UK Basketball DY9ASTY Edition

[WVRed]

I think I nearly jinxed my own post.

The first time this team plays a full 40 minutes of basketball full throttle will be the first time all season.

We may never see a mixture like that again although none of these kids are ready for the NBA, doubt any of main 4 will be back. It will probably be starting over next season with Marcus Lee etc as returning veterans.

As of right now IMO, only Julius and Young are NBA ready.

The Harrisons stock has taken a major hit all season. Andrew Harrison is a Tyreke Evans type of PG, as in only good at slashing to the rim and hitting the occasional three. As WMR put it, he doesn't create for anybody and outside of Ryan Harrow who we can all agree was in over his head, has been the most frustrating of the Calipari PG's to date. Both of the twins have horrible body language, whether its whining after a bad call to letting poor play affect their overall games.

The only concern I have with the twins is, will they listen to Cal? Part of me wants to say yes, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are here to put in their one year and leave for the NBA, similar to Archie Goodwin last season.

Poythress is limited by his size. He's 6'8, which is perfect for a SF, except he lacks the athleticism and perimeter game to be a wing. He's undersized in the NBA as a PF, especially not being a three point threat. It would be in his best interest to come back and work on getting more in shape (which he has done wonders in compared to last season) and refining his outside game similar to what Patrick Patterson did in Cal's first season.

Dakari and Willie Cauley-Stein both have upside. Dakari is more of a traditional center, similar to what DeMarcus Cousins was when he was here. You have to slow the game down when Dakari is in and let him pound away inside. WCS I think is more likely to get drafted at this point. He is raw and has more potential, even with his disappearance in SEC play. A second year in Cal's system could make Dakari a star and likely elevate his draft stock.

If the twins come back, as does Dakari and Poythress with the mix of players coming in next season (Towns, Ulis, Lyles, and Booker), it will be an interesting mix of players and really a different look to this team than what I thought at the start of the year.

[Assembly Hall]

The Harrison twins are not what I expected at all. But after all they are freshmen. It is a young team all the way around. Sometimes youth doesn't perform well with other youth. I still think they can hit their stride.

[IslandRed]

Honest question -- do you guys think Calipari has been recruiting for his system and is just missing on some evaluation aspects (i.e. the Harrison PG thing)? Or has he been influenced by his own recruiting success, taking the highest-rated guys because he can get them, figuring he can make it work? The NBA is willing to develop potential, but for a college coach looking at a one-and-done, there won't be much opportunity to develop it. So maybe a stronger focus on what the player is, not what he can be, is needed?

Not that I'm picking on Cal specifically, it sure seems that the entire industry pegged Andrew Harrison for stardom. You'd think that someone would have noticed this "can't create for others" thing before he got to UK, since that's kind of important for a point guard.

[Assembly Hall]

That is a great question. One that I have no answer for in general. Nobody can blame Cal for gobbling up the best "talent" out there. However potential is just what it is....potential. Most of the guys that are heralded are the stars of their high school teams...you never know how they are gonna react when they end up on a team that has talent around them. Even playing AAU ball it seems they want to improve their "stock". But how does that translate into winning a National Championship at the collegiate level?

[WMR]

Honest question -- do you guys think Calipari has been recruiting for his system and is just missing on some evaluation aspects (i.e. the Harrison PG thing)? Or has he been influenced by his own recruiting success, taking the highest-rated guys because he can get them, figuring he can make it work? The NBA is willing to develop potential, but for a college coach looking at a one-and-done, there won't be much opportunity to develop it. So maybe a stronger focus on what the player is, not what he can be, is needed?

Not that I'm picking on Cal specifically, it sure seems that the entire industry pegged Andrew Harrison for stardom. You'd think that someone would have noticed this "can't create for others" thing before he got to UK, since that's kind of important for a point guard.

I think it's much simpler than that. Specifically, I think it's a confluence of two different factors: the fanbase (and media) getting incredibly spoiled by Wall, Knight, and to a lesser extent Teague (best surrounding cast, however, so he looked better than he actually was, although he was very good) combined with the Harrisons playing like actual freshmen instead of the polished operators everyone was expecting. They were probably a tad overrated by the recruiting services although that's certainly not how Cal chooses his targets... Cal had been on the twins a longggggg time as his chosen guards for this class. Despite all their struggles, their potential is still undeniable. They're just freshmen and that's how they play a large % of the time.

I'm really hoping they come back because I think you'll see the attitude and tendency to get down and pout go away along with everything else on the court improve.

I'm just not sure if Andrew Harrison will ever be capable of playing point guard in the NBA. He might be better suited for a Liggins type role. Remember, Liggins was initially a point guard as well.

I saw a lot of good things last night... some bad too, but lots of good.

There's not a single team that I would say this squad absolutely could not beat... on the other hand, there's plenty of teams that they could lose to as well.

This team's performance is still inextricably tied into their emotions... that, IMO, is the biggest impediment standing between where they are now and where we want them to be.

[Assembly Hall]

Good stuff WMR.

I really think UK fans have been spoiled by the way Cal has done things in the past. You cant argue with the success. But you just cant year in and year out throw a bunch of freshmen on the floor and expect immediate results. Sometimes the chemistry is there....more often than not it isn't. Teams take time to "gel". We all wish we could wave a "magic wand" over our teams and "poof" they are successful. But at the end of the day it just aint so. UK will be fine, hopefully for the time that is left, they "grow up" a tad for you rabid fans.

[dabvu2498]

Some good stuff WMR.

I'd add to that re: expectations. After the one-and-done rule came into play, we've come to expect that guys ranked in the top 5-10-15 will be NBA-ready after one year. And I think fans, media, and maybe even coaches and players fall into that trap. So the question becomes, not "how good will they be", but "will they stay?" Before they've even played a game, in some cases.

I also question how much true evaluation college coaches do. Most of the early evaluations (and here, scarily enough, we're talking 8th-9th grades) are done by gurus/experts/services. So those kids get slotted into those "roles" at a very young age and with the pressure to put together classes early, coaches are wooing and offering scholarships to 15 and 16 year olds, largely on the evaluation skills of some guru. So a kid has a good AAU weekend in front of the right people, and he's a hot prospect. Then the wooing begins and the services would appear dumb to move a kid down in the rankings if he's being wooed by UK, KU, Duke, etc. It's a bit of a vicious cycle.

Also worth noting, from scout.com's evaluation of Andrew Harrison: "Harrison is a tough and competitive guard that can create opportunities for others, but also score it at a high level."

[Assembly Hall]

dab, that has my vote for the college basketball post of the year!

[WVRed]

That is a great question. One that I have no answer for in general. Nobody can blame Cal for gobbling up the best "talent" out there. However potential is just what it is....potential. Most of the guys that are heralded are the stars of their high school teams...you never know how they are gonna react when they end up on a team that has talent around them. Even playing AAU ball it seems they want to improve their "stock". But how does that translate into winning a National Championship at the collegiate level?

I think Cal has said in the past he just recruits the best players and then adjusts accordingly. That's why some teams are more suited for dribble drive while the 2010 team was more of a traditional team due to having DeMarcus Cousins.

[Assembly Hall]

I think Cal has said in the past he just recruits the best players and then adjusts accordingly. That's why some teams are more suited for dribble drive while the 2010 team was more of a traditional team due to having DeMarcus Cousins.

I understand that philosophy. But what do you do when the best players don't mesh on the floor?

[New York Red]

I understand that philosophy. But what do you do when the best players don't mesh on the floor?

You remind yourself that life isn't perfect and every season that doesn't result in a national championship isn't a failure.

[Assembly Hall]

You remind yourself that life isn't perfect and every season that doesn't result in a national championship isn't a failure.

LOL, however when guys don't mesh sometimes there cant be a "wait 'til next year" approach. Addition by subtraction, you get rid of the "problems". Nobody is questioning UK's talent, what they are questioning is how that talent plays together.

[Joseph]

You remind yourself that life isn't perfect and every season that doesn't result in a national championship isn't a failure.

Wait, its not?

[WVRed]

LOL, however when guys don't mesh sometimes there cant be a "wait 'til next year" approach. Addition by subtraction, you get rid of the "problems". Nobody is questioning UK's talent, what they are questioning is how that talent plays together.

I think senior leadership has more to do with it than anything. Having competent three to four year players on the roster helps mesh the young talent together and pushes the freshmen in practice every day. Any playing time they get is earned, not handed to them.

Instead you have players going through growing pains early to midway through the season and hoping they can turn it on come March.

[Assembly Hall]

I think senior leadership has more to do with it than anything. Having competent three to four year players on the roster helps mesh the young talent together and pushes the freshmen in practice every day. Any playing time they get is earned, not handed to them.

Instead you have players going through growing pains early to midway through the season and hoping they can turn it on come March.

Yepper. It is one of the reasons the "mid-majors" have become so prolific in the past few years. But I also think that you need to build a "team". Pretty hard to do it when you got 5 guys on the floor that all have NBA aspirations and they are freshmen and sophomores. Sometimes I wonder if the kids in college are even concerned with winning any more? Or is their NBA draft stock what is on their minds? I just dunno.