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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 07-09-2014, 09:45 PM:

Pitino's 96 team which arguably could have been the deepest of any team "all time". Derek Anderson, Tony Delk, Walter McCarty, Ron Mercer, Nazr Mohammed, Scott Padgett, Mark Pope, Jeff Shepard, Wayne Turner, Antione Walker, Anthony Epps, Jared Prickett, Alan Edwards, Cameron Mills. This years team could rival the 96 team but we will have to see how they perform on the court first.

No school has ever had nine McDonald's All-Americans together. Most coaches would go bananas if they had a couple of McDonald's All-Americans on their squad. Some guys would love to have just one.

That means that on any given night, the Wildcats will have four McDonald's All-Americans coming off the bench! How many coaches would like to have four in the starting lineup!

The VBDI (Vitale Bald Dome Index) says that Big Blue Nation will have the preseason No. 1 team for sure. Duke and several others will be banging on the door in contention for a high ranking.

Here's a thought for you: How high would Kentucky's second team be ranked if it played together at a different school? I believe the talent off the bench would be ranked in the top 15 in America. I will go out on a limb and say Kentucky's A-team is numero uno, Kentucky's B-team is No. 12.

The challenge for Calipari will be simple: Keep people happy. This squad must understand that playing time will often be determined by performance in practice. That should motivate the young men. Practice will be special. Talk about competition, the toughest opponents these players will face may be staring at them during practice.

This will be the most talented team that Kentucky has ever put on the floor. There have been a number of exceptional teams in the Bluegrass State gracing the court at Rupp Arena, and Rick Pitino had a lot of talent with the 1996 national championship club. But he did not have nine McDonald's All-Americans.

A lot of these kids will have to adjust, going from stardom on their high school team, to blending in to a winner on the college campus. In some cases, it will not be easy, and Calipari will earn his big bucks.

Some people have said that you could actually have too much talent on a team -- that guys may not want to share the basketball or the spotlight. I would rather have too much talent than too little talent, baby!

There will be a lot of smiles in Big Blue Nation this season. The big question is, who will start and who will sit? Playing time will be interesting to watch as Kentucky attempts to hang up another banner at Rupp Arena.

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Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 07-09-2014, 09:56 PM:

It will depend on the opponent who gets the most PT. Another factor will be have big a lead and how quickly the starters get up on the opponent. And on some nights Willis and Hawkins will get a fair amount of PT if the lead gets large. Cal's coaches should be helping to watch who is not getting a chance to play and keep him informed. He will have a hard enough time keeping track of what is happening in the game.

I see this year as an olympic type tournament. When you have 10 NBA stars playing in the olympics only 5 can start and the others have to be content to go in when they get a chance and show what they can do. Those who don't provide something on offense or defense will be cutting their own minutes.

Posted by Green-Bean (Member # 13551) on 07-10-2014, 01:23 AM:

The biggest problem I see right now, is I see, maybe some selfish play from The twins, trying to showcase themselves for the NBA. jmho.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 07-10-2014, 08:43 AM:

G-B, you may be right about the twins but Cal carries a big stick and he has options. He has Ulis, Booker and Hawkins and he wouldn't hesitate very long at all to have the twins on the bench next to him. There is no better teacher than sitting on the bench and Cal isn't afraid to do anything to make his point.