2010 Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball - 5th edition

[WVRed]

Probably belongs in the draft thread, but FIVE first round picks tonight. Sets a NCAA record.

[durl]

Originally Posted by WVRed

Probably belongs in the draft thread, but FIVE first round picks tonight. Sets a NCAA record.

An interesting record. While impressive at face value, it simply means that the program lost 5 good players at one time. I would have felt better about this record if it were preceded by a NCAA Championship.

[WMR]

Kentucky will start next season less talented 'on paper' but they have a chance to be a better team by the end of the season. Look for at least 3 of UK's freshmen to return for the 2011 season.

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by WMR

Kentucky will start next season less talented 'on paper' but they have a chance to be a better team by the end of the season. Look for at least 3 of UK's freshmen to return for the 2011 season.

I'm guessing Kanter and Knight are for sure gone. Terrence Jones depending on how well he does and a likely monster season for Lamb to jump. Poole will be back unless something happens aka Dodson.

I view this team coming in like the 2008-2009 Memphis team under Cal. Probably not as good as the team the year before as they will lose some games early on, but come SEC and tournament time they will be no worse than a 2 seed in the tournament.

I still say that next seasons team will be the building block (hopefully if enough players return) for a monster season in 2011-2012 when we get Teague, Gilchrist, and possibly Quincy Miller and Johnny O'Bryant.

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by WMR

Kentucky will start next season less talented 'on paper' but they have a chance to be a better team by the end of the season. Look for at least 3 of UK's freshmen to return for the 2011 season.

I actually agree with this. UK has to balance their impressive recruiting of individual players with how everyone fits into a team concept. Last year's recruiting class was almost too good.

One thing I think Calipari really accomplished though was that it didn't appear to an outsider that he had trouble getting the 5 NBA first round picks to play within the team concept. Maybe he did and I missed it, but if you can get 5 guys that good to play defense as hard as they did, that says something.

[cumberlandreds]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Red

I actually agree with this. UK has to balance their impressive recruiting of individual players with how everyone fits into a team concept. Last year's recruiting class was almost too good.

One thing I think Calipari really accomplished though was that it didn't appear to an outsider that he had trouble getting the 5 NBA first round picks to play within the team concept. Maybe he did and I missed it, but if you can get 5 guys that good to play defense as hard as they did, that says something.

You did miss it. They improved defensively as the year went along. There was huge difference at the end of the season. IMO, Calipari did a great job of getting everyone to buy into the team concept. The inexperience factor killed them in the NCAA's. Having zero NCAA tournment is a near impossible thing to overcome to win it all.

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by cumberlandreds

You did miss it. They improved defensively as the year went along. There was huge difference at the end of the season. IMO, Calipari did a great job of getting everyone to buy into the team concept. The inexperience factor killed them in the NCAA's. Having zero NCAA tournment is a near impossible thing to overcome to win it all.

Sorry I wrote that poorly. I actually meant it as a positive. I thought it was impressive that they were playing within the team concept from what I could see.

One thing I think Calipari really accomplished though was that it didn't appear to an outsider that he had trouble getting the 5 NBA first round picks to play within the team concept. Maybe he did(have trouble) and I missed it, but if you can get 5 guys that good to play defense as hard as they did, that says something.

[cumberlandreds]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Red

Sorry I wrote that poorly. I actually meant it as a positive. I thought it was impressive that they were playing within the team concept from what I could see.

One thing I think Calipari really accomplished though was that it didn't appear to an outsider that he had trouble getting the 5 NBA first round picks to play within the team concept. Maybe he did(have trouble) and I missed it, but if you can get 5 guys that good to play defense as hard as they did, that says something.

Ah,I see. I think he did have many problems that were kept quiet. He did mention he had more challenges this year than any other and some things would be done differently this season. What exactly that meant is up to interpretation but I would say it was certainly a challenge to get everyone to buy into a team concept. Calipari is a master salesman and I think he could get most anyone into the same boat together.

[Scrap Irony]

How much do you trust TMZ? Lots of unnamed sources and enough vague references to make a first year journalism major blush, but they did get the Oklahoma situation correct.

Much ado about nothing?

Or is it smoke and fire?

[Reds4Life]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

How much do you trust TMZ? Lots of unnamed sources and enough vague references to make a first year journalism major blush, but they did get the Oklahoma situation correct.

Much ado about nothing?

Or is it smoke and fire?

It's no suprise, but I doubt much will come of it. UK brought this on themselves when they hired Calipari. This type of thing will go on until he leaves, or is fired because the reports turned out to be true.

If he suddenly bails for the NBA, you know the hammer is coming for UK. Just like he did at UMass, and Memphis.

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

How much do you trust TMZ? Lots of unnamed sources and enough vague references to make a first year journalism major blush, but they did get the Oklahoma situation correct.

Much ado about nothing?

Or is it smoke and fire?

Much ado about nothing.

R4L is right though. The constant rumors (and wishing) regarding Kentucky and Cal will continue as long as he is coach here. Same with being mentioned for NBA jobs. Not only will Cal be mentioned in a lot of favorable job scenarios, but fans who despise Kentucky will want to see him gone.

[WMR]

Get used to 2 things:

1. UK getting the #1 recruiting class every year

2. Rumors about Cal and UK .... jobs, violations, you name it...

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

How much do you trust TMZ? Lots of unnamed sources and enough vague references to make a first year journalism major blush, but they did get the Oklahoma situation correct.

Much ado about nothing?

Or is it smoke and fire?

Well the TMZ article is correct on the facts so to speak. The NCAA is investigating. The only new information is that it seems to encompass more than just Bledsoe or Cousins(I think that's who the original inquiries were into, maybe Orton.)

The NCAA investigating and any of the inquiries sticking are two entirely different things.

The biggest problem with recruiting one and done players is that they have no specific motivation not to talk to an agent.
IF(NOTICE I SAID IF) one of the players knew he was going pro, and talked to an agent in his second semester, there's no punishment available. The NCAA probably won't find out until after the season, and in this case it's after he's been drafted. Unless the NBA wants to suspend a player for a year for talking with a professional agent than there's not a lot that can be done. But that's much more of an NCAA problem then one specific to Kentucky.

I mean Wall, Bledsoe, Cousins and Orton were at Kentucky for all of 7 months, unless they want to, why would they feel any loyalty to the program or care if it gets in trouble?

[Javy Pornstache]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Red

I mean Wall, Bledsoe, Cousins and Orton were at Kentucky for all of 7 months, unless they want to, why would they feel any loyalty to the program or care if it gets in trouble?

I understand you may be speaking rhetorically there, but, though I can't speak for Orton, I can personally tell you there is certainly loyalty to UK from John, Demarcus and EB, and you will see that as they return many times over the years for basketball camps, public appearances, team get-togethers, etc. I do know what you mean about players in a lot of cases not caring about the rules if they are merely making a pitstop at a place they never intend on returning after their eight months there or whatever. This is why it's so important to recruit not only on talent but on character as well.

[Scrap Irony]

I assumed the two players are Wall and Cousins, Hoosier.

Wall's "questionable history" is because of his relationaship with his AAU coaches, the Clifton brothers. His main coach, Brian Clifton, was an agent for a short period of time and passed some sort of test to make that official before he once again went back to coaching an AAU team, having never signed an official client. Then, after Wall left Kentucky, when he signed his Reebok contract, Clifton was his advisor/ agent.

Since Clifton helped broker that deal, the NCAA might have questions about his role previous. (Apparently, a father figure who deserves much of the credit for turning Wall around cannot then help that same kid later on in life.)

The second item is Cousins' choice of agent, I would think. He's a ham-and-egger who's only clients previous were European. Not only that, he's based in Seattle. How did he "get" Cousins, a Brimingham kid who then moved to Kentucky? Cynics would say he offered some cash early to turn the kid's head toward the Emerald City. (Of course, he could have also out-worked other agents, too. And it's not like Cousins and his family have always done the easy thing. They have a history of doing things their own way.)