Yes, I realize that. The post you replied to pretty much said as much. However, Cal is making some assumptions on what will happen. He has to, every year. One year, it isn't going to work out as expected.
Still wondering how we make room for next years guys.
- Thread starter BigBlueFanGA
- Start date
One thing we have to take into account is that Cal has made it clear that several guys have already let him know before the season started that they planned on leaving after this season.
Now if you are a coach and your players tell you they won't be back, what do you do? You recruit as if they are gone.
This is what has happened.
What do you do as a coach?
You can't tell a kid that you recruited that there is no room for them now. So somebody is out of luck.
It puts a coach in a tough position.
I am good with it. It's part of it.
Now if you are a coach and your players tell you they won't be back, what do you do? You recruit as if they are gone.
This is what has happened.
What do you do as a coach?
You can't tell a kid that you recruited that there is no room for them now. So somebody is out of luck.
It puts a coach in a tough position.
I am good with it. It's part of it.
These are reasonable questions. We are allowed 13 scholarship players. Barring something really unexpected happening off the court, Hawkins, Matthews, Mulder, Humphries, Wynyard, Willis will be back. Fox, Monk, Adebayo, Gabriel, SKJ already signed to play next year. That's 11 scholarships. Calipari said last week that he intends to sign another big, and that would be 12. This leads to a discussion of what will happen with the rest of Calipari's current underclassmen. We all know Murray is gone. Murray is 1 of the best guards in the country, probably still a lottery pick. That leaves Labissiere, Lee, Briscoe, Ulis. Calipari has room for 2 of them to come back next year. But if he signs another big in this class, like he says he might, then he has room for only 1 of them to come back. Every fan has their favorite players, but the only question is whether NBA GMs will gamble a draft choice on these players. That would mean the GM believes the player roughly ranks among his top 60 draftable alternatives. Without getting into a critique of the NBA upside for each of these players, it has become obvious that they may have trouble getting drafted this year. It would be a big surprise to me if Labissiere, Lee, Briscoe, or Ulis gets drafted in the 1st round. They all have some potential to get drafted in the 2nd round, but in each case improvement will have to be shown between now and draft decision time. Will Labissiere, Lee, Briscoe, and Ulis declare for the draft and leave school this year? Right now, I can't see it because it would be a big gamble. All have a chance to come back next year and significantly improve their draft positions. Maybe their stock will improve in the next 2 months, but Calipari can't be certain.
No, they don't and I never said they did. I said it is wrong to pull scholarships from players just so you can replace them with someone you think might be better. This isn't the NBA. I think any coach who does that to guys he recruits is a slime ball. Hundreds of posters on this forum have made fun of Clappy over the years for doing it. And as I said before, it goes against everything Calipari preaches. Deal with that.
The only two players on this team that need to even be thinking about the NBA is Ulis and Murray. Briscoe is gonna be back. He's a good rebounder for a guard but that's the only thing he can do. I'm definitely glad Poythress will be gone after this year. He's a waste of space on the court. It would make sense for Lee to come back to play his senior season to get his degree then he can make the decision to go play overseas or go get another job. Poythress and Lee would be good back ups coming off the bench but are in now way shape or form should be starters for us, which I realize we have nobody else to play. Skal will be back and will be coming off the bench with Lee. Matthews is probably the one that I think needs to be thinking about transferring. He just hasn't shown any signs of helping us anytime soon. As far as Humphries goes, he doesn't even look like a division 1 ball player to me and will never see the court in the future.
Humphries and Matthews could possibly transfer??? I have no clue. Gonna be a crazy offseason.
Add to this, the NBA drafts on potential and what will this draftee give me in 3 years. You look at Labissiere, Lee, Briscoe, or Ulis and they may have a ceiling that hasn't been reached yet but it's a gamble. A gamble that so many NBA teams take every year! It makes more sense to college basketball to keep these kids in school as long as possible to hone those skills, but the NBA owns that one-n-done rule! And they get to control those 19 year olds by sticking them in th NBDL where they work on individual skills as opposed to college where it's driven more towards team...
I despise the one and done rule. Scholarships are only good for one year, kids don't sign a 4 year "deal". Kids know going in, there is always a chance the next big thing is on the way, so you perform or go. How many schools have to deal with that is quite low, but it does happen.
Someone has made a good point earlier in this thread. If a kid tells Cal he is only staying one year and let's it be known and Cal recruits with that thought in mind, why is he the bad guy if it turns out that kid wasn't as good as he thought and can't enter the draft. Cal has to take care of the kids he took commitments from just as much as current players already on the team. If a player hasn't told Cal this before coming to Kentucky, that would be a totally different situation. If a kid has sad he's only going to be here for one year, i won't feel sorry or even bad for that kid if it works out that kid aint the beast he had in his own mind. When some of these kids aint as good as everyone thought early on, it sure can make things seem a bit messy, huh?
Exactly.. Since when has Cal ran anyone off.. Cal will make it work and not by dissing players. We may just be really, really deep next year.
Those folks will include the high school kids exposed to grown men and battle-tested seniors for the first time; as well as the delusional overhyping recruiting fanboys.
With a draft as weak as this one will be, I expect a bunch of foreigners in both rounds.
The first round will have plenty of Eurostashes - no cost for these players.
Second round always has several foreigners due to the non guarantee; and this is one of the most utilized strategies in roster management.
The first round will have plenty of Eurostashes - no cost for these players.
Second round always has several foreigners due to the non guarantee; and this is one of the most utilized strategies in roster management.
They have potential, but lots of other college players have potential too. Before an NBA GM pulls the trigger and spends a draft choice, he must believe the player is among his 60 or so best draftable options. Labissiere still appears in some mock drafts, but that is ridiculous. Labissiere's playing time is falling off a cliff. Pretty soon, Labissiere will be playing less than Matthews. He has weak hands, isn't particularly quick, and gets pushed off the post on every possession. I wouldn't be surprised if Labissiere turns out to be a 3 year player. Lee has no offensive game whatsoever, except for lobs and putbacks on offensive rebounds. Lee is skinny, which presents durability issues. If he was quick, that would be 1 thing. But Lee has average quickness, takes a pounding, and is often in foul trouble. Briscoe has a huge heart and incredible defensive tenacity, but he is a short guard with mediocre perimeter scoring skills. That's a problem. Ulis is a lot smaller than Briscoe. Some people talk like that doesn't matter. But it does. There is a reason why few players under 6 feet make it in the NBA. Ulis is not only short. He is also very light, which hurts over an 80 game season. Citing the rare exceptions does not change the long odds against Ulis.
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If Bill Self does it or Tom Crean does it or Rick Pitino does it, or Roy Williams does it, then it's okay? When did the bar get set by the low standards of others.
I don't care which program pushes the player out. I don't like it. I understand if a player goes from a role players in a D1 program to be a starter in a D2 or D3. Or, if the player gets homesick and want to go to school closer to home. If the decision is mutually made for the benefit of the player, I am okay with it. I am old-school. I still think of the players as kids and student-athletes. But you suggested that you get rid of player solely based on skills and on the ability to recruit a better kid to replace him on the roster, I don't like that side of College Basketball.
If you expect me to bite on your reply and say 'if Kansas does it, it's okay', you won't hear that from me. Right is right. Wrong is wrong.
Exactly, the better teams in the bottom of the first don't want to tie up a spot and money in a JAG.
What potential?
He can't dribble, can't rebound, can't play defense, can't make a shot unless he's wide open, gets pushed around like a rag doll by opposing guards. He contributes absolutely NOTHING other than 4 or 5 fouls per game.
You make room anyway possible. This year's team needs an overhaul. I wouldn't mind if it were all new players next year.
It's not going to be an issue. Seriously. I know this is a message board and this is what we do here, but any one who is losing sleep because we are possibly going to have too many players next year has too much time on their hands.
no apologies for hoping we don't go the "cut em & bring in a new group" route.
and, for the record, I don't expect Cal to do so
shill
IMO at least four likely five will be gone. Poy loses his eligibility, Ulis and Murry to the league legitimately and Skal by deception and encouragement. Lee will be gone because he will lose good standing with Cal (Dodson) and realize there is no reason to return for his senior year.
