Where does Calipari go from here to fill out the roster?
- Thread starter wildcatsboston1984
- Start date
Meant to say something along the lines of a "mini" clone of AD.
Not that he's going to be like AD23.
It is as if this whole year has been one giant shove away from the sports I grew up on. The 9ers made a joke of themselves, the massive letdown in the tourney, the mass exodus, and the crickets that follow. The A's choke, the Sharks stopped even making the playoffs, and the NBA is just boring.
In about a calendar year I have gone from watching football, basketball, baseball, and hockey in that order to pretty much none of them. Soccer has replaced most of their time.
I will never stop being a fan of any of my teams, but I am enjoying watching sports again. The last decade of sports for me with the exception of a few months in 2012 has been one heartbreak after another, each more painful than the last.
I can't completely explain it, I would have laughed at anyone that said I would ever be in this situation. I really think Harbaugh being screwed broke the camels back, the final 4 jumped on top of the spine until it was ground into bone meal.
In about a calendar year I have gone from watching football, basketball, baseball, and hockey in that order to pretty much none of them. Soccer has replaced most of their time.
I will never stop being a fan of any of my teams, but I am enjoying watching sports again. The last decade of sports for me with the exception of a few months in 2012 has been one heartbreak after another, each more painful than the last.
I can't completely explain it, I would have laughed at anyone that said I would ever be in this situation. I really think Harbaugh being screwed broke the camels back, the final 4 jumped on top of the spine until it was ground into bone meal.
This truly is the year that we see the "Kentucky isn't for everyone" mantra proving true. I'm not saying they won't be successful, but obviously Cal's spiel of "No Promises" hasn't resonated with the kids as it has in the past. Plus the fact of negative recruiting, BBN fan pressure, How bright the light is in Lexington, Plus I think we lost a ton of momentum with many of the recruits when we lost to UW. Having all of that talent and still losing couldn't have helped our changes.
I came here having not spent one min since the loss on here or following recruiting thinking maybe seeing another great class by Cal shaping up might break the spell some........and this is what I see. The whole class went elsewhere. Which pretty much convinces me that Cal is getting us adjusted to life after Cal. I never really thought he would leave until he was done coaching but I think I was wrong. It might not be this year, but it will come.
I will have one eye in this country that will check things out while peeking at how the rapid growth of soccer in the US (and it is growing fast) plays out (Will MLS take advantage and move up the food chain or will all the money just go to Europe and limit the ultimate growth).
But most of me will be watching the big boys play across the pond.
I will have one eye in this country that will check things out while peeking at how the rapid growth of soccer in the US (and it is growing fast) plays out (Will MLS take advantage and move up the food chain or will all the money just go to Europe and limit the ultimate growth).
But most of me will be watching the big boys play across the pond.
My only concern is when we were this way in 12-13 being short on players. That year we lost Noel in the Florida game and that really hurt us for the remainder of the year. We had been playing fairly decent up to the Florida game and was 18-5 and 8-2 in SEC when Noel went down for the year. We finished 21-12 and was 3-7 in our last 10 games after Noel went down. That is one thing we can't have happen to us this year is having any injuries with only having 8 or 9 guys on this team. We could have been fine if just Booker, Lyles, and Johnson stays with us to go along with Ullis, Briscoe, Skai, POY, Lee, Matthews, & Mulder.
i think inconsistant/lack of guard play hurt us as much as nerlens going down. this year's team should be a more balanced team than last year's, hopefully with one or two definitive go-to leaders at crunch time, something that i don't think was ever established on last year's team. injuries will always be a game changer for any team.
I get it. Back in '96-'99 I got to experienced the Bronco's winning two SB's, and the Cat's winning two national titles. Best 3 or 4 years I've ever had with my two favorite teams. This last couple of years I was hoping for a similar result. But... the Cat's fall 1 game short last year, then 2 games short of perfection this year. The Bronco's make the SB and flame out, then fail to get back. It didn't work out quite like I'd hoped it would. These things happen when you stick with your teams no matter what.
Ouch...Floreal is a walk on talent. Hawkins, Willis and Mulder all remain to be seen if they are UK level talent. Looks like potential trouble IMO>
We have a bunch of good players, need more to fill out the depth chart though. Maybe we could get a couple of pure shooters, and hopefully the big that committed to UF backs out and comes to UK (because the kid is actually a very good player).
Mulder has an important skill that we need. Incredible shooting. Add in that he has freak athleticism, and it's a good start.
To answer the OP's question, I've heard there is another planetary system that has some solid big men waiting to receive offers from UK.
Cal may prefer playing a shorter roster at the end of the day, but he also likes to pull players and use the bench as a motivator to make sure players play the way he wants them to. Without much depth, he loses that option. And although the 2013-14 team was deep, there were some spots (such as James Young and the twins) where at times Cal would probably have liked to utilize the bench but couldn't because he didn't have other viable options, and it showed in his frustration. The 2012-13 team was another example where Cal got visibly frustrated not being able to freely sub key players (Harrow for example), and in the end this lack of depth ended up biting the team. And remember this is what prompted Cal to say he would never be caught short on depth again.
Frankly when Cal was running full platoons early in the last season he seemed to be at his most relaxed I've ever seen him, as UK was kicking tail and he really didn't have to spend much time thinking about making substitutions, but rather could concentrate more on coaching the game in front of him. That's one (of many) reasons why I thought that platoons was perfect for last year's squad (at least until Alex got injured). And Cal even commented a few times how much easier it was to coach during that time.
But the more the season progressed and the more he went away from platoons the more he reverted back IMO to a more frantic Cal, who endlessly tried substitution pattern after substitution searching in vain for a 'perfect' combination, even though UK's efficiency dropped the more he tinkered.
Given the above, I think in terms of choosing who to play, it will be easier managing the team, but that likely doesn't translate into a better result on the court, or a less frustrated coach. The opposite in fact. Also given the short roster, this team has little to no margin for error in terms of being in contention for a title.
Given the above, I'd rather have a deep roster any day.
This. We need bodies that don't suck. What if Skal has a game where one or two players (hell even more some games) just aren't bringing it? There aren't exactly many other options for Cal to go to. I'm not holding out any hope for Murray with the way this spring as gone, so hopefully Derek Willis mans up and puts in the work to earn playing time instead of throwing away the opportunity like he did this past season when Poythress got hurt.
I don't think cal is going to have a problem motivating this group of guys led by ulis. Cal still prefers 7 guys. I get what you're saying but I for one am ready to see a shorter roster because I think cal manages it better. Last year might have been fun and I'm sure cal enjoyed being able to yank players left and right, but he's just better with a shorter rotation in March.
