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When we get Bamba

This will be the most talented and versatile team Cal has ever had at U.K. If he adds Bamba and Diallo comes back. It'll be the tallest, longest and overall most five star talent ever assembled.

A poster up there said this would be arguably Cal's 5th best team.

There seems to be varying opinions on just how good this group will be.
 
I haven't followed recruits this year closely, but... am i wrong in saying that the difference between Bamba and Richards, who we already have, isn't like the difference between Anthony Davis and Marcus Lee? I'm thinking Bamba is just a nudge above Richards, so we already pretty good with having a big man? Right?

Bamba 7'9'' wingspan projected top 5 consensus pick in draft
Richards 7'3.8'' wingspan projected outside lottery (15-30 range)
Davis 7'5.5'' wingspan 2012 NBA combine

Love Richards potential too but why not both. Bamba would be huge

Diallo is not playing 5 on 5 as of the other day.
 
Mich St is the team to beat 2017-2018
Alabama is gonna be crazy good.
Florida returns a lot from elite 8 team.
Mizzou has some talent.
Kansas with Newman and co. Maybe a problem.
Arizona has a lot of talent to reckin with, young like us w/sophmoric super star talent
40 and zero is very hard to attain, just ask KAT and co.
 
This will be the most talented and versatile team Cal has ever had at U.K. If he adds Bamba and Diallo comes back. It'll be the tallest, longest and overall most five star talent ever assembled.

There's no measure that finds this team as talented as '10, '12, '14 or '15. Use the "who would start" equation.

Knox starts at the 3 for 2010. Bamba starts at the 5 for '14. Who else?

That '15 team had a bench of Ulis, Booker, Lyles, Lee and Dakari. Plus Willis and Hawkins who never played.

The '14 team had half of the top 10, plus sophomore Willie and freshmen Lee, Willis and Hawkins and senior Jon Hood.
 
Some of you put way too much stock in these rankings. This class, while bigger, is no where near the quality of last years class mush less the best ever. This team will be good, but lose plenty of games along the way.
 
But it wasn't that they "couldn't" do it. I mean if we ran that season over and over again thousands of times, some of them would have no doubt finished 40-0. It's the luck aspect again.

If a team can go 38-1 there is no reason to believe that same team couldn't have gone 40-0.


It must be easy S.I. had them going all the way not being touched and all dressed in their Tuxedo's on last falls cover!
 
He fixed that mistake and decided not to play in it, smart move to hide weakness and let his measurement and athletic testing do the talking

I think Diallo may have made a mistake choosing to play the 5 on 5. Also, now that Knox and Bamba will be at UK I think he comes back if he does not make the first round. Good thing is if Johnson waits until Diallo makes his decision and Diallo stays in the draft then I think we get Johnson. Why? He knows we have a good chance of winning NC.
 
Mich St is the team to beat 2017-2018
Alabama is gonna be crazy good.
Florida returns a lot from elite 8 team.
Mizzou has some talent.
Kansas with Newman and co. Maybe a problem.
Arizona has a lot of talent to reckin with, young like us w/sophmoric super star talent
40 and zero is very hard to attain, just ask KAT and co.

I don't think Bama will do much damage jmo.
 
There's no measure that finds this team as talented as '10, '12, '14 or '15. Use the "who would start" equation.

Knox starts at the 3 for 2010. Bamba starts at the 5 for '14. Who else?

That '15 team had a bench of Ulis, Booker, Lyles, Lee and Dakari. Plus Willis and Hawkins who never played.

The '14 team had half of the top 10, plus sophomore Willie and freshmen Lee, Willis and Hawkins and senior Jon Hood.


...so Hawkins counts as quality player in 2014 because he was good role player 4 years later? Roughly the same argument for Willis? Those guys did absolutely nothing in 2014. In 2020 if Quade is still around and develops into a great player can we retroactively give the 2017 team talent points?
 
Diallo with a half a season under his belt starts over Aaron Harrison, Knox arguably over Young. If we keep Hami, land Bamba and maybe Johnson, there's definitely an argument that this team has more talent than 2014. I appreciate the team success that the Harrison's were a part of, but we can admit that their reps as recruits were a little inflated, correct? Save the NIT year, I'd take every single starting backcourt Cals had over the 2014 version of the Harrisons.
 
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Kentucky will lose a minimum of three games and probably closer to six games. With that said, just like this past season, I expect them to play their best basketball in March.
 
One can always dream of catching lightening in a bottle. Cal is a realist but I bet he dreams of ultimately doing it with an all frosh roster just to piss in the face of all of his haters in the hoops world. [smoke]
 
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It has already started....
it has begun....

200w.gif
 
We will lose to Kansas, Arky at Arky and Florida at Florida. We will have a few more but those are for sure.
 
I don't get the hate about talking about 40-0 when the coach states that is one of his goals.

Even the 40-0 people I'm sure are well aware of the odds of that happening.

It still doesn't mean we shouldn't root for it.............or talk about it.
I agree with you there.
But I think what everyone is afraid of is the many people who are all over twitter and other team boards talking about UK going 40-0 before the season starts. Some people go a bit overboard.
 
I hear you, I'm just saying this team isn't near the same level of the squads that had a shot at it. It's not as good as 2014, and they lost 10 games.

People who are expecting this team to be dominant are doing it either for lack of perspective or so they can troll if we don't go undefeated "with all those 5 stars."

Now, if we get Quade, SGA, Washington, Richards and Baker back next year and add Bagley and company, then we can talk about it.
I think this 17/18 team appears to have 1 or 2 more game changers on it than 13/14 did.
Also, 13/14 appeared to have chemistry issues for a good portion of that season. These kids all seem to be pretty tight from everything I've read.

But, there is no way this team goes 40-0, I see 5-8 losses easily, and that is going to have to be okay.

A lot of people don't understand how hard the HS to college jump is, Cal makes it look easy somehow.
 
On paper, talent-wise, this team looks to be (with those other 2 players) a top 4 teams under Cal. I don't think the Randle team was great at all. I mean coming into the season they were supposed to be, but the twins and Dakari and Young to some extent weren't that great. 2011 year you had Knight, Jones, Lamb and that was where it stopped talent wise...other players improved along the way. Obviously NIT team wasn't good. So

Wall Team
Davis Team
38-1 team and I feel you can flip/flop these teams anyway you want as to who you think was best.
The team coming in with Bamba and Diallo have a chance to be as good as any of the teams above, but I want to see them play first.

Had to edit because I forgot this team this year and last year. Well next year's team has a chance to be better than them because it really stopped at 2 guards the past 2 years. Bam was better by tourney, but defensively this team never seemed to be on the level as past Cal teams.

I don't see 40-0 though because I feel it would take talent and experience to do that. If some of these players return next year like some of you are assuming and Cal gets a couple of those studs that he is looking at for next year, then yes we can start thinking like the 38-1 team.
 
...so Hawkins counts as quality player in 2014 because he was good role player 4 years later? Roughly the same argument for Willis? Those guys did absolutely nothing in 2014. In 2020 if Quade is still around and develops into a great player can we retroactively give the 2017 team talent points?

I said those guys never played, I was just listing talent that was ultimately on the bench and in practice. Whereas this year we have Brad as our last guy, those teams had Hawkins/Willis/Hood/Polson, guys who could actually contribute.

And I think it's unfair to retroactively discredit the freshmen on those teams. Fine, Dakari didn't end up as good as we hoped, but by every measure, he's a better "recruit" than Richards, for example. Same with Young/Knox. Same with the twins.

They may not have been what the rankings said, but going in, they were better players than the ones we have now, in what was considered a better recruiting class. That's kind of my point. We've seen these amazing classes full of 5 stars and top 10 players, but it's dumb to think all of those rankings are created equal or that we'll get exactly what we expect from everyone.
 
I said those guys never played, I was just listing talent that was ultimately on the bench and in practice. Whereas this year we have Brad as our last guy, those teams had Hawkins/Willis/Hood/Polson, guys who could actually contribute.

And I think it's unfair to retroactively discredit the freshmen on those teams. Fine, Dakari didn't end up as good as we hoped, but by every measure, he's a better "recruit" than Richards, for example. Same with Young/Knox. Same with the twins.

They may not have been what the rankings said, but going in, they were better players than the ones we have now, in what was considered a better recruiting class. That's kind of my point. We've seen these amazing classes full of 5 stars and top 10 players, but it's dumb to think all of those rankings are created equal or that we'll get exactly what we expect from everyone.
Richards is ten times the recruit Dakari was. Same with Knox over young.
 
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On paper, this would be cals second best team only behind 2015. Only because we returned a bunch of good players and we brought in the number one overall pick in towns not to mention having ulis and Booker playing limited mins. Now the 2018 team could surpass the 2015 team as I don't see us losing everyone on this years team. We have some damn good players that could be OAD but they are looking at late 1st to early 2nd round picks
 
I've always been crazy but it kept me from going insane. I see and hear things that no one else does. Believe Bamba is coming, and I don't think it will be in June. If Diallo goes Johnson cometh. If Diallo stays Johnson may go but may cometh. Bamba he cometh. Why? I see and hear things, remember. Boo. Hee Haw. Haters going to Hate. Oh! bye the way I don't have any chickens. I did have some eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast this morning. You people are funny. Why all this distrust and hate. The world is going to hell in a hand basket. Glad I'm not in the basket.


I hope your done with your "predictions" since your "sources" are fake news material.
 
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