SEC Transfer Portal Tracker
- Thread starter Smashcat
- Start date
I'd rather have the top recruits we have coming in, and keep Oscar, Livingston and Reeves thank you.
My bet is that we end up keeping Oscar and Reeves.
I think we need to add just 1 guy in the portal if we keep those 2.
Amen.
Dillingham, Reeves, and Wagner playing most of the minutes at the 1 and 2 spots.
Bradshaw, Edwards, and Livingston playing most of the minutes at the 3 and 4 spots.
Tshiebwe getting most of the minutes at the 5, with Onyenso backing him up.
Sheppard, Thiero, and Ware providing depth.
That’s a contender unless the Freshmen are way overrated.
That’s about the best we can ask for.
UK has to compete at a high level in the Portal going forward. Under the current rules, if you want to build a title contender I think that the Portal has surpassed recruiting high school OADs in importance. I believe more astute programs have figured this out. They may still take an OAD, but they don't build their rosters based on them when you can plug holes - or maybe even build the majority of your starting 5 - with generally better players from the Portal.
We’ve got to get some legit OAD elite players from HS. Then return some solid players from the previous year’s roster, and then plug the holes with the portal.
There has to be a balance.
Cal hasn’t found much balance yet. He either has too many elite Freshmen he is counting on or too many mediocre returnees/portal players.
This year, he needs some guys to come back. Talented guys back, not just warm bodies. The Freshmen cannot do it alone and the portal players aren’t that much better as guys have to learn the system. It’s like starting over from scratch with a bunch of Freshmen and portal transfers coming in.
I agree that getting some good players back and having that carryover is hugely important. Maybe it’s the most important piece to building a title contender year-in-and-year-out. But to do that you have to recruit high school players smartly with a good eye for talent that can develop into a really good college upperclassman and at the same time are not as likely to bolt after not scoring 20 ppg as a freshman. I understand, however, that is much easier to say than do.
After that I think it’s becoming pretty clear that the transfer portal is the most important way to add players if what you’re after is a Title. And I think many of the recognized college basketball talking heads are saying that same thing. In fact, I would be perfectly content if UK never got another OAD freshman, and instead got their pick of the players from the Transfer Portal. The top transfers just have a bigger impact on winning for that one year. Yeah, if you had a time machine and could get the OAD freshman to come back to college after a few years in the NBA, then he’s going to be the better player. But not usually during his actual freshman year. In this age where seemingly most of the best upperclassmen enter the Portal, the best piece at each position is generally going to be the transfer upperclassman, not the OAD freshman. And I selfishly want the best pieces for UK (or as close thereto as can be gotten). So, I think the evidence is really mounting at this point that recruiting OAD freshmen is the 3rd and least important piece to the puzzle.
But you and I are trying to get to the same place, we just might have a little different belief about what type of player combination gives us the best chance to get there. But there’s more than one way to get things done; and hopefully I never forget that my opinion is not fact. So for the sake of the upcoming season, I’m pulling for the OAD freshmen approach - and I have to say Calipari does that better than anybody (even if I don’t believe it’s a smart gamble/approach).
The last paragraph sums it up. Cal does better with OAD talent than transfers. He needs athletes that can out run and out jump the competition to be successful.
He tried the transfer route the last few seasons and it was abysmal.
I agree your method will work, with the right coach. It has worked for others. Just not for Cal.
We’re starting to land a few pieces that should help - Melendez from Illinois, Deloach from VCU and Tchewa from South Florida. Also picked up former USCw commit Silas Demary Jr that will be a freshman. Pretty excited.
Missouri has a really interesting team (potentially) They will have 6 covid seniors, assuming Kobe Brown comes back from the draft, in their primary rotation.
Borzello came out with his latest Top 25:
#7 - Tennessee
#10 - Arkansas
#11 - Kentucky
#12 - Alabama
#19 - Texas A&M
And Auburn at roughly #28
Borzello has most of the draft entrants not accounted for.
Still a lot of NBA draft updates to account for. Notably, Brown for Missouri, Broome for Auburn, Bediako & Quinerly for Alabama, Walsh & Davis for Arkansas, Smith for MSU, and James for UT.
Also some talk of Holland for Arkansas and destinations for the transfers out there, like Phillips from UT.
Gary Parrish has it with most of the draft guys coming back:
#7 - Alabama (with Bediako & Quinerly)
#10 - Arkansas (with Walsh & Davis)
#15 - Kentucky (with Tshiebwe)
#17 - Tennessee (with James)
#18 - Texas A&M
#25 - Miss St (with Smith)
#26 - Auburn (with Broome)
#7 - Tennessee
#10 - Arkansas
#11 - Kentucky
#12 - Alabama
#19 - Texas A&M
And Auburn at roughly #28
Borzello has most of the draft entrants not accounted for.
Still a lot of NBA draft updates to account for. Notably, Brown for Missouri, Broome for Auburn, Bediako & Quinerly for Alabama, Walsh & Davis for Arkansas, Smith for MSU, and James for UT.
Also some talk of Holland for Arkansas and destinations for the transfers out there, like Phillips from UT.
Gary Parrish has it with most of the draft guys coming back:
#7 - Alabama (with Bediako & Quinerly)
#10 - Arkansas (with Walsh & Davis)
#15 - Kentucky (with Tshiebwe)
#17 - Tennessee (with James)
#18 - Texas A&M
#25 - Miss St (with Smith)
#26 - Auburn (with Broome)
