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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 05-25-2017, 11:33 AM:

Having Hamidou Diallo back in the fold at Kentucky means the following things for John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats:

•This will be the longest team Cal has had except for the 38-1 team
•Defensively, this should be one of the best in the country
•The athleticism and speed of this team could be on par with last season’s squad
•They are deep enough at the guard position now
• Cameron Johnson as a Wildcat is likely out of the picture
•Instead of two surefire one-and-done talents (Vanderbilt and Knox) there are now three (Diallo)
•By tournament time this team should be primed for a deep run

So what exactly will this team look like as far as size, starting lineup, and the bench? Pretty damn scary if you ask me.

Starting Five:

Point Guard- Quade Green 6-1, 170

Shooting Guard- Hamidou Diallo 6-5, 190

Small Forward- Kevin Knox 6-8, 206

Power Forward- PJ Washington 6-8, 229

Center- Nick Richards 7-0, 239

Bench:

Point Guard- Shai Gilgeous- Alexander 6-6, 175

Shooting Guard- Jemarl Baker 6-4, 185

Small Forward- Jarred Vanderbilt 6-8, 213

Power Forward- Wenyen Gabriel 6-9, 213

Center- Sacha Killeya-Jones 6-10, 230

Center- Tai Wynyard 6-10, 254

Guard- Brad Calipari 6-0, 179

Link

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 05-25-2017, 01:24 PM:

I still do not feel we will have a total freshman starting five at the beginning of the season. I feel that Gabriel will be a starter for sure and possibly that Jones will play ahead of Richards. I saw Richards play in a couple of high school games with his team and he still has a ton of basketball to learn. He has only been playing the game for 4 years now, is tall and athletic but I would be very suprised if he is the starting center from day one. I also saw Vanderbilt play in the All Star games and feel that he is more talented than P J Washington so if his foot is ok, he could be a starter from the day one. It is a nice problem to have especially with the stable of quality forwards we will have on the roster next season. My big concern is at the guard positions, if they can measure up to the talent level of the front court, we could be in for a very exciting season.

[ 05-25-2017, 01:27 PM: Message edited by: SCWC ]

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 05-25-2017, 03:26 PM:

I'm with you. SCWC. I think either Killeya-Jones or Gabriel will start early on.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 05-25-2017, 03:49 PM:

It will take Cal a little time to find out just how good his freshmen are and who his starting five will be come SEC time. He has a lot to work with but some freshmen take time to figure out top flight college basketball no matter how talented they are. You can bet by tournament time barring injuries Cal will have this team ready to make a deep run in NCAA tournament.

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 05-25-2017, 05:19 PM:

One of the good things about Diallo returning is that he will already know Cal's system along with Jones and Gabriel.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 05-25-2017, 06:39 PM:

Unless some of the top freshmen really excell they can't all start. My starting five at the beginning, unless they just don't produce in the preseason, would be:

Gabriel
Vanderbilt
Knox
Diallo
Green

next off the bench would be:

Richards
Jones
Washington
Baker
Alexander

We'll have to wait and see how much improvement Wynyard shows. If he has gotten a lot better that could throw a monkey wrench into the whole procedure.

My picks for a slow start would be:

Jones, Wynyard, Baker, Richards, Alexander.

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 05-25-2017, 08:50 PM:

Early starters:

Killeya-Jones (Richards, Wynard)
Gabriel (Washington)
Knox (Vanderbilt; Diallo could play a wing also)
Diallo (Barker)
Green (Gilgeous-Alexander)

I think Jones will come on strong and be our starting center next year, and may be strong enough to hold that honor all season. But both Richards and Killeya-Jones will get better competing against each other, as will Washington/Gabriel and Vanderbilt/Knox. Our second-string guards seem to be a bit of a drop-off from our starters, which is a bit of a worry.