Toppin
Thiero
Reeves
Wallace
Livingston
Ugo
Oscar
Thiero
Reeves
Wallace
Livingston
Ugo
Oscar
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BB: 2023 Team now has 7 potential NBA players
- Thread starter TheResistance
- Start date
That’s wild. One of my least favorite UK teams ever.
What’s so frustrating is they were one of the most fun to watch on offense. Best shooting team we’ve probably ever had. But they couldn’t rebound or play defense to save their lives.
You’re thinking of the 2024 team.
Non-shooting ball-dominant PG offset most of that talent. Livingston on the perimeter not being able to dribble or shoot also hurt. Terrible spacing.
It was completely obvious to me that Cal was gonna sink that team riding with Wheeler. Just made terrible decisions about who to play and at what positions.
Those late Calipari years all blend together,
none of these guys will have an impact in the NBA. If you wanna talk about missed . opportunities and the team loaded with NBA talent it’s that 2018 team. That team should’ve been as good as 2012 team. It’s just that cal was ruined after the 2015 loss. No doubt we should been in the final four 2017 and 2018. People talk about luck 2018. We got all the luck in the world. 2023 team all of those guys you say are in the NBA if that team had a top 5 pick we probably win in the ncaa.
It shows once again how terrible of coach Cal had become.
19 is not 24.
SGA was the best player on that team by the end of the year. He was probably about the equivalent of Doron Lamb 2012 (different style, similar production). That 18 team had no one as good as MKG, or Terrence Jones, and certainly not Anthony Davis. And besides SGA, probably not Darius Miller either.
A coach allegedly made a joke once about how Cal would prefer to recruit the NFL combine. Meaning he wanted the most physically gifted guys he could find, and the actual skill of playing the game was often kind of secondary. 2018 was a combine all-star team that, without any veterans and without any mega-impact guys like Anthony Davis, was destined to be wildly inconsistent at best.
Since Cal's first year at Kentucky (2009-10), there have been sixteen (16) Champions:
UCONN 4
DUKE & VILLANOVA 2 each
UNC, KENTUCKY, LOUISVILLE, KANSAS, FLORIDA, BAYLOR, VIRGINIA, MICHIGAN
UCONN 4
DUKE & VILLANOVA 2 each
UNC, KENTUCKY, LOUISVILLE, KANSAS, FLORIDA, BAYLOR, VIRGINIA, MICHIGAN
2018 should have made final four. Theu weren't beating Michigan and would have gotten embarrassed against nova.
Not even close to one of my least favorites, they underachieved, but that’s because Livingston wasn’t nearly as good as advertised and has no business in the pros. AT/Wallace were young and not their best selves. Toppin was solid, but not upper tier star. Good solid team, Cal by then couldn’t elevate them enough to win. His poor game planning/ in game coaching caused losses as much as anything.
Baylor looks out for the count - what happened to that program?
Unlikely Virginia ever pulls one off again. You can make a case for every other program having a shot. Crazy that UConn has 4 in that time frame, two having played UK to get there.
Top 5 teams?
2024 UConn - I found that team unbeatable, they felt like they toyed with teams. Bama shot over 50% from 3 in the semi's and lost by double digits.
2018 Villanova - loaded with perfect spacing
2026 Michigan - ridiculous frontcourt
Stop dude. That team not being better than they were was malpractice. That team had elite NBA talent. Cal was terrible. I’m so glad he’s gone.
I think Baylor caught a bit off lightning-in-a-bottle that year with the start of COVID super seniors. Their guard play was insane.
Stop what? Being realistic? I know that offends your kind.
And I'm not even saying it wasn't a coaching flaw, just not in the way an idiot like you means. It was the flaw of believing you could put a team of 19 year old players on the court against guys with 3-4 years of college experience and expect to thrive.
But yeah, Cal blew his nose in your cereal and crapped on your bed and was 100% completely incompetent and blah blah blah blah.
And what "elite" NBA talent are we even talking about here? One HOF player, whose college career led to him being drafted 11th and traded after his rookie season? A second guy who is a decent, nothing special starter? And???
19 is not 24, idiot.
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Yeah I’m an idiot and you just said the two time defending MVP is not elite talent. You realize coaches have successful coaching careers without ever having as much talent as he had on that one team? And it’s not that that team didn’t win the title. It’s that they weren’t even that good. And yes, they had elite NBA talent, 3 lottery picks:
SGA was rated 30th in his HS class, and drafted 11th.
The fact that Cal didn't get the multiple NBA MVP version of him has jack sh** to do with Cal's coaching ability, and everything to do with the difference between SGA at 19 and SGA at 24. Because 19 is not 24.
I agree but having UNC, Kentucky and UCLA in the same bracket was wild in 2017.
No one gets the MVP version of their college stars. That’s a nonsense argument. Nova won the title that year. Brunson, Hart and Divincenzo all did less their rookie seasons than Shea, Knox and Washington. And it doesn’t matter what their rank was. Shea has been the best player on earth the last two seasons. Cal had 7 NBA players including 3 lottery picks and the teams wasn’t even good.