The only way Cal shows us he's seriously wanting to change is that he needs to load up on the portal.

[Son_Of_Saul]

@deplion called it in another thread. Cal needs to emphasize the portal more than high school recruiting, even this offseason. I know he's made pledges to some of the incoming non-transcendent Hamidou Diallo-level freshmen, but we all know that freshmen no longer cut it in today's game if they are your major roster components.

Go get guys on the level of:

6'6" BJ Freeman (replaces Reeves)
6'7" Tucker DeVries (replaces Edwards)
6'11" Clifford Omoruyi (replaces Mitchell)

Bring back Thiero, and tell any incoming freshman with a sense of entitlement where they can go find Kahlil Whitney and EJ Montgomery.

 

[sefleming]

6'7" Tucker DeVries (replaces Edwards)
Isn't his dad the new coach at WV

 

[Smashcat]

@deplion called it in another thread. Cal needs to emphasize the portal more than high school recruiting, even this offseason. I know he's made pledges to some of the incoming non-transcendent Hamidou Diallo-level freshmen, but we all know that freshmen no longer cut it in today's game if they are your major roster components.

Go get:

6'6" BJ Freeman (replaces Reeves)
6'7" Tucker DeVries (replaces Edwards)
6'11" Clifford Omoruyi (replaces Mitchell)

Bring back Thiero, and tell any incoming freshman with a sense of entitlement where they can go find Kahlil Whitney and EJ Montgomery.

Uh, 6'7" Tucker DeVries followed his dad to WVU.

 

[sportspm]

I could easily see it going the opposite way, in an attempt to prove everyone wrong, he might double down on a freshman team

 

[JonathanW]

Uh, 6'7" Tucker DeVries followed his dad to WVU.

I think the point being, get those type of guys.

 

[JonathanW]

I could easily see it going the opposite way, in an attempt to prove everyone wrong, he might double down on a freshman team

An all FR team might work if you have multiple guys like Wall, Cousins, Knight, Jones, Davis, MKG, Noel, Randall, Bam, Fox, Monk, Murray. But there haven't been many of those guys the last few years, next year the only one might be the one guy going to Duke. The #5 guy in one class may not be equal to the #5 guy from another class.

I see these 6 FR as ones who can contribute, maybe 1 or 2 as guys who could be your 4th or 5th options on offense, but NONE of them are guys to carry/lead a team as a FR.

 

[Jamal Sunburn]

Yay more CJ Fredericks and Tre Mitchells!!!!

 

[KentuckyCat420]

This is absolutely correct.

It’s the ONLY way to give himself a chance of fixing the mess he created.

The sad part, it’s basically a fact that he won’t do it.

 

[EliteBlue]

@deplion called it in another thread. Cal needs to emphasize the portal more than high school recruiting, even this offseason. I know he's made pledges to some of the incoming non-transcendent Hamidou Diallo-level freshmen, but we all know that freshmen no longer cut it in today's game if they are your major roster components.

Go get:

6'6" BJ Freeman (replaces Reeves)
6'7" Tucker DeVries (replaces Edwards)
6'11" Clifford Omoruyi (replaces Mitchell)

Bring back Thiero, and tell any incoming freshman with a sense of entitlement where they can go find Kahlil Whitney and EJ Montgomery.

Yep. But he won’t bc that puts an end to his “I want to have an entire all star game of ‘my guys’” priority.

And before someone says “we tried the portal route w Mintz, Grady etc and busted….weve actually never went all in on building a team via the portal. Cal had only used the portal to find role players (in his mind) to compliments the 3-5 freshmen he’s bringing in that he wants to feature. So we get middle tier portal guys instead of attacking it early and going to try to get 4-5 top 10 portal players.

We are lucky Reeves turned into a stud bc cal wanted to use him 15-20 min as a corner shooter in year 1 until injuries forced his hand. Same as Grady playing on ball and lighting it up for 2 games and then once everyone was healthy he made his infamous comment of “guess I’ll go stand in my corner again”

Build a team of grown men and then recruit 1-2 elite freshmen. That was Cals recipe at Memphis. Get an Evans, Rose, Wall, Bledsoe, Fox, AD type of they are there….but your forwards and most bigs should be upperclassmen bc most 18 year old bigs aren’t physical enough yet

 

[EliteBlue]

Yay more CJ Fredericks and Tre Mitchells!!!!

And here’s the type of comment I was referencing. Thats using the portal to find a role player to support “my star freshmen class”. That isn’t what using the portal to target the star portal guys tk build a roster looks like.

Baylor won a title w an entire portal team.

Knecht is a portal guy

Burns is a portal guy

Bama is built via the portal

UConn is portal heavy



Purdue is the only team in the F4 that their rotation all started at their school. And they are upperclassmen heavy.

Check the link…Elite 8 starting lineups from where they began college.

 

[Mike-D]

Yay more CJ Fredericks and Tre Mitchells!!!!

or Oscar Tshiebwe's, or Antonio Reeves', or Kellan Grady's, or Davion Mintz'

 

[Jazzycat]

Yes, yes and yes!!! The portal is where the players with experience and toughness are. I hope Calipari gets over this infatuation with freshmen and realizes that he has to get older guys in order to succeed now. Will he do this to benefit the team? Who knows…

 

[UKWildcats1987]

We had a pretty heavy portal team in 2022 and when healthy they were good.

 

[TheBlueMist]

We had the Naismith Award Winner in a transfer and still couldn't get out of the first weekend.

Cal is still the coach no matter who we bring in.

 

[maysvilleky]

Cal isn’t going to convince top tier portal guys that he will value them more than his HS recruits. He got snubbed by all the top guys he’s tried to get.

 

[DreadLox]

We had the Naismith Award Winner in a transfer and still couldn't get out of the first weekend.

Cal is still the coach no matter who we bring in.

Coach K also had a long spell when he lost early in the tournament. "Couldn't" implies you know something you don't. You're not alone in implying that you have a great insight into what the problem with Calipari's recent team have been. There are lots of people saying stuff like that.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Yay more CJ Fredericks and Tre Mitchells!!!!

Good call!

Signed,
Antonio Reeves
Dalton Knecht
Cam Spencer
Tristen Newton
Baylor Scheierman
Terrence Shannon Jr.
Oscar Tshiebwe
Kellan Grady
Walter Clayton Jr.

 

[SemperFiCat]

I don't think the roster really matters. We've had talented players. I'm not disagreeing with hitting the portal heavy, because I'll take that over HSers. But, the fact is, Kentucky isn't taking embarrassing losses and having disappointing season due to lack of talent. This is a deflection away from coaching deficiencies.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

I don't think the roster really matters. We've had talented players. I'm not disagreeing with hitting the portal heavy, because I'll take that over HSers. But, the fact is, Kentucky isn't taking embarrassing losses and having disappointing season due to lack of talent. This is a deflection away from coaching deficiencies.

It's not a deflection at all.

Most of us understand how immensely flawed Calipari is.


What it is, however, is a hope that Cal can be wise enough to land enough talent to make up for his obvious coaching ineptitude, the same way he did in 2008, 2012, and 2015, etc.

It may not culminate in a Final Four appearance, but having superior talent should get us to at least the Sweet Sixteen.

 

[catben]

Cal isn’t going to convince top tier portal guys that he will value them more than his HS recruits. He got snubbed by all the top guys he’s tried to get.

This is Cal’s biggest problem with the portal. Transfers KNOW that Cal plays favorites with his 5 Star Freshmen. Heck, until Reeves showed he could make shots at all 3 levels and we had injuries, Cal didn’t play him like he should have last season.

Justin Edwards was going to UT and Cal convinced him to switch to UK. That opened up a spot for Knecht in Knoxville. How much better would UK have been if Justin went to UT and Knecht came here?

But with all of the problems surrounding NIL deals for transfers AND Cal’s affinity for favoring freshman, luring in the program changing transfers may be difficult.

 

[know1]

Nope. That's not the answer.

The answer is Coaching. Nothing else like the portal or similar will solve our problems without him prioritizing UK winning above all else.

Posting about other "solutions" just shows that people don't get it at all.

 

[billCgmx]

And here’s the type of comment I was referencing. Thats using the portal to find a role player to support “my star freshmen class”. That isn’t what using the portal to target the star portal guys tk build a roster looks like.

Baylor won a title w an entire portal team.

Knecht is a portal guy

Burns is a portal guy

Bama is built via the portal

UConn is portal heavy



Purdue is the only team in the F4 that their rotation all started at their school. And they are upperclassmen heavy.

Check the link…Elite 8 starting lineups from where they began college.

View embedded media

Everyone of NC State's regular rotation players are transfers.

 

[bluefaithful]

You can that portal and that perfect blue water and crap in it all year long and that’s what you’ll have after the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Same thing as the last 5 years, a bucket of shit.

 

[Catfanlou]

@deplion called it in another thread. Cal needs to emphasize the portal more than high school recruiting, even this offseason. I know he's made pledges to some of the incoming non-transcendent Hamidou Diallo-level freshmen, but we all know that freshmen no longer cut it in today's game if they are your major roster components.

Go get guy on the level of:

6'6" BJ Freeman (replaces Reeves)
6'7" Tucker DeVries (replaces Edwards)
6'11" Clifford Omoruyi (replaces Mitchell)

Bring back Thiero, and tell any incoming freshman with a sense of entitlement where they can go find Kahlil Whitney and EJ Montgomery.

Totally agree

 

[bucsrule8872]

The problem is the coaching. Period.

 

[bucsrule8872]

The coaching is the problem, as I stated, but for the sake of argument, Cal needs to:

1. Make sure 3-4 guys stay.

2. Add 3-4 guys from the portal.

So we will have 7 experienced players and 6 Freshmen on our 13 man roster. Yes, 13 scholarship players, not 10 or 11 like he usually has. All 13 and when Freshmen struggle, leave them on the bench for next season. Or let them transfer.

We need to return (at minimum):

Sheppard
Edwards
Thiero
Burks

We need to add:

Transfer Guard (Blackmon?)
Transfer Wing (Freeman?)
Transfer Big (Omoruyi?)

And not start any Freshmen, unless they absolutely tear it up.

So the roster looks like this:

G Sheppard/Fland/Perry
G Blackmon/Freeman
G Edwards/Knox/Richmond
G Thiero/Burks
F Omoruyi/Quaintance/Cyril

Sheppard, Blackmon, Edwards, Thiero, Omoruyi, Freeman, and Burks as the top seven.

If any of the Freshmen want to start, they have to legit beat out an upperclassman.

 

[L.O.D.]

How can he load up in Portal?

We're getting Wagner back and a toss up on Sheppard. Z might return as well as Burks.. Q, Fland, Knox, and Richmond are highly ranked freshman coming in. What minutes are left to load up in portal? Also Thiero might return as well.

If Reed returns thats .

Reed
Wagner
Knox
Q
Z


Fland
Burks
Perry
Richmond

All we can really add isxa bench gaurd and a bench post guy . We agsin will have 2-3 freshman playing big minutes if not starting again next year.

Only way to load up on Portal is if noone returns . There's no minutes there to be attractive to a good upperclassmen.

 

[BigRedMachineBigBlueNation]

Coach K also had a long spell when he lost early in the tournament. "Couldn't" implies you know something you don't. You're not alone in implying that you have a great insight into what the problem with Calipari's recent team have been. There are lots of people saying stuff like that.

M guessing you mean 1995-1998. K had previously gone to the Final Four 7 of the last 9 years and won 2 of those titles. K wasn’t stubborn and unwilling to change with the times. By the early 2000s he’d already gotten back to the Final Four and a won another title .

 

[bucsrule8872]

How can he load up in Portal?

We're getting Wagner back and a toss up on Sheppard. Z might return as well as Burks.. Q, Fland, Knox, and Richmond are highly ranked freshman coming in. What minutes are left to load up in portal? Also Thiero might return as well.

If Reed returns thats .

Reed
Wagner
Knox
Q
Z


Fland
Burks
Perry
Richmond

All we can really add isxa bench gaurd and a bench post guy . We agsin will have 2-3 freshman playing big minutes if not starting again next year.

Only way to load up on Portal is if noone returns . There's no minutes there to be attractive to a good upperclassmen.

Got to get some more experience, this recruiting class is weak. Bring in upperclassmen and make the recruits work for their spots.

 

[WeWant9]

Meechie Johnson seems like a good start to me, I’d love to grab him.

 

[know1]

So him getting several players from the portal will convince some of you people that he's wanting to change?????? I just don't have words for that.

 

[WildcatNC]

Yep, that's what should happen. Go take 4-6 teams best veteran player.

I expect him to let guys drag their decisions out until all the best portal players are gone, though.

At least until he proves otherwise.

 

[Catfan in Tn.]

Cancel Pro Day.

 

[JonathanW]

You can that portal and that perfect blue water and crap in it all year long and that’s what you’ll have after the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Same thing as the last 5 years, a bucket of shit.

4 years

 

[JonathanW]

Meechie Johnson seems like a good start to me, I’d love to grab him.

Absolutely not. He is a bad shooter, in 4 years has never made 40% of his shots. Only 32% from 3.

 

[Lempface]

I could easily see it going the opposite way, in an attempt to prove everyone wrong, he might double down on a freshman team

He did that this year already. Only he doubled down on his high ranked guys over the lower ranked ones who performed better.

 

[JonathanW]

How can he load up in Portal?

We're getting Wagner back and a toss up on Sheppard. Z might return as well as Burks.. Q, Fland, Knox, and Richmond are highly ranked freshman coming in. What minutes are left to load up in portal? Also Thiero might return as well.

If Reed returns thats .

Reed
Wagner
Knox
Q
Z


Fland
Burks
Perry
Richmond

All we can really add isxa bench gaurd and a bench post guy . We agsin will have 2-3 freshman playing big minutes if not starting again next year.

Only way to load up on Portal is if noone returns . There's no minutes there to be attractive to a good upperclassmen.

If we start 2 of these FR we are in trouble. None are IMPACT players, although all of them could be contributors.
I think it very unlikely we return BOTH Wagner and Reed. One I think is quite possible, but if Reed returns he will be the PG, and Wagner will transfer where he can be the PG.
Knox starting is a concern, he can't shoot. I don't think he will start.

Depending on who returns and we add I see something like this in MPG for the 6 FR: 24, 20, 16, 12, 8, 4, so about 80mpg, leaving 120 for 5-6 returnees + portal guys.

 

[Jamal Sunburn]

And here’s the type of comment I was referencing. Thats using the portal to find a role player to support “my star freshmen class”. That isn’t what using the portal to target the star portal guys tk build a roster looks like.

Baylor won a title w an entire portal team.

Knecht is a portal guy

Burns is a portal guy

Bama is built via the portal

UConn is portal heavy



Purdue is the only team in the F4 that their rotation all started at their school. And they are upperclassmen heavy.

Check the link…Elite 8 starting lineups from where they began college.

View embedded media

And here’s the type of comment I was referencing. Thats using the portal to find a role player to support “my star freshmen class”. That isn’t what using the portal to target the star portal guys tk build a roster looks like.

Baylor won a title w an entire portal team.

Knecht is a portal guy

Burns is a portal guy

Bama is built via the portal

UConn is portal heavy



Purdue is the only team in the F4 that their rotation all started at their school. And they are upperclassmen heavy.

Check the link…Elite 8 starting lineups from where they began college.

View embedded media

We get crappy portal guys for the most part. They are for the most part some of the worst defenders on the team and unreliable or injury prone.

 

[Jamal Sunburn]

Good call!

Signed,
Antonio Reeves - 1 tournament win in 2 seasons
Dalton Knecht
Cam Spencer
Tristen Newton
Baylor Scheierman
Terrence Shannon Jr.
Oscar Tshiebwe - 1 tournament win in 2 season
Kellan Grady -0 tournament wins in 1 season
Walter Clayton Jr.

Let’s focused on the ones I care about.

 

[Jamal Sunburn]

or Oscar Tshiebwe's, or Antonio Reeves', or Kellan Grady's, or Davion Mintz'

I read 0 second weekends of the NCAA tourney.