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Author Topic: Cal says newcomers better than advertised
catmandoo
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Member # 1284

posted 07-13-2018 03:02 PM      Profile for catmandoo   Email catmandoo   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Kentucky signed the nation's No. 2 recruiting class, which includes five of the top-40 prospects in the 2018 class in addition to Stanford grad transfer Reid Travis, who was considered by many the top player on the transfer market this spring.

Wildcats head coach John Calipari thinks his group of newcomers is even better than advertised.

"Here's what I would tell you. The young kids are better than I thought," Calipari said during an appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio Wednesday. "They have a chance and they work so hard. They're way tougher. The guys that watched us practice said this is more like one of your teams that can physically go after people. We haven't been able to do that for a while. We've had young, long talented guys but it took them while physically. That won't be an issue this year."

During the course of the interview, Calipari touched on five of the six individually:

Ashton Hagans: "Ashton is more of a downhill driver but can make shots. His game is more of a, 'here I come and let me find people.' I'm trying to slow his mind down."

Keldon Johnson: "Keldon has been, wow. I knew he'd be good but I didn't realize he has a chance of being this good. Right now, if you ask me the most consistent shooter we've had it's been Keldon. He's been the most consistent. His size, I had to put him against Reid yesterday because we're down a big guy and he did not back down. They were physically going at each other. And you know what else? I'm playing him at point guard some because he can really get in the lane and he sees people. He's pretty special."

EJ Montgomery: "And the other kid that's better than I thought, really way more skilled than I knew is EJ Montgomery. He's 6-11 but he has those skills that maybe not quite Anthony [Davis] but kind of more like that than a Nerlens [Noel] or one of those. He shoots the ball, he can pass it."

Immanuel Quickley: "Immanuel can shoot it. Immanuel is better and I coached Immanuel for a while. He's even better than I thought. And when [UK strength and conditioning coach] Rob [Harris] comes back to me and talks about Immanuel being one of the hardest workers we've had here in the weight room and all those things, that's where this group is."

Reid Travis: "My thing with him, let's lose some weight, let's be more about movement. You're not going to lose your strength and your power. We need to get more movement, more perimeter stuff even though at the end of the day we need a basket or a rebound you gotta go for the ball. I'm anxious when PJ and he come back together, where they're either on the same group or going against each other what that looks like."

Kentucky's 2018 class also includes 4-star shooting guard and one-time Wisconsin commit Tyler Herro, who is ranked No. 37 overall according to the industry average 247Sports Composite.


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Posts: 186357 | From: st. augustine florida 32092 | Registered: Mar 2001  |  IP: Logged
rlt4uk
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posted 07-14-2018 03:20 AM      Profile for rlt4uk     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Call must really think they can be special, with all the time he personally is spending with them.

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Bleeding Blue in south Alabama. Kentucky born, Kentucky bred,I'll be kentucky until i'm dead!

Posts: 9776 | From: enterprise, al 36330 | Registered: Sep 2010  |  IP: Logged
catmandoo
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posted 07-16-2018 02:59 PM      Profile for catmandoo   Email catmandoo   Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
It's looking good When you coach hands out accolades before the season even starts.

[ 07-16-2018, 03:00 PM: Message edited by: catmandoo ]

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Posts: 186357 | From: st. augustine florida 32092 | Registered: Mar 2001  |  IP: Logged
boomdaddy
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posted 07-16-2018 11:00 PM      Profile for boomdaddy     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I think they get early extra practices because of the trip to the Bahamas this pre season.
Posts: 8791 | From: paris, ky | Registered: Mar 2006  |  IP: Logged


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