Monk-Bridges package deal?
- Thread starter Cat Ballou
- Start date
True. But stranger things have happened. Wiggins comes to mind.
is adidas going to offer the same shoe deal to monk as they did with wiggins?
Your supposition relies on a spurious claim that no one could mess up a certain type of elite player and that Calipari is nothing more than a good judge of elite athleticism. What you willingly choose to ignore are the myriad other players who take longer, struggle more, and end up being far less than those players who happen to play under Cal's tutelage.
Renardo Sidney, Xavier Henry, Derrick Favors, Avery Bradley, Kenny Boynton, and others were considered just as good as John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins in 2009. None of them ended up more than a minor footnote in the NBA and only Henry even made a ripple in the draft. (Much to the dismay of the team that drafted him.) Wall and Cousins, OTOH, are All-Stars and among the best players in the NBA. You have to go all the way down to #36 (MaxPreps) to find Eric Bledsoe, yet he blossomed first under Cal, then in the NBA. None was considered the BEST player in the class. Heck, Elijah Johnson was considered a better prospect than Bledsoe. Was that luck?
In the 2010 class, Harrison Barnes was the second-coming of Jordan. Remember his "brand"? Nobody else does either. Josh Selby was rated just as highly as Brandon Knight. Reggie Bullock was a lock to go early as one-and-doners. Until they didn't. Or, in the case of Selby, they did and shouldn't have. Enes Kanter was the 25th ranked player in the class (ESPN). He ended up drafted at number four. He's now being paid as much as possible under the collective bargaining contract with the NBA and a starting PF averaging 15 and 10. Of the guys above him, do you know how many can top that? Kyrie Irving. Of the top 25 HS prospects (according to ESPN), Kentucky has as many starters and players averaging double figures as the rest of the colleges combined.
In 2011, Austin Rivers was widely considered the best player coming into college. That didn't work out so well for Duke, did it? James McAdoo, a top five player, is still waiting for his opportunity to shine at UNC. In 2012, Shabazz Mohammed was THE stud. He was drafted in the 20's. Kaleb Tarczewski is still in Arizona.
I can go year by year by year. Typically, players from Texas, North Carolina, Duke, Arkansas, Syracuse, and, yes, Kansas are rated just as highly as those from Kentucky. Typically, we see those players fail (relatively speaking) at much higher rates. Calipari has done more with his one-and-done players. Consistently. Five years is pattern enough. 30 players is sample enough.
They become impact players faster and more often. They get drafted in larger numbers and higher. And they end up better professionals, by and large. Does that mean he's perfected the process? Of course not. But his success rate is phenomenal-- and no amount of sour grapes from opposing fans changes that.
As long as we're talking player development, might want to toss in Booker's name.
Did anyone on this planet predict that he would be a lottery pick after 1 season?
Did anyone on this planet predict that he would be a lottery pick after 1 season?
The tea leaves are telling us that Bridges, Monk, and Fox will sign with Kentucky. It is not a secret that Duke is the favorite for Giles, but I think everyone on this thread is underestimating Calipari on this 1.
