Bamba article on Yahoo

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

Watched some of the UT-Lipscomb game the other night and it was easy to see why he picked UT over UK. He's huge and takes up a ton of space in the interior but is allowed to do whatever he wants by Smart. Not trashing the kid but he talks a lot and his antics on the court indicate that he probably would not have been a good fit playing under Cal. Apparently likes the spotlight and being "The Man" at UT. IMO, the statement that Cal made about Kentucky not being for everyone applies to this kid. Could not get a real feel on how good UT is at this point but they do appear to be a NCAA Tournament team; not a contender but will probably make the field.

 

[Pope John Wall II]

Not necessarily saying it applies in this case, but it seems every time Cal "misses" on a coveted recruit we end up better off because of it.

Josh Selby
Shabazz Muhammad
Malik Newman
Tony Wroten
Chris Walker
Stephen Zimmerman

All jump to mind immediately as players we targeted and are no worse-for-wear for having not come here.

 

[Cat78Scot]

Not necessarily saying it applies in this case, but it seems every time Cal "misses" on a coveted recruit we end up better off because of it.

Josh Selby
Shabazz Muhammad
Malik Newman
Tony Wroten
Chris Walker
Stephen Zimmerman

All jump to mind immediately as players we targeted and are no worse-for-wear for having not come here.

Add Bolden to that list also!

 

[Dream Team 13]

Not necessarily saying it applies in this case, but it seems every time Cal "misses" on a coveted recruit we end up better off because of it.

Josh Selby
Shabazz Muhammad
Malik Newman
Tony Wroten
Chris Walker
Stephen Zimmerman

All jump to mind immediately as players we targeted and are no worse-for-wear for having not come here.

Mudiay and Tyler Ulis.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

Not necessarily saying it applies in this case, but it seems every time Cal "misses" on a coveted recruit we end up better off because of it.

Josh Selby
Shabazz Muhammad
Malik Newman
Tony Wroten
Chris Walker
Stephen Zimmerman

All jump to mind immediately as players we targeted and are no worse-for-wear for having not come here.

I agree with this. I think that Shaka Smart sold Bamba on the idea that he would have more of a chance to showcase his skills than sharing the spotlight with other players under Cal. IF that's the case, we're better off without him. Who knows what kind of "deal" he got at UT to begin with?

 

[DerekMcPwn]

This is definitely the case, and it was a concern I was vocal about while we were recruiting him. During his high school games, Bamba constantly made plays outside of his skill set - jacking up threes, driving the lane, dribbling the length of the court, spin moves, etc. Every single time it amounted to a turnover. At this stage in his game, he’s an obligate center, and you could tell he hated that.

Bamba is a tremendous talent, but he probably would have been a poor fit here. KAT and Anthony Davis had WAY more developed finesse skill sets than Bamba, and Cal still limited them to big-man fundamentals. Apparently that approach (and being a #1 draft pick/winning championships) was too old-fashioned for Mo.

 

[wcc31]

I’m having trouble finding any positives of us missing Bamba. He would have been awesome on this team.

 

[LadyCaytIL]

What does the OP have to do with an article from Yahoo?

 

[jwheat]

Put Bamba on our team and we definitely beat Kansas are probably right there with Duke as far as hype machine

 

[jcmc225]

imagine if Bamba had a coach that actually got the best out of him and didn't let him do whatever he wanted. Kentucky would be considered a top 3 team and there wouldn't be posts daily about us being terrible by some 'fans'

 

[AnarchoNeoLuddite_rivals]

yeah ive watched him too and seeing them RUN PLAYS for him to jack 3s is goofy. Right now thats not even close to his game and may never be accept as a token part. His build is awkward for that. Saying that having him in the paint would be damn nice. Too bad he chose his own game at Texas over winning at UK.

 

[stoneycat_20]

I agree with this. I think that Shaka Smart sold Bamba on the idea that he would have more of a chance to showcase his skills than sharing the spotlight with other players under Cal. IF that's the case, we're better off without him. Who knows what kind of "deal" he got at UT to begin with?

Bamba got .paid .did you not hear his brother?

 

[Col. Angus]

Bamba would probably be the best big on this team. He's raw offensively but still much better than Richards. Dude's so long he dunks everything around the rim and not has great touch on his jumper. Caught some of his raw highlights on YouTube and looks good (shows hits and misses both).

 

[1991greywildcat]

Nah, i still prefer Nick Richards, he is 20x easier to coach than Bamba, he has more potential than Bamba and will end up being better by March. Plus it seems like the love was never really there for Bamba from Kentucky's other 2017 commits, outside of Green. Richards got mad when a reporter ask him about Bamba potentially joining there class, Nick said they did not need Bamba and that he was better..

 

[docholiday51]

Not necessarily saying it applies in this case, but it seems every time Cal "misses" on a coveted recruit we end up better off because of it.

Josh Selby
Shabazz Muhammad
Malik Newman
Tony Wroten
Chris Walker
Stephen Zimmerman

All jump to mind immediately as players we targeted and are no worse-for-wear for having not come here.

Agree,I wonder how long it takes Cal to figure out "Kentucky is not for this kid"?How much does he have to see and how much rope does he give a kid before he has seen enough. Probably level of talent vs level of attitude plays a part in his willingness to 'fit' a kid in his system.Considering the current recruiting class I wonder where Zion,Bol Bol and Brown fall in this equation?.

On a separate note I wonder if the Montgomery kid who re-opened his recruitment is on our radar anywhere.

 

[caneintally]

Nah, i still prefer Nick Richards, he is 20x easier to coach than Bamba, he has more potential than Bamba and will end up being better by March. Plus it seems like the love was never really there for Bamba from Kentucky's other 2017 commits, outside of Green. Richards got mad when a reporter ask him about Bamba potentially joining there class, Nick said they did not need Bamba and that he was better..

This . Bamba is a better defensive player but Richards is better on the offensive end and Bamba also does play like a wild *** alot of the time. Richards needs to adjust to the speed of college but I love him as a player none the less.

 

[GonzoCat90]

If you guys use this thread to argue that Nick Richards is in any way a better talent than Mo Bamba I'm going to laugh at every one of you. Stop.

We wanted him badly. We needed him. He chose Texas for his own reasons, but he's a fantastic player at a position we desperately need. Richards was supposed to be the backup and grow into his game, not expected to shoulder the load from day one.

It's a miss. Shaka's developed relationship won out on a kid who is wired a little differently, but if you're going to try and use some revisionist nonsense about how we didn't really want him or he wouldn't have fit here, you're out of your mind.

 

[morgousky]

I would bet if anyone cared enough, you'd find plenty of rea$ons why Bamba chose Tx.

 

[Tannerdad]

Is his thread for real?

 

[Col. Angus]

Richards is better on the offensive end

 

[bnewt]

I predict by March that Richards, SKJ and a reliable few minutes each half from Tai make the post a strength of Kentucky. The amount the Cats will miss Bamba, factoring in his selfish play which I do believe is a factor, will be marginal at worst.

gotta disagree with this......Bamba would have blocked/altered more shots than these 3 combined. That is where he is missed. The opponents enter the paint at will against UK's guards & forwards with no one there to stop them. Bamba would have made them think twice. In fact after watching Ayton a couple of times so far this year, he is in another league compared to Bamba. The kid looks like he has slimed down & is virtually unstoppable in the paint. Not sure of the reason Cal didn't go after him very hard, but he is a difference maker & could have been the missing key to a title.

 

[hotelblue]

Bamba got .paid .did you not hear his brother?

i didn't hear anything. i was just watching his golden dolphin charm dangling.

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

I’m having trouble finding any positives of us missing Bamba. He would have been awesome on this team.

Only if he was willing to sacrifice for the team and play his role. Otherwise, we're better off without him.

 

[JC43]

Bamba is a talent, he knew he wouldn't have the ability to play on perimeter. He took a 3 in the game against Lipscomb. Cal would of sat his *** down.
Yes, he would of been great on this team in theory...would he allow himself to be coached by Cal? We will never know. Good luck to him, wish he did come here. Hope Richards will blossom into something more

 

[Cardsstink]

Bamba is a talent, he knew he wouldn't have the ability to play on perimeter. He took a 3 in the game against Lipscomb. Cal would of sat his *** down.
Yes, he would of been great on this team in theory...would he allow himself to be coached by Cal? We will never know. Good luck to him, wish he did come here. Hope Richards will blossom into something more

He actually shot THREE 3's against Lipscomb. He hit one of them. Shaka says that's something he's able to do...Shaka is being walked over by Bamba and that's why Bamba went there.

 

[TNCatfanforever]

Watched some of the UT-Lipscomb game the other night and it was easy to see why he picked UT over UK. He's huge and takes up a ton of space in the interior but is allowed to do whatever he wants by Smart. Not trashing the kid but he talks a lot and his antics on the court indicate that he probably would not have been a good fit playing under Cal. Apparently likes the spotlight and being "The Man" at UT. IMO, the statement that Cal made about Kentucky not being for everyone applies to this kid. Could not get a real feel on how good UT is at this point but they do appear to be a NCAA Tournament team; not a contender but will probably make the field.

Great assessment

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

What does the OP have to do with an article from Yahoo?

That was my mistake; for some reason the title showed up as "article on Yahoo" when in fact I had merely given it the name Bamba. I don't know where the Yahoo came from.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Add Bolden to that list also!

Quincy Miller and CJ Leslie, too.

 

[ATXCatFan]

It is going to be a long season with all my buddies reminding me after every basket he makes how much I wish he would have gone to UK. We could have used him for sure.

 

[Elijah55]

Not necessarily saying it applies in this case, but it seems every time Cal "misses" on a coveted recruit we end up better off because of it.

Josh Selby
Shabazz Muhammad
Malik Newman
Tony Wroten
Chris Walker
Stephen Zimmerman

All jump to mind immediately as players we targeted and are no worse-for-wear for having not come here.

I don't know who Chris Walker is but Lonnie Walker is a beast at Miami. Needed him!

 

[rick64]

Do Texas fans even know they have a basketball team?!

 

[seccats04]

If you guys use this thread to argue that Nick Richards is in any way a better talent than Mo Bamba I'm going to laugh at every one of you. Stop.

We wanted him badly. We needed him. He chose Texas for his own reasons, but he's a fantastic player at a position we desperately need. Richards was supposed to be the backup and grow into his game, not expected to shoulder the load from day one.

It's a miss. Shaka's developed relationship won out on a kid who is wired a little differently, but if you're going to try and use some revisionist nonsense about how we didn't really want him or he wouldn't have fit here, you're out of your mind.

Kid got paid. The brother had proof. No other reason to go there and be obscure.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

Do Texas fans even know they have a basketball team?!

Texas fans are "trendy", meaning they'll follow the Longhorns in basketball only if they're doing well. Other than that, it's all football. They have nice facilities, lots of booster money and a lot of talent in the state but they've never really reached the level they should have attained in basketball.

 

[Cardsstink]

Texas fans are "trendy", meaning they'll follow the Longhorns in basketball only if they're doing well. Other than that, it's all football. They have nice facilities, lots of booster money and a lot of talent in the state but they've never really reached the level they should have attained in basketball.

Watched the other night. Arena not even half full, which is the norm for them. Bamba didn't want to work hard for the 1 year he was in college, IMO.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

Watched the other night. Arena not even half full, which is the norm for them. Bamba didn't want to work hard for the 1 year he was in college, IMO.

That's probably a very good point. Seemed as if he were playing a pickup game with his talking and antics. Don't get me wrong; this kid is very talented and takes up a lot of space underneath but would not fit well into a structured offense where he would have to share the ball.

 

[Cardsstink]

That's probably a very good point. Seemed as if he were playing a pickup game with his talking and antics. Don't get me wrong; this kid is very talented and takes up a lot of space underneath but would not fit well into a structured offense where he would have to share the ball.

I'd love it if Richards got drafted higher by years end, but doubt he will. Bamba doesn't seem very serious, hope he gets pummelled in the NBA.

 

[seccats04]

Watched the other night. Arena not even half full, which is the norm for them. Bamba didn't want to work hard for the 1 year he was in college, IMO.

That and he got "extra benefit$." You think if he had chosen UK and the brother made those allegations that the NCAA would clear him within a week? Don't kid yourself. They would drag their feet as long as they could.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

That and he got "extra benefit$." You think if he had chosen UK and the brother made those allegations that the NCAA would clear him within a week? Don't kid yourself. They would drag their feet as long as they could.

It would've been another Kanter situation, unless of course, he had gone to Duke or UNC.

 

[AnarchoNeoLuddite_rivals]

Lonnie Walker beasting out at 7pts per game this year. You cant stop Lonnie Walker you can only hope to contain him.