Goodman has cats #23

RunninRichie

Heisman
Sep 5, 2019
29,018
69,895
113
I'm with you on Ware. I actually think he is extremely underrated and his physicality and willingness to bang and be aggressive will serve him well, and he runs the floor like a deer. He knows what he excels at and isn't afraid to do the dirty work. Nice jump hook and plays with a "mean" mentality. He is my sleeper of this class. Believe he will start at the 5, with Jackson coming off the bench. This is assuming we are done, which I don't think we are.


same here people forget about ware
 
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shutzhund

All-Conference
Nov 19, 2005
29,202
2,619
0
F Goodman. He looks like a thumb that identifies as a penis, but as our team stands now we are not a top 10 team. Maybe not 23rd though.


Obviously you have begun to lay off the kool aid before believing that this Cal is the second coming. If so then good choice.
 

shutzhund

All-Conference
Nov 19, 2005
29,202
2,619
0
I tend to agree with him. To me this is looking like our worst team since 13.


But not because our recruits are bad but because we don't have a team organized to compete. We do, however, have fans who don't know who to blame.

Where does the buck stop. The Privates or the General?
 

Cowtown Cat

Heisman
Aug 23, 2015
24,284
55,274
100
A few comments . I'd rather start 23rd and finish top 4 that to start Top 4 and finish 8th . So I'm not exactly upset over pre season GUESSING from any dip **** . They dont know a single ounce about how things are going to go than a random fan on here .
This is just click bait and an attention grabbing from this miserable human . Dont feed him.

Lastly a few on here agree the rating isn't that far off , This isn't a loaded question as I dont follow recruiting that closely - How in the hell can you have the top rated class -- # 1 , of Mcd's AA's and not be ranked any higher than that ? Usually it seems high ranked incoming classes equals top 10 type , top 5 even , rankings - so is this class like terribly weak ? Hell college ball was pretty much *** last year , not like the landscape was rich with talent .
No, this 2020 class is exceptionally strong and deep. We just so happen to have two of the top 5 players from said class. I’m not sure why all the doom and gloom.

I get it, we don’t have much experience. We also don’t have a bruising, dominant big man - yet. But - from a talent perspective - I believe we’re right up there with any other team in the country. We have a deep and talented class.

Just watch how much the narrative shifts if we land a Banchero, Kuminga, etc. Then, the expectations will immediately go through the roof, whether it’s accurate or not/warranted or not. Either way, we’ll be fine and right there come March.
 

RunninRichie

Heisman
Sep 5, 2019
29,018
69,895
113
No, this 2020 class is exceptionally strong and deep. We just so happen to have two of the top 5 players from said class. I’m not sure why all the doom and gloom.

I get it, we don’t have much experience. We also don’t have a bruising, dominant big man - yet. But - from a talent perspective - I believe we’re right up there with any other team in the country. We have a deep and talented class.

Just watch how much the narrative shifts if we land a Banchero, Kuminga, etc. Then, the expectations will immediately go through the roof, whether it’s accurate or not/warranted or not. Either way, we’ll be fine and right there come March.
Cal better land Kuminga and Banchero you know he’s going HARD after them it’s already been said he really wants Kuminga for next year
 

Cowtown Cat

Heisman
Aug 23, 2015
24,284
55,274
100
I'm with you on Ware. I actually think he is extremely underrated and his physicality and willingness to bang and be aggressive will serve him well, and he runs the floor like a deer. He knows what he excels at and isn't afraid to do the dirty work. Nice jump hook and plays with a "mean" mentality. He is my sleeper of this class. Believe he will start at the 5, with Jackson coming off the bench. This is assuming we are done, which I don't think we are.


Exactly. I truly think Ware is the sleeper in this class, too. He literally outplayed the number 1 player in the country just a few months ago. For whatever reason, this isn’t getting much attention. I think Ware is a very skilled big. I also think he’s willing to bang in the post and do the dirty work. I still think we need to add one more, and we will. It’s still very early.
 

kb22stang

All-Conference
Dec 11, 2005
10,902
4,384
0
A couple of studs can go a long way in college basketball. 22 teams don't have our talent.

Yeah, I mean what the hell is Goodman thinking, it's still the most talented roster in the country, maybe not to start the year, but I think Brooks is massively underrated and will be an all conference type player as a small ball 4.

I think I could find posts like this for almost every year at this time of year. Then when guys don't live up to the outrageous expectation of fans, those same fans turn on the players.
 

Cowtown Cat

Heisman
Aug 23, 2015
24,284
55,274
100
I just don’t see the Boston/Clarke duo underwhelming here. Their skill sets are just elite. I do see them being behind on defense in the beginning. Most freshmen prove to be behind on that side of the ball.

Other than defense, they check every box. There’s really no question marks for those two. They both possess good length, very high basketball IQs, good measurables, etc. I haven’t been this excited for a duo at UK in a long, long time. I think they’re up for the task.
 
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BlobUK

All-Conference
Oct 28, 2009
1,689
1,723
113
I think I could find posts like this for almost every year at this time of year. Then when guys don't live up to the outrageous expectation of fans, those same fans turn on the players.
I don't turn on players. I understand these are kids. I'm not going to lose my mind if an 18 year old isn't as good at basketball as I thought he might be.
 

BlobUK

All-Conference
Oct 28, 2009
1,689
1,723
113
We have no idea if any of the freshmen will be studs. We THINK and HOPE Boston and Clarke are that caliber, but who knows how they will transition to big boy basketball?

Fans who are outraged UK isn't ranked in the preseason top 10-20 should probably wait and see how the frosh transition to college.

But I certainly, as of now, don't have any expectations that the Cats will be a top 5-10 team and challenge for a 1-2 seed. Feels like it might be one of those 2014/2016/2018 types of years during the regular season at best. We'll see.
We'll be fine. I trust Cal.
 

FrankUnderwood

Heisman
May 26, 2017
15,912
27,971
0
The will be as good or BETTER than anybody in the country at the 2,3 and 4 spots, to me that alone puts em in the top 10. Now PG and Center are unproven but talented with minimum one 5 star at both spots. There is also no doubt Cal will get another Center from somewhere so at the end of the day they will be top 5/10 as usual with probably the most talented roster going into March!


Having a “5 star” means absolutely nothing as we’ve seen. EJ and Whitney for example were both 5 starts and sucked. Richards was a 5 star and was not good his first couple of years.
 

FrankUnderwood

Heisman
May 26, 2017
15,912
27,971
0
Yeah, I mean what the hell is Goodman thinking, it's still the most talented roster in the country, maybe not to start the year, but I think Brooks is massively underrated and will be an all conference type player as a small ball 4.


He’s probably “massively underrated” based off his mediocre/ less than stellar freshman season. Which is fine, he’s a freshman but saying silly caneintally type ish like “Brooks is going to DOMINATE the 3” is no less ridiculous than saying Brooks could definitely struggle some this year.
 

FrankUnderwood

Heisman
May 26, 2017
15,912
27,971
0
UK was 1 or 2 preseason the Nerlens year and the Randle year. Both of those teams were basically all new teams with all Freshman. There is no way in hell they will be ranked below 10 preseason. Again, we have 2 top 10 picks no matter what, I mean these projections should not be who are the top 25 teams to begin the year it should be at the end of the year who are gonna be the top 25 teams, that is a big difference.


Whitney was a lottery pick “no matter what” and coming into their freshman year both EJ and Richards were lottery picks “no matter what”.

As we’ve seen numerous times, freshman sometimes take awhile to gel. Putting these ridiculous and high expectations on them only hurts. You’ve already penciled Clarke and Boston in as sure fire top 10 picks who will play at an elite level all year long.
 

bucsrule8872

Heisman
May 30, 2005
24,397
29,352
0
That’s a little low, IMHO.

As it stands right now with our current (hopefully unfinished) roster, I would put us just inside the top 15.

We should have great wings, but question marks at PG and C.

If Toppin is eligible, that helps a little. Still, he is a wing, so it just adds to our strength and doesn’t improve our weaknesses.

With Toppin, we at least have 10 scholarship players.

So, looking at the roster:

PG Mintz/Askew
SG Clarke/Allen
SF Boston/Fletcher
PF Brooks/Toppin
C Jackson/Ware

Clarke, Boston, and Brooks should be as good as it gets at the 2-4.

Hopefully Mintz steps in and supplies experience at PG and gives Askew a chance to get acclimated to the college game at the 1.

Jackson and Ware at the 5 will be an adequate duo, but both need to hit the weights hard this offseason.

Cal may want to consider a small ball lineup and play Mintz, Clarke, Boston, Toppin, and Brooks. Brooks is tough enough to play inside against bigger guys. Maybe Brooks can channel Erik Daniels. They are pretty much the same size and both are high energy guys.

Still, it’s way too early. We will most likely add a big man. Hopefully, a guy that can make a real impact.
 
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STL_Cat

Heisman
Dec 4, 2011
65,205
58,396
98
“Keldon Johnson made the right move going pro, he would be coming off the bench behind Whitney if he came back.”

“EJ is going to have a PJ Washington transformation going into his sophomore year.”

“Hagans will definitely improve his shooting and with better conditioning won’t hit the wall in conference play like he did his freshman year,”

Luckily for us, Nick showed out and IQ exploded. Those 2 guys got it done. Maxey was about as expected, probably didn’t shoot as well as we’d hoped though.

Bottom line, with so many question marks none of us really know what to expect. Of all the brand new teams we’ve had, this is the “brand newest” of them all. They’ve got a lot to prove. 23rd isn’t unfair just based on the fact that we have no clue what to expect. People calling for Goodman to be fired ... haha
 
Jan 3, 2003
145,534
15,709
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Lastly a few on here agree the rating isn't that far off , This isn't a loaded question as I dont follow recruiting that closely - How in the hell can you have the top rated class -- # 1 , of Mcd's AA's and not be ranked any higher than that ? Usually it seems high ranked incoming classes equals top 10 type , top 5 even , rankings - so is this class like terribly weak ? Hell college ball was pretty much *** last year , not like the landscape was rich with talent .

For one, maybe I’m wrong but I do not see many elite players in this class. Maybe we got one in Clarke. Secondly you can have the number one class out of having two or three elite players or five or six good players, and we got the second. Thirdly we have almost nothing coming back, Brooks and a player who’s not played in almost 2 years come Oct. I do think the guard transfer will help. Lastly, I think expectations are often set to high for incoming freshmen, more often than not they fail to match expectations of fans.

also it is very possible there are more returning players this year than in years past, meaning more better teams.
 
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kb22stang

All-Conference
Dec 11, 2005
10,902
4,384
0
I don't turn on players. I understand these are kids. I'm not going to lose my mind if an 18 year old isn't as good at basketball as I thought he might be.

fair enough, I apologize if it appeared that I singled you out. It was more of a general comment.
 
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Sparkaces

All-American
Sep 19, 2012
6,157
6,289
0
Whitney was a lottery pick “no matter what” and coming into their freshman year both EJ and Richards were lottery picks “no matter what”.

As we’ve seen numerous times, freshman sometimes take awhile to gel. Putting these ridiculous and high expectations on them only hurts. You’ve already penciled Clarke and Boston in as sure fire top 10 picks who will play at an elite level all year long.
If you are referring to me saying Whitney was a lottery pick please look up what I said about him after all star games, it was anything but I assure you lol! Never said that about Nick or EJ either, but I get your point that some people have. To me Clarke and Boston are in a different category when you legitimately have a chance to go number 1 versus maybe they will be lotto picks!
 

Cawood86_rivals

Heisman
Feb 20, 2005
36,711
64,715
0
I don't care where UK is ranked at the start of the season. I used to really care, but it truly doesn't matter.
I certainly don't care at all what marbles thinks.
 

4UK

All-Conference
Sep 26, 2005
30,388
4,433
0
Man this guy loves to do this to UK fans. I'm sure he sits back and revels in the reactions he gets from us.

If you know you're being trolled, and still respond, whose fault is that?

Also, it's possible to be biased and be right. Goodman hates Cal, there's no doubting that. Goodman knows UK fans on Twitter will swallow every piece of bait thrown their way, and apparently he likes to fish.

But what he says here is not that far fetched. This team needs FAR more things to go perfect in order for it to be good than many people are willing to admit.
 
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FrankUnderwood

Heisman
May 26, 2017
15,912
27,971
0
If you are referring to me saying Whitney was a lottery pick please look up what I said about him after all star games, it was anything but I assure you lol! Never said that about Nick or EJ either, but I get your point that some people have. To me Clarke and Boston are in a different category when you legitimately have a chance to go number 1 versus maybe they will be lotto picks!


I wasn’t referring to you saying that, just showing how putting high and ill informed expectations can end up biting ya.
 

STL_Cat

Heisman
Dec 4, 2011
65,205
58,396
98
I disagree. This team will probably be his best team since fox, monk and bam. We will ne better then the team that lost to IU in round 2. Better then the team that lost to K state in the sweet 16

I can’t imagine this team being better than 2018-2019 with PJ as a sophomore and the rest of that team. Just not seeing it.
 
Jan 29, 2003
18,120
12,185
0
Good Lord. This is dumb. For those of you saying "sounds about right".....I can only assume you're comparing our roster to the roster you hoped we'd have, or maybe your ideal top 5 team. All irrelevant. Look at the 9 guys we have, and compare them to his other teams ahead of us. No way we're 23. Actually, he has us 24 now - now Louisville is at 23. Louisville, the team that loses all 5 starters, and doesn't routinely replace them with a top ranked class, like we do and did this year.

This is easy. He doesn't like Calipari, and he knows, as they all know, BBN is an easy mark. Best way to instantly generate hits? Say something bad about UK.

Also, all of you saying 23 is right....I presume then if we lose in the first weekend next March you'd all say, well, that's about where we should have finished? No one going to blast Cal for underachieving? Can't have it both ways......
 

chhawaten64

Sophomore
Jan 7, 2017
249
110
38
would like to start season unranked then move up as the season goes along don't like to start season in the top 5 team does not have any room to move up in the ranking