UK isn’t landing small forwards who have guard skills. There’s only about one or two of them per class, and they’re always in the highest demand. UK gets close, but is often going up against Duke and Kansas for these guys, and both of those programs have a built-in momentum at that position that UK lacks.
Cal sells: MKG, Lyles.
Self sells: Wiggins, Oubre, and now Josh Jackson
K sells: Hill, Deng, Parker, Winslow, Ingram, and now Tatum.
That’s a damn hard scenario for UK to go up against. It’s precisely the same scenario Self and K have traditionally faced when facing UK for guards and true interior players.
All it takes is for UK to land one of those guys and Cal will sell it all day. Right now, however, he hasn’t overcome the machine that is Duke and Kansas at small forward. I’m okay with that, though, as UK has dominated the other four positions and still manages to land hybrid three men like Lyles, Washington, and Vanderbilt.