Finishing 21 class

[Darezay]

Gonna get FLAMED for these takes but here are my BOLD predictions for who will come

-Sallis
-Collins
-Hardy
-Diabate

and my BOLD prediction
-Baldwin

Jai and Cal start their tenure together with a surprise bang

 

[akaukswoosh]

More likely Banchero backs out of his Dook commitment to come here than Baldwin chooses UK.

 

[TFCat11]

I think 1 out of those 5, because I think UK only loses 2 from this team, sans Sarr.

 

[bgoad72]

I like your optimism, but Baldwin is. It coming here. At this point We are not getting hardy either.
Collins and Sallis I think we have a good chance on.

 

[gracetoyou]

Baldwin is not happening.

Hardy unlikely...G-League more likely & if not UCLA due to COVID times. Hope that's wrong though

 

[drew_ukfan_rivals]

Really thought this was gonna be a post about how you’ve worked really hard to get your English degree and the end is finally in sight

 

[CatfanMike47]

More likely Banchero backs out of his Dook commitment to come here than Baldwin chooses UK.

I say Baldwin plays for his dad

 

[bbanks81]

If I had to put money on it, I think our class will end up being

Sallis
Hickman
Hopkins
Collins
Transfer Guard TBD
Transfer Guard TBD
Transfer Big TBD

There is no way we don’t get a surprise on a player or two either going to the draft when they shouldn’t or they feel like they are being recruited over and get “home sick”. It will be the first time Cal at UK doesn’t get a top 2 class most likely.....so we will have to settle for a SOLID top 5 class. We will be fine!!

 

[RunninRichie]

Hardy
Sallis
Collins
Hickman
that’s the class

 

[CatfanMike47]

Diabte sp, Sallis, Hopkins, Hickman, and maybe Collins

 

[true-blue1]

I think Hardy goes to G-league, Baldwin to Duke, Clark to Unc if he reclassifies and I’m going with Hickman, Sallis, Hopkins and possible Collins to round out out 2021 class, imo.

 

[Gassy_Knowls]

I’ll wait for Caneintally to tell me who we are getting before I form an opinion

 

[bucsrule8872]

My prediction for our class:

Hickman
Hopkins
Sallis
Collins

Return:

Allen
Fletcher
Toppin
Ware

Then add 2-3 transfers.

 

[seccats04]

Gonna get FLAMED for these takes but here are my BOLD predictions for who will come

-Sallis
-Collins
-Hardy
-Diabate

and my BOLD prediction
-Baldwin

Jai and Cal start their tenure together with a surprise bang

Baldwin has the most Dukie looking face I’ve seen since Poop Tooth. He’s not coming here.

 

[macaca]

Hickman
Hopkins
Sallis
Diabate or Collins
Probably a 5th guy nobody is talking about

 

[RalphDaltonFan]

Gonna get FLAMED for these takes but here are my BOLD predictions for who will come

-Sallis
-Collins
-Hardy
-Diabate

and my BOLD prediction
-Baldwin

Jai and Cal start their tenure together with a surprise bang

If Baldwin Jr wound up at UK, think it would be the biggest surprise ever because they've not invested much in that recruitment at all.

I'd take 3 of the 4 you listed above because I expect Hopkins to be a Cat with Hickman and from what I was told they don't want a huge class in '21 but will load up in '22 like '20.

 

[bnewt]

maybe Baldwin will play for his Dad

 

[CatfanMike47]

maybe Baldwin will play for his Dad

That’s what I think happens

 

[Darezay]

Really thought this was gonna be a post about how you’ve worked really hard to get your English degree and the end is finally in sight

I couldn’t get an English degree. Not the writing type of guy

 

[RalphDaltonFan]

I think Baldwin Jr is the worst #1 ranked recruit I've seen since BJ Mullens. He's good, but the best player in the country isn't putting up hornswaggle numbers in an AAU game against Banchero and crew. I mean the guy was like 6 to 8 pts, shot poorly and looked weak physically.

I'll be surprised if he's #1 at the end of the year. He should thank Clarke, Kuminga, etc...for moving to '20 because he would be closer to being out of top 10 if they all stuck around.

 

[dakid_0812]

I think Baldwin Jr is the worst #1 ranked recruit I've seen since BJ Mullens. He's good, but the best player in the country isn't putting up hornswaggle numbers in an AAU game against Banchero and crew. I mean the guy was like 6 to 8 pts, shot poorly and looked weak physically.

I'll be surprised if he's #1 at the end of the year. He should thank Clarke, Kuminga, etc...for moving to '20 because he would be closer to being out of top 10 if they all stuck around.

You‘re a great poster and resource to this board, but you’re WAY off on this one. My son plays high level AAU, and he’s played against Pat since 5th grade. Pat has always been top 3 player in this class. He had a bad outing. Hes not a flashy athlete, but his shooting strokeand handle for a 6’10 kid is outstanding. He’s going to be at least as good as Cam Johnson in college and he was All Acc And lotto pick

 

[RalphDaltonFan]

You‘re a great poster and resource to this board, but you’re WAY off on this one. My son plays high level AAU, and he’s played against Pat since 5th grade. Pat has always been top 3 player in this class. He had a bad outing. Hes not a flashy athlete, but his shooting strokeand handle for a 6’10 kid is outstanding. He’s going to be at least as good as Cam Johnson in college and he was All Acc And lotto pick

Cam Johnson is a fine player. Baldwin JR is a good player but #1 in the country is what we're discussing. This is a reflection of a horrible class. I've watched him play his peers and it's not been anything that remotely speaks to him being an elite #1 player in the country worthy player. Some classes are like that. I think he'll be a great college player and do well wherever he goes-I think his best fit is UNC which is ironic because you mentioned Cam Johnson, but haven't liked how soft and disappearing act he's pulled when other elite guys are going at him. The #1 player in country should be guy who accepts/covets all gunning for him, not being 4th best player on court--that Banchero/Baldwin game was hyped as something special and was very mediocre outing for both guys-Banchero trying to be a perimeter guy and Baldwin looked so weak. We can only judge based on what we've seen and in the outings I've seen.....no way is this guy the best player in this or any class.

 

[michael895]

I think Baldwin Jr is the worst #1 ranked recruit I've seen since BJ Mullens. He's good, but the best player in the country isn't putting up hornswaggle numbers in an AAU game against Banchero and crew. I mean the guy was like 6 to 8 pts, shot poorly and looked weak physically.

I'll be surprised if he's #1 at the end of the year. He should thank Clarke, Kuminga, etc...for moving to '20 because he would be closer to being out of top 10 if they all stuck around.

Cmon, obviously he had an outright terrible game against Banchero, but he has been ranked top 3 in his class since his freshman year for a reason.

 

[RalphDaltonFan]

Cmon, obviously he had an outright terrible game against Banchero, but he has been ranked top 3 in his class since his freshman year for a reason.

And he should've been knocked down last Summer. Rankings don't matter as much as how you play. There are a lot of guys who hold spots and peers catch up/pass them up. Last Summer was one that sure seemed to be taking place. I think he's going to be a really good college player, would like him at UK if there was a chance (there's none from what I have been told) but #1 in class is really a reflection of this class more then his level of play or growth as a player. He's been passed by peers who moved on and this is a horrible #1 player. Skal Labissiere proved to be that, but nothing was as awful as BJ Mullens and that group.

 

[michael895]

And he should've been knocked down last Summer. Rankings don't matter as much as how you play. There are a lot of guys who hold spots and peers catch up/pass them up. Last Summer was one that sure seemed to be taking place. I think he's going to be a really good college player, would like him at UK if there was a chance (there's none from what I have been told) but #1 in class is really a reflection of this class more then his level of play or growth as a player. He's been passed by peers who moved on and this is a horrible #1 player. Skal Labissiere proved to be that, but nothing was as awful as BJ Mullens and that group.

Gotcha, I would also put him at 3 behind PB and Chet due to his mediocre defense but his capabilities on offense at his size will translate nicely to college ball and the NBA. Also I don't think its fair to mention him and skal together either.

 

[RalphDaltonFan]

Gotcha, I would also put him at 3 behind PB and Chet due to his mediocre defense but his capabilities on offense at his size will translate nicely to college ball and the NBA. Also I don't think its fair to mention him and skal together either.

Skal was the last #1 guy who didn't pan out and was overrated. Now Baldwin Jr has been far more active and didn't have the circus handling like Skal, but really aside from him, I date back to BJ Mullens as the worst #1 player I've ever seen ranked that high and it was courtesy of Jerry Meyer's ignorance.

 

[michael895]

Skal was the last #1 guy who didn't pan out and was overrated. Now Baldwin Jr has been far more active and didn't have the circus handling like Skal, but really aside from him, I date back to BJ Mullens as the worst #1 player I've ever seen ranked that high and it was courtesy of Jerry Meyer's ignorance.

I think Skals main skills were his athleticism and shot-blocking ability coming out of high school and his high ranking was due based on the tremendous potential he possessed. I think actually Skal and Harry Giles had a very similar path throughout high school and college minus Harry's injuries. Baldwin at this point is a much more safe prospect with the way he can shoot with his size and his all-around game. I think it is safe to say that no matter where Baldwin goes he will be a better basketball player by a fairly large amount at both the college level and pro level than Skal.

 

[RalphDaltonFan]

I think Skals main skills were his athleticism and shot-blocking ability coming out of high school and his high ranking was due based on the tremendous potential he possessed. I think actually Skal and Harry Giles had a very similar path throughout high school and college minus Harry's injuries. Baldwin at this point is a much more safe prospect with the way he can shoot with his size and his all-around game. I think it is safe to say that no matter where Baldwin goes he will be a better basketball player by a fairly large amount at both the college level and pro level than Skal.

Skal was a very good HS prospect, he just was handled by a complete moron. The injury he had in Summer prior to SR year which limited games, along with that goofy HS schedule where he played about 6 games....he just didn't ever advance. But at his size--the perimeter jumper he had--Skal's one of the best shooting forwards Cal's signed. Guy could really shoot the ball, but he was in a so-so class himself although having him ahead of Ben Simmons was an odd call by those who did that, but all they were going off was the track record of big man development at UK and he just didn't pan out. Wish he'd have stayed to play alongside Bam on that '17 team-think that team wins #9 with that move and Skal would be a lot better off professionally for it.

I expect Baldwin Jr to be a great college player but NBA wise, he's going to have to get a lot tougher and handle when players get up in him and bully him. The athleticism/physicality is at another level and he's sucked everytime I've seen opponents do that--he often gets punked and taps out. Settles for firing up 3's and need to expand his game and do more then just rely on the easy thing which is jacking up jumpers when it gets tough.

 

[JoeBolognas]

Baldwin won’t be anywhere near as bad Skal was. On the spectrum of past no.1 ranked players, he’s a lot closer to a Harrison Barnes level impact than Skal.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Baldwin won’t be #1 for long. I expect Bates to reclassify in the Spring and he will be the clear cut #1. Bates is for real.

 

[jrpross_rivals]

I think Baldwin Jr is the worst #1 ranked recruit I've seen since BJ Mullens. He's good, but the best player in the country isn't putting up hornswaggle numbers in an AAU game against Banchero and crew. I mean the guy was like 6 to 8 pts, shot poorly and looked weak physically.

I'll be surprised if he's #1 at the end of the year. He should thank Clarke, Kuminga, etc...for moving to '20 because he would be closer to being out of top 10 if they all stuck around.

I agree. It’s weird, I mean he looks like a very good player but #1? I just don’t see it.

And I also think he goes to play for his dad. Banchero didn’t go to Duke to be the 5 but if Baldwin goes there one of em’s gonna.

 

[Jake1985]

Rankings don't really mean squat this year because none of these players have been able to play or do anything like they have in past years due to the pandemic, so evaluating them this summer is not really a true indication worth anything. Even the recruiting gurus have discussed how difficult it has been.

Baldwin's ranking is based on his size and skills and yes it is obvious that he has areas of his game that need to develop. With that said, he also recently said that he had access to a gym and court during the pandemic and was able to really focus on getting stronger. Banchero on the other hand, I wouldn't read much into watching him play right now. IN his last game he played like a big wing player but so did Vernon Carey Jr and Carey had a pretty good year at Duke.

 

[Colonial Farm 80]

Gonna get FLAMED for these takes but here are my BOLD predictions for who will come

-Sallis
-Collins
-Hardy
-Diabate

and my BOLD prediction
-Baldwin

Jai and Cal start their tenure together with a surprise bang

Baldwin is not coming, and I honestly don't think Diabate is a good match for Cal's system.

Hickmam
Sallis
Hopkins
Collins
a grad transfer

 

[CatfanMike47]

Baldwin is not coming, and I honestly don't think Diabate is a good match for Cal's system.

Hickmam
Sallis
Hopkins
Collins
a grad transfer

Recruiting experts would disagree ok Diabate! He’s a rim runner and blocks shots he’s Cals typical center!

 

[Whatsup]

Hopkins on watch.

 

[JAC71]

Recruiting experts would disagree ok Diabate! He’s a rim runner and blocks shots he’s Cals typical center!

David Sisk made it sound like he floats on the perimeter and handles the ball pretty good for a 6’9 guy. I didn’t really get the vibe from Sisk that he was a center but more of a point forward

 

[RalphDaltonFan]

David Sisk made it sound like he floats on the perimeter and handles the ball pretty good for a 6’9 guy. I didn’t really get the vibe from Sisk that he was a center but more of a point forward

Dave's going off what he was doing at IMG last year. Word is getting out and did get out to my friend that Diabate has worked his *** off and is so much better. IMG is saying Diabate is a legit 6'10 now, he was around 6'8 last year, but we'll get to see and UK is involved with Jaden Bradley and Diabate strongly (they told him last year they preferred he stay in this class so that worked out in their favor), Jarace Walker, and Eric Dailey Jr.