OT: C.J. Fredrick V. Kellan Grady

[MdWIldcat55]

So, Kellan has had his senior night. He is a terrific player, and seems to be an even better young man. He will be greatly missed.

C.J. Fredrick has rehabbed all season, been around the program, so should hit the ground running next year, at least a bit ahead of the normal transfer.

How much of what Grady provides will Fredrick bring?

My thoughts: I don't think Fredrick can be a total replacement for Grady. Nor will he have to be. If Sharpe doesn't stay, I expect Cal to sign a top wing player in the Transfer Portal. But there are comparisons.

Grady moves well without the ball, and has the ability to score off the dribble. IF you watch enough of Fredrick, he actually has those skills as well, though maybe not to the same degree.

Neither is an exceptional athlete. Grady has done a decent job on defense. Iowa fans say Fredrick was actually a very good defender in the Big Ten.

Grady came to UK after playing in the Atlantic Ten, where his career stats were no doubt greater than if he'd played in a Power 5 conference. Fredrick was All Freshman Team in the Big Ten.

As a pure shooter, I really think you have to give Fredrick the edge. He has a really pure shot from 3.

Bottom line: Cal will likely add a big-time wing. But Fredrick may be a bit overlooked as a piece on next year's team.

 

[Smashcat]

Fredrick has a history of foot and leg problems that have kept him off the floor. I sure hope he can stay healthy but until he proves he’s durable, I’m going to remain a bit skeptical about his helpfulness.

 

[JonathanW]

No doubt if Sharpe is not here, Cal adds a shooting wing.
And if Oscar leaves, Cal adds a Big.
And if Wheeler leaves, Cal adds a PG.
If we lost 2 of Brooks, Toppin, Collins, Hopkins, then Cal adds a Forward
All of these would come from the transfer portal.

I imagine the staff have already put together a list, if any of these 50-100 players go into the portal, we are calling them.

 

[IrishMike409]

Grady is better. Better scorer. Better shooter. He’s a starting caliber SEC wing. CJ just isn’t.

 

[know1]

Fredrick has a history of foot and leg problems that have kept him off the floor. I sure hope he can stay healthy but until he proves he’s durable, I’m going to remain a bit skeptical about his helpfulness.

This. He's basically been injured most of his career. I am worried that will continue next year.

 

[electricat2]

Grady is better. Better scorer. Better shooter. He’s a starting caliber SEC wing. CJ just isn’t.

i do not agree. cj was pretty darn good at iowa. and thats against high d1 comp. i think if healthy, and thats a big if, i think cj is every bit as good as grady next year

 

[STL_Cat]

I don't anticipate CJ to be the all around player Grady is. Grady, although not a natural at it, has been able to handle PG duties in a pinch. Also when handling the ball Grady has shown the ability to get into the lane and hit layups at the rim and floaters. I'm not sure CJ has the same athleticism as Grady. Also, Grady has been able to play 35+ minutes on a regular basis and avoid the injury bug. We really don't know how well CJ will hold up based on his past. We'll see, but I wouldn't expect a 1:1 replacement.

 

[cats#1again]

If healthy cj will be every bit as productive as Grady has been. Grady is a much better player than what we have gotten from him. He's played a position that he's never played before. He's done good at it, not great. The last few games he has started to drive the ball and that's the missing link

Cj surprised me going back and watching game film at Iowa. The kid is much more than a shooter

Very similar players actually

 

[JonathanW]

Grady is better. Better scorer. Better shooter. He’s a starting caliber SEC wing. CJ just isn’t.

I don't think we can say Grady is a better shooter. CJ made what 46-48% of his 3's at Iowa. Not to mention I think UK players have said CJ is the best shooter they've ever seen, and they've seen Grady shoot.

I think Grady may all around be a bit better, but I don't think it will be a big dropoff.

 

[Kuhldaddy]

Grady is better. Better scorer. Better shooter. He’s a starting caliber SEC wing. CJ just isn’t.

CJ is the better shooter.

 

[Huma1894]

Grady was hesitant too. often. I expect CJ to be an upgrade with more shots and a higher percentage.

 

[TCurtis75]

Grady is better. Better scorer. Better shooter. He’s a starting caliber SEC wing. CJ just isn’t.

Part of this might be true but that still remains to be seen but one part is completely false. Grady might be a better overall player and he might be a better pure scorer but everyone on the team including Kellan says that CJ is the best shooter on the team.

 

[trueblujr2]

Grady is better. Better scorer. Better shooter. He’s a starting caliber SEC wing. CJ just isn’t.

If Fredrick can be a Starter in the Big 10, he can be a starter in the SEC. But Starting lineups have not really mattered much under Cal. It will largely depend on who returns.

 

[GuyFromKY]

Imagine how much better this year's team would've been with another consistent 3-point threat if we had CJ out there. I think he will be a key piece to next year's team. Looking forward to him in blue and white.

 

[yes_takeaside]

Grady is better. Better scorer. Better shooter. He’s a starting caliber SEC wing. CJ just isn’t.

Guess we will see. Odds are you are wrong.

 

[cats#1again]

Hopefully he's healthy next season and goes on the next year to be even better. In 23/24 he will have Reed Shepard backing him up and that would be a strong 2g spot

 

[ralphdaltonfan]

I'll take Fredrick over Grady. He's done it and in Power Conference atmosphere. Grady has too many games he shrivels up/disappears. Good thing for UK there's only one road SEC game left because that should be last of Grady's catch the ball 5 ft out of bounds on right baseline nonsense.

My issue with CJ is what Smash mentioned and it goes even further. If you were to return Wheeler, add Clark--that's 3 guards who have injury history and you have a program that for whatever reason has guys miss games at a rate of an MLB team putting people on the IL. Not a great combination.

 

[Kuhldaddy]

If he's 5 feet out of bounds they probably shouldn't pass it to him 🤷‍♂️

 

[TCurtis75]

If he's 5 feet out of bounds they probably shouldn't pass it to him 🤷‍♂️

Agreed. That seems to be an issue with the person passing the ball to Grady rather than Grady himself. Many times in a game, a player has to run out of bounds along the baseline when going corner to corner. If he's out of bounds, don't pass him the ball.