High praise from two guys who know the game.
Do we have three lottery picks coming off the bench now?
Do we have three lottery picks coming off the bench now?
"That team's scary as hell." Randolph Childress and John Henson praise Kentucky, say they are their Final Four favorites.
- Thread starter Son_Of_Saul
- Start date
I'm thinking something like this might be reasonable on draft night if we win the national title.
Big Z top 10 pick
Sheppard top 15 pick
Dillingham top 15 pick
Bradshaw top 30 pick
Wagner top 40 pick
Edwards top 50 pick (keep in mind that he's a Klutch guy, and Klutch got Livingston drafted).
Reeves top 60 pick
There's never been 7 draft picks from one college in NCAA history. This team could do it, and it's not unreasonable to think it's possible at all.
Big Z top 10 pick
Sheppard top 15 pick
Dillingham top 15 pick
Bradshaw top 30 pick
Wagner top 40 pick
Edwards top 50 pick (keep in mind that he's a Klutch guy, and Klutch got Livingston drafted).
Reeves top 60 pick
There's never been 7 draft picks from one college in NCAA history. This team could do it, and it's not unreasonable to think it's possible at all.
Dude where dee fudge is Trey Mitchell on yee list?
I don't think he gets outright drafted but probably gets signed as a free agent and gets to prove himself during the summer league.
Mitchell ain’t considered much of an NBA prospect due to his age …the league doesn’t like 24-year-old rookies …and limited athleticism.
He’s in a similar boat with Reeves: great college players that don’t do much for the pro scouts. But he’ll still get a chance as an undrafted free agent.
Just hope our guys don’t “drink the poison”, to borrow an oldskool coaching phrase. Stay hungry and focused on the ultimate prize.
Adding a plug and play pro level big to what we already had pushes this team from Sweet 16/Elite 8 ceiling to a Final Four/Championship level team IMO. Bradshaw and Ugo are good but Z is on another level and it gives us a solid option and back up at every spot on the court with minimal to no drop off and even an upgrade in many cases. That’s a championship roster.
We figure out how to stop people or none of this matters.
Yup.
Z is a pro. His basketball IQ is ridiculously high. He did everything at a high level Saturday night. Cal is going to have to get deep down the rabbit hole to figure out the minutes split.
We just have to get the defense to a respectable level.
I keep reading "Well when shots stop falling" shots haven't been falling a lot of games this year. I think we all have so much PTSD from the last 3 years, we don't expect any easy buckets. So much of what this team does is easy buckets.
We're running outstanding zone offense too. So if the 3 point shot is off and they want to zone us, good luck.
Lastly: Reed, Z, Dilly, Reeves, Wagner, Mitchell, and Bradshaw are all competent 3 point shooters. Edwards is capable. His shot looks really good. I just think he's so in his own head at this point. In any event, we've got a lot of dudes that can knock down 3's. This isn't 2 years ago where if Grady and Tyty are off, we're doomed.
It feels like if Big Z is as elite as he looked in his first game and Thiero remains injured, then the split is pretty straightforward. These 6 should be 185 out of 200 minutes per game:
Wagner
Reeves
Sheppard
Dillingham
Mitchell
Ivisic
I have no disagreement with what you said.
I assume Cal is going to want to get Bradshaw and Ugo some run. Edwards minutes are in a free fall, so I think he'll be out or close to out of the rotation by March.
I'm still hopeful Adou will come back. Cal said he's working out again. If they were gonna play smoke and mirrors until the end of the season, surely they wouldn't advance the narrative that he's closer to coming back.
If we can learn to guard even decently in the second half. We’re going to be a nightmare.
One thing I will say is a lot of UNC guys are way more likeable than any Duke player by far.
I don't mind Henson at all. He always seems like a reasonable dude. Hansborough is not usually as reasonable. Haha
I think we have 11 guys on this roster who will play in the NBA....and we don't know how good Joey Hart may be one day.
I’ll say this, if Big Z continues to produce like he did in his first game he will end up being a lottery pick. Why? Because he’s 7’2’’, can shoot the 3 consistently, can pass, handle the ball, rim protection, and spaces the court. The NBA team that takes him might just have the steal of the draft. This is all based on if he can continue to produce those kind of numbers if not better
Cal leaves for the NBA as an owner/coach and takes the entire team with him as a new franchise. The Lexington Blue Bloods
I know this is going off on a tangent, but I think you nailed it with your point about Hart. We don't know what his potential is. I know he has the size and appears to have the shooting stroke. Does he have the other stuff to be a player - maybe as soon as next season? As you said we just don't know (or at least I don't know, and I haven't even tried to look at much of his high school playing on video). Nobody thinks about Hart because he doesn't play and this team obviously doesn't need him to play this season. Nobody is going to be arguing he should get minutes this season over any of the Guards we have. But I don't think UK would have recruited him if they didn't see potential. Even if he just ends up being a spot up shooter in future seasons, every team can use that.
Most analysts were predicting this team in the Final Four before Big Z became eligible, so the ceiling was already high. This just cements that thought and gives an already stacked roster another option and makes them even more un-guardable.
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Including Reeves, amirite? Right? Hmmm? Bueller?
That’s the top six that come tourney time are going to be on the floor most of the time.
If Thiero is fully healthy, then he’s got to get some run as 7th man. He is our best defender and that’s our kryptonite now.
Cal will also play Bradshaw or Onyenso some. Ivisic can’t play 40 minutes at the 5 and Mitchell is going to spend most of his time at the 4.
Cal usually goes with 8 max in tight tourney games, so that’s the guys he probably goes with.
So I’ll say it again, Edwards better really improve between now and the first week of March, or he will have to ride the pine. There’s just too much talent on this team to give minutes to a guy who is struggling.
We will see at the 17 minute mark first half, Shep: Dilly: Z: Adou? Will be interesting.
25-30 sounds better to me. He's better than Bradshaw and Ugonna...unless that first game was a crazy outlier.
Shep isn’t a top 15. His game has fallen off since sec play. If we win a title wagner will be a lotto. He’s playing his way there every game. Bradshaw regardless of what he does will be top 20 pick on a title team. Reed probably a late first. Idk about Ivisic I guess if we win a title he would be a big contributor. Reeves and Mitchell would get drafted just for being solid members of a title team. Idk how anyone could take edwards if we win a title and his contributions are minimal but ok.
We are going to platoon Cal is not playing anyone above 25 to 30 minutes a game keeps players fresh and everyone motivated
I think Shep falls off a bit before the draft.
He’s 6’2-ish and not amazingly quick.
He’s looked at as a Reddick type player. If that is seen as his ceiling, GMs wont likely spend a lottery pick on that type of player.
He’s 6’2-ish and not amazingly quick.
He’s looked at as a Reddick type player. If that is seen as his ceiling, GMs wont likely spend a lottery pick on that type of player.
I'm not in the Far Cal crowd or anything, but he also put 2009, 2015, 2017, etc together. Not to mention the St Peters disaster.
We can still go home early if it's not managed properly.
I thought you said Z was coming back?? Now he's a top 10 pick?
I don’t get how you can be a pro basketball player and shoot a FT that bad.Good thing this year we also have some makers!
If he shows out and plays like he did most games he should be our number 1 big man now. He’s a good defender, he’s mobile, and he can pass/shoot.
