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Author
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Topic: We don't have a one and done player--yet!
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catmandoo
Player
Member # 1284
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posted 04-06-2017 06:35 PM
Evan Daniels knows he is about to raise your eyebrows. Kentucky basketball has produced a staggering 21 one-and-dones in eight seasons under coach John Calipari. There have been at least two per year. But that might be about to change.
“How about this statement: They don’t have a one-and-done on this roster yet,” says Daniels, Scout.com’s director of basketball recruiting.
How can that be? The Wildcats have the No. 1-ranked recruiting class (again), including five 5-star prospects and six top-50 recruits from the class of 2017. In Daniels’ own rankings, Kentucky landed the No. 10, 13, 14, 16, 24 and 45 high school players in America.
And yet, Daniels is right: Draft Express doesn’t have a single incoming Wildcats freshman projected to be picked in the 2018 NBA Draft. So, considering the top seven scorers from last season are leaving, should UK fans be tempering their expectations? Las Vegas, which already installed the Cats as a favorite to win it all next season, has not.
“Just because you aren’t a lock to go to the NBA doesn’t mean you’re not a good player,” Daniels said. “They’re all going to be immediate contributors, and when you throw them in with a guy like Wenyen (Gabriel) and some other veteran players, you’re going to be a good team. They’re going to be young, which they always are, but they’re still going to be talented.”
Also, Daniels loves Kentucky’s chances to land 5-star big man Mohamed Bamba, who is a likely one-and-done, projected by Draft Express to go No. 4 overall in 2018.
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http://www.ukfightsong.com/
Posts: 186359 | From: st. augustine florida 32092 | Registered: Mar 2001
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Tiptree
Administrator
Member # 844
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posted 04-06-2017 10:05 PM
I am kinda looking forward to seeing how Cal treats this class -- not next year, but the following year.
If Daniels is right, and the all come back the following year, what does that do to his entire recruiting pitch? If the gets seven really good players to come back for a second year (and maybe a few others for a third year! ![[Eek!]](eek.gif) ), will he be able to land the top recruits? Or will that change the entire dynamic of his pitch?
It will be interesting to see -- in 2018.
More importantly, however, to THIS Cat fan, is can Cal win with a bunch of really, really good 2nd and 3rd year players? I look forward to seeing how this all plays out.
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Tiptree
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” Thomas Jefferson
Posts: 13629 | From: Terre Haute, IN | Registered: Sep 2000
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Old Norm
Administrator
Member # 1482
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posted 04-07-2017 07:34 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Tiptree:
More importantly, however, to THIS Cat fan, is can Cal win with a bunch of really, really good 2nd and 3rd year players?
I'd say a lot of the answer to this is, "Depends on whether John Higgins is still calling games!"
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Pray For Our Country!
Posts: 36273 | From: Western KY | Registered: Aug 2001
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Tiptree
Administrator
Member # 844
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posted 04-07-2017 08:49 AM
Norm, you just scrapped the scab off that still-painful wound.
Ouch.
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
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Tiptree
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” Thomas Jefferson
Posts: 13629 | From: Terre Haute, IN | Registered: Sep 2000
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Bama Cat
Player
Member # 153
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posted 04-07-2017 09:10 AM
I really think this is what Cal really envisioned when he came here. Recruit the best of the best......but not all one and done kids. Maybe a couple or maybe three once in a while but have 3 or 4 kids each year that are great but will stay for 2 or 3 years. As has been proven, championship teams need a couple veterans on their team to win championships. Cal has even proved that. It can't be ALL ABOUT the players. You have to have a balance between the players, the school and the fans. If you don't satisfy all parts of the puzzle the home on top of the mountain could crumble around your feet.
Posts: 14186 | From: berea, ky, usa | Registered: Sep 1999
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blue hoot
Player
Member # 398
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posted 04-07-2017 10:58 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Bama Cat:
I really think this is what Cal really envisioned when he came here. Recruit the best of the best......but not all one and done kids. Maybe a couple or maybe three once in a while but have 3 or 4 kids each year that are great but will stay for 2 or 3 years. As has been proven, championship teams need a couple veterans on their team to win championships. Cal has even proved that. It can't be ALL ABOUT the players. You have to have a balance between the players, the school and the fans. If you don't satisfy all parts of the puzzle the home on top of the mountain could crumble around your feet.
That is exactly what I've been saying for years. You need veterans!
Posts: 1497 | From: Wimauma, FL | Registered: Feb 2000
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Bama Cat
Player
Member # 153
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posted 04-07-2017 10:04 PM
It seems that Cal only has time to develop the very top kids he brings in. The others seem to just be there to hold the bench down and cheer the team on. A perfect example is Hawkins. I seen him play and handle the ball in high school but it seems he never had enough direction to bring him to that point in college. We seen what confidence can do in the final games he played. He was not just a good defensive player because I seen him play in high school. It seemed he never let himself do that at UK.
Posts: 14186 | From: berea, ky, usa | Registered: Sep 1999
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