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Kofi announcing Friday

I don’t believe Kofi was ever serious about UK. What I believe happened, a recruiting reporter said they had talked to several NBA or college assistants and the word was if Kofi went back to school it was going to be UK, all of a sudden everyone and their brother had sources so it snowballed from there
 
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jace2012 said:
I don’t believe Kofi was ever serious about UK. What I believe happened, a recruiting reporter said they had talked to several NBA or college assistants and the word was if Kofi went back to school it was going to be UK, all of a sudden everyone and their brother had sources so it snowballed from there
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Well, he did list UK in his final three; so either he did have interest or he’s just piling on for the thrill of f’ing with us. And that could be totally the case.
 
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Most of the time, when we get killed it is by smaller teams running PnR and PnP, using back door cuts, isolation, etc.

I don’t remember a lot of teams just pounding us inside because we didn’t have enough size inside.

The last time I remember that costing us in a big game was the 2nd round loss to IU in 2016, when Thomas Bryant abused us.

It seems to me it’s usually the opposite that gets us, we rely heavily on a big man to carry us and a hot shooting team buried us with 3’s or their guards get to rim at will.

I wouldn’t be surprised if by mid season people will be griping about Collins not playing enough at the 5 and we need his shot blocking instead of relying on big lumbering guys like Tshiebwe.
 
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jace2012 said:
I don’t believe Kofi was ever serious about UK. What I believe happened, a recruiting reporter said they had talked to several NBA or college assistants and the word was if Kofi went back to school it was going to be UK, all of a sudden everyone and their brother had sources so it snowballed from there
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Kofi listed us in his final three and said we're a "serious option," so any speculation was also supported by him.

Now, it's possible he's doing this so Illinois can look like they got a high profile win over Kentucky after we nabbed their assistants.

It's also possible Kofi wanted certain conditions met by Underwood and knew no one would scare him more than using the Kentucky name as a "transfer" spot.


But it's also possible that All Americans don't go somewhere to share minutes and shots and that he decided staying where he was for one more year was the easiest choice.
 
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bucsrule8872 said:
Most of the time, when we get killed it is by smaller teams running PnR and PnP, using back door cuts, isolation, etc.

I don’t remember a lot of teams just pounding us inside because we didn’t have enough size inside.

The last time I remember that costing us in a big game was the 2nd round loss to IU in 2016, when Thomas Bryant abused us.

It seems to me it’s usually the opposite that gets us, we rely heavily on a big man to carry us and a hot shooting team buried us with 3’s or their guards get to rim at will.

I wouldn’t be surprised if by mid season people will be griping about Collins not playing enough at the 5 and we need his shot blocking instead of relying on big lumbering guys like Tshiebwe.
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Collins makes IJ look like a scoring machine.Guy is so raw.
 
bucsrule8872 said:
Most of the time, when we get killed it is by smaller teams running PnR and PnP, using back door cuts, isolation, etc.

I don’t remember a lot of teams just pounding us inside because we didn’t have enough size inside.

The last time I remember that costing us in a big game was the 2nd round loss to IU in 2016, when Thomas Bryant abused us.

It seems to me it’s usually the opposite that gets us, we rely heavily on a big man to carry us and a hot shooting team buried us with 3’s or their guards get to rim at will.

I wouldn’t be surprised if by mid season people will be griping about Collins not playing enough at the 5 and we need his shot blocking instead of relying on big lumbering guys like Tshiebwe.
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Exactly.

The vast majority of recent champions have been built without guys like Kofi. Every year it seems like there's a Garza or Azubuike who is a mammoth in the lane and who ultimately gets spread out and exploited for layup drills by a team with ball handling and shooters.

That type of player is a dinosaur. It doesn't work when three is worth more than two.
 
GonzoCat90 said:
Exactly.

The vast majority of recent champions have been built without guys like Kofi. Every year it seems like there's a Garza or Azubuike who is a mammoth in the lane and who ultimately gets spread out and exploited for layup drills by a team with ball handling and shooters.

That type of player is a dinosaur. It doesn't work when three is worth more than two.
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But the question is will Cal go to that style and play some zone?
 
TheWyldKat said:
You are exactly right my friend. That is the problem. Oscar is a damn good player. He’s also prone to fouls. God for bid an injury. If that happens imagine Collins going up against Kofi At Illinois. I’m not sure Collins could hang with him. Could get thrown around like a ragdoll. And if not who else do we have? Frustrating.
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Well Kofi is a crappy ft shooter. You play hack a shack ball we are deep enough that is if big O was to get into foul trouble. If we doing have the bulk I would have Collins pull him away from the floor defensively as is a poor perimeter defender. I would pick and roll him to death. If you work a man that big hard defensively fatigue will start to slow him down. Could even run 6ft9 Toppin at him. Not saying we couldn't use a little.more depth inside jus saying it's not the end of the world if we don't add another big. Now who to say we don't see vast improvement out of a few guys. Coach O is not jus a great recruiter but also a good big man's coach.
 
Dablueman said:
Well Kofi is a crappy ft shooter. You play hack a shack ball we are deep enough that is if big O was to get into foul trouble. If we doing have the bulk I would have Collins pull him away from the floor defensively as is a poor perimeter defender. I would pick and roll him to death. If you work a man that big hard defensively fatigue will start to slow him down. Could even run 6ft9 Toppin at him. Not saying we couldn't use a little.more depth inside jus saying it's not the end of the world if we don't add another big. Now who to say we don't see vast improvement out of a few guys. Coach O is not jus a great recruiter but also a good big man's coach.
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Oscar is also a crappy ft shooter.
 
track42 said:
Did you watch any games or read scouting reports?He just started playing so of course he is raw.
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I watched lots of games and read lots of scouting reports. Every single one talked about his incredibly rapid development over the past year and his immense upside.

I also saw a guy who was fluid and had promising form on his jumper.

I also know he averaged 35 points and 7 assists. That's a guy who can function on a basketball court. You don't post those numbers if you're only an athlete.

Coming into last season, we heard the same thing about Jackson without the salivating over his offensive development and upside. If Collins is even as good as Jackson offensively, that's plenty good enough.

So it's not accurate to write him off as less of an offensive threat than Jackson was. He's shown as much to this point with the upside for more.
 
People learned nothing from last season.Washington a top five lotto pick and Collins as good as Jackson.Of course we didn't need Keldon since the dragon was coming...
 
I think this is our rotation this coming year (estimated minutes):

G Washington(20)/Wheeler(20)
G Mintz(25)/Fredrick(10)/Washington(5)
G Grady(25)/Allen(10)/Fredrick(5)
F Brooks(20)/Toppin(20)
F Tshiebwe(25)/Collins(15)

Washington- 25
Mintz- 25
Grady- 25
Tshiebwe- 25
Brooks- 20
Wheeler- 20
Toppin- 20
Collins- 15
Fredrick- 15
Allen- 10

Ten man rotation, no platoons. Hopkins and Ware play sparingly. Allen drops out of the rotation by March. Hopkins might steal someone’s spot if they don’t perform well.
 
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cornbreadnmilk said:
People learned nothing from last season.Washington a top five lotto pick and Collins as good as Jackson.Of course we didn't need Keldon since the dragon was coming...
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Who said any of those things?

maybe evaluate each situation on its individual merits instead of thinking what happened last year has any bearing on an entirely different human being.

Because if you're going based on past history, we've had a whole lot of success with skinny shot blockers who are raw offensively.
 
bucsrule8872 said:
I think this is our rotation this coming year (estimated minutes):

G Washington(20)/Wheeler(20)
G Mintz(25)/Fredrick(10)/Washington(5)
G Grady(25)/Allen(10)/Fredrick(5)
F Brooks(20)/Toppin(20)
F Tshiebwe(25)/Collins(15)

Washington- 25
Mintz- 25
Grady- 25
Tshiebwe- 25
Brooks- 20
Wheeler- 20
Toppin- 20
Collins- 15
Fredrick- 15
Allen- 10

Ten man rotation, no platoons. Hopkins and Ware play sparingly. Allen drops out of the rotation by March. Hopkins might steal someone’s spot if they don’t perform well.
Click to expand...


I believe this is about as accurate as you could get, most likely, spot on!
 
bucsrule8872 said:
I think this is our rotation this coming year (estimated minutes):

G Washington(20)/Wheeler(20)
G Mintz(25)/Fredrick(10)/Washington(5)
G Grady(25)/Allen(10)/Fredrick(5)
F Brooks(20)/Toppin(20)
F Tshiebwe(25)/Collins(15)

Washington- 25
Mintz- 25
Grady- 25
Tshiebwe- 25
Brooks- 20
Wheeler- 20
Toppin- 20
Collins- 15
Fredrick- 15
Allen- 10

Ten man rotation, no platoons. Hopkins and Ware play sparingly. Allen drops out of the rotation by March. Hopkins might steal someone’s spot if they don’t perform well.
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Sweet 16 type team IMO.
 
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ukmelanie said:
Sweet 16 type team IMO.
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Agreed.

Could get hot and go on a run to the Final Four, or could flame out in the first round.

So Sweet Sixteen seems about right.

What I do like about this team is it has shooters, which usually bodes well for teams in the tourney.
 
bucsrule8872 said:
This might be Cal protecting his players. Psychologically speaking.

Tshiebwe left WVU after they tried to play him and Culver together.

Cal told Tshiebwe we would play 4 out around him.

How does it look to bring a guy in and then recruit over him the same way the coach did at his previous school?

Sometimes it’s not about X’s and O’s, but about Jimmy’s and Joe’s as they say.

Team chemistry is a delicate thing to balance for a coach.
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totally does not comport with who cal says he is. He says there are no guarantees and players gotta earn it. I don’t see him promising OT anything or anyone else. If he does then he’s completely dishonest about his practices. Cal has recruited over guys for years. I don’t see the link between cockburn and team chemistry at this point.
 
TOMCATS1990 said:
I’m fine rolling with the roster we have now but CAL is on the HOT seat and this season for him is probably his most important. You have to go after a player who on paper is an upgrade over what you have on the roster.
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cal can’t afford a 10 loss season. IMO given the current roster he needs to overachieve with this group.
 
Wildcats1st said:
totally does not comport with who cal says he is. He says there are no guarantees and players gotta earn it. I don’t see him promising OT anything or anyone else. If he does then he’s completely dishonest about his practices. Cal has recruited over guys for years. I don’t see the link between cockburn and team chemistry at this point.
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It’s a fine line a coach walks with recruiting.

You want option A at each position, but when you get option B, it’s hard to still take option A.

It has probably cost us a player or two over the years.
 
bucsrule8872 said:
It’s a fine line a coach walks with recruiting.

You want option A at each position, but when you get option B, it’s hard to still take option A.

It has probably cost us a player or two over the years.
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I don’t think he builds rosters to provide chemistry. He takes the best players then worries about chemistry later. Maybe now he wants to make a change to make brooks happy but that is out of character for who cal is. He is the guy who played hagans for 2 full years he’s the guy who couldn’t get the twins to the league when we actually needed players to leave in order for booker and ulis to make up out best cal era back court.
 
bookerfan66 said:
I read he just started playing ball at 16.I think his high ranking is more on his future potential.He's going to need time for sure.
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I hope Collins stays patient and doesn’t let outside clutter get to him. Next year with some weight and experience could be his time to shine
 
GonzoCat90 said:
There's just too much conflicting info. We were the instant sure-thing, he was quoted as saying we're a "serious option," we're in his final three, but apparently our coach never talked to him and we didn't recruit him?

Those things can't all be true.
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I agree, why make an announcement to return to Illinois as well. It all seems off.
 
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track42 said:
Are we supposed to ignore his poor play last season?I mean another guy took over for him but it's guaranteed he's a star for us next season.
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All of his numbers were down except assists in just 10 games. Looks like he's lost weight and taking his health more seriously. If that translates, then he may end up being the 5-star, All-SEC type player we hope he can be.

No guarantees as we found out with the #1 class of 2020.
 
cornbreadnmilk said:
I think he meant his position.Regardless he was badly outplayed.
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Here is the thing I am trying to understand, since I didn’t watch WVU: did Tshiebwe lose his spot or did he get moved out of position?

If he was asked to play out of position and played poorly, then that might have factored in to his decision to come here and might explain why Cal doesn’t want to bring in Cockburn.

There is a lot of context we are missing in this discussion.

Some are trying to make it sound like he sucked last year without trying to figure out why.

If he struggled playing out of position at the 4 spot, that is a lot different than “he started sucking last season.”
 
bucsrule8872 said:
Here is the thing I am trying to understand, since I didn’t watch WVU: did Tshiebwe lose his spot or did he get moved out of position?

If he was asked to play out of position and played poorly, then that might have factored in to his decision to come here and might explain why Cal doesn’t want to bring in Cockburn.

There is a lot of context we are missing in this discussion.

Some are trying to make it sound like he sucked last year without trying to figure out why.

If he struggled playing out of position at the 4 spot, that is a lot different than “he started sucking last season.”
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I didn't watch all his games so I can't speak for everything but from what I saw he played some of both.The games I watched when he was a freshman he seemed the focus of the offense.Last season it just seemed Culver was a better player in every way and Huggins went with him over Oscar.I didn't think Oscar was bad but just IMO not as engaged in the game.He did also look overweight and I've heard he's in much better shape now so that could have been a big part of the problem.He was foul prone both seasons so I hope he can work on that,
 
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Oscar's offensive rating in 2020 = 114.7
Oscar's offensive rating in 2021 = 112.8

The wife is a huge WVU fan so I've seen my fair share of WVU games. It wasn't so much Oscar. It was just the system that WVU uses, having both Oscar and Culver just didn't work. They were clogging up the lane too much I believe is what Huggins said.

HIs assist rate went up. His effective FG% dropped from 55% to 52% but that's not really drastic. His offensive rebounding % actually increased from 19% to 20.4% which is ultimately going to be his major contribution to this team. Cal's offenses have thrived at rebounding and getting to the line and we've kind have gone away from that slightly in years past. This team will have no problems rebounding the ball IMO.

The slight decrease ........I mean yeah u cannot ignore it completely but you have to realize it was in a short sample and he already proven of the course of 31 games in the first year what he's capable of. I'm not expecting superstar status here but I expect a very solid contributor to this team.
 
The_Answer1313 said:
Oscar's offensive rating in 2020 = 114.7
Oscar's offensive rating in 2021 = 112.8

The wife is a huge WVU fan so I've seen my fair share of WVU games. It wasn't so much Oscar. It was just the system that WVU uses, having both Oscar and Culver just didn't work. They were clogging up the lane too much I believe is what Huggins said.

HIs assist rate went up. His effective FG% dropped from 55% to 52% but that's not really drastic. His offensive rebounding % actually increased from 19% to 20.4% which is ultimately going to be his major contribution to this team. Cal's offenses have thrived at rebounding and getting to the line and we've kind have gone away from that slightly in years past. This team will have no problems rebounding the ball IMO.

The slight decrease ........I mean yeah u cannot ignore it completely but you have to realize it was in a short sample and he already proven of the course of 31 games in the first year what he's capable of. I'm not expecting superstar status here but I expect a very solid contributor to this team.
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Yes but he is in no way as good as Kofi IMO.
 
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