2019 uncommitted bigs

[Cats192]

Looking at what's still out there since we have such a big need:

McDaniels--Stud--not a lot of info, most guesses say he'll stay out West, but not counting him out.

Hurt--stud--most seem to think Kansas or Duke. UK in the mix, but seems unlikely

Trendon Watford--5 Star--Memphis/Bama the favorites. I don't think we're even looking at him. Could that change? Would he care if we came snooping so late in the game

Carl Lewis--#75 in the 247 Rankings for 2019. 4-Star Big man. Not a super athlete, but a grown man at 250. Doesn't seem like we've looked at him. Mostly smaller names looking at him: St John's and USC. Would probably be a 4 year guy. Don't know if he'd ever be a major contributor.

Chol Marial--3 star guy ranked 130. 7'1 to 7'3 depending on where you read. Long wing span, good shot blocker. He's thin, and will struggle early. But with a good training/nutrition program looks to have a ton of potential. Looks like AZ State, UConn, FSU, Iowa in on him at this point. Maybe if a blue blood came sniffing he would be interested. Doesn't appear UK has been in contact.

 

[Blueisbest]

I think our options for a big man are likely a reclassification like Todd or a 5th year senior like Nate Sestina.

 

[gossie21_rivals69805]

I think our options for a big man are likely a reclassification like Todd or a 5th year senior like Nate Sestina.

Reclassifying possibilities include Isaiah Todd and N'Faly Dante

 

[bucsrule8872]

Did some digging and I came up with two 5-star big men we should be interested in:

1. E.J. Montgomery- 6'10 kid who was a top 10 out of HS. Has some raw skills on offense and can block shots on defense. Has college experience. He played behind two studs as a Freshman. I think he could help us next season.

2. Nick Richards- 6'11 kid who was top 15-20 out of HS. Great shotblocker. Still raw on offense. Has college experience. Also played behind two studs last season. Could also help us next year.

These two guys could anchor the 5 spot for us.

I just hope Cal can convince them that UK is the place for them next season.

 

[Cats192]

Did some digging and I came up with two 5-star big men we should be interested in:

1. E.J. Montgomery- 6'10 kid who was a top 10 out of HS. Has some raw skills on offense and can block shots on defense. Has college experience. He played behind two studs as a Freshman. I think he could help us next season.

2. Nick Richards- 6'11 kid who was top 15-20 out of HS. Great shotblocker. Still raw on offense. Has college experience. Also played behind two studs last season. Could also help us next year.

These two guys could anchor the 5 spot for us.

I just hope Cal can convince them that UK is the place for them next season.

I just don't get the point of this post. Obviously they're big parts of our team next year. We have 0 depth behind them. Both guys are prone to silly fouls. We're going to need depth.

I was attempting to generate a discussion about guys still out there.

 

[Cats192]

Reclassifying possibilities include Isaiah Todd and N'Faly Dante

Seems most people think both are staying in 2020 at this point.

 

[wkycatfan7]

I for one haven't given up on Nick Richards just yet. Hope he comes back. Just a later bloom than most.

 

[Cawood86_rivals]

What about the kid Precious Achiuwa (hope I spelled that right)? Has UK even recruited him? He's 6-9 about 215. Don't think I've heard him mentioned.

 

[Cats192]

I for one haven't given up on Nick Richards just yet. Hope he comes back. Just a later bloom than most.

This isn't about giving up on Nick. Nick probably starts next year. But he tends to foul people at a pretty high rate. Need backups. I'm not posting about the #130 recruit in the country with the intention they come here and start as a freshman.

 

[bucsrule8872]

I just don't get the point of this post. Obviously they're big parts of our team next year. We have 0 depth behind them. Both guys are prone to silly fouls. We're going to need depth.

I was attempting to generate a discussion about guys still out there.

Just adding their names to your list.

A friendly reminder that we have a couple of pretty good big men coming back, if they so choose.

 

[akaukswoosh]

I just hope Cal can convince them that UK is the place for them next season.

Agree. Should be recruiting them as hard if not harder than the uncommitted kids.

 

[track42]

Nick's a good kid but can we be honest and say he didn't improve this year?I'm not trying to dump on him but his hands were still as bad as ever.He is what he is at this point.

 

[Cats192]

Just adding their names to your list.

A friendly reminder that we have a couple of pretty good big men coming back, if they so choose.

But my list is UNCOMMITTED big men.

These guys have been on our team for 1 and 2 years.
If either has serious thoughts about transferring or going pro, you’re probably not “recruiting” them into staying as it’s already a really bad decision.

 

[wildcatdon]

Precious is good and we should be on him. We need 3 more big guys even if Nick and EJ stay. I hope our staff will do more research on guys and quit putting so much emphasis on stars.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Reclassifying possibilities include Isaiah Todd and N'Faly Dante

I could see this happening.

Todd and Brooks at the 4, Montgomery and Richards at the 5.

Or Montgomery and Brooks at the 4, Richards and Dante at the 5.

I feel like Cal has cooled on the "big wing at the 4" types like McDaniels and Todd because we have Brooks. He probably wants more of a big body (Sestina) or a shotblocker (Dante) to complement what we already have.

 

[Anon1679859502]

Even with both bigs back you need depth and competition for them and the team.

 

[Cats192]

What about the kid Precious Achiuwa (hope I spelled that right)? Has UK even recruited him? He's 6-9 about 215. Don't think I've heard him mentioned.

He’s listed as a small forward, and from what I’ve seen of him that seems more accurate.

If you were going to play a small board at the power board position, we’ve already got Brooks that can do that.

 

[ACTSEAN]

My son played against him and a great kid just hearing not real smart. Their team has won the championship for the last several years. He is a really good player but some coaches have backed off cause of entry problems

 

[bigblue1971]

Makur Maker.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Precious is good and we should be on him. We need 3 more big guys even if Nick and EJ stay. I hope our staff will do more research on guys and quit putting so much emphasis on stars.

Even with both bigs back you need depth and competition for them and the team.

Guys, we don't want to bring in too many.

There are only so many minutes to go around and guys don't come here to sit on the bench and wait their turn.

We had four guys last year inside. Two are leaving for sure. We have two coming back hopefully (Montgomery and Richards) and one coming in (Brooks- a combo forward who probably plays the 4 a lot with Whitney at the 3).

We have 80 minutes at the 4 and 5 spots.

If you give Montgomery, Richards, and Brooks 20 minutes a game, that only leaves 20 minutes left. That's essentially one more guy.

Unless Montgomery and/or Richards bolt, I don't see the need to add 2-3 more guys. It's going to get crowded and that can lead to chemistry problems.

 

[monty41]

Precious is good and we should be on him. We need 3 more big guys even if Nick and EJ stay. I hope our staff will do more research on guys and quit putting so much emphasis on stars.

I highly doubt they do and would be quite concerned if the coaches checked rankings on rivals when deciding who they're going after

 

[UKCAT5FAN]

I want an ELITE shot blocker and a PG that can blow by people with quickness.

I dont care about offense, I want an elite rim protector, like a Nerlens Noel. Just someone who can block shots at the rim.

Then I want a PG that can create his own shot and can drive by anyone that is put in front of him. I'd like to see Cal use all of the scholarships available and go get a guy that can develop into that type of player. Would like to see him recruit a guy who knows he will not be a OAD or even a 2AT but a guy who knows that he may be given the keys in a couple years if he works hard.

We can still bring in the elite prospects to go with these guys each year but I think we have to also go after guys with no immediate NBA goals. Lets try using these scholarships for a couple years and see how it pans out. I think he has been trying to do this to an extent but in reality, he is just too good at developing players and they've gotten so much better that the choice of them leaving makes itself. So, I dont have many complaints with what Cal has been doing cause I think he has just been too good at his job in the practice gym. Thats why my only advise would be to cast a wider net and using the rest of the scholarships to see how that pans out.


Thats my 2 cents anyway.

 

[AGEE11]

I want an ELITE shot blocker and a PG that can blow by people with quickness.

Maxey and EJ/Nick can be that combo next year.

And with that combo, Cal teams are deadly.

 

[thebluestripes]

Did some digging and I came up with two 5-star big men we should be interested in:

1. E.J. Montgomery- 6'10 kid who was a top 10 out of HS. Has some raw skills on offense and can block shots on defense. Has college experience. He played behind two studs as a Freshman. I think he could help us next season.

2. Nick Richards- 6'11 kid who was top 15-20 out of HS. Great shotblocker. Still raw on offense. Has college experience. Also played behind two studs last season. Could also help us next year.

These two guys could anchor the 5 spot for us.

I just hope Cal can convince them that UK is the place for them next season.

keep EJ, let lil richards go

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

Looking at what's still out there since we have such a big need:

McDaniels--Stud--not a lot of info, most guesses say he'll stay out West, but not counting him out.

Hurt--stud--most seem to think Kansas or Duke. UK in the mix, but seems unlikely

Trendon Watford--5 Star--Memphis/Bama the favorites. I don't think we're even looking at him. Could that change? Would he care if we came snooping so late in the game

Carl Lewis--#75 in the 247 Rankings for 2019. 4-Star Big man. Not a super athlete, but a grown man at 250. Doesn't seem like we've looked at him. Mostly smaller names looking at him: St John's and USC. Would probably be a 4 year guy. Don't know if he'd ever be a major contributor.

Chol Marial--3 star guy ranked 130. 7'1 to 7'3 depending on where you read. Long wing span, good shot blocker. He's thin, and will struggle early. But with a good training/nutrition program looks to have a ton of potential. Looks like AZ State, UConn, FSU, Iowa in on him at this point. Maybe if a blue blood came sniffing he would be interested. Doesn't appear UK has been in contact.

What about Precious? He looked great in the Micky Ds game. Why aren't we in on him? He is still available, isn't he? Dude looked great in the dunk contest, super athletic. Looks like he has a great motor too.

 

[bucsrule8872]

keep EJ, let lil richards go

Why? So we can all complain next year about being so young? So we can gripe about how we need experience? So we can constantly make comments like "why can't Cal get kids to stick around?"

 

[bnewt]

Nick's a good kid but can we be honest and say he didn't improve this year?I'm not trying to dump on him but his hands were still as bad as ever.He is what he is at this point.

true, he just hasn't improved.......not sure he has the desire to either
an athlete that has no basketball skills

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

This year we had 4 frontcourt players and struggled at times with injuries and fouls. Last TN game PJ only played 20 minutes due to fouls and sit after only 6 minutes of play in the first half and then RT fouled out with 3 minutes left on the phantom call and it all went to hell. That was with having 4 guys. I don't want to think of just having 2. I like EJ and Nick and think Ej should really take a huge step up if he is as good as previously thought. He improved towards the end but still would do some stupid stuff. Nick should improve too, but talk about silly fouls. I could see games where both have 2 fouls in the first half and sit until the second.

We just need bodies. I like both of them but worry about their hands. Sometimes they seem fine and other times they seem like their hands are made of concrete. I still expect good things from both, but we need 4 guys. If we got the grad transfer and McDaniels or a reclass I would be thrilled. I really hope we don't have just 9 guys this year. I assume we will get to 11 s long as we only lose 4. Holding out a tiny bit of hope Herro comes back, but the latest I saw was 20th so not sure he will pass on that. He could be lottery next year though. Isn't next years draft supposed to be weak followed by a loaded class in 2020?

 

[UKCAT5FAN]

Maxey and EJ/Nick can be that combo next year.

And with that combo, Cal teams are deadly.

I hope your right brother! I dont think EJ will ever be the elite rim protector but he can definitely be serviceable. I want someone on Noel's level or a Tacko Falls level when it comes to blocking shots. Tacko cant do much else but man, its really hard to shoot over that dude.

Thats why I really wanted Bol Bol on this team. He would've be amazing here with these guys.

 

[UKCAT5FAN]

keep EJ, let lil richards go

That's just dumb! Sorry but if you cant see the need for Nick next year, I dont know what to tell ya.

 

[Rupp'sRunt]

Wouldn't sleep on Mcdaniels like this board is, its down to UK and Washington. A few months ago I heard the Cats were leading.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Maxey and EJ/Nick can be that combo next year.

And with that combo, Cal teams are deadly.

Agreed.

My starters (if Hagans and Herro leave as I suspect):

G Maxey- can create for himself or others.
G Quickley- can run the point or spot up for shots.
F Whitney- slasher with a decent jumper.
F Brooks- good slasher, good shooter.
F Montgomery- good face up game, developing post moves.

Baker as the first guard off the bench. Richards as the backup at the 5. Add Sestina as the backup at the 4. Allen provides depth on the wing.

That's a good 8-9 man rotation.

On defense, Cal switches everything, so quickness and length at every spot should help there.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I'd be fine to roll with Richards and EJ, with Brooks. Go small ball.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Wouldn't sleep on Mcdaniels like this board is, its down to UK and Washington. A few months ago I heard the Cats were leading.

Love to have him, but not expecting him to leave the West Coast.

 

[IrishMike409]

Guys, we don't want to bring in too many.

There are only so many minutes to go around and guys don't come here to sit on the bench and wait their turn.

We had four guys last year inside. Two are leaving for sure. We have two coming back hopefully (Montgomery and Richards) and one coming in (Brooks- a combo forward who probably plays the 4 a lot with Whitney at the 3).

We have 80 minutes at the 4 and 5 spots.

If you give Montgomery, Richards, and Brooks 20 minutes a game, that only leaves 20 minutes left. That's essentially one more guy.

Unless Montgomery and/or Richards bolt, I don't see the need to add 2-3 more guys. It's going to get crowded and that can lead to chemistry problems.

Good post. Sestina is a big get.

 

[CatsPaws270]

I want an ELITE shot blocker and a PG that can blow by people with quickness.

I dont care about offense, I want an elite rim protector, like a Nerlens Noel. Just someone who can block shots at the rim.

Then I want a PG that can create his own shot and can drive by anyone that is put in front of him. I'd like to see Cal use all of the scholarships available and go get a guy that can develop into that type of player. Would like to see him recruit a guy who knows he will not be a OAD or even a 2AT but a guy who knows that he may be given the keys in a couple years if he works hard.

We can still bring in the elite prospects to go with these guys each year but I think we have to also go after guys with no immediate NBA goals. Lets try using these scholarships for a couple years and see how it pans out. I think he has been trying to do this to an extent but in reality, he is just too good at developing players and they've gotten so much better that the choice of them leaving makes itself. So, I dont have many complaints with what Cal has been doing cause I think he has just been too good at his job in the practice gym. Thats why my only advise would be to cast a wider net and using the rest of the scholarships to see how that pans out.


Thats my 2 cents anyway.

Those prospects don't grow on trees

WCS was our last elite rim protector and it took him 2-3 years of development. Who is to say the 2 guys coming back won't?

And for a PG? Hagans was the #1 PG in the 2019 class before he re-classed and Maxey is the current top PG.

Briscoe was #1 on some rankings...we got FOX....SGA did his thing too...

 

[Cowtown Cat]

If Cal isn't recruiting someone, there's a good reason. Come on guys, y'all should know this by now. With that said, let's go get Todd.

 

[HagginHall1999]

Need to get Dante...besides us all he has on his list is Kansas and LSU....think about it.

Would be great to get that kid for next year.

 

[Susan2361]

Why? So we can all complain next year about being so young? So we can gripe about how we need experience? So we can constantly make comments like "why can't Cal get kids to stick around?"

I want kids to stick around, if they an help us. I'm sure Richards is a good kid, but realistically, he has NOT improved fro Fresh to Soph year hardly at all!! He didn't even play in the last game! A good soph big man should have played in that game if he was good enough. Just saying.

 

[UKCAT5FAN]

Those prospects don't grow on trees

WCS was our last elite rim protector and it took him 2-3 years of development. Who is to say the 2 guys coming back won't?

And for a PG? Hagans was the #1 PG in the 2019 class before he re-classed and Maxey is the current top PG.

Briscoe was #1 on some rankings...we got FOX....SGA did his thing too...

I know they don't grow on trees, they're usually developed. That was my point about spreading a broader net and using more schollies. I know the rankings of the players but those guys have the NBA on their minds from day uno. Even the great players that are highly ranked are few and far between. All depends on the depth of the class and how good of a class it is overall and Im not saying we shouldnt go after those kids as well because we should.

My point was simply about trying to find players that fit that mold. I never said anything about it being easy or hard, simply that we have to tweak our philosophy and I think that tweak should be casting a bigger net with the available scholarships. Thats all.