catmandoo
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Member # 1284
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posted 04-25-2014 11:23 PM
Booker and Ulis will add a lot to next years team.
Booker with his outside shooting and Ulis with his passing ability and a good outside shooter.
The return of Andrew and Aaron Harrison to Kentucky for next season probably means a lesser role for incoming freshmen Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis.
That could be a good thing.
If the Harrison twins had declared for the NBA Draft, Ulis and Booker probably would have started and played significant minutes during their first season in Lexington. Instead, the two newcomers will get to practice every day against two future NBA players — and defensive stalwart Dominique Hawkins — and they should still see quite a bit of time on the court.
The level of pressure won’t be there, but the playing time will.
Andrew and Aaron Harrison will obviously be the favorites to start at guard, but 247Sports recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer said Booker could still be in line to make the starting five.
“You could easily do that and just play Aaron at the 3,” Meyer told the Herald-Leader. “Just like James Young played at the 3 — not a whole lot of difference there. That’s what I would expect to see. That’s what a whole lot of teams are going with these days: Three guys that are more perimeter-oriented, a ‘4’ guy who can stretch the defense and ideally also be physical, then your post player. They would work together fine.
“I think what Kentucky (could do) is probably just amp it up more on defense. Extend the defense, play more aggressive and utilize your depth.”
Ulis could be a big part of that depth. The 5-foot-9 signee would give the Cats a true point guard to back up Andrew Harrison, something they struggled with this past season. It would also give Calipari more options in his backcourt.
With the Harrisons, Booker, Ulis and Hawkins, the Wildcats will have five guards who can play solid minutes, and most of them can do it from at least two positions.
Meyer also described Booker and Ulis as two players who “are going to stick around a little bit” — meaning they don’t fit the one-and-done mold of many past Calipari recruits.
Both players obviously have dreams of playing in the NBA, but neither is expected to be a draft pick anytime soon. “They’re not physically imposing like your typical one-and-done guys,” Meyer said. “But they both have a great feel for the game. They have an IQ for the game.”
They’ll need to work on the rest, and learning against the Harrison twins will be a good place to start.
“They’re fringe NBA players,” Meyer said. “Booker probably has a little better chance just because of his size. It’s really tough for a guy at Ulis’ height to play in the NBA. It can be done, but usually those guys are freakishly athletic. Ulis is a good athlete, but he’s not a freak athlete. But … Ulis shoots the ball, he’s a smart player — I would never say he’s not going to be an NBA player.”
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