Rank Cal's UK Recruiting Classes

[wcc31]

You can base it however you would like, but I'm putting the most weight on what they accomplished at UK. It's pretty tough to rank them actually, but here's my list:

1. '11 Class. MKG, Davis, Teague, Wiltjer

Won the title as freshmen. Davis may be the greatest Cat of them all. MKG is one of the greatest glue guys and competitors ever and was also a 2nd Team AA. Teague was one of the best PGs in the country by March. Wiltjer will end his career as one of the favorites for NPOY.

2. '13. Harrisons, Randle, Young, Johnson, Lee, Willis, Hawkins

Maybe overrating this class a bit, but it involves 8 players who will likely play big roles in four national title contenders when it's all said and done. They went to the NC game in year 1 and formed the backbone of a 38-1 F4 in Year 2.

3. '09. Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe, Orton, Dodson, Hood

For pure star power, this is the #1. They put UK back on the map, however the pieces didn't fit together completely and they lost in the E8.

4. '10. Knight, Lamb, Jones, Vargas, Poole

Sent UK back to the Final 4 for the first time in 13 years and Jones/Lamb played big roles in the '12 championship squad. Played HUGE in both the '11 and '12 NCAA runs.

5. '14. Towns, Booker, Lyles, Ulis

May be higher when it's all said and done with Ulis's career. Played BIG roles in '15, especially Towns, but the core of that team came from the sophomore and even junior classes.

6. '12. Goodwin, Poythress, WCS, Noel

Disappointing freshmen year, but WCS had a splendid career and Poythress has a chance to finish off with a title and 3 F4s.

REMAINS TO BE SEEN:

'15. Murray, Labisserie, Briscoe, Matthews, Humphries, Mulder

'16. Killeya-Jones, Gabriel, Wynyard, Fox (possible), Monk (possible)

 

[throatpoker]

#1

 

[spotter34]

1. '09. Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe, Orton, Dodson, Hood: This got the ball rolling for Cal at UK. Without this initial "chic" class the following classes may not have been as good. Wall and Cousins, in my opinion, are the best recruits at their position since that time.

2. '13. Harrisons, Randle, Young, Johnson, Lee, Willis, Hawkins: The rankings and the sheer number of elite recruits makes this the 2nd best class in my opinion. This group was the core of the team (outside of WCS and POY). Coming off an NIT season they matured over the season and took us on a great trip to the championship game.

3. '11 Class. MKG, Davis, Teague, Wiltjer: This class isn't as high in my opinion because they had 3 key returning players on the team that helped them win the championship (Jones, Lamb, and Miller). Davis was all everything and may be the best player (all around) I've seen at UK. MKG was a warrior and had the perfect mentality and temperament to do what he does well. Teague was a bulldog but struggled for most of his freshmen season. KW hit timely 3's but later transferred out of the program.

4. '14. Towns, Booker, Lyles, Ulis: 3 one and done lottery picks (overall #1 pick) to go with maybe the best pure PG Cal has had. FF and 1 loss.

5. '10. Knight, Lamb, Jones, Vargas, Poole: Very skilled group with 3 elite players. They blended nicely with 3 veteran players (Miller, Liggins, and Harrelson) to get to a Final Four. Knight might be the most under appreciated player Cal has recruited to UK (he has the all-time freshmen scoring record).

6. '12. Goodwin, Poythress, WCS, Noel: physically talented group but not a lot of skill. A healthy Noel would have changed the outcome of that season. No we wouldn't have advanced as far as Cal's other teams at UK in the tournament, but I think they could have reached the sweet 16.

The '15 and '16 classes are wait and see.

 

[Deli owl]

I love his recruiting and am always most excited about his next class.