ranking Calipari's 25 one-and-done freshmen at Kentucky

[mktmaker]

CBS Sportsline
by Kyle Boone

Calipari, before his time in Lexington, was a proponent of the phenomenon that is the new norm in the sport. At Memphis, he coached three such prospects in Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans and Shawne Williams. Then things really took off at Kentucky.

With (almost) limitless resources, the Big Blue brand and the drive of a Hall of Famer, Calipari has cornered the market of the one-and-done game. Since 2009, he's coached 25 freshman stars into becoming future NBA Draft picks, more than any college in the country by a wide margin. And he only widened his lead on the field this year by having four freshmen leave school early to hear their name called in the draft.

The next crop of Kentucky recruits took the court for the first time in a Wildcats uniform during a four-game tour of the Bahamas which concluded Sunday. Which Kentucky freshmen will be the next one-and-dones under John Calipari. Immanuel Quickley, Ashton Hagans and Keldon Johnson perhaps have the best shot of joining an impressive list of players who were one-and-done at UK.

So in the spirit of fun to re-live all 25, we've decided to rank all of them based off their college production.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...liparis-25-one-and-done-freshmen-at-kentucky/

 

[Mojocat]

First thing I note is MKG - at number 10 - is grossly under-rated. This is based on college, so his disappointing pro career is irrelevant. He was a beast in college, I'd put him in the top 5 of this list personally.

 

[Smashcat]

First thing I note is MKG - at number 10 - is grossly under-rated. This is based on college, so his disappointing pro career is irrelevant. He was a beast in college, I'd put him in the top 5 of this list personally.

Agree. I’d also move Towns up.

 

[mustnotsleepnow]

First thing I note is MKG - at number 10 - is grossly under-rated. This is based on college, so his disappointing pro career is irrelevant. He was a beast in college, I'd put him in the top 5 of this list personally.

Me too. He was the heart and soul of that team. Remember when he pulled like 25 rebounds against UL.

 

[ThroughBlue]

Davis
Wall
Boogie
Towns
Knight
Randle
Murray
Fox
Monk
MKG
SGA
Teague
Knox
Bam
Nerlens
James young
Bledsoe
Booker
Archie
Trey Lyles
DIallo
Vanderbilt
Skal
Daniel Orton

 

[ThroughBlue]

No one should be below Skal

 

[WildMoon]

MKG is top 3.

Randle was key component in runner up. Also should be higher.

 

[JC43]

Ulis? Just saw "freshman"

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

Ulis?

Joke?

 

[JC43]

Joke?

Just saw freshmen...

 

[UKGrad93]

Ulis? Just saw "freshman"

Wasn't one and done.

 

[UKGrad93]

I would move MKG up. I'd move Kanter off the bottom. He didn't have stats, but he helped improve the team.

 

[JC43]

Wasn't on and done.

On n don?
Got it...

 

[UKGrad93]

On n don?
Got it...

Not Juan and Dunn either .

 

[JonathanW]

First thing I note is MKG - at number 10 - is grossly under-rated. This is based on college, so his disappointing pro career is irrelevant. He was a beast in college, I'd put him in the top 5 of this list personally.

I disagree. Only considering time at UK, MKG is ranked about right IMO. And I was a big MKG fan.
About the only big change I would make would be to drop Teague about 5 spots.

 

[ganner918]

This list labels Young a "sharpshooter," and I've seen other retrospectives mention his shooting. I'm not saying he was bad, but his 35% three point average is pretty mediocre for a guy taking 6 a game. He was a good scorer, but not a sharpshooter. And having Bledsoe down at 17 a spot below him is insane.

 

[wcc31]

MKG is way underrated, and I believe Monk was better than Murray.

That said, I cannot really put Monk over Fox.

 

[DocLockdown]

Great article, thanks for posting. A few rankings you could obviously debate but overall I thought it was well done.

 

[Jkwo]

Davis
Wall
Boogie
Towns
Knight
Randle
Murray
Fox
Monk
MKG
SGA
Teague
Knox
Bam
Nerlens
James young
Bledsoe
Booker
Archie
Trey Lyles
DIallo
Vanderbilt
Skal
Daniel Orton

Not bad, but you have Nerlens way low.

I'd also bump Fox, MKG, Bledsoe a spot or two, but otherwise, I agree.

 

[Wildcats4ever2007]

Holy smokes what a list.. just an absurd amount of talent we have gotten to enjoy here in the last 9 years.

 

[SmyrnaCatFan]

Holy smokes what a list.. just an absurd amount of talent we have gotten to enjoy here in the last 9 years.

Yeah, we have really been treated to a wealth of talent. I for one really enjoy the time they were here. It seems many on this list also treasure the time they spent in Lexington. I don't necessarily like ranking lists especially with these guys because they are all number 1 in my book.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

First thing I note is MKG - at number 10 - is grossly under-rated. This is based on college, so his disappointing pro career is irrelevant. He was a beast in college, I'd put him in the top 5 of this list personally.

MKG should be like #5 on that list at worst

 

[ThroughBlue]

Not bad, but you have Nerlens way low.

I'd also bump Fox, MKG, Bledsoe a spot or two, but otherwise, I agree.

That was the list in the article not my list

 

[4UK]

That's a pretty good list. Not a lot to argue with. Personally, I'd have Knight ahead of Towns, and maybe even ahead of Boogie (despite the fact he's my favorite Cal-era player). That team really had no business getting to the Final Four through a loaded bracket, but Knight was so clutch.

 

[CatfanMike47]

And Bam behind Shai and Knox is a bit of a stretch to be he was big for the Elite Eight team that went 32-6! We don’t get to the Elite Eight without him!!!

 

[arenk]

And Bam behind Shai and Knox is a bit of a stretch to be he was big for the Elite Eight team that went 32-6! We don’t get to the Elite Eight without him!!!

Jones should be way ahead o Skal, and he's completely ignored. He was definitely better than Skal as a freshman and so was Lamb.

 

[CatfanMike47]

Jones should be way ahead o Skal, and he's completely ignored. He was definitely better than Skal as a freshman and so was Lamb.

But it didn’t make list cause he left after his sophomore year!!!!

 

[mktmaker]

IMHO

Nerlens is underrated. Had he not blown out his knee he may have been drafted #1.

Bledsoe is underrated.

Young and Archie are overrated.

 

[Aike]

MKG has to move up. He was not 3rd fiddle behind Lamb, or whatever the article says. Love Lamb, and we never win it without him, but the key to his success was playing off of everyone else.

Nerlens and Bledsoe are too low. Shai is a little too high. Recency bias.

 

[GoNoles111]

Bledsoe never gets the love he should.

 

[BourbonBalz]

Towns should be # 2.

 

[JPFisher]

Bledsoe, MKG, and Booker should all be higher imo. Orton should have really been considered for 25.

 

[fatguy87]

Inside the top ten, MKG is too low. I’d take him over Brandon Knight.

Teague is way too high. That’s the most glaring error outside the top 10. There are at least 3 superior guards ranked behind him.

Guys like Vanderbilt and Noel should be ranked higher based on per minute production when they played, but I can understand caveats for injuries since they impact overall production.

 

[crestcat]

MKG has to move up. He was not 3rd fiddle behind Lamb, or whatever the article says. Love Lamb, and we never win it without him, but the key to his success was playing off of everyone else.

Nerlens and Bledsoe are too low. Shai is a little too high. Recency bias.

MKG is tough to evaluate in ratings like this because he was not a numbers guy, he was what you needed that game.

 

[Aike]

MKG is tough to evaluate in ratings like this because he was not a numbers guy, he was what you needed that game.

Right. No one who watched all the games would rate him that low.

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

Davis
Wall
Cousins
Gilchrist
Towns
Knight
Randle
Murray
Fox
Monk
Kanter
Gilgeous-Alexander
Noel
Teague
Knox
Adebayo
Bledsoe
Booker
Young
Goodwin
Lyles
Diallo
Vanderbilt
Skal
Orton

Love those who nitpick other people's list but don't take the time to make their own.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

I hope Wiseman and Carey join that list in the near future.

 

[Mojocat]

Heard Tom Leach talking about this today (yesterday?). He said Bledsoe is the only one he'd argue about. He also said he thought there is a clear top 4, which they got right: Davis, Wall, Cousins, Towns. My guess is that's something most people would agree with. MKG is one of the hardest of Cal's players to evaluate - but I think I'd include him in that group and say there's a clear top 5.

Which of Cal's players at UK have been top 5 draft picks?

Wall #1 2010
Cousins #5 2010
Davis #1 2012
MKG #2 2012
Towns #1 2015
Fox #5 2017

Obviously, that's an arbitrary measure. Not all drafts are the same, etc. Still, being the #2 overall pick in any draft is strong. I think - again, just based on what they did at UK - I'd include him and say there's a clear top 5 and then a break until the next person, whomever it is.