Kentucky without Noel

[HALLGATOR]

Originally Posted by gatordd

Cal will continue to recruit one and dones and have success most years while at UK

That's the way I see it. Personally Cal is a good coach in my opinion and I would think he would like to have a few players that stay in the system and provide some continuity and leadership while he continues to bring in the one-and-dones.

[dailydoublecat]

Originally Posted by HALLGATOR

That's the way I see it. Personally Cal is a good coach in my opinion and I would think he would like to have a few players that stay in the system and provide some continuity and leadership while he continues to bring in the one-and-dones.

Hall I don't think there is anyway Calipari feels that three of these guys are ready. However two of the three haven't listened to him all year.
Jeff

[HALLGATOR]

Maybe this loss will get their attention Jeff. If it doesn't I don't know what will.

[InstiGATOR1]

Originally Posted by gatordd

Cal will continue to recruit one and dones and have success most years while at UK

I liked this years group for UK better than next years group. This year:

PG: Harrow who I thought might be able to lead this team due to his experience and age.
SG: Goodwin who I thought with his height would be ok defensively and could score particularly if he could hit some from the arc.
SF: Poythress who I thought maybe could be a slashing wing if he did not have a shot.
PF: Wiltjer who could be a stretch 4 and his height would allow him to defend ok.
C: Noel defensively could replace Davis and UK could pick up more offense elsewhere.

With Cauley to back up in the post and Mayes to back up the guards, I thought UK would be fine.

Next year it appears to me:

PG: VACANT, I don't see one. Even if Harrow returns he is old enough he maybe what he will be.
SG: A. Harrison, A. Harrison sort of like Goodwin tall kids who can dribble well enough to dominate AAU.
SF: J. Young another 2/3 with a similar skill set.
PF: Lee, a skinny PF who needs to be bulking up now for college to be one and done.
C: Johnson, a skilled center but not a shot blocker in the Davis/Noel style.

So who comes back? Maybe Cauley who might start ahead of Johnson. Does Wiltjer hang around for another year? I am not sure what he gains in the UK program.

Now I could be completely wrong. Maybe whichever Harrison is suppose to be a PG will come in ready to dominate Wilbekin. Maybe the only issue this year for UK was leadership and the new group will show more leadership. Maybe Lee is another Tayshaun Prince and strong and wiry rather than skinny. But I have at least thought about these players more than WOW they are all 5 stars.

[dailydoublecat]

The Harrison's are players!! You have one that can drive and one that is a hell of a shooter. Young is going to be something else. Lee is a late bloomer. Johnson is a 5 man with a pretty good skill set and Willis is a Ky boy. We will add one more but maybe even more depending how this season ends.
Jeff

[bakaduin]

Originally Posted by dailydoublecat

The Harrison's are players!! You have one that can drive and one that is a hell of a shooter. Young is going to be something else. Lee is a late bloomer. Johnson is a 5 man with a pretty good skill set and Willis is a Ky boy. We will add one more but maybe even more depending how this season ends.
Jeff

Ill wait and see. I heard all this rhetoric last year about the current UK freshman.

[dailydoublecat]

Originally Posted by bakaduin

Ill wait and see. I heard all this rhetoric last year about the current UK freshman.

You didn't hear the rhetoric from me. All I knew about these freshmen was Noel was a hell of a shot blocker. I had never saw Harrow, Goodwin, Cauley-Stein, nor Poythress play.

But I do agree with you I want to see it. I think some of these freshmen may come back lol
Jeff

[BengermanV]

Kentucky will be good, not great, unless they get Wiggins next year.

[REM08]

Originally Posted by UFG8rGuy3283

I actually think this is going to change quite a bit at UK.

Let me ask this...aside from physical talent, what do the UK commits coming in next year look like from an attitude perspective? A lot has been made about Chris Walker having an attitude issue, but what about the Harrisons or the others?

Something Rosario said in the post game really struck me. He said with him, Murph and KB having a great work ethic this year amd expecting the same from the freshman/others, it has made this team continue to improve.

UK doesn't have any of that leadership and I wonder if there's any coming in next year like there was with Davis and MKG. There's a reason you hear about senior leadership.

For my UK friends, how does Cal approach that part of recruiting, meaning the attitudes? Does he focus on that much or is it all about getting the most physically talented players?

If I'm rambling, forgive me, I have a 2 year old hanging on me as I type on my smart phone

Cal makes no promises while recruiting. No shots, no minutes, no starting position. He tries to appeal to their competitive nature. He's always throwing around the cheesy phrases like "If you wanna go fast, go alone, but if you wanna go far, go together...etc". He's used the quote about MKG and Davis taking the 4th and 5th most shots on last years team probalby a thousand times. His recent mantra has been "losing yourself in the team." After this year, he'll actually have data to show players that his selfless players had more team success and were drafted higher than players that tried to do it their own way.

Veteran leadership is VERY helpful if its guys who do things like practice correctly. However, for last years team, it was actually MKG (as you correctly pointed out). Part way into the year he started the "breakfast club" where he pestered the whole team to go to breakfast early and pretty much do everything as a team whether it was the movies or whatever. He was a good player and knew how to practice and play. This is why not just any player, veteran or not, can lead.


The Harrisons are going to be very good and I don't expect too much of a learning curve. They already have chemistry. One of their strenghts is their size. They've got all the tools to be good defenders and have the size to bother smaller guards. I'm hoping that next years lack of a big time shotblocker will be somewhat offset by having bigger guards. One other aspect of next years team is that positions 1 - 3 will be very good 3pt shooters if their shooting translates to college.

The Twins have sulked on the court and fussed at teammates. The dynamics between their college team and coach will be VERY different than High School. All of the other signees seem excited about playing with them. They both have the alpha-male persona that UK is sorely lacking this year.

I'm not saying either is John Wall or anything, but I cant imagine how anyone could view last years (this years) class favorably compared with next years. Same with this years team and next years.

What could set next years team on another level is Wiggins. I don't know if we get him or not (seems like more saying not right now), but he is the (the only) truely special player in the class.

[regurgigator]

Originally Posted by GatorPlanet

Whenever Noel took a seat, and later got hurt, you could see an immediate and PROFOUND difference in the Wildcats when they played this week against the Gators. The dropoff was huge. Suddenly the paint was wide open for anyone who wanted it.

I can't see UK making the NCAAT at this point, unless at least two of their guys step up in a huge way.

Yep.

Even before their game with us, the only thing about UK's team that I found impressive was what Noel did on the defensive end.

I'm one of the ones who thinks the loss of Yeguete (if he doesn't make it back for the Tourney) is a huge impact for us. But, our loss of Yeguete is insignificant compared to this UK team losing Noel. Count me as surprised if they beat anyone decent from here on out.

[jeffphillips21]

is this a Gators board?

[keypox]

Originally Posted by jeffphillips21

is this a Gators board?

LOL Only on the 29th of February.

[GothamGator]

Kentucky can take solace in the fact that they closed on a 7-0 run to cut the final margin to 30.

All kidding aside, when is the last time (if ever) that we won by 30 and they lost by 30 on the same day. Pretty amazing and not likely to happen again soon.

I wonder if Cal considered emptying his bench early and playing some guys who might actually do something with the opportunity.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by dailydoublecat

Ahh an incest joke... Thanks that finishes the week for me

sorry man, I just couldn't resist!

[tegator80]

I think the future depends on what is or was said to recruits. If they embrace the thought of being coached up but aren't as ready for the NBA as many people thought (see Patric) then the future should work out fine, maybe even starting next year. But if you get the ones who are adored and have posses attached to them and are looking for the highest profile to get noticed then I am afraid that entitled freshmen become entitled sophomores. And eventually they are going to leave regardless of whether they heard the message from the coaches or not.

It hasn't happened yet but Kentucky in basketball may know what Notre Dame feels like in football: all of the legacy and huge fanbase may not mean anything to a lot of the up and coming recruits. We will see how it all plays out.

Me, I am just thankful that Billy decided to remain as our coach.

[NorthCaptivaGator]

Any NBA executive that drafts either of the UK guards in the first-round deserves to be fired, they just are not that good

[tommyuf21]

Originally Posted by NorthCaptivaGator

Any NBA executive that drafts either of the UK guards in the first-round deserves to be fired, they just are not that good

Stupidity is contagious in the league. In a weak draft, I wouldn't be suprised if Goodwin is taken in the first round.

Harrow won't be drafted.