Not your fault but man this thread didn’t last long. Amazing game by Ivisic
With Big Z on board, let's talk potential 2024-2025 frontcourt.
- Thread starter Son_Of_Saul
- Start date
If he continues to play the rest of the season like he did tonight he won't be here next year.
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That unit probably would be ranked in the top 20
Top 5 if we shore up our defense.
I really would like our big men to return but this kid looks so good idk how an NBA team doesn’t take a flyer on him at the very worst.
No chance IMO, I’m gonna enjoy this group this year. They are special and a lot of them will be pros soon.
I’d go Dilly, Shep, Reeves, Theiro, Z as a unit.
Or even Mitchell at the 5.
How many times has Cal allowed the best offensive unit to play together?
Who wins in a game between that group vs Wagner, Reeves, Edwards, Mitchell and Bradshaw? I’m sure they’ve scrimmaged those units many times in practice.
I’m willing to guess that the odds are even. Could go either way. That’s not a knock on the first group either. That’s just how good this second group is
I opened this thread and figured you posted this before the game without even looking at the time stamp.
lol, yeah…ain’t that a bitch![[roll]](http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/img/emoticons/classic/roll.r191677.gif "roll [roll]")
lol, yeah…ain’t that a bitch
It won’t happen but a reed fland Peterson Ivisic and Quaintance lineup or a reeves like grad transfer for one the guards would be filithy next year
I do apologize. Just read it all the way through and realize you posted before the explosion.
I'm thinking Z moved into the 1st round in his first five minutes of college action. He gone. But I think Ugonna and Quaintance will be an excellent top two at center(think Somto more of a project) and we'll have Thiero backed up by Burks at the four. Sounds pretty good to me.
Just read the entire thread SoS and realized your op was before the game when Z coming back was entirely reasonable.
Just read the entire thread SoS and realized your op was before the game when Z coming back was entirely reasonable.
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Yes. I think he might even though he is a lottery pick because of both parents graduating from UK and his NIL might be unprecedented. I also think there is a case to be made for Wagner coming back since he might only be a 2nd rounder and if that happens...LOOK OUT.
I like the idea of our core of Sheppard, Thiero, Onyenso, Burks, and Hart returning.
Edwards should come back, but he won't. Klutch will secure a 2nd round slot for him and he'll disappear into the oblivion of G-league journeyman 10 day contracts.
It's a shame, too, because with another year I think Edwards could definitely be a top 20 pick, but I also thought the same for Livingston.
These guys have zero patience nowadays, even when it's in their best interest to come back and become a 1st round pick (Livingston, Boston, Whitney, Montgomery, etc.).
Yes, it would be tragic if Edwards entered the draft next year; for his sake I'd rather see him transfer to one of our rivals. Because 2nd round is not guaranteed money. If you can't make the NBA team roster(and he won't) then you will have to be able to start on their G League team(he won't) and then he'll get cut and be making the G League minimum. I can't ever remember a player who would be better served coming back for a 2nd year. And if he did it and stayed here and put in the work I wouldn't mind seeing him at the 3 for UK next year.
Not too much, mainly because of defense and rebounding which is still a problem.
If Thiero is 100% (which I expect), then I think he and Burks would have the PF spot covered next season - plus UK will have another guy or two who can cover there some as well (e.g., Quaintance). Then if UK got Big Z and/or Onyenso and Sheppard back, I would feel really good about that foundation.
Boy you really stuck your neck out there after last nights game compared to my post from before the game.
Prudent advice to the young man would be to return. There is a risk of going "too early" without the right preparation. Same situation for Sheppard. Both guys declaring too early could be swallowed up by NBA by not being prepared. NIL will provide the monetary incentive to consider patience before declaring too soon for the draft.
I think Quaintance, Thiero, Onyenso, and Cyril rotate at the 4-5.
I think Burks might be odd man out.
But I guess it just depends on whether Cyril or Burks is better and whether Quaintance is better as a 4 or a 5.
Or if we don’t sign another SF, Thiero might be the 3 man and Burks and Cyril both play behind Quaintance and Onyenso.
I suspect that UK will be a much more dangerous team with Quaintance, Onyenso, and Cyril holding down the Center spot. I think the offense will just be significantly better, especially IF I buy into Quaintance being ready offensively (I want to watch him some more after the season). And I expect Thiero and Burks to be pretty good offensively at PF, while at the same time being able to cover the position defensively and with rebounding. I wouldn’t expect Thiero or Burks playing SF to be the disaster playing Edwards there has been (I was pretty comfortable he wouldn’t be a good college SF his first year, but I didn’t expect him to be quite this bad), or for that matter thinking Bradshaw would be a good college PF as a freshman, but I think their offense could play very well at PF while opening up the SF spot for a much more consistent and deadly 3 pt. option from the portal.
What I never want to fall prey to is believing that most incoming 6’5”+ athletic freshmen are good enough offensively to start at the position they want to play or even the position recruiting services list them at (in the future). They’re just not usually there yet offensively (because they have been able to rely on that size and athleticism to score a ton). Plus, there are almost always better starting options (particularly 2G & SF options) in the transfer portal at the same position for the same reason – offense in general and 3pt. shooting in particular. Of course, there are exceptions, but the exception doesn’t make the rule.
Lmao, he improved 30 draft slots last night alone, HE'S GONE!
Why do you people do this to yourself, they are all gone. Hope we get, Reed, Adou and Onyenso back but I bet we we'll lose one or two there!
Why do you people do this to yourself, they are all gone. Hope we get, Reed, Adou and Onyenso back but I bet we we'll lose one or two there!
I tend to agree about the portal option. I just wonder if Cal will go that route. It probably depends on what happens with recruiting this Spring.
If Cal gets Knox, then he won’t see a need for another SF. He’ll have Richmond and Knox, plus Thiero can play there some (and may petition Cal to play him at the 3 to improve his pro prospects).
If Cal gets a Peterson or Johnson reclass, then there’s no room (in his eyes) for a portal SG.
Bottom line is Cal would rather have a future NBA talent level player as a Freshman than an experience college player.
He’ll only go to the portal if he misses on a HS recruit or someone unexpected leaves via transfer or enters the draft.
That’s Cal’s M.O., for better or for worse.
Now I think if Sheppard takes the leap, then he will definitely try to get the best portal guard available. I’d much rather have a Sophomore Sheppard than either a 5-star recruit or a portal star.
Z has already entered and removed his name from the draft twice. He came here to get to the pros and if he plays like he just did, see ya and for good reason. Nobody can fault the kid for chasing his dreams if he is playing at a level that gets him drafted in the first round.
I’m with you for sure on Sheppard, and feel the same about Thiero and maybe other returning players. And you certainly may be right about Calipari. But it’s sad commentary if true – especially for those wanting UK to be a title contender or God-forbid a favorite. I just want Calipari to be committed to going after and playing the players with the biggest impact on UK winning NOW and in the future. That’s what I want the priority to be, along with bringing in good kids (which Calipari has done well). I’m sure that’s what we all want as fans, although I understand some of us may have different opinions about how to accomplish that. I just don’t believe relying on 3-4 OADs every year to carry your college team is conducive to building a perennial contender.
I believe non-OAD freshmen (or anticipated non-OAD anyway) and returning players should make up about 8 members of the team annually. Shore up that with a couple of portal stars (which UK should be very attractive to) and an OAD freshmen or two (the type that is really skilled or so gifted athletically that they’re likely to be very difficult for college teams to contend with). That seems to be how the top contenders are doing it now and being successful.
And I just don’t want UK being over-reliant on OAD freshmen and stuck on a formula no college basketball pundit currently believes in – one that leaves us here with no choice but rooting for the No. 1 recruiting class or the next reclass of a reclass phenom in some delusional hope that he’ll be the one that will carry UK to the promise land.
And maybe Calipari isn’t doing that so much anymore and is trying to build somewhat of a returning core base with recruits like Thiero, Sheppard, Burks, Onyenso, Hart, Richmond, Perry, etc. If so, I want to see him also use his great recruiting ability to bring in the top portal transfers (not so-so graduate transfers and last-minute grabs to fill the roster) regardless of where any already committed high school recruit ranks or is projected in future NBA drafts. As long as Calipari recruits the best CBB players from wherever they may come and the competition for starting and playing time is based on production and impact on winning, then I say bring on all the OADs. But they won’t be the best players very often in that scenario. They’ll usually be role players as freshmen, and there’s nothing wrong with that either. Just make sure that UK has its share of the best currently producing CBB players – which 9 times out of 10 are upperclassmen. I mean, forget nationally even, and just look at who are the consensus best players in the SEC this season. They’re mostly transfer portal Guards & Wings, e.g., Sears, Wade, Reeves, Knecht, etc., and returning upperclassmen.
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Yeah the NBA drafts on potential and he showed a helluva lot of potential in 16 minutes. Maybe it was a fluke and he will come back down to Earth and need to stay another year, but I'm not holding my breath.
As I have said before, there needs to be a balance.
We need 5-6 returning players.
We need 2-3 OAD level recruits.
We need 2-3 recruits who will be the returning players in the future.
We then need to fill in the blanks with portal players.
While I see the value of the portal, I feel like the returning players are more critical to building experience and the elite Freshmen are more important for adding talent.
If you can get a star from the portal, then by all means, you take him.
But recruiting the portal has to be tough. A coaching staff watches HS kids for years, they have to evaluate portal guys in a matter of months or weeks.
But balance is the key. You got have some experience and some just pure talent.
Holy hindsight bias Batman. Some of you have absolutely zero shame. This was a perfectly reasonable take before the game, and he redacted it after the first half. And yall are still on his case about it.
The funny thing about this is hindsight bias isn’t some secret that people are ignorant to anymore. I don’t get it.
The funny thing about this is hindsight bias isn’t some secret that people are ignorant to anymore. I don’t get it.
Don't worry about how is or isn't coming back. Enjoy the ride. If it's a major overhaul, we will have the portal. Does anyone remember a month before THIS season began ? Lots of NIT, losing record, blah blah blah. This is the most exciting team in years, enjoy it. If Shep leaves, the Lyon Co. Kid Perry is just as good. Finding the Rweves and Mitchell will be tough to accomplish, but the portal taketh and it also giveth. Relax, enjoy this year, reload, and keep on keeping on. You don't think kids watching THIS team isn't thinking "man that could be me." This squad wr have this year is not only thing the college basketball fans by storm, but elite of the elite guys and top transfer guys, top Euro guys, are Ll gonna wanna be part of this. We are about to be the clear cut head of the table when it's time to eat. In our worse years it is not like we where at the kiddie tBle eating, we still was very well known. This years class put us back at the head of the table and will be very a while. Cal is about to be Swaggy Cal again. You know the one, "if I want a kid, I will walk in his living room and take him from you, it's just the way it is."
