DeAndre Ayton Enamored With UK

Random UK Fan · Aug 30, 2016

"Lexington is where he wants to be."

Link

Montana81 · Aug 30, 2016

We'll see.

kyups01 · Aug 30, 2016

Wasnt there talk of him going overseas for a year a while back? If so maybe that is why Cal isnt all in.

kentucky_wildcat_#1 · Aug 30, 2016

This can't be right, can it? How many times have we had Ku posters on here telling us Kansas is where the kid's heart is. Ayton probably hasn't heard the latest recruiting scoop from Ku insiders yet about Ku leading for his services. I'll trust Cal knows what he is doing when it comes to recruiting. How much would it suck if it turns out this kid gets to play college basketball and ends up playing elsewhere? This kid is the type of talent that can turn a class from good to very good. If it's possible the kid plays college basketball, let's hope it's Kentucky. Looking at the kid, he has the look of a Cal coached big man. Just imagine a frontcourt of Bamba and Ayton. As many good frontcourts we have had while Cal is here, that could turn out to be the very best frontcourt yet.

westerncat · Aug 30, 2016

Is UK & Cal going after this guy ? Is there problems with grades ?

opinpi · Aug 31, 2016

westerncat said:
Is UK & Cal going after this guy ? Is there problems with grades ?

Not grades per se....sketchy high schools

jrpross_rivals · Aug 31, 2016

I've felt for a while that Ayton is ours if Cal goes all in. Problem is whether or not he'll be able to play. I think Cal is going hard for Bamba and he feels good about him. From what I hear, he's talking to Ayton too but he's trying to slow play it. If Ayton's recruitment lasts a while it would both give us a chance to better see if we can land Bamba and also see how Ayton's eligibility situation looks. Either way, I think the big-man situation will probably last into the spring before we know for sure.

Don't TrashTheCats · Aug 31, 2016

Sounds like Thon Maker and Emanuel Mudiay part 2. Would like to have him but don't want to be left in the lurch. Would hate to lose Ayton and Bamba. Come on Sandy Bell. Do your thing.

CoachX11 · Aug 31, 2016

KYtotheCore said:
"Lexington is where he wants to be."

Link

Slow play the girl, so that she'll fall head over heels for you when you finally show interest.

catdance · Aug 31, 2016

kentucky_wildcat_#1 said:
This can't be right, can it? How many times have we had Ku posters on here telling us Kansas is where the kid's heart is. Ayton probably hasn't heard the latest recruiting scoop from Ku insiders yet about Ku leading for his services. I'll trust Cal knows what he is doing when it comes to recruiting. How much would it suck if it turns out this kid gets to play college basketball and ends up playing elsewhere? This kid is the type of talent that can turn a class from good to very good. If it's possible the kid plays college basketball, let's hope it's Kentucky. Looking at the kid, he has the look of a Cal coached big man. Just imagine a frontcourt of Bamba and Ayton. As many good frontcourts we have had while Cal is here, that could turn out to be the very best frontcourt yet.

Josey Wales: Yeah, well, I always heard there were three kinds of suns in Kansas, sunshine, sunflowers, and sons-of-bitches.

hotelblue · Aug 31, 2016

"ayton up with uk" was the obvious title there. come on!

anon1763419335 · Aug 31, 2016

dont believe it.

i'll bet ben roberts is being played here. everyone knows he is a reporter...he will write what he is told by. recruits inner circles use that to their advantage. roberts really isnt an insider.

i love ayton, he is the best player in the class by far. but if he was THAT enamored with uk...call cal and commit to him.

LeonThe Camel · Aug 31, 2016

BostonCat2001 said:
dont believe it.

i'll bet ben roberts is being played here. everyone knows he is a reporter...he will write what he is told by. recruits inner circles use that to their advantage. roberts really isnt an insider.

i love ayton, he is the best player in the class by far. but if he was THAT enamored with uk...call cal and commit to him.

That is what I was thinking as well. If he wanted to be here, he would simply commit whether he has a scholarship or not.

TrustinCal · Aug 31, 2016

BostonCat2001 said:
dont believe it.

i'll bet ben roberts is being played here. everyone knows he is a reporter...he will write what he is told by. recruits inner circles use that to their advantage. roberts really isnt an insider.

i love ayton, he is the best player in the class by far. but if he was THAT enamored with uk...call cal and commit to him.

I think Roberts is just being a good click-bait writer. Have no doubt that Ayton is interested in UK, but him using the word enamored makes something out of what may be nothing - like Fisher did with Duval. If he wrote that Ayton has interest in UK, that isn't as exciting as being 'enamored'.

MNantz · Aug 31, 2016

Does he even have an offer from UK ?

Fadhi · Aug 31, 2016

LeonThe Camel said:
That is what I was thinking as well. If he wanted to be here, he would simply commit whether he has a scholarship or not.

I don't understand the reasoning here.. Has a top recruit ever committed to a school he had no offer to? Ayton is the #1 player in his class and is a teenager. I can't see a kid in his position taking a shot at his own pride like that.

ORCAT · Aug 31, 2016

the stat man said:
Does he even have an offer from UK ?

According to his profile on Rivals, 247 and ESPN he does.

LeonThe Camel · Aug 31, 2016

bluedog79 · Aug 31, 2016

IF I'm a center I'm going to UK. CAL gets centers drafted even if they flatout suck stat wise. Dakari and Orton come to mind.

LeonThe Camel · Aug 31, 2016

Fadhi said:
I don't understand the reasoning here.. Has a top recruit ever committed to a school he had no offer to? Ayton is the #1 player in his class and is a teenager. I can't see a kid in his position taking a shot at his own pride like that.

No coach will ever turn down the best player in the country if he wants to commit, unless the player is simply a horrible person. If the kid wants to play for a certain coach, all he has to do is say he is heading to School X.

westerncat · Aug 31, 2016

Don't TrashTheCats said:
Sounds like Thon Maker and Emanuel Mudiay part 2. Would like to have him but don't want to be left in the lurch. Would hate to lose Ayton and Bamba. Come on Sandy Bell. Do your thing.

Having Sandy Bell is a plus for UK. Knows the rules and is very knowledge. IF Ayton is eligible she will know.

mjj_2K · Aug 31, 2016

LeonThe Camel said:
The strange part is looking back at the top centers over the past years and how many made it to the NBA. Well really how many did not make it.

Andrew Bynum was a major league head case with bad knees, but he was also a key part of 2 NBA champs, and an All-Star in 11-12. Andray Blatche played 564 games in the NBA, with a double figure career scoring average, before going to China for the last 2 years. Neither of those are really failures, at least not in the sense of a lot of the guys you listed.

And you don't seem to be listing those guys in the order they were rated. If you just look at the top 1-3 centers in each class (using RSCI, not just Rivals), their success rate isn't really any different than any other position.

03- Perkins was 1
04- Howard and Jefferson were 1-2
05- Bynum and Amir Johnson (still playing) were 1-2
06- Oden, Spencer Hawes, and Robin Lopez were 1-2-3.
07- No one wanted to be listed as a center (and very few of the top players in what was a really strong class were), but Love was rated 2 overall, DeAndre Jordan was 13th.
08- Samuels, Mullens were a bad combo at 1-2, but Tyler Zeller was 3.
09- Favors and Boogie 1-2
10- Sullinger and Perry Jones 1-2
11- Another year without centers, but AD was #1 overall in the class. Andre Drummond would have been rated top 5 overall, but reclassified too late to be included.
12- Noel, Austin, Steven Adams were 1-2-3
13- Dakari and Embiid were 1-2
14- As you did mention, Okafor, KAT, and Turner.

Here's the top 3 rated PG's each of those years.

03- Chris Paul, Andrew Lavender, Brandon Cotton
04- Shaun Livingston, Sebastian Telfair, Darius Washington
05- Lou Williams, Mario Chalmers, Greg Paulus
06- Ty Lawson, Sherron Collins, Mike Conley
07- Derrick Rose, Nick Calathes, Jonny Flynn
08- Brandon Jennings, Kemba Walker, Malcolm Lee
09- Wall, Abdul Gaddy, Maalik Wayns
10- Irving, Knight, Selby
11- Marquis Teague, Myck Kabongo, BJ Young.
12- Rodney Purvis, Kris Dunn, Yogi Ferrell
13- Andrew Harrison, Kasey Hill, Tyler Ennis
14- Mudiay, Tyus Jones, Tyler Ulis

The lesson is that it's incredibly difficult to have an impactful NBA career. It's the 1 percent of the 1 percent of the 1 percent of the 1 percent. You can be a 5 star recruit, #1 at your position, a really strong college player, and still not qualify.

anon1763419335 · Aug 31, 2016

TrustinCal said:
I think Roberts is just being a good click-bait writer. Have no doubt that Ayton is interested in UK, but him using the word enamored makes something out of what may be nothing - like Fisher did with Duval. If he wrote that Ayton has interest in UK, that isn't as exciting as being 'enamored'.

i think what fisher did was pure click-bait. literally nothing there...he just dropped in a line.
roberts on the other hand...is claiming he has a source. all depends on how legit roberts wants to be in terms of a journalist/news guy. i'll assume he does have a source that told him that...i just think the source is playing him.

WildMoon · Aug 31, 2016

I really want to see Bamba and Ayton playing the inside together....

Would be insane...possession control, interior defense, and scoring would be at historic level...

Wall2Boogie · Aug 31, 2016

WildMoon said:
I really want to see Bamba and Ayton playing the inside together....

Would be insane...possession control, interior defense, and scoring would be at historic level...

I really wanna bang Kate upton but we can't always get what we want. I think cal will put some more heat on him but I'm not sure it will make a huge difference

WildMoon · Aug 31, 2016

Wall2Boogie said:
I really wanna bang Kate upton but we can't always get what we want. I think cal will put some more heat on him but I'm not sure it will make a huge difference

the gap between Bamba/Ayton combo at UK and you banging Kate Upton is like....

besides, i'm just hoping anyways. :-(

mjj_2K · Aug 31, 2016

WildMoon said:
I really want to see Bamba and Ayton playing the inside together....

Would be insane...possession control, interior defense, and scoring would be at historic level...

It never works.

Defensively, there are some advantages (sometimes). But people have fantasies about these giant lineups that never translate to any kind of reality. Spacing gets screwed, perimeter shooting is usually an issue, ball movement tends to suffer, and driving lanes tend to shrink because teams pack the lane with defenders. And the NBA, in particular, is showing that it's not as hard for guys 6 inches shorter to guard the paint as it is for the guys who are 6 inches taller to chase people out to the 3 point line. The rebounding advantage is overstated, because rebounding is about more than just height (ask Skal).

It only works if one of the big guys has serious perimeter skills (ala Dirk Nowitzki, or someone like him), and no matter how much Ayton might think he does, he doesn't. He's a center. Bamba's a center. Wendell Carter is a center.

wentzel25 · Aug 31, 2016

Don't TrashTheCats said:
Sounds like Thon Maker and Emanuel Mudiay part 2. Would like to have him but don't want to be left in the lurch. Would hate to lose Ayton and Bamba. Come on Sandy Bell. Do your thing.

Unfortunately, I think it may be Kanter part 2

Cawood86_rivals · Aug 31, 2016

BostonCat2001 said:
dont believe it.

i'll bet ben roberts is being played here. everyone knows he is a reporter...he will write what he is told by. recruits inner circles use that to their advantage. roberts really isnt an insider.

i love ayton, he is the best player in the class by far. but if he was THAT enamored with uk...call cal and commit to him.

Roberts is a very good recruiting source. Very reliable and doesn't just throw things out there.

CoachX11 · Aug 31, 2016

mj2k10 said:
It never works.

Defensively, there are some advantages (sometimes). But people have fantasies about these giant lineups that never translate to any kind of reality. Spacing gets screwed, perimeter shooting is usually an issue, ball movement tends to suffer, and driving lanes tend to shrink because teams pack the lane with defenders. And the NBA, in particular, is showing that it's not as hard for guys 6 inches shorter to guard the paint as it is for the guys who are 6 inches taller to chase people out to the 3 point line. The rebounding advantage is overstated, because rebounding is about more than just height (ask Skal).

It only works if one of the big guys has serious perimeter skills (ala Dirk Nowitzki, or someone like him), and no matter how much Ayton might think he does, he doesn't. He's a center. Bamba's a center. Wendell Carter is a center.

Yes. Unless one can stretch the floor, they clog up the paint for the guards.

I'd take either, but Bamba is probably a better fit.

Random UK Fan · Aug 31, 2016

Wall2Boogie said:
I really wanna bang Kate upton but we can't always get what we want.

Random UK Fan · Aug 31, 2016

LeonThe Camel said:
The strange part is looking back at the top centers over the past years and how many made it to the NBA. Well really how many did not make it.

Using Rivals rankings,

2003: Darryl Watkins, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/12271']James Lang, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/12451']Kendrick Perkins, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/12898']Brian Butch, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/48576']David Padgett[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/12271'][URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/12451'][URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/12898']Only Perkins is still around. Butch played some. Padgett was broken. don't remember Watkins or Lang

2004: [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/32471']LaMarcus Aldridge, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/11066']Al Jefferson, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/12970']Randolph Morris, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/14178']Dwight Howard[/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/11066'][URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/12970']We know all of these, although Howard was listed as a forward in the rankings

2005: [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/30038']Andrew Bynum, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/13062']Andray Blatche[/URL]
[URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/30038']Both were failures.
2006: [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/36509']Brian Zoubek, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/22142']Jon Kreft, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/1663']Greg Oden, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/17271']Robin Lopez, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/24324']Jason Bennett, [URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/30016']Brook Lopez[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/22142'][URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/1663'][URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/17271'][URL='https://rivals.com/content/prospects/24324']Only the Lopez brothers remain. Oden was "old" before his time and never recovered from injuries.

.[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

mj2k10 said:
Andrew Bynum was a major league head case with bad knees, but he was also a key part of 2 NBA champs, and an All-Star in 11-12. Andray Blatche played 564 games in the NBA, with a double figure career scoring average, before going to China for the last 2 years. Neither of those are really failures, at least not in the sense of a lot of the guys you listed.

And you don't seem to be listing those guys in the order they were rated. If you just look at the top 1-3 centers in each class (using RSCI, not just Rivals), their success rate isn't really any different than any other position.

03- Perkins was 1
04- Howard and Jefferson were 1-2
05- Bynum and Amir Johnson (still playing) were 1-2
.

[URL='https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjmpMe7-OvOAhXI2yYKHebXChsQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgiphy.com%2Fsearch%2Fimpressed&psig=AFQjCNGfNbv9kSxyKL0BLTaiYIHKPK1_bQ&ust=1472742591596517']

[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

anon1763419335 · Aug 31, 2016

Cawood86 said:
Roberts is a very good recruiting source. Very reliable and doesn't just throw things out there.

he does a fine job covering recruiting. big difference between recapping the box score and having legit inside sources. if you think a given recruit's inner circle is going to give out legit info to a known newspaper...well that is where we disagree.

i dont think he just threw it out there...i think someone told him that. but not for the reason why all want/hope.

RalphDaltonFan · Aug 31, 2016

BostonCat2001 said:
i think what fisher did was pure click-bait. literally nothing there...he just dropped in a line.
roberts on the other hand...is claiming he has a source. all depends on how legit roberts wants to be in terms of a journalist/news guy. i'll assume he does have a source that told him that...i just think the source is playing him.

Roberts source is a Duke guy--and they are scared after proclaiming Quade Green and Bamba "LOCKS"--and yes I capitalized for a reason. So what better way to try and sway things then to have that crap spread (UK guy thinking he's breaking something) and then turn around and point it out to said recruit. Thing is, not all recruits are as easy to influence as others, but doesn't mean the tactics won't be repeated. Which is why Calipari is always making statements to public that at time don't always make sense but you'll figure it out.

If you think it's beneath programs to use their non affiliated website guys to help them, you'd be surprised. Sometimes the guys get used, but most know the deal and try to sway kids and most importantly the people who influence the kids (handlers, agents, coaches, uncles, "personal trainers", "godparent", etc...)

LeonThe Camel · Aug 31, 2016

Wall2Boogie said:
I really wanna bang Kate upton but we can't always get what we want. I think cal will put some more heat on him but I'm not sure it will make a huge difference

You can have her when I am done. She will be very old by then by the way.

Cawood86_rivals · Aug 31, 2016

BostonCat2001 said:
he does a fine job covering recruiting. big difference between recapping the box score and having legit inside sources. if you think a given recruit's inner circle is going to give out legit info to a known newspaper...well that is where we disagree.

i dont think he just threw it out there...i think someone told him that. but not for the reason why all want/hope.

So we should only listen to national guys? He has been pretty accurate in his info and predictions.

WildMoon · Aug 31, 2016

mj2k10 said:
It never works.

Defensively, there are some advantages (sometimes). But people have fantasies about these giant lineups that never translate to any kind of reality. Spacing gets screwed, perimeter shooting is usually an issue, ball movement tends to suffer, and driving lanes tend to shrink because teams pack the lane with defenders. And the NBA, in particular, is showing that it's not as hard for guys 6 inches shorter to guard the paint as it is for the guys who are 6 inches taller to chase people out to the 3 point line. The rebounding advantage is overstated, because rebounding is about more than just height (ask Skal).

It only works if one of the big guys has serious perimeter skills (ala Dirk Nowitzki, or someone like him), and no matter how much Ayton might think he does, he doesn't. He's a center. Bamba's a center. Wendell Carter is a center.

I'm going to go ahead and disagree...you are just trying to look for nitpick issue because they didn't win a title.

Too many example just with UK team, which btw is usually a GIANT sized team that you seem to fail to realize (probably think all college team is that enormous).

Last year's team was probably one of the smallest team we had...hell 2012 team was large team too. MKG killed spacing at the 3, jones and davis was solid spacer, neither should shoot the 3. Jones kept on shooting it tho, but he became much better in second year about selection.

The key is to just surround them with right players. That team that went to national title with Twins as freshman, was HUGE team as well. They have absolutely 0 spacing. Twins can't shoot, young was terrible, randle sucked, and johnson couldn't shot unless he was below the rim...yet they made it to the final.

Basically what you want is get Bamba and Ayton, and surround him with player like Trae Young...and one more decent shooter. You'll going to kill every team out there. Bamba and Ayton isn't anything like Skal either. (Well, to be honest, i don't really know for sure). They are physical guys who can control the paint with their length, athleticism, strength, and size. (maybe not Bamba yet, but he'll get there).

People on here seems to criticize and over emphasis on shooting, because most title contending team we had was huge team that for some reason did not have single shooter, exception of 2012 which had Lamb.

And yes, you can have undersized player be great rebounder because of their tenacity, but i rather have big guys with length have that same tenacity, and we can control the possession of basketball.

Bungalow Bill · Aug 31, 2016

Wall2Boogie said:
I really wanna bang Kate upton but we can't always get what we want. I think cal will put some more heat on him but I'm not sure it will make a huge difference

But if you try, sometimes you get what you need.

JayCatz44 · Aug 31, 2016

If Ayton plays college ball, I'll be shocked.

SmokinGun9 · Aug 31, 2016

Fadhi said:
I don't understand the reasoning here.. Has a top recruit ever committed to a school he had no offer to? Ayton is the #1 player in his class and is a teenager. I can't see a kid in his position taking a shot at his own pride like that.

Isnt he at the same school as Mudiay and Ferguson went to? Be that the case, with the history with that school, why put all your eggs in 1 basket. Chances are very good he never plays college ball. It would kinda suck if he up and left during the summer next year leaving us high and dry. In the gray areas, I trust in Cal and his staff to know a helluva alot more than some sports reporter looking for clicks

DeAndre Ayton Enamored With UK

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