Matching this team up against next year's top teams

[Cat Ballou]

Now that everyone's rosters are set, let's match this team up against next year's best using ESPN's current Top 5 -

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...s-top-college-basketball-way-too-early-top-25

I'll start with Kansas - with a presumed starting lineup of Azubuike, Preston, Svi, Malik Newman, Graham.

Azubuike vs. Richards/SKJ/Tai
Preston vs. Gabriel/Washington
Svi vs. Knox/Vanderbilt
Newman vs. Diallo/Baker
Graham vs. Green/SGA

I think Kansas is a good example of how this team is going to have to excel, because almost everyone else in the Top 5 has one or two guys who are either much more seasoned or just better than anyone on our team. Cal is going to have to find a way to use his incredible depth, because that is the strength of this team vs. teams like KU and Duke. It's Zona and Mich State that worry me, because they are both talented and deep.

Against Kansas, I think our front court depth should wear down Azubuike/Preston. Where we will dominate is our wing play, where we could be best in the country by the end of the year. Knox/Diallo/Vando vs. Svi/Newman should be a great example of how our incredible length and athleticism can shut down really good players. Graham vs. Green is the one mis-match I see, because of Green's youth, but UK's length should give Graham fits on drives to the basket. This is where SGA will be valuable as well, as he is the guy we should be able to bring in if Green struggles defending bigger or more experience guards.

 

[Sparkaces1]

Apparently Diallo guarded Fox quite a bit in practice. If he can make life heard on Fox then everybody next year is in trouble!

 

[Cychologist]

Apparently Diallo guarded Fox quite a bit in practice. If he can make life heard on Fox then everybody next year is in trouble!

We don*t know how well he guarded Fox. Maybe Fox ate his lunch.

Let*s not hype these kids up too much before we see them play against college competition.

 

[wildcatwelder]

While we're going to be very young, we are indeed talented. I expect us to drop several games early, and a few on the road in league play, but by March I don't think anyone will want to face us.

This is going to be a VERY fun year for the Big Blue.

 

[Blueisbest]

I agree that we will likely take a couple of lumps early in the season. Kansas will be tough to beat (put not impossible), as well as at West Virginia. I like our chance better against UCLA, Va Tech and Louisville. It would not surprise me if we go 3-2 in those five games but, if our Young Cats start to mature earlier than expected, there is no reason that we can't go 4-1 or even 5-0.

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

Seeing is believing.

 

[Sparkaces1]

We don*t know how well he guarded Fox. Maybe Fox ate his lunch.

Let*s not hype these kids up too much before we see them play against college competition.

Go watch Fox's interview at the combine.

 

[Cat Ballou]

Another interesting matchup would be Duke -

Duval vs. Green/SGA
Allen vs. Diallo
Trent vs. Knox
Carter vs. Gabriel/Washington
Bolden vs. Richards

The wing matchups here are going to be interesting. Diallo/Allen matchup is the one I'd love to see. If Briscoe could shut Allen down, can you imagine what Diallo would do to him? Again, for the other 3 positions on the floor, Cal needs to take full advantage of our depth, because that is where we have a big advantage over Duke.

 

[UKcatXXXL]

I'll take Kentucky in all of the above.

 

[Sparkaces1]

Another interesting matchup would be Duke -

Duval vs. Green/SGA
Allen vs. Diallo
Trent vs. Knox
Carter vs. Gabriel/Washington
Bolden vs. Richards

The wing matchups here are going to be interesting. Diallo/Allen matchup is the one I'd love to see. If Briscoe could shut Allen down, can you imagine what Diallo would do to him? Again, for the other 3 positions on the floor, Cal needs to take full advantage of our depth, because that is where we have a big advantage over Duke.

Duval>Green
Diallo>Allen
Knox>Trent
Carter>Gabriel
Bolden=Richards

What is funny is if you look at starting 5's it's close. When you factor in our bench players there is no comparison. It is possible Vanderbilt could be the best player on the court and he is not even factored in.

 

[wromanp7]

I'll admit those look like good matchups and would be tough games.

Pre-season eye test is Vandy/PJ/Knox will need to be the three-headed wild card. That's a lot of length of skill to defend over 40 minutes.

And I'm not discounting, at all, our other great players.. just calling out the wild card.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Against most teams the starting five will be fairly close. Where we get an edge on most other teams is our bench.

Let's say we start Green, Diallo, Knox, Vanderbilt, and Richards. That means we have Gilgeous-Alexander, Washington, Gabriel, and Killeya-Jones on the bench. That's a lot of talent, some experience, and lots of length.

KU won't have near that kind of depth. They will argue that Vick is the best player on both benches, which may be true, but after him and Cunliffe (both 6'6 ish wings) they are thin. Especially inside.

Duke is even thinner on the bench. DeLaurier and Vrankovic are their depth inside. They are serviceable. Their guard/wing depth is very weak, IMHO.

Michigan St. has a solid, experienced bench. Zona has a decent bench. Besides them, I don't see any top tier teams with our kind of depth. We have four guys on our bench that were rated as 5-stars by at least one service (most of them were consensus 5-stars).

Now that talent and depth might not translate to the court, but on paper we look like the deepest team in the country aside from maybe Michigan St.

 

[wromanp7]

Duval>Green
Diallo>Allen
Knox>Trent
Carter>Gabriel
Bolden=Richards

What is funny is if you look at starting 5's it's close. When you factor in our bench players there is no comparison. It is possible Vanderbilt could be the best player on the court and he is not even factored in.

At this point I'd call it more like this.
Duval > Green
Diallo = Allen (offense vs. defense/rebounding)
Knox = Trent (I could slightly call Knox better)
Carter > Gabriel
Bolden = Richards

And like you said..

UK bench > Duke bench

Good matchup.

 

[Sparkaces1]

In that Kansas head to head I think they only have an advantage at PG, I would take our starters at every other position not even mentioning the bench.

 

[kyjeff1]

Duval>Green
Diallo>Allen
Knox>Trent
Carter>Gabriel
Bolden=Richards

What is funny is if you look at starting 5's it's close. When you factor in our bench players there is no comparison. It is possible Vanderbilt could be the best player on the court and he is not even factored in.

At some point SKJ is going to show us all what he can do. I don't know what happened to him last season, maybe it was the 6" between his ears, but he was the dude that everyone said was turning heads in practice. Not Fox, not Monk, not Bam. It was SKJ that was being talked about as the best of the freshmen last summer.
So at some point, I believe he will blow up and could be the most productive player next season.

 

[wromanp7]

In that Kansas head to head I think they only have an advantage at PG, I would take our starters at every other position not even mentioning the bench.

Maybe.. but we play early and they have a lot of experience on the roster. I wouldn't pencil in a win just yet for the OOC game.

 

[Nooneputsbabyinacorner]

Go watch Fox's interview at the combine.

What was Fox supposed to say?

Fox: "I ate Diallo's lunch in practice on the daily."

Do you really think he'd say that and put a negative spin on Diallo's chances to get drafted?

 

[caneintally]

UK will be better then KU and it won't really be close by Febuary IMO. Doesn't mean they don't beat us in November though but they truly only have one sure fire pro on that team and it is Preston and that is if he qualifies . KU has alot of decent players like Svi and Newman but nothing amazing. Duke has one complete stud in Carter and then a few overrated guys like duval and Trent ( not saying they aren't good but they aren't elite either) . But the biggest thing is Duke has zero depth and has an anal cancerous tumor in Gracie Allen. So they aren't an issue IMO.

The teams who will compete with UK are Zona and MSU . Zona has alot of talent and some decent experience . The drawback as if they have a coach who chokes . MSU has a legendary coach and 2-3 elite players . I would make MSU my preseason #1 team and UK #2 .

It is going to be great to watch UNC struggle mightly this season as this is the least talent UNC has ever had in my 37 years on this earth probably. Berry is a great pg but he has no one to pass to and they literally don't even have some one of Tai's talent at the center .

 

[docholiday51]

Depth is valuable but you can only play 5 at a time.Seemingly endless t v timeouts and coaches ability to "steal" minutes here or there tend to offset the depth advantage. Match-ups seem to be more important in big games.I don't think we will see Cal go anywhere near the platoon system again and honestly it remains to be seen if we have the overall talent to even talk about it.The return of Diallo takes us away from being thin at the guard spots but the 4 and 5 spots have questions that will have to be answered.

 

[Nooneputsbabyinacorner]

UK will be better then KU and it won't really be close by Febuary IMO. Doesn't mean they don't beat us in November though but they truly only have one sure fire pro on that team and it is Preston and that is if he qualifies . KU has alot of decent players like Svi and Newman but nothing amazing. Duke has one complete stud in Carter and then a few overrated guys like duval and Trent ( not saying they aren't good but they aren't elite either) . But the biggest thing is Duke has zero depth and has an anal cancerous tumor in Gracie Allen. So they aren't an issue IMO.

The teams who will compete with UK are Zona and MSU . Zona has alot of talent and some decent experience . The drawback as if they have a coach who chokes . MSU has a legendary coach and 2-3 elite players . I would make MSU my preseason #1 team and UK #2 .

It is going to be great to watch UNC struggle mightly this season as this is the least talent UNC has ever had in my 37 years on this earth probably. Berry is a great pg but he has no one to pass to and they literally don't even have some one of Tai's talent at the center .

Svi and Graham are first round projected by draftexpress:

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2018/

Lagerald Vick and Newman are projected first round by nbadraft.net and Newman and Preston are on the board

http://www.nbadraft.net/2018mock_draft

Surprised Udoka, Preston and Newman aren't higher on both. So to say we don't have NBA talent is a bit homerish.

 

[Aike]

At some point SKJ is going to show us all what he can do. I don't know what happened to him last season, maybe it was the 6" between his ears, but he was the dude that everyone said was turning heads in practice. Not Fox, not Monk, not Bam. It was SKJ that was being talked about as the best of the freshmen last summer.
So at some point, I believe he will blow up and could be the most productive player next season.

You've got to be careful about those summer conversations. In 2011, Wiltjer was turning heads and MKG was behind (allegedly).

 

[christiane]

Wichita st is pretty good too

 

[KYNC89]

Another interesting matchup would be Duke -

Duval vs. Green/SGA
Allen vs. Diallo
Trent vs. Knox
Carter vs. Gabriel/Washington
Bolden vs. Richards

The wing matchups here are going to be interesting. Diallo/Allen matchup is the one I'd love to see. If Briscoe could shut Allen down, can you imagine what Diallo would do to him? Again, for the other 3 positions on the floor, Cal needs to take full advantage of our depth, because that is where we have a big advantage over Duke.

Give me that match up all day. Make bolden and his momma cry

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Svi and Graham are first round projected by draftexpress:

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2018/

Facekicker Vick and Newman are projected first round by nbadraft.net and Newman and Preston are on the board

http://www.nbadraft.net/2018mock_draft

Surprised Udoka, Preston and Newman aren't higher on both. So to say we don't have NBA talent is a bit homerish.

FYP.

 

[Nooneputsbabyinacorner]

There were plenty of reports filtering out of those practices that confirmed Diallo was extraordinary, even compared to the lottery pick tandem of Fox and Monk. That's why lots of Kentucky fans were hoping he'd play in the tournament. But I never expected him to, for the very reason he cited -- team chemistry. I don't want to get into that all over again, but its well documented that he was playing very well against Fox in practice.

Fair enough. There were the same practice leaks at KU last year that Newman was the best player on the team last year too, but I take those type of reports with a grain of salt.

 

[Nooneputsbabyinacorner]

FYP.

You're one of my favorites.

 

[harlanhomeboy]

Svi and Graham are first round projected by draftexpress:

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2018/

Lagerald Vick and Newman are projected first round by nbadraft.net and Newman and Preston are on the board

http://www.nbadraft.net/2018mock_draft

Surprised Udoka, Preston and Newman aren't higher on both. So to say we don't have NBA talent is a bit homerish.

Kentucky will beat Kansas like a drum in March. Maybe not in November, but it will be a blowout in March.

 

[Nooneputsbabyinacorner]

Kentucky will beat Kansas like a drum in March. Maybe not in November, but it will be a blowout in March.

Unlikely.

 

[Bluegrassking]

You've got to be careful about those summer conversations. In 2011, Wiltjer was turning heads and MKG was behind (allegedly).

Defense often can be very difficult to measure unless it is really keyed in so offense shows up more in those early summer days.
If basketball was an offense/defense sport rather than two way Wiltjer would be more than a head turner.

It turns out the entire context of a player is really very important not any one aspect.

It also can't speak to what things will look like just down the road as more stuff is put in, organization becomes more of a factor, what happens when strengths are mitigated as people build up that mental book, and especially who is strong through the grind long after the new car smell is gone and adversity is faced.

 

[Aike]

Defense often can be very difficult to measure unless it is really keyed in so offense shows up more in those early summer days.
If basketball was an offense/defense sport rather than two way Wiltjer would be more than a head turner.

It turns out the entire context of a player is really very important not any one aspect.

It also can't speak to what things will look like just down the road as more stuff is put in, organization becomes more of a factor, what happens when strengths are mitigated as people build up that mental book, and especially who is strong through the grind long after the new car smell is gone and adversity is faced.

Plus, those Wiltjer/MKG conversations were actually coming from Cal. Pushing buttons.

 

[Jkwo]

People keep conceding that other top teams will have the best players on the floor and that all we have is depth...

How do you know? By March (when it counts) are you really so sure that between Diallo, Knox, Vanderbilt, Washington, soph Gabriel, soph SKJ, we don't have any AAs?

Would you bet money against that for all of them?

I wouldn't. We have a bunch of high potential guys, and somebody is going to step up.

What was Fox supposed to say?

Fox: "I ate Diallo's lunch in practice on the daily."

Do you really think he'd say that and put a negative spin on Diallo's chances to get drafted?

He could've said "Diallo is a very good defender. Great player." instead of going on about it.

Coach speak. Player speak. Ever heard of it?

 

[Nooneputsbabyinacorner]

So you are calling him a liar. This is the type of stuff that should get KU fans like yourself banned in my opinion.

I'm pretty sure, based on my 4 semesters of English in college, that what I wrote in no way could be interpreted by a rational person as calling Fox a liar.

 

[wromanp7]

What was Fox supposed to say?

Fox: "I ate Diallo's lunch in practice on the daily."

Do you really think he'd say that and put a negative spin on Diallo's chances to get drafted?

I hate that song.

 

[ccukuk]

We don*t know how well he guarded Fox. Maybe Fox ate his lunch.

Let*s not hype these kids up too much before we see them play against college competition.

Yes, we do know, as Fox described practice, defended by Diallo, as harder than games.

 

[WildMoon]

I am going to be biased.

Our starting 5 kills everyone else's. I don't need logic.

Anyways, they are super young, and let's see how much they can reach their potential. Lead the way Quade.

 

[ccukuk]

What was Fox supposed to say?

Fox: "I ate Diallo's lunch in practice on the daily."

Do you really think he'd say that and put a negative spin on Diallo's chances to get drafted?

He certainly didn't have to praise his play like he did. There was no motive for going on about Diallo's defensive prowess.
That said, players who don't see court time as reserves or redshirts or Diallo's situation, do get more hyped for practice than starters mid season. Not saying the starters or key reserves didn't practice hard, just saying practice for non contributing players is their moment to shine.
Anyone who played a team sport at high school or beyond likely can relate to my point.

 

[csrupp]

I'm pretty sure, based on my 4 semesters of English in college, that what I wrote in no way could be interpreted by a rational person as calling Fox a liar.

You may want to request a refund from University of Phoenix.

 

[EclipsingYou]

Am I the only one expecting our SL TO be Green, Diallo, Knox, Vanderbilt, and Richards?

Diallo, Knox, and Vanderbilt are probably 3 if the top 20 players in all of college basketball and I don't see why you wouldn't want them on the floor as much as possible.

It's not like that lineup would have trouble guarding any other team's bigs with their size, length, and speed. Plus, it creates some pretty big mismatches on the offensive end in our favor.

A lot more so than starting Gabriel or Washington over Vanderbilt would accomplish, IMO.

All in my completely worthless opinion as always

 

[bucsrule8872]

Am I the only one expecting our SL TO be Green, Diallo, Knox, Vanderbilt, and Richards?

Diallo, Knox, and Vanderbilt are probably 3 if the top 20 players in all of college basketball and I don't see why you wouldn't want them on the floor as much as possible.

It's not like that lineup would have trouble guarding any other team's bigs with their size, length, and speed. Plus, it creates some pretty big mismatches on the offensive end in our favor.

A lot more so than starting Gabriel or Washington over Vanderbilt would accomplish, IMO.

All in my completely worthless opinion as always

I tend to agree, though I can see the arguments for Gabriel. He is the only returnee with starting experience.

 

[csrupp]

Unlikely.

I agree Kansas is unlikely to make it far enough to get blown out by UK.