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Roster

Livingston's been telling folks he's playing the 2 and 3 positions.

Cal must be telling him he's a guard like he did when he recruit Wenyan Gabriel.
Livingston is a 3 so I would have no problem with him playing there. He could buy small amount of minutes at the 2 but realistically there is no way he plays any substantial time there when you have Wallace, Frederick, and Reeves rotating there.
 
Livingston is a 3 so I would have no problem with him playing there. He could buy small amount of minutes at the 2 but realistically there is no way he plays any substantial time there when you have Wallace, Frederick, and Reeves rotating there.
He shot 31% from 3 in high school.Cal's perfect kind of guy at the 3.
 
I’ve gotten past filling out 13 scholarships. Wanted it for depth but if Cal is more comfortable with a shorter rotation and he coaches better and is more comfortable.. go for it.
He won it in 2012 with a small roster. More minutes for players and a set substitution pattern. Better than having guys on the bench fidgeting and complaining over lack of time.
 
I’ve gotten past filling out 13 scholarships. Wanted it for depth but if Cal is more comfortable with a shorter rotation and he coaches better and is more comfortable.. go for it.
He won it in 2012 with a small roster. More minutes for players and a set substitution pattern. Better than having guys on the bench fidgeting and complaining over lack of time.
If you have AD you don't need much.
 
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He shot 31% from 3 in high school.Cal's perfect kind of guy at the 3.
Yeah? His 2019-2020 season at Buchtel shows him at 55% and 33% at Oak Hill the following year which is respectable. And falling for high school "stats" when it comes to shooting percentages is a very stupid thing to do when trying to project how they will shoot/perform in college. Watch him in actual games and see the stroke for yourself. He is at the very least an average shooter.
 
Yeah? His 2019-2020 season at Buchtel shows him at 55% and 33% at Oak Hill the following year which is respectable. And falling for high school "stats" when it comes to shooting percentages is a very stupid thing to do when trying to project how they will shoot/perform in college. Watch him in actual games and see the stroke for yourself. He is at the very least an average shooter.
The 55% one was fake.Anyway I doubt an average shooter in high school will become great in college.The real trouble is we have a terrible shooting point guard so the rest of the team has to be even better.
 
The 55% one was fake.Anyway I doubt an average shooter in high school will become great in college.The real trouble is we have a terrible shooting point guard so the rest of the team has to be even better.
I assumed there was something up with it, thats why I say it is 10X better to judge guys in high school buy watching their games and even some highlights as compared to looking at stats as I could probably even go onto MaxPreps or one of those sites and put in stats for high school players.
 
We need another depth piece or two. Injuries are always a concern and cutting it razor thin numbers wise has bitten us far too often.
I wanted to see another 2G added, but it’s looking like the roster may very well be set. If so (although I might be starting to rationalize some here) I’m thinking that if Fredrick can really give the team 20 minutes a game and has retained roughly 95% of his natural mobility, then I’m thinking the roster has enough flexibility to withstand some lost time issues – at least about as well as any other top team.
 
You mean the kids Cal brought in aren't comparable to Shaden Sharpe or even Nick Smith who we could have gotten if Cal hadn't ALLOWED Sharpe's entourage to dictate his time here AND screw over the UK program???!!!!


I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY!!!!
Or if he didn’t recruit a frickin tik tok kid over nick smith to begin with
 
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Which isn't much.
Might add one more (Dillingham reclass? Grandison transfer?), but it’s unlikely. I think the 10 scholarship guys we have are it and 9 will play with 8 playing most of the minutes.

Rotation will probably look something like this (give or take a few minutes here and there):

G Wheeler(30)/Wallace(10)
G Wallace(20)/Fredrick(20)
F Livingston(25)/Reeves(15)
F Toppin(25)/Collins(15)
F Tshiebwe(30)/Ware(10)

Wheeler and Tshiebwe are locks to start.

Wallace will likely start on one wing and backup Wheeler.

Livingston will likely start at the 3.

Fredrick and Reeves back up Wallace and Livingston on the wings.

Toppin and Collins split time at the 4 spot.

Ware plays when Tshiebwe needs a break, just like last season.

Thiero bides his time on the bench and plays spot minutes in blow outs.

Wheeler- 30
Tshiebwe- 30
Wallace- 30
Toppin- 25
Livingston- 25
Fredrick- 20
Reeves- 15
Collins- 15
Ware- 10
Sweet 16 ceiling
 
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Realistically, at least from my perspective, next season has some real potential if these 3 things happen…
1. Wallace and Livingston are as good or better than advertised.
2. Everyone not named Oscar make at least marginal or better improvement over last season.
3. No, I repeat no, medium/ major injuries to players 1-8.
 
The problem with next season is the problem that has happened a lot of seasons. Oscar and toppin are going to clog the lane and with a PG in wheeler who can’t shot or finish that’s a major problem. Teams are going to play the same defense Notre dame and St. Peter’s played. The offense will have little to no space, and we will do dribble handoffs for 25 Seconds and force a post feed to Oscar. Out only shooting is a guy from Iowa who has more injuries than a lot of team do and will get injured again it’s happening I don’t know why people are kidding themselves that it won’t, then you have reeves who can make threes but is better creating his own and having the ball in his hands, on top of that is making a big jump. I just don’t see where a top 5 team is there, top 15-20 but extremely limited and facing the same problems calipari has always faced but barring one month and half period last year is to stubborn to change
 
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The problem with next season is the problem that has happened a lot of seasons. Oscar and toppin are going to clog the lane and with a PG in wheeler who can’t shot or finish that’s a major problem. Teams are going to play the same defense Notre dame and St. Peter’s played. The offense will have liters space, and we will do dribble handoffs for 25 Seconds and force a post feed to Oscar. Out only shooting is a guy from Iowa who has more injuries than a lot of team do and will get injured again it’s happening I don’t know why people are kidding themselves that it won’t, then you have reeves who can make threes but is better creating his own and having the ball in his hands, on top of that is making a big jump. I just don’t see where a top 5 team is there, top 15-20 but extremely limited and facing the same problems calipari has always faced but barring one month and half period last year is to stubborn to change
Our offense was one of the best in the country last season, and I would argue that I like our offensive pieces better this coming year. We lost the St. Peters game because we couldnt guard them for some reason which was inexcusable. Both Wheeler and Toppin are at least capable enough of shooters where you cant just clog the lane and leave them wide open like you forsee in this fantasy of yours.
 
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Our offense was one of the best in the country last season, and I would argue that I like our offensive pieces better this coming year. We lost the St. Peters game because we couldnt guard them for some reason which was inexcusable. Both Wheeler and Toppin are at least capable enough of shooters where you cant just clog the lane and leave them wide open like you forsee in this fantasy of yours.
Wheeler is a bad shooter and Toppin barely took any.You are the one in a fantasy.
 
Our offense was one of the best in the country last season, and I would argue that I like our offensive pieces better this coming year. We lost the St. Peters game because we couldnt guard them for some reason which was inexcusable. Both Wheeler and Toppin are at least capable enough of shooters where you cant just clog the lane and leave them wide open like you forsee in this fantasy of yours.
That’s why I said it looked good for a month and half in the post then cal went back to his old bullshit, cal is never going let his offenses open up completely he is going run stall ball and the horns set he always runs and force post feeds to Oscar
 
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Wheeler is a bad shooter and Toppin barely took any.You are the one in a fantasy.
So do you think D1 college coaches are going to gameplan and have a strategy of leaving Wheeler wide open for 3's every time? Because that was pretty clearly what I was arguing
 
That’s why I said it looked good for a month and half in the post then cal went back to his old bullshit, cal is never going let his offenses open up completely he is going run stall ball and the horns set he always runs and force post feeds to Oscar
I can agree with that to an extent, I also think the downward performance of the offense directly correlated with Grady and Washington going through injuries which is probably where most of the blame should go.
 
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I can agree with that to an extent, I also think the downward performance of the offense directly correlated with Grady and Washington going through injuries which is probably where most of the blame should go.
They both played a major impact but Even if they didn’t get hurt cal would have still gone to his stall ball force post feeds crap
 
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Better roster than last season. The guards shit the bed at the end. Those guards besides Sahvir are gone. Tyty Grady and Mintz were horrible at the end. I like our replacements. We’ll be really good
You realize Grady was playing in two broken feet right?

And Ty wasn’t the same after his second ankle injury.

And say what you will about Mintz. Dude played his ass off for us.
 
Better roster than last season. The guards shit the bed at the end. Those guards besides Sahvir are gone. Tyty Grady and Mintz were horrible at the end. I like our replacements. We’ll be really good
But one of the ones who shit the bed will be our lead guard yet again.Good luck with that.
 
Thiero - project
Fredrick - can't be counted on because of his injury history
Ware - undeveloped project
Collins - undeveloped project

40% of this roster can't be counted on. Even if half of those four end up playing most of the season and contributing, you've left yourself no room for injuries or foul trouble.

I'm guessing Cal adds Dillingham on the 24th, and that the kid reclasses. Adding him would change a lot. Solves the guard depth issue and makes Fredrick a luxury you don't have to depend on.
I’d put a question mark next to Wheeler as well. Toughness and conditioning both IMO.
 
That’s why I said it looked good for a month and half in the post then cal went back to his old bullshit, cal is never going let his offenses open up completely he is going run stall ball and the horns set he always runs and force post feeds to Oscar
While Cal’s halfcourt offense does need work, I don’t think he plays stall ball. Give the defenses some credit, they do everything they can to slow them down.

Cal wants to run, because he knows his halfcourt offense is not very good. That’s why he always yells “Go” and “Run”

Part of that is due to his lack of creativity. Part of it is his personnel.

Still, it comes down to him.
 
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The obsession with the back end of the roster is very odd.

Even if Cal added a guy, two or three do you truly think it would be anyone who would contribute at all?

Look at the past 5 National Champs...

All had an 8-9 man rotation tops. Players 10 and beyond played sparingly. UNC in '17 had a full 10 that played, but that is the last one.

Have to stay healthy but the reality is that is true nearly every year for every team. Your 11th guy isn't going to replace a starter with same capabilities.
We all know Cal will only play 7 or 8 guys during crunch time but IF we have injuries I’d rather have my 11th and 12th guys as 3 or 4 star players capable of being able to help vs having to rely on walkons, who are only here because their parents were friends with Cal.
 
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We all know Cal will only play 7 or 8 guys during crunch time but IF we have injuries I’d rather have my 11th and 12th guys as 3 or 4 star players capable of being able to help vs having to rely on walkons, who are only here because their parents were friends with Cal.

I get it
 
While Cal’s halfcourt offense does need work, I don’t think he plays stall ball. Give the defenses some credit, they do everything they can to slow them down.

Cal wants to run, because he knows his halfcourt offense is not very good. That’s why he always yells “Go” and “Run”

Part of that is due to his lack of creativity. Part of it is his personnel.

Still, it comes down to him.
It’s a little of both he does play stall ball the Wisconsin game is the perfect example of that, and I also agree on his personnel but that’s also on him, stop recruiting guards who can’t shoot and if they can’t shoot they need to be athletic freaks like fox and wall were. The aspects of basketball calipari prioritizes worked in the early 2000s maybe even up until the early 2010s if we are being nice. Shooting and skillset are what win now.
 
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The 55% one was fake.Anyway I doubt an average shooter in high school will become great in college.The real trouble is we have a terrible shooting point guard so the rest of the team has to be even better.
That was the single season 3 pt percentage leader at UK. Average shooter at best in high school, then posted back to back seasons in the mid 40s percentage wise at UK.

Fun fact, did you realize that 6 of the top ten season 3pt percentage leaders played for Cal??
The problem with next season is the problem that has happened a lot of seasons. Oscar and toppin are going to clog the lane and with a PG in wheeler who can’t shot or finish that’s a major problem. Teams are going to play the same defense Notre dame and St. Peter’s played. The offense will have little to no space, and we will do dribble handoffs for 25 Seconds and force a post feed to Oscar. Out only shooting is a guy from Iowa who has more injuries than a lot of team do and will get injured again it’s happening I don’t know why people are kidding themselves that it won’t, then you have reeves who can make threes but is better creating his own and having the ball in his hands, on top of that is making a big jump. I just don’t see where a top 5 team is there, top 15-20 but extremely limited and facing the same problems calipari has always faced but barring one month and half period last year is to stubborn to change
The highest scoring team in Cal's career at UK started 2 perimeter players that shot less than 29% from 3, and a part time starter at the 4 that shot 31% from 3. And that team didn't sport a single player at 40% or higher from 3, and there was no AD.

Also, Grady was a career 35% shooter or so from 3 before coming to UK. He shot 41%, Tyty and Mintz shot 35% and 34%, for a top 5 offense in the country. While I agree we need guys that can make 3s, we don't have to have a bunch 40%+ shooters on the roster, and we certainly don't have to have multiple 40%+ guys on the floor at all times. Cal has had 2 top 5 offenses not make the second weekend of the tournament, yet he has never had a top 5 defense not make at least the Elite Eight.

Cal's dominant run early at UK almost exclusively played an athletic long streaky at best SF. Starting in 2015-16, he has more often than not played a guard at the 3. As fans, we would all like a more skilled SF, but Cal seems to do better playing a long athlete there.
 
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That was the single season 3 pt percentage leader at UK. Average shooter at best in high school, then posted back to back seasons in the mid 40s percentage wise at UK.

Fun fact, did you realize that 6 of the top ten season 3pt percentage leaders played for Cal??

The highest scoring team in Cal's career at UK started 2 perimeter players that shot less than 29% from 3, and a part time starter at the 4 that shot 31% from 3. And that team didn't sport a single player at 40% or higher from 3, and there was no AD.

Also, Grady was a career 35% shooter or so from 3 before coming to UK. He shot 41%, Tyty and Mintz shot 35% and 34%, for a top 5 offense in the country. While I agree we need guys that can make 3s, we don't have to have a bunch 40%+ shooters on the roster, and we certainly don't have to have multiple 40%+ guys on the floor at all times. Cal has had 2 top 5 offenses not make the second weekend of the tournament, yet he has never had a top 5 defense not make at least the Elite Eight.

Cal's dominant run early at UK almost exclusively played an athletic long streaky at best SF. Starting in 2015-16, he has more often than not played a guard at the 3. As fans, we would all like a more skilled SF, but Cal seems to do better playing a long athlete there.
All the numbers you mentioned happen earlier in the year, when it comes to March calipari slows the pace down and his best shooter forget how to shoot the ball, in March you play not to lose you end up losing he has been bitten by this numerous times
 
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