we year in and year out had here.
No shooters and a coach who can't coach against a zone...
I mean what could possibly go wrong???
I mean what could possibly go wrong???
