CJ Fredrick is a Cat

[AGEE11]

Nice! Now we have three guys who shot over or near 40% from 3 in CJ, Allen, and Grady.

Bring in a penetrating PG like Alvarado and we look real good next year.

Alvarado, CJ, Allen, Grady, and Oscar (or Collins) would be a tough lineup to defend

And if Mintz comes back (I doubt he will) put him in at PG and you have Oscar or Collins with 4 shooters around them and makes the D have to defend them 1-1

 

[BlueVelvetFog]

I'll be the first to say it: I see his game as kind of a blend of Jeff Sheppard, Tyler Herro and Cameron Mills...

Yep..he’s got an Alex Groza, Kyle Macy, Dan Issel, Rob Lock or Roger Harden quality. Not sure what it is.

 

[Short-Dawg-69]

I am all for this and think its a GREAT get for us.

 

[kyjeff1]

Fredrick was Iowa's best perimeter defender and he's a really good player. To me he was the key player for their program the past 2 yrs. When he didn't play, they lost games. When he was on the court, they were at their best. Said this before the discussion of him being a transfer came into play--dating back to last offseason when Iowa's team was brought up.

This is a very good pickup.

Even though he was Iowa's best defender, he isn't up to Cal's standards. In order for CJ to do his thing here, Cal is going to have to let some things slide. Same with Allen. 3>2 and those two guys can break a game wide open if they're offered the opportunities to do so.

It’s going to be tough for Cal to let go of some standards, but if he does, guys like CJ can be a big weapon. CJ and DA are no good sitting on the bench.

 

[kyjeff1]

And Jackson for 13 and number nine

It is odd that he still hasn't signed with an agent.

 

[MakinMusic_rivals]

I trust Calipari on it. Not sure how this kid compares to others available but let’s go.

 

[RebelCat6]

Tyler Herro 2.0 !! He's a better shooter than Tyler I believe and can at least guard his man. Can't wait!!

 

[kyjeff1]

Cal said CJ held his own on D and he always guarded the best guard. Why so much disdain about his D in this thread?

See post #155 in this thread (end of page 4).

 

[kyjeff1]

Because we have a bunch of arm chair coaches who don't know what they are talking about. When you have 3 coaches who say he can play defense that is good enough for me. I am just thankful we got CJ here.

I don't think it’s the fans trying to be armchair coaches, at least with me and several others I've seen, it's about how guys like DA, Baker and Juzang were treated here. Heck, Quickly was also shoved to the back burner so Whitney could play.
Nobody can deny that Cal plays favorites with his NBA potential guys. He doesn't play the best players, he plays the best potential.

Actually, you touched on it in your next post.
Here:

Agree 100% Cal had to short of a leash on Allen and that did not help Allen's confidences none. At the same time Boston played very poor defense and Cal let him continue to play.

 

[kyjeff1]

This discussion proves that some on these boards are nothing but people who want to stir the pot. We jus got a 47% 3 point shooter and now you all want to discuss the kids defense? I bet the ones complaining about his defense have never even seen him play. It just shows their true agenda they are not UK fans at all but truly pessimistic people who probably have a "woe is me" attitude about everything in their life...I sort of feel sorry for them...

1) why are you focusing on the 3 people that have concerns about his defense?

2) it's not his defense that is concerning, it is the guy who decides who gets to play. That particular guy will allow NBA potential players to play turnstyle defense, but yank non-NBA talent the second they make a defensive mistake. CJ is not an NBA guy and after watching how Cal has treated Allen, Juzang and Baker, the fans are right to have concerns.

 

[Sparkaces]

I’ll say this, the defense that Iowa played against Oregon is some of the worst I have ever seen in a NCAA game, but from the way it sounds Fredrick was hurt and I didn’t really notice him playing much in that game anyway. Regardless we are gonna have Collins and Big Oscar who can erase a lot of these guys mistakes. I think we are making way too much about this guys defense, he will be fine!

 

[Ky_Bred_Cat]

Can or will Cal adjust his 'offense' to take advantage of these 3-point marksmen?

 

[BBallin23]

Tyler Herro 2.0 !! He's a better shooter than Tyler I believe and can at least guard his man. Can't wait!!

If he were anywhere near as good as Herro, he’d be in the NBA. This guy isn’t in the same stratosphere as Herro

 

[stuway]

Can or will Cal adjust his 'offense' to take advantage of these 3-point marksmen?

No he is seeking out and signing shooters to not use them.

 

[Sparkaces]

If he were anywhere near as good as Herro, he’d be in the NBA. This guy isn’t in the same stratosphere as Herro

Herro hit one three pointer in the NCAA tourny lol (although it was a big one)! This dude is a way better pure shooter than Herro, now the other stuff not so much.

 

[Ryan Lemonds Hair]

I was surprised to see that ESPN has CJ as only the 60th best player in the transfer portal. I really expected to see him in the top 20.

 

[SmedMoley]

Just to be clear, I was agreeing with you in this one. When I edited my post I accidentally deleted your quote & it made my post sound confusing.

I knew what you meant. You're fine. I never thought otherwise. As I say, we think alike.

 

[STL_Cat]

Tyler Herro 2.0 !! He's a better shooter than Tyler I believe and can at least guard his man. Can't wait!!

Other than being white guys with fades their playing styles are pretty dissimilar.

 

[BigBlueFan19]

Nice! Now we have three guys who shot over or near 40% from 3 in CJ, Allen, and Grady.

Bring in a penetrating PG like Alvarado and we look real good next year.

Alvarado, CJ, Allen, Grady, and Oscar (or Collins) would be a tough lineup to defend

And if Mintz comes back (I doubt he will) put him in at PG and you have Oscar or Collins with 4 shooters around them and makes the D have to defend them 1-1

My opinion, if we get Alvarado and add no one else, our lineup will be Alvarado, CJ, Grady, Collins and Oscar.

 

[Bluesnky]

It’s kind of amazing to me. The pieces we have for next year are very good and can really fit together well as part of a great team. At the same time, we have absolutely nothing at PG and might need as many as 3 more players to fill out the backcourt. And then we don’t even know about a guy like Brooks and what he might do.
The next couple months will tell us whether we will have a great team or a complete mediocrity.

 

[kyjeff1]

No he is seeking out and signing shooters to not use them.

All you have done the last two days is attack posters you don't agree with and call them "whiners", but it is you that is doing all the whining. I have yet to see you comment on anything but the posts of others.

Please let us know when you are done attacking others so we can go on with our day. My God man, the people you are attacking have legit reasons for their concerns, but you are ignoring them.

Newsflash, everyone likes Fredrick and most people hope he plays, but the concern is, if he can't D up to Cal's standards, he won’t play. So quit attacking people that don't share your exact opinion. It’s old now.

 

[G-PIP]

I'm really excited about what a healthy Fredrick can bring to the table for UK. I think the best version of Fredrick really fills a big need. But I do have some concerns about his health situation. Fredrick did not move real well last season. He's a better athlete than that. When 100% healthy, I think his athleticism is plenty good enough. But it appears that the injuries held him back. He also looked a little heavy and out of shape to me - relatively speaking, of course. Again, I attribute this to the injury issue. I want to see UK get the 100% healthy version of Fredrick.

So, my question is, for any of you in the know (regarding Fredrick or just from a general medical knowledge) what are the chances Fredrick gets 100% of his mobility back? I think even the slightly hobbled version can have a nice impact, but I would love to know more about Fredrick's injury situation. For example, what are/were the physical issues he was having; and more importantly, are these things that usually resolve 100%, and if so how long is it expected to take to get to that point?

 

[westerncat]

It is odd that he still hasn't signed with an agent.

I was sure that i had read somewhere that he had signed with an agent. I just don't see him returning if he is in the top 15 in the draft.

 

[kyjeff1]

I was sure that i had read somewhere that he had signed with an agent. I just don't see him returning if he is in the top 15 in the draft.

Yeah, that just doesn't happen at UK and quite honestly, if he was my son, there's no way he'd go back to college with 1st round money on the table.

It’s the second contract that really matters, so he needs to go.

 

[Glenn Fohr]

Why didn't we recruit him before?

 

[jameslee32]

CovCath is not exactly Hickory.


But here we are...

 

[nickhorvathsuxazz]

Lol? No sir.

We will be improved but nowhere near a title team with one of the best UK teams of all time with only 2 losses.

We'll be closer to 2012 than 2021 in the loss column. I'd wager on that

 

[Cats192]

This will be our beset shooting team, maybe ever. We've had some really good shooters, but this may be the best group of shooters. Get a good point guard to set the offense and we'll light it up from deep.

 

[RalphDaltonFan]

Even though he was Iowa's best defender, he isn't up to Cal's standards. In order for CJ to do his thing here, Cal is going to have to let some things slide. Same with Allen. 3>2 and those two guys can break a game wide open if they're offered the opportunities to do so.

It’s going to be tough for Cal to let go of some standards, but if he does, guys like CJ can be a big weapon. CJ and DA are no good sitting on the bench.

CJ is a better individual defender then being talked about. Is he a lockdown guy? No. But he was the best defender Iowa had individually--and the reason your team defense sucks is you can't guard the ball or protect the rim. While everyone worships Garza (not BBN talking CBB media) he was a one ender who didn't compete on defensive end and if you watched how hard he's rim running contrasted to how awful he'd get back on defense, it speaks volumes. The worst NPOY in my lifetime-it was predetermined and not based on being a great player-but rather a high scorer for a team that was overrated. They also insisted on playing Jordan Bohannon as lead guard and he couldn't guard a paralyzed statue. Add nepotism with Connor McCaffery....it's a bad defensive team. But what should help Fredrick and Allen--shot blocking behind them--Tshiebwe and Collins will be a major presence to help UK's defense and the perimeter guys--but if you land TyTy--the ball will be defended better then it's been in a while--Maxey was UK's best on ball defender, then Quickley and then Hagans--where Hagans was outstanding was off the ball defense--he truly earned his reputation in that aspect but his on the ball defense was overrated--gambled and got antsy and would go for steal or get off balanced with reach--Maxey/Quickley moved feed better.

Good times are ahead and I think those expecting Fredrick to be Kyle Wiltjer/Devin Askew like are going to be pleasantly surprised. I never have had too much of a problem with Dontaie Allen on either end-he's at least going to even out the pts he gives up and UK's problems last year were not because of Dontaie's defense.

 

[kyjeff1]

CJ is a better individual defender then being talked about. Is he a lockdown guy? No. But he was the best defender Iowa had individually--and the reason your team defense sucks is you can't guard the ball or protect the rim. While everyone worships Garza (not BBN talking CBB media) he was a one ender who didn't compete on defensive end and if you watched how hard he's rim running contrasted to how awful he'd get back on defense, it speaks volumes. The worst NPOY in my lifetime-it was predetermined and not based on being a great player-but rather a high scorer for a team that was overrated. They also insisted on playing Jordan Bohannon as lead guard and he couldn't guard a paralyzed statue. Add nepotism with Connor McCaffery....it's a bad defensive team. But what should help Fredrick and Allen--shot blocking behind them--Tshiebwe and Collins will be a major presence to help UK's defense and the perimeter guys--but if you land TyTy--the ball will be defended better then it's been in a while--Maxey was UK's best on ball defender, then Quickley and then Hagans--where Hagans was outstanding was off the ball defense--he truly earned his reputation in that aspect but his on the ball defense was overrated--gambled and got antsy and would go for steal or get off balanced with reach--Maxey/Quickley moved feed better.

Good times are ahead and I think those expecting Fredrick to be Kyle Wiltjer/Devin Askew like are going to be pleasantly surprised. I never have had too much of a problem with Dontaie Allen on either end-he's at least going to even out the pts he gives up and UK's problems last year were not because of Dontaie's defense.

Yeah, I know Fredrick is not Deandre Liggins, but yeah, he’s not a turnstile either, but neither was Allen. I actually thought Allen was a much better defender than Boston or Askew, but Cal always focused on Allen's defense, then he told us Allen wasn’t shooting.

The bottom line is, Cal is going to have to adjust his line of thinking if Fredrick and Allen are going to play.

But if he signs Hardy and Washington, lets just say it'll be interesting.

 

[RalphDaltonFan]

Yeah, I know Fredrick is not Deandre Liggins, but yeah, he’s not a turnstile either, but neither was Allen. I actually thought Allen was a much better defender than Boston or Askew, but Cal always focused on Allen's defense, then he told us Allen wasn’t shooting.

The bottom line is, Cal is going to have to adjust his line of thinking if Fredrick and Allen are going to play.

But if he signs Hardy and Washington, lets just say it'll be interesting.

Oh it'd get interesting in a hurry. LOL

 

[akaukswoosh]

I never have had too much of a problem with Dontaie Allen on either end-he's at least going to even out the pts he gives up and UK's problems last year were not because of Dontaie's defense.

Dontaie, much like Rodney Dangerfield, got no respect.

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

CJ is a better individual defender then being talked about. Is he a lockdown guy? No. But he was the best defender Iowa had individually--and the reason your team defense sucks is you can't guard the ball or protect the rim. While everyone worships Garza (not BBN talking CBB media) he was a one ender who didn't compete on defensive end and if you watched how hard he's rim running contrasted to how awful he'd get back on defense, it speaks volumes. The worst NPOY in my lifetime-it was predetermined and not based on being a great player-but rather a high scorer for a team that was overrated. They also insisted on playing Jordan Bohannon as lead guard and he couldn't guard a paralyzed statue. Add nepotism with Connor McCaffery....it's a bad defensive team. But what should help Fredrick and Allen--shot blocking behind them--Tshiebwe and Collins will be a major presence to help UK's defense and the perimeter guys--but if you land TyTy--the ball will be defended better then it's been in a while--Maxey was UK's best on ball defender, then Quickley and then Hagans--where Hagans was outstanding was off the ball defense--he truly earned his reputation in that aspect but his on the ball defense was overrated--gambled and got antsy and would go for steal or get off balanced with reach--Maxey/Quickley moved feed better.

Good times are ahead and I think those expecting Fredrick to be Kyle Wiltjer/Devin Askew like are going to be pleasantly surprised. I never have had too much of a problem with Dontaie Allen on either end-he's at least going to even out the pts he gives up and UK's problems last year were not because of Dontaie's defense.

My biggest question mark is CJ staying on the court. Can he stay healthy? If so, and if Cal is truly adjusting his offensive philosophy (seems that he will be based on these guys coming in), we could see some good thing next season. I think DC can be very good; he and OT should really cause problems for teams down low. So extra-ordinary on man defense from CJ won’t be needed; just play defense. That’s all it’ll take.

 

[RalphDaltonFan]

Dontaie, much like Rodney Dangerfield, got no respect.

Thought he earned respect from Cal and in a game that decided if you kept playing--Cal played him, ran offense through him and gave him last shot. That's all he can do to admit he was wrong and to instill some confidence in the guy. Coaches make mistakes--and honestly it would've been a lot easier for Cal to see Allen's talents if Terrence Clarke was healthy/playing as he'd be a much better defensive player/slasher to get more open looks. When BJ couldn't make anything at rim/or draw fouls-it was awful and throw on top of that UK played without a big time PG all year--you get what we all saw.

Dontaie is a good role player who has moments he needs to be on the court more and some less--but he'll be playing his way into role that Willis/Hawkins had and they all had success at UK and earned role/minutes.

 

[ganner918_rivals60369]

This will be our beset shooting team, maybe ever. We've had some really good shooters, but this may be the best group of shooters. Get a good point guard to set the offense and we'll light it up from deep.

2011 shot 39.7% as a team, with 5 guys including Jones who could and did shoot. That'll be hard to top.

Cal hasn't recruited a lot of shooters lately, but we've seen he can use a team of shooters.

 

[BigRedMachineBigBlueNation]

Nice to see a fellow Colonel play for the Cats

 

[Dablueman]

I don't think it’s the fans trying to be armchair coaches, at least with me and several others I've seen, it's about how guys like DA, Baker and Juzang were treated here. Heck, Quickly was also shoved to the back burner so Whitney could play.
Nobody can deny that Cal plays favorites with his NBA potential guys. He doesn't play the best players, he plays the best potential.

Actually, you touched on it in your next post.
Here:

Which NBA style one and done player do you seem to think steals his playing time? As of right now Collins is the only kid who even matches that description. Right now we have no pg, Alan who we all know.doesnt meet that description, Toppin who doesnt meet that description, can't be talking bout Mintz if he comes back! Hopkins is a 4 star so not him. So unless some miracle 5tar HS wing reclasses and commits here pr decommits from somewhere else and commits here. I'm not seeing how ur scenario plays out. Don't get me wrong I understand where ur coming from wirh the Alan/Boston situation last year I just don't see how that same scenario can play out on the wing next season right now as it stands it's an all hands on deck in the back court

 

[DudahUK]

I'm really excited about what a healthy Fredrick can bring to the table for UK. I think the best version of Fredrick really fills a big need. But I do have some concerns about his health situation. Fredrick did not move real well last season. He's a better athlete than that. When 100% healthy, I think his athleticism is plenty good enough. But it appears that the injuries held him back. He also looked a little heavy and out of shape to me - relatively speaking, of course. Again, I attribute this to the injury issue. I want to see UK get the 100% healthy version of Fredrick.

So, my question is, for any of you in the know (regarding Fredrick or just from a general medical knowledge) what are the chances Fredrick gets 100% of his mobility back? I think even the slightly hobbled version can have a nice impact, but I would love to know more about Fredrick's injury situation. For example, what are/were the physical issues he was having; and more importantly, are these things that usually resolve 100%, and if so how long is it expected to take to get to that point?

I think I read he’s expected to be 100 percent this year so I would assume back to normal.

 

[kyjeff1]

Which NBA style one and done player do you seem to think steals his playing time? As of right now Collins is the only kid who even matches that description. Right now we have no pg, Alan who we all know.doesnt meet that description, Toppin who doesnt meet that description, can't be talking bout Mintz if he comes back! Hopkins is a 4 star so not him. So unless some miracle 5tar HS wing reclasses and commits here pr decommits from somewhere else and commits here. I'm not seeing how ur scenario plays out. Don't get me wrong I understand where ur coming from wirh the Alan/Boston situation last year I just don't see how that same scenario can play out on the wing next season right now as it stands it's an all hands on deck in the back court

He's not done recruiting yet

 

[Dablueman]

He's not done recruiting yet

Like I said what player matches your description that would take time away from CJ