Here’s something else to think about:
During the offseason, when we were down to 7 scholarship players, Cal went hard after three portal guys, Dickinson who plays the 5, Kaluma who plays the 4 and Johnson who plays the 4.
So Cal obviously wanted to upgrade at the 4 and 5 spots.
I am pretty sure Johnson and Kaluma were recruited for the same spot. They weren’t both coming to UK.
Dickinson was the only guy Cal really went after at the 5.
We struck out with all three.
Then Mitchell came along and filled the 4 spot.
So why hasn’t Cal went after a 5 man after missing on Dickinson?
We haven’t added another 5 man to the roster. Did he just decide we didn’t need another big man once Dickinson turned us down and Tshiebwe decided to stay in the draft?
That really doesn’t make sense.
What makes sense is that Cal knows we still need a legitimate 5 man and is either waiting for a grad transfer to become available in August or already has someone in mind that will be available in August.
Add in two injuries to the 5 spot.
So does it make sense to want a 5 man in the Spring, miss out on one, then two of your current 5 men get injured, and you decide you don’t need another 5 man?
No, it doesn’t. Especially knowing Cal’s philosophy on big men (“you’re a fraud if you don’t have a post up game”).