Malik Monk "uk top priority"
- Thread starter tank2009
- Start date
Man, I hope so. Not to mention how much fun taking Goodwin from Arkansas was. Those folks lose it when we steal their talent.
I hope you are right. Monk would be an incredible coup for Cal considering all the ties to Arkansas. He would be the most explosive athlete since John Wall.
That 3 spot though will be interesting. I like the idea of throwing Alkins in there as a Keith Bogans type 3, a big physical guard.
Getting Monk out of Arkansas would be the greatest recruiting coup in the Cal era. Local pressure is incessant; YET, if Cal did pull this off, the thought of a guard/wing collection that included Ulis/Monk/Simmons/Mulder/Matthews/Hawkins would be enough to force a cart wheel at a funeral.
If UK lands Bridges, I hope he plays the 4 spot and Cal uses Matthews/Mulder at the 3 spot. They have the length to defend the three and I'd prefer spacing over the traditional positional schemes. Simmons or Monk could also play the three if Cal wanted to use them together with Ulis.
Good gawd- save the hyperbole. Cal's previous coups include getting Terrence Jones after he committed to UW; getting Marquis Teague after he was considered a Louisville lean his entire HS career; sweeping in and stealing Anthony Davis just as he started to blow up; getting Goodwin from homestate Arkansas; getting Noel who was thought to be heading to Georgetown; landing Randle when everyone thought he was headed to Kansas; stealing Booker from his father's alma mater; stealing Ulis from Izzo late in the game; stealing Skal who was considered a Memphis lock; sweeping in and getting Briscoe late in the game; AND nabbing Murray from under Oregon's nose.
The Hogs are going to struggle this year and Anderson doesn't exactly have a lot of success to sell. I don't think getting Monk will be nearly as difficult as some believe. As you can see, Cal's done it a lot.
Bridges and Monk are the 2 guards I have always wanted in this class. Usually a guy will have jump-out-of-the-gym athleticism OR a sweet shooting stroke. But rarely does a guy have both to the extreme that he has. I love that he's a top priority and I'm glad he knows it too.
I certainly would love to get him and believe he would be better off at UK.. Of course getting him out of Arkansas could be difficult and I expect him to take his time before making a decision. Hopefully Cal can work his magic and Monk will suit up in Kentucky blue.
I'll stand by my statement, although I am in no way saying UK doesn't have a shot. I actually like our chances.
* Monk's brother has played for and been around the Arkansas program for a decade.
* Monk's brother is the principal handler in Malik's affairs.
* The entire Arkansas team went to see Monk play last season.
* Some of Monk's best friends play for Arkansas.
* Bentonville, where Monk lives, is 35 minutes from the Arkansas campus.
* Arkansas, as a state, actually cares about basketball - unlike Illinois, Washington, and some other states that housed the players on your list.
* Getting Monk is seen as absolutely imperative for Anderson by everyone around the program and within the state.
Of course, there's no real way to quantifiably assess what constitutes one coup from another, but of the players you named, which of them has a comparable list to Monk's? Most of the guys on your list - like Booker, Teague, and Randle - didn't even live in the state for the university that came up short to Kentucky. The local pressure for them to stay home was hardly recognizable compared to Monk's situation.
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I agree Jason. I'd say Simmons and Monk will be Cats.
Even with all of that, Monk can still make this a business decision. We had this happen to us this past year in football. Damien Harris attended 7 of UK's 8 home games, hung out with several players, and was all but a member of the team..... and then he picked Alabama.
Also, I just read on the C-J blog (that's something I haven't written in about 8 years) that Marcus Monk isn't playing an advisory role, and hasn't really even been involved in his recruitment.
Monk would save Anderson's job for another year or two.
Does he want to be the hometown hero for a year, maybe lead the Hogs to the NCAA tourney 1st round then go pro?
Does he want to come to UK, be a contender, make a deep run in the tourney, then go pro?
Does he want to be the next Qualls or Madden or the next Booker or Goodwin? I guarantee Booker and Goodwin are making a lot more money right now.
Hope the kid makes a good business decision for himself. If his brother is looking out for his little bros best interest he has to really think carefully about this.
Does he want to be the hometown hero for a year, maybe lead the Hogs to the NCAA tourney 1st round then go pro?
Does he want to come to UK, be a contender, make a deep run in the tourney, then go pro?
Does he want to be the next Qualls or Madden or the next Booker or Goodwin? I guarantee Booker and Goodwin are making a lot more money right now.
Hope the kid makes a good business decision for himself. If his brother is looking out for his little bros best interest he has to really think carefully about this.
I think we got Monk, Simmons, and Ayton. I think we're getting all 3 of those guys. We need to go all in on guys like Jackson, Adebayo, Ferguson, Alkins, Bridges, etc. If we do in fact get Monk, Simmons, and Ayton we'll still need to add one more big time player. I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being Bridges or Alkins. I almost expect one of those guys. But there's still a long time left to convince Josh Jackson to come. I want him here badly. Like real bad. He's like Paul George 2.0. But I'd happily take the following
Monk
Simmons
Ayton
Bridges/Alkins
And return
Ulis
Mulder
Mathews
Lee
Wynyard
Then Hawkins and Willis to fill out the roster
Monk
Simmons
Ayton
Bridges/Alkins
And return
Ulis
Mulder
Mathews
Lee
Wynyard
Then Hawkins and Willis to fill out the roster
That would be a great team. I want Bridges and he fits better, but MSU is going to be hard to beat for him.
With the big three (Ayton, Simmons, Monk) we are a contender regardless of who else comes in and who else comes back.
The team you listed looks very good and somewhat realistic (especially Alkins instead of Bridges).
Starters
G Ulis
G Simmons
G Monk
F Lee
F Ayton
Key Reserves
G/F Bridges or Alkins
G Matthews
F Wynyard
Mulder, Hawkins, Willis, and Floreal on the bench.
Bridges at 6'6-6'7, 220 can play the 3 or 4 for us. I like that diversity. Alkins is 6'4-6'5 and plays the 2 or 3 for us. Bridges seems to fit better to me, especially with us only having three guys to rotate at the 4 and 5 spots and having two guys returning that can play the back up at the 2 and 3 spots (Matthews and Mulder).
I agree about Bridges. I like Alkins but Bridges' extra couple inches make him more of a forward, giving him the edge for me.
Ehh. Let 'em both think that :sunglasses:
I'd assume Simmons is their top point guard priority and Monk is the top shooting guard priority.
Simmons and Monk are being recruited to play two different spots. They are both the top priority at their spots.
Arkansas has so many draft pick recently tho...gonna be hard to beat.
Seems like mama is the driving force behind his recruitment. And cal is the best at winning over mama...wasn't that big with randles commitment?
Arkansas had zero players selected in the lottery while UK had 4. Advantage, Kentucky.
More than that factored into his decision. But play devil's advocate as usual.
I'm just saying that mamas like to keep their children close to home (not just talking about athletes).
It was merely an observation.
You are the one that threw out a random name to make it look like I didn't know what I was talking about.
Take a poll of mothers sending their children to college and I say most of them would rather their child go to school close to home than several hours away.
Mamas want their babies to stay close to home most of the time.
That is another factor that could play into this recruitment.
Sorry to ruffle your feathers.
I never said you didn't know what you were talking about. However, you do consistently play devil's advocate to many of my posts. Zimmerman's coach's relationship with the UNLV coach played just as much of role in Zimmerman's recruitment. Monk's mom will play a very little role in his college decision.
I don't mean to.
Honestly, I rarely pay attention to who posts what.
But I do enjoy looking at every side of the issue.
Playing devil's advocate is in my nature.
That's probably why I teach social studies, I like to get people to question things like I do.
So don't take offense, I question everything. It is not personal.
