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Cal isn't done

HagginHall1999

HagginHall1999

Heisman
Oct 19, 2018
16,015
28,484
113
Nkycatfan17 said:
Please name 8 teams with a more complete roster than us next year with our team as it is.
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To the poster's point, you probably couldn't name 8 teams the last two years on paper that had as much talent as UK. It is about situations and match ups. That isn't a shot at Cal.

Guys don't always develop as we think they should. Lots of "slide Brooks and Sestina into the 4 spot....Allen is the SF" piece of cake....it isn't that simple with youth.

We need another guy. I'd bet pretty much anything that Cal is gonna add one. Our best teams with exclusion of 2012 which had 2 top picks in the draft have been loaded with interior talent and depth.

Here is my thing- If you aren't going to have a multitude of bigs who can rebound missed shots, then you better have a multitude of guys who can knock down shots. Right now we are sort of in between the two.
 
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Nkycatfan17

Junior
Jun 5, 2017
323
237
0
Some of you really expect to go 11-12 deep of all future nba players every year and it’s just ridiculous. We have 4 bigs that would be starters on just about any team in America next year with Brooks/Sestina/Richards/Montgomery. Not to mention 3 guards and 3 wings. Did Montgomery or Richards just decide to come back to be an 11th or 12th man? Did Brooks or Sestina commit to do the same? Will Blackshear or Maker or Todd or Dante? Why would these guys come here just in case one of the other players gets hurt or has foul trouble when they could start anywhere else? Playing 15-20 minutes off the bench is one thing but being the 6th man on the bench team in practice is not what these top tier players are looking for.
 
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HagginHall1999

HagginHall1999

Heisman
Oct 19, 2018
16,015
28,484
113
Nkycatfan17 said:
Some of you really expect to go 11-12 deep of all future nba players every year and it’s just ridiculous. We have 4 bigs that would be starters on just about any team in America next year with Brooks/Sestina/Richards/Montgomery. Not to mention 3 guards and 3 wings. Did Montgomery or Richards just decide to come back to be an 11th or 12th man? Did Brooks or Sestina commit to do the same? Will Blackshear or Maker or Todd or Dante? Why would these guys come here just in case one of the other players gets hurt or has foul trouble when they could start anywhere else? Playing 15-20 minutes off the bench is one thing but being the 6th man on the bench team in practice is not what these top tier players are looking for.
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Blackshear/Richards- 25/15
EJ/Sestina/Brooks- 25/15/spot
Whitney/Brooks/Juzang/Allen- 25/10/5/spot
Maxey/Quickley/Juzang-25/5/10
Hagans/Quickley-25/15

Just estimates but adding a big doesn't change much.

That is 10 deep + Allen who I think needs time to get healthy. I know there are advancements in ACL but you have to consider the kid is going to essentially have not played ball in almost a year and playing against more talent for minutes than he has ever seen. That surgery takes a 9 months to year to recover from for nearly everyone. He is going to be a great player here, just tempering expectations.
 
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fatguy87

All-American
Oct 8, 2004
13,764
9,093
0
It would be nice to go 2 deep at every position, but only 5 guys can play at a time and you generally want your best players playing as many minutes as possible. It's an extreme example, but taking AD's minutes down from 35 to 30 just so you can be "deeper" by including Vargas or Wiltjer in the rotation probably won't make the team better.

And this past season, having Washington and Travis play 5 to 10 minutes less per game for the sake of getting minutes for EJ and Richards so we can be "deeper" probably wouldn't have been a wise choice. Why make the team worse for those 5 minutes if Washington is capable of playing?

With that said, we are almost certainly better with Blackshear on the team. He has been as good as we hope EJ and Nick will be next season for 2 seasons now. He is practically guaranteed to be an outstanding contributor next season.
 
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bucsrule8872

Heisman
May 30, 2005
24,397
29,352
0
Right now, if we don't add anyone else:

Hagans, Maxey, Whitney, and Montgomery are locks to start, IMHO.

The other starter is up in the air.

Cal probably goes big to start games with Richards as the fifth starter.

I think the best lineup might be with Brooks as the fifth starter. Spread the floor and run the DDMO.

Quickley, Juzang, and Sestina should be quality reserves.

That's 9 deep, just like last season. If Allen is able to play, then we are even deeper.

If Cal wants to add to this team, I'm good with that, but I think we are contenders as is.
 
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J

JesusCal91

All-Conference
Mar 26, 2019
2,665
1,991
0
Nkycatfan17 said:
Some of you really expect to go 11-12 deep of all future nba players every year and it’s just ridiculous. We have 4 bigs that would be starters on just about any team in America next year with Brooks/Sestina/Richards/Montgomery. Not to mention 3 guards and 3 wings. Did Montgomery or Richards just decide to come back to be an 11th or 12th man? Did Brooks or Sestina commit to do the same? Will Blackshear or Maker or Todd or Dante? Why would these guys come here just in case one of the other players gets hurt or has foul trouble when they could start anywhere else? Playing 15-20 minutes off the bench is one thing but being the 6th man on the bench team in practice is not what these top tier players are looking for.
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No kidding and that’s why blackshear ain’t coming here either might as well hope for Charles Barkley
 
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wromanp7

All-American
May 25, 2003
25,529
8,252
0
HagginHall1999 said:
If you think Blackshear is worried about Nick Richards or Nate Sestina.....I don't know what to tell you.
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If I were him, I would be... all were told they’re not ready. Blackshear is no spring chicken and has to get his now with no wiggle room... I think UK is the right choice, but to think it’s a no-brainer is short-sighted fandom.
 
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Hoskins91_rivals

All-Conference
Jun 12, 2011
6,750
1,619
50
HagginHall1999 said:
I respectfully disagree kind person. I had plenty of people tell me we didn't need to replace Baker too.

Bottom line is this team will likely be fine without another big. BUT, Richards is the only true big we have right now. If he continues to struggle offensively and be foul prone, it will not turn out well.

Need a big jump with him and EJ this year. I personally would feel a lot better adding Blackshear or a reclassify.

I'm on record as saying Nick needs 4 years here to be best version of himself. He isn't a 30 minute a night guy right now and without that, could be an issue.
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Sestina and EJ aren’t bigs?...I agree that i don’t completely trust Nick or EJ yet, but I disagree we need to add a body just for the sake of it. If they can’t come in and be better than what we currently have, don’t bother.
 
K

kybassfan

Heisman
Jul 1, 2005
20,032
16,368
113
kennycat1 said:
I ain’t here to fight with ya but I disagree on most of that. Allen will be 100% by the time practice starts unless he has a set back somewhere between now and then. Brooks is PF with step out ability. I’m sure he can run the sf position in a pinch but I think it’ll be 80/20 PF for him. EJ isn’t a 3 in anyway but I do agree he isn’t a traditional 5 either. He is a PF. With that said, I think we’d be fine with him being our “C”. Cal will play small ball hopefully. JMO
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If Allen is under 12 mo post op from ACL, he’s not going to be close to 100%.
 
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Hoskins91_rivals

All-Conference
Jun 12, 2011
6,750
1,619
50
HagginHall1999 said:
I here ya and I hope Allen is back. He is from my neighboring county and I've wanted the kid at UK for a couple years now. I am sure he is working his tail off to get back, I am just not ready to set paper expectations on him as the primary backup at the wing.

My point on EJ is more that he isn't a 5 than that he is a 3. Clearly he is a 4.

From what I've seen of Brooks in watching him play, I don't see him as a PF. He is listed between 6'7 and 6'9, 185 to 200 lbs. In fact most of the sites have him even listed as a SF.

Either way, regardless of what we list Brooks, EJ, etc....they'll play what they are told. But if I'm looking at the roster and Sestina/Brooks/EJ/Nick are our bigs, I'm concerned as follows:

1. Bulk- NR is only big guy
2. Fouls- NR and EJ had per 40 foul rate of 6.8/5.7 last yr. Could get better, one would hope.
3. Depth- if anyone fouls out or is injured we are in deep sh*t.
4. Unknown- can say this almost any year but Sestina is coming from a mid major as a role player. Maybe he is better than Travis, who knows...but we knew who RT was when we got him. Brooks, again to me, he just isn't a 4....I don't see him banging with SEC bigs from a bulk standpoint.

Hey, but you are 100% right on small ball. That could be the plan....not disagreeing there.
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Sestina is 6’9 and 245 pounds. I trust him at center more than Nick, who only played the last two years because we had no depth otherwise.
 
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Hoskins91_rivals

All-Conference
Jun 12, 2011
6,750
1,619
50
Why do people think Montgomery will be good all of a sudden? We only played him as much as we did last year because we didn’t have any depth otherwise. It would be a big jump for him to be a starter on an actual good team.
 
K

Kennycat11

Heisman
Aug 2, 2006
8,128
18,470
113
kybassfan said:
If Allen is under 12 mo post op from ACL, he’s not going to be close to 100%.
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I’m no Dr and god knows everyone is different but Nick Scalzo tore his ACL in November and had surgery a couple days later..... he has rehabbed and been cleared for football activities and also.....

also, here is some info from ta simple google search stating that it could take anywhere from 6-9 months...since Allen tore his in December and had surgery on January 8 than that would put him right in the middle of the recovery time..... so saying he wouldn't be "close to 100%" probably isn't accurate..
https://www.medicinenet.com/torn_ac...care_professionals_use_to_diagnose_a_torn_acl
 
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ryanbruner

ryanbruner

Heisman
Sep 10, 2017
13,655
21,883
113
Wildcat-in-STL said:
Sf- Whitney / Allen
Pf- Sestina / Brooks
C- EJ / Richards

I think we're set in the front court
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I love Allen but I don't think you wanna roll into the season with him as your back-up 3. I'd rather slide Brooks into that role.
G- Ashton/IQ
G- Maxey/Juzang
F- Whitney/Brooks
F-Blackshear or reclassification/Sestina
C- Nick/EJ

This would be a line-up I'll be completely comfortable with.
 
A

Anon1679859502

All-American
Jun 28, 2015
4,869
9,172
113
It’s going to be a rough start going into the season with two bigs that hasn’t really shown anything
 
K

kybassfan

Heisman
Jul 1, 2005
20,032
16,368
113
kennycat1 said:
I’m no Dr and god knows everyone is different but Nick Scalzo tore his ACL in November and had surgery a couple days later..... he has rehabbed and been cleared for football activities and also.....

also, here is some info from ta simple google search stating that it could take anywhere from 6-9 months...since Allen tore his in December and had surgery on January 8 than that would put him right in the middle of the recovery time..... so saying he wouldn't be "close to 100%" probably isn't accurate..
https://www.medicinenet.com/torn_ac...care_professionals_use_to_diagnose_a_torn_acl
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Poythress. There are a myriad of other examples. Banking on an ACL recovery at 100% of athletic soundness in under 12 months is pretty foolish.
 
C

CatfanMike47

All-American
Oct 9, 2017
4,861
5,222
0
ryanbruner said:
I love Allen but I don't think you wanna roll into the season with him as your back-up 3. I'd rather slide Brooks into that role.
G- Ashton/IQ
G- Maxey/Juzang
F- Whitney/Brooks
F-Blackshear or reclassification/Sestina
C- Nick/EJ

This would be a line-up I'll be completely comfortable with.
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EJ will be the PF if Blackshear comes he’ll be at center !
 
*Fox2Monk*

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
44,960
81,055
113
Blackshear is the type who would give us a larger margin of error to win. We can do it now but with him we jump to the highest tier IMO.
 
LadyCaytIL

LadyCaytIL

Heisman
Oct 28, 2012
32,699
34,029
113
ryanbruner said:
I love Allen but I don't think you wanna roll into the season with him as your back-up 3. I'd rather slide Brooks into that role.
G- Ashton/IQ
G- Maxey/Juzang
F- Whitney/Brooks
F-Blackshear or reclassification/Sestina
C- Nick/EJ

This would be a line-up I'll be completely comfortable with.
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If Allen gets back to 100% ... he might even be a starting 3 .... his scoring is that great........ but to start if Allen isnt up to it... Whitney , Juzang and Brooks would probably man the 3 spot together
 
K

Kcats11

Redshirt
Feb 2, 2011
33
33
0
HagginHall1999 said:
JMHO...things to consider.

1. Allen is not even going to be 10 months from ACL + the collarbone. I am a huge fan of his but cannot reasonably expect much his freshman year.

2. Brooks is more of a 3 than a 4. I don't care what he played in HS....he just is.

3. EJ is not a 5. He is a big 3 or preferably a 4.

* Considering above I look for Brooks to be primary backup to Whitney at the 3...Sestina primary backup to EJ at the 4. Juzang will get spot time at 2 and 3 and Brooks spot time at 4. This leaves Nick to essentially man the 5 spot with little help. EJ isn't strong enough and Sestina is more of a face the basket guy.

For all of the above reasons I think Cal is trying to get another big in here.
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Agree with this, we need another big to play the 5 spot
 
T

The_Answer1313_rivals

Heisman
May 27, 2007
31,899
24,996
113
Hoskins91 said:
Why do people think Montgomery will be good all of a sudden? We only played him as much as we did last year because we didn’t have any depth otherwise. It would be a big jump for him to be a starter on an actual good team.
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Or Richards for that matter.

I mean I'm glad they are back. We are a better team with them than without but........
 
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*Fox2Monk*

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
44,960
81,055
113
bucsrule8872 said:
Right now, if we don't add anyone else:

Hagans, Maxey, Whitney, and Montgomery are locks to start, IMHO.

The other starter is up in the air.

Cal probably goes big to start games with Richards as the fifth starter.

I think the best lineup might be with Brooks as the fifth starter. Spread the floor and run the DDMO.

Quickley, Juzang, and Sestina should be quality reserves.

That's 9 deep, just like last season. If Allen is able to play, then we are even deeper.

If Cal wants to add to this team, I'm good with that, but I think we are contenders as is.
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I like the Havana, Maxey, Whitney, Brooks, Montgomery lineup nd maybe Quickley depending on how good maxey is right way. Then if we Ann Blackshear we have. Sure fire Great five with production every position. Blackshear gives us. Guy that can get us PJ numbers each game.
 
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kyblue22

Senior
Mar 6, 2007
35,947
887
0
Wildcats1st said:
Where’s the muscle? No we are not set in front court not if cal is serious about having a title team. What he has right now has an elite 8 ceiling and that’s pushing it
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Agreed, adding KB will really help getting number 9 .
 
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