Wagner Dilly Edwards Bradshaw Oscar should be the starting 5
- Thread starter Big Cat fan
- Start date
Oscar ain’t coming back and there isn’t any floor spacing in that lineup
I hope so we gonna need him
I think the only way it would work is if Oscar just played the Ben Wallace role.
I just don’t see why Oscar would come back unless he has zero aspirations of playing in the NBA. His limitations don’t need another year of being exposed in the college game. NIL will of course be there, but not too many teams need a 6’8 BIG that can’t guard the 1-3 and has limited range. Love the kid, but he needs to take his shot at the league ASAP
I'm half way hoping Dillingham goes somewhere else so I don't have to hear "Dilly" till March of 24.
There's no way in hell you wouldn't want Oscar on this team.
Please Lord let Oscar T come back. This is the team he needs to be on!!!;
OMFG. When you dominate the McDonald's All American game that's no joke man. That shit serious. Only the best of the best dominate the game at McDonald's. GO LOOK.
It's like finding the ****ing pot of gold at the end of the rainbow ......this time Kentucky made it to the pot first!!!!
Legit Elite 8 freshman talent. Enjoy yourself Connecticut, Miami, Florida atlantic, San Diego State...... Cuz the Blue bloods are back next year.
Please Lord let Oscar T come back. This is the team he needs to be on!!!;
OMFG. When you dominate the McDonald's All American game that's no joke man. That shit serious. Only the best of the best dominate the game at McDonald's. GO LOOK.
It's like finding the ****ing pot of gold at the end of the rainbow ......this time Kentucky made it to the pot first!!!!
Legit Elite 8 freshman talent. Enjoy yourself Connecticut, Miami, Florida atlantic, San Diego State...... Cuz the Blue bloods are back next year.
Love the talent, now just need a coach to get us number 9, otherwise it ain't happenin
I mean, where is Oscar going to go? The NBA doesn’t want him and he'd make the most money in a UK uniform.
I'm not interested in playing two bigs together, but if Bradshaw can play the 4 and hit some shots, it would work.
Oscar is one of the only guys I would trust in this role, just because he's such an elite rebounder.
I'm not interested in playing two bigs together, but if Bradshaw can play the 4 and hit some shots, it would work.
Oscar is one of the only guys I would trust in this role, just because he's such an elite rebounder.
I’d take Oscar back for sure. But only if Cal can figure out a way to play with him, the right way.
Man, what a front line! Whew! We needed a 4 this year that could block shots. We didn’t have that.
IF Oscar comes back, Cal has to figure out a way to cover for him on defense.
His rebounding is other worldly, the rest of his game takes away from the team. No spacing and he has to be in the lane on offense, and we saw what happened on defense
Contrast that with Bradshaw who can switch defenders and hit from outside and it opens the lane for Wagner and Edwards. Ugonna will clog the lane on offense, but his size and shot blocking will help him on defense. He'll get a lot of blocks on small guards who "get by him"
Cal's best teams (10, 12, 14, 15, 17) had big men like Bam, Willie, AD who could switch on ball screens and not get beat half a second later. Oscar isn't that kind of player. Bradshaw is much more in that mold, and Ugonna has the length to make up for it.
You obviously take back a former NPOY and 2 time AA in Oscar, but something has to adjust. Learn a zone (HA HA) and have him spend all summer shooting 3s.
As much as I love Oscar, I am more intrigued with Bradshaw playing the 5
His rebounding is other worldly, the rest of his game takes away from the team. No spacing and he has to be in the lane on offense, and we saw what happened on defense
Contrast that with Bradshaw who can switch defenders and hit from outside and it opens the lane for Wagner and Edwards. Ugonna will clog the lane on offense, but his size and shot blocking will help him on defense. He'll get a lot of blocks on small guards who "get by him"
Cal's best teams (10, 12, 14, 15, 17) had big men like Bam, Willie, AD who could switch on ball screens and not get beat half a second later. Oscar isn't that kind of player. Bradshaw is much more in that mold, and Ugonna has the length to make up for it.
You obviously take back a former NPOY and 2 time AA in Oscar, but something has to adjust. Learn a zone (HA HA) and have him spend all summer shooting 3s.
As much as I love Oscar, I am more intrigued with Bradshaw playing the 5
An interesting starting 5 would be
Wagner
Dillingham
Shepherd/Reeves/Transfer shooter
Edwards
Bradshaw
Young so there'd be some kinks, but that line up can switch most anything, space the floor, get to the rim, etc
We do need more beef on the front line, the good teams have big strong men that move young skinny kids out of the way. If you can't hold your ground underneath in the SEC, you will lose, no matter how tall they are. I hope Cals got something in mind.
The teams with big strong aircraft carriers down low, were out of the tournament pretty early.
UConn has an athletic 5 that has some beef to him, but he's not a traditional big man.
Your 5 needs to be mobile, athletic and be able to play away from the basket, if he's just a paint guy, you're ceiling is very limited.
As long as Cal is the coach, I just can't get very excited about the upcoming season.
I realize it’s a crazy thing to say at surface level when looking at stats and the times he’s bailed us out (and he has many times) but I simply do not enjoy the slow, plodding offensive style and nonexistent defensive ability that Oscar brings. It stagnates all offensive flow and kills us defending the rim. It’s just not the type of player that Calipari ever gained his success with historically and I don’t think it ever will be.
If we could throw in Oscar, Onyenso, Theiro and Ware…size, experience, and depth. Oscar would have to accept a different role and fewer minutes. IMO
I hope Oscar comes back. Huge talent infusion coming in. Bradshaw is not a post player. We can hide Oscar's defense with the guys coming in. Oscar will be better on offense without 3 guys hanging on him. Toppin should have thrived with his man ignoring him. But he was too candyass to do it. Livingston was starting to come on late. But I can why he's afraid of Edwards.
Cal is a great coach. Like every coach he needs talent. He hasn't had talent for 3 seasons. That's his own doing and a different argument. But now he has talent again.
If Oscar doesn't return then we have to go to the portal. Surely there's a rebounder/shot blocker out there?
Cal is a great coach. Like every coach he needs talent. He hasn't had talent for 3 seasons. That's his own doing and a different argument. But now he has talent again.
If Oscar doesn't return then we have to go to the portal. Surely there's a rebounder/shot blocker out there?
We play that way when he's on the bench and 5 years before he came here. So stop.
So we should keep running those kinds of players just because we already have (unsuccessfully) for a few years? Of recent teams, I seem to recall us enjoying more success with athletic bigs like Adebayo or Richards. 🤷♂️ It’s not a knock on Oscar to say that type of player isn’t ideal for Calipari or even modern basketball, for that matter.
Looks like you will never learn. We probably want even win the sec.
Awful defender and can hardly score on his defender…… no thanks. All he brings is rebounding that’s it. He simply wouldn’t fit in with this group, he couldn’t start at the four positions because he’s way too slow and would get blown by on defense. I’ll take my chances without him…… on top of that he’s not a leader
16pts a game adds nothing much huh. Name me pure shooters you guys want that out scores his man? They can score 15 but they giving up 15-18 points on there man. At least Oscar out rebounded every man he guarded. What's the catch and shoot guys add other then spot shooting?
This this this and this some more. I peruse this board daily and this is easily the most astute post I’ve seen in months.
Oscar’s inability to defend the pick and roll is absolutely killer. It’s a huge component of our losing so many games recently. But I don’t think it’s all Oscar’s fault, I think Cal has a terrible philosophy on how to guard screen and roll in general when you can’t switch it.
Oscar against KState didn’t switch, he didn’t hedge, nothing. He basically played in between rendering himself utterly useless and of no resistance whatsoever. It’s literally the worst way you can possibly defend screen and roll and Nowell had a field day. But Oscar did that all season.
Oscar has to HARD HEDGE every single damn time. Turn the guard, push him way out on the floor, then recover. It’s utterly amazing that Cal doesn’t teach it this way. Oscar is athletic enough to step out, move his feet on a hard hedge and turn the guard back and out towards the half court line.
I watched FAU’s big donkey center do this over and over again with ease and it worked. Coach K defended the screen and roll like this for years. Until Cal fixes this we will never return to glory and I mean that whole-heartedly. It’s truly that important because it’s so easy to exploit.
You "peruse" this board daily and you just joined? What was your previous handle? You trolls are something else...
I like Bradshaws shot it looks solid, as far as shot blocking, not impressed at all his timing is really bad. I saw numerous times he should have been throwing shit and he never left his feet to try and block, jmo
Earlier in the game Oscar forced Kstate into shooting bad open shots. Locked down the lane and cuts. They went 0-12 before heating up. If you force teams to shot your doing good. The 3 point shoot kills teams because it's offen used and at around 28-36% around college basketball. It's also Toppin miss plays screens and drives. We played Reeves, Frederick, Wheeler most season all get blowed by. Oscar came late on help but that's not his man nor fault.
Dream scenario:
Oscar
Livingston
Edwards
Reeves
Wagner
With Dillingham, Bradshaw, Reeves, Thiero, and a portal big off the bench
Oscar
Livingston
Edwards
Reeves
Wagner
With Dillingham, Bradshaw, Reeves, Thiero, and a portal big off the bench
I’ve had hundreds. Maybe thousands.
Am I wrong in my assessment? You telling me Oscar defends the pick and roll well? Cal’s philosophy on defending it is good?
If Tshiebwe comes back, that should be the starting five. Would have some flaws in that our guards need an open lane to drive and Tshiebwe clogs the lane, but you take the good (rebounding and post presence) with the bad (defensive liability, clogs the lane).
I don’t think Tshiebwe will return.
I expect the opening day lineup will be:
G Wagner
G Reeves
F Edwards
F Bradshaw
F Onyenso
Eventually, Cal will hand the reins to Dillingham after figuring out Wagner is better off the ball and will bench Reeves, have him be our sixth man.
After a few losses with Onyenso starting, Cal will finally decide to go small and insert either Reeves or Sheppard into the lineup at the 3 and move Edwards and Bradshaw to the 4 and 5 and spread the floor.
Nah, on second thought, Onyenso starts at the 5 all season and Cal wonders why we can’t win games as teams play 5 on 4 against us with Onyenso giving us nothing offensively inside.
I don’t think Tshiebwe will return.
I expect the opening day lineup will be:
G Wagner
G Reeves
F Edwards
F Bradshaw
F Onyenso
Eventually, Cal will hand the reins to Dillingham after figuring out Wagner is better off the ball and will bench Reeves, have him be our sixth man.
After a few losses with Onyenso starting, Cal will finally decide to go small and insert either Reeves or Sheppard into the lineup at the 3 and move Edwards and Bradshaw to the 4 and 5 and spread the floor.
Nah, on second thought, Onyenso starts at the 5 all season and Cal wonders why we can’t win games as teams play 5 on 4 against us with Onyenso giving us nothing offensively inside.
It won't be 5 on 4, because people have been arguing with me all week that Oneynso is very good at hitting unguarded warm-up 15' jumpers in pre-game shoot-arounds.
Yes, it will absolutely be 5 on 4 when he's in there, much like Ware. But at least he should be able to protect the rim - we're assuming. I trust Coach O will teach him some skills between now and next season. Otherwise it will be messy. Bradshaw isn't going to be that "5" impacting SEC level games.
