Herro announces

[bballcat4]

The problem with this, and posts like it, is that only a hand full of teams actually try to do it with freshman guards. Got a news flash for you, experienced guards make mistakes too. And you do realize that the 2 times we made the championship game was with freshmen point guards, once starting all freshmen with only a single non freshmen getting any significant minutes. In fact, the 2 worst seasons we have had in Cal's 10 years here were with non freshmen point guards. And we have only had 3 seasons with non freshmen point guards.

I don’t pretend to know Cal’s mind. It appears to me he’s trying to balance the roster with players like Green and Quickley for the very reasons we’re discussing. He’ll also continue going after the very best recruits so finding the balance between the 2 is why he gets the big bucks.

I’m guessing you’ll hear him heap lots of praise on Hagans and Quickley next year because he wants that to become his new model.

If Cal can get Hagans into the first round next year and Quickley into the league after year 3 then he’ll sell that model to every guard who is not guaranteed to go top 20 after freshman year.

 

[Conn501]

You mad


false ...... I have put my posting on the line a couple of times and haven't been wrong yet. you all have a good day. I will be back to say I told ya so.

You have better than a 90% chance of being correct and it's also the same thing more than 95% of posters here are saying. Your "I told you so" is worth even less than your prediction.

 

[Aike]

Chances with Herro would be higher than that next year. With him, or KJ, we would be extremely up while the rest of college b-ball would be relatively down. #1 team in the country coming in next year is probably Michigan St and we know Izzo isn’t a threat for a title. All of the other national powers will be down unless Duke grabs Hurt and Hampton. As fans, I feel like we should want to take advantage of that opportunity. We’re all rooting for the same thing here.

As for this year, I had us at higher than you. I thought there were 6 teams that had a legit shot at winning the title and ultimately, one of those teams one it. I had UK, Virginia, UNC, Duke, Gonzaga, or Tennessee taking the trophy.

I built a fairly sophisticated model that had the odds going into the tournament approximately Gonzaga - 17%, UVA - 12%, Duke - 10%, UNC - 10%, MSU - 6%, UK - 6%. That’s from memory so not exact, but it was pretty close.

Would love to see us back on that one seed line, as that strongly influences our odds of winning it all. No doubt getting Herro, KJ, or both back would have a big impact on our odds.

 

[JCBLUECATNC]

Is this the same guy that guaranteed Wiggins was a UK lock?

 

[CalipariCapo]

Maxey is better period. I'll bet on that.

And that may be but that’s not the point. Herro WITH Maxey would make for a lethal offensive backcourt couple with two seasoned sophomores in Hagans and Quickley. That’s a backcourt that can get a title. Take Herro out of that mix and that takes away a lot of production and offensive opportunities to open the floor up for the rest of the players (especially drawing traffic away from EJ and Nick who struggle catching the ball and finishing in traffic).

It’s like trying to put together a puzzle. It’s great if you have a lot of cool pieces but in order to make it complete and whole, you have to have the RIGHT pieces fit together in an order that makes for a beautiful picture. If you put Quickley, Maxey, Herro, Whitney, Sestina on the floor with a deep bench of experience and talent, that’s a hard team to beat. And yes, I do think Quickley will end up being better than Hagans next year. Cal will have no reason to play favoritism because they’re both Soph.

 

[GonzoCat90]

Regarding UK looking at grad transfer bigs:

Don't think that will happen

On guys returning last offseason:

Yes. I have heard Gabriel leaning towards leaving but not final and also Vanderbilt will return !!!!! Sucks if we only bring back only 3 guys from a 11 loss team. Only at Kentucky . Espically since I expected back at least 5 or 6. Gonna be extremely young again next season. The cal haters will be out in full force and so will our fans when something goes wrong this season and we lose a couple we shouldn't. Potentially our starting backcourt could feature 2 kids that should be seniors in highschool. A freshman at small forward and forward and a sophomore at center. Hagans , maxey , johnson , Montgomery and Richards !!!! Think vando will be our sixth man. With quickly and herro getting good minutes. I think we definitely need another big. Just hope cal can get one of the 19 bigs to move up. Or maybe a grad transfer if needed. I'm hope I'm totally wrong but it's more likely than not imo.

On PJ playing in the Sweet 16:

Pj is not playing guys . Sunday or if we make it final 4 at earliest if at all. Imo you heard it first. My guess is we have seen the last of pj. Hope I’m wrong. Just connecting the dots. I wouldn’t get my hopes up for though.

Should I go on?

 

[Cowtown Cat]

RJ Hampton replying so quickly gotta be a good sign

Would love to pull him away from duke. If Herro in fact leaves, Hampton would be the best consolation prize available IMO.

 

[MegaBlue05]

Pro tip some of you refuse to learn: Assume he is gone.

If he comes back, you’ll be elated.


You’re welcome.

 

[CalipariCapo]

I built a fairly sophisticated model that had the odds going into the tournament approximately Gonzaga - 17%, UVA - 12%, Duke - 10%, UNC - 10%, MSU - 6%, UK - 6%. That’s from memory so not exact, but it was pretty close.

Would love to see us back on that one seed line, as that strongly influences our odds of winning it all. No doubt getting Herro, KJ, or both back would have a big impact on our odds.

We can definitely agree on that

 

[JayCatz44]

Regarding UK looking at grad transfer bigs:



On guys returning last offseason:



On PJ playing in the Sweet 16:




Should I go on?

But he's never wrong.

 

[Harrelson55]

And that may be but that’s not the point. Herro WITH Maxey would make for a lethal offensive backcourt couple with two seasoned sophomores in Hagans and Quickley. That’s a backcourt that can get a title. Take Herro out of that mix and that takes away a lot of production and offensive opportunities to open the floor up for the rest of the players (especially drawing traffic away from EJ and Nick who struggle catching the ball and finishing in traffic).

It’s like trying to put together a puzzle. It’s great if you have a lot of cool pieces but in order to make it complete and whole, you have to have the RIGHT pieces fit together in an order that makes for a beautiful picture. If you put Quickley, Maxey, Herro, Whitney, Sestina on the floor with a deep bench of experience and talent, that’s a hard team to beat. And yes, I do think Quickley will end up being better than Hagans next year. Cal will have no reason to play favoritism because they’re both Soph.

And I agree with that. Obviously Herros return would give us the best backcourt in basketball period.

But with Maxey and Quickley and Baker. That's still incredibly potent. My only qualm with this lineup is like you said. Do we have the rim protection Montgomery and Richard's are gonna have to improve tenfold. But they will get alot of pt. And they should improve drastically.

 

[TortElvisII]

Will @HerrosHeroes have to change his name?

Players may come and go but the nail at the foul line is a constant.

 

[Harrelson55]

Would love to pull him away from duke. If Herro in fact leaves, Hampton would be the best consolation prize available IMO.

I clearly missed this. Did he reclassify?

 

[ubtrapper_rivals103836]

I’m so confident he stays in draft I will ban myself from posting on cats illustrated if he returns.Have a Good day. It will be okay guys.

Ummm ok, I guess that settles that. You probably need to let Tyler know because he must've been confused earlier.

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

Can't imagine anyone caring if you self ban

 

[CalipariCapo]

And I agree with that. Obviously Herros return would give us the best backcourt in basketball period.

But with Maxey and Quickley and Baker. That's still incredibly potent. My only qualm with this lineup is like you said. Do we have the rim protection Montgomery and Richard's are gonna have to improve tenfold. But they will get alot of pt. And they should improve drastically.

Completely agree with this. I’m very interested to watch Bakers growth. He could end up being a player much like Herro but he looks a little more timid on the court. I think it’s a confidence issue with him. His stroke is too pretty to not fall eventually. Biggest thing to watch for next year is EJ and Richards development and it will be Cal’s best coaching job if he can get either of those guys to All-SEC status.

 

[G-PIP]

... we need 1 more pf to go with Sestina .

Why no confidence in Brooks and Montgomery? I think Sestina, Brooks and Montgomery have the potential to make a pretty good and versatile combination at PF. Plus, Sestina and Montgomery can also give the team minutes at C; and Brooks, while still a long way from what you would want as a good college SF, can probably give the team a few minutes at SF.

 

[Harrelson55]

Completely agree with this. I’m very interested to watch Bakers growth. He could end up being a player much like Herro but he looks a little more timid on the court. I think it’s a confidence issue with him. His stroke is too pretty to not fall eventually. Biggest thing to watch for next year is EJ and Richards development and it will be Cal’s best coaching job if he can get either of those guys to All-SEC status.

And I'm hoping he returns. He just got screwed with that injury. Last year was just about getting confident on the court again. Cal really likes his game because he can guard.

I think if he gets the minutes hes gonna be a big key off the bench.

 

[z71sab]

Dude, you dont know ****. Your just guessing like everybody else. Quit acting like you somebody

:joy::joy::joy: you mad bro . it will be okay

 

[CalipariCapo]

And I'm hoping he returns. He just got screwed with that injury. Last year was just about getting confident on the court again. Cal really likes his game because he can guard.

I think if he gets the minutes hes gonna be a big key off the bench.

Yep. It will be a shot to the heart if Herro leaves but it will be the death nail if Baker leaves. I’m excited to watch him develop. He’s got a funny personality too. Seems like a good teammate.

 

[bbnkat02]

I hate to say it but I think he gone.

I think PJ, KJ, and Herro are our fliers this year.

And if that’s the case? I think we will be ok.

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

High draft pick?

If I said that it would mean at least in the top half of round one. Round 2 spots are hardly considered draft picks altho technically they are.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Can't imagine anyone caring if you self ban

I'd actually forgotten the OP's existence here before he posted this thread.

 

[ElPatron The Legend]

Not sure why these guys rush to the NBA when most of them dont last and are playing over seas The goal she nit be rushing to the NBA it should be staying and the chance of him staying long is slim to none

 

[weatherbird]

I don’t pretend to know Cal’s mind. It appears to me he’s trying to balance the roster with players like Green and Quickley for the very reasons we’re discussing. He’ll also continue going after the very best recruits so finding the balance between the 2 is why he gets the big bucks.

I’m guessing you’ll hear him heap lots of praise on Hagans and Quickley next year because he wants that to become his new model.

If Cal can get Hagans into the first round next year and Quickley into the league after year 3 then he’ll sell that model to every guard who is not guaranteed to go top 20 after freshman year.

And I agree that is what Cal would like. But what I am saying is people believing that just because they are freshmen, they can't make the plays to get you to a Final Four or win a Championship. In the end, it is all about making plays. Some guys can do that as a freshman, and some take a little time to be able to do that. The ones that take time, it is almost always because they aren't talented enough, so in order to make plays, they have to be smarter. But either will work. And just because they didn't, doesn't mean they weren't good enough to, it could be because a ref only lets them play half a game or something.

Winning a championship is very hard to do. Talent and experience help, but you have to be better than 6 teams at the end of the season, or in Virginia's case, luckier for 6 straight games.

 

[TTTblue24]

I clearly missed this. Did he reclassify?

Pretty much a “lock” or as much a “lock” as can be on this board lol, like checking the airlines & the “door”.

 

[fabcat]

Selfishly I would like for him to come back. I also believe he has to test the waters. Hopefully he is wanting to be a lotto pick and if he doesn’t get that type of feedback he has left the door open to come back. He would be a great player for us next year with the experience he got this year. Also would be a much stronger player. Good luck to him either way

 

[FrankUnderwood]

i'm mean you gotta score, no one is guarding you. FREE all he needed to do was make just half those.

This program went to the IT school to losing to 5 seed IU K State little AU.

So what does that make duke ? No final fours despite having Zion, cam and RJ... Bagley the year before. Who is the “it” school?

I’m sure you are a smart dude but this sounds stupid

 

[GonzoCat90]

I’m sure you are a smart dude

Let me stop you there.

 

[fatguy87]

Without Herro, we will probably be plucky contenders, one of 8-10 teams that are pretty good.

With him, we have a chance to be a cut above the competition.

 

[Wildcats1st]

If herro stays in the draft which he will he won’t last imo. I think playing at uk gave him great confidence and he will get shut down in the pros without improving his body and maturing. He’s a 6’5” guard who averaged 14 pts. They are a dime a dozen.

 

[G-PIP]

And I'm hoping he returns. He just got screwed with that injury. Last year was just about getting confident on the court again. Cal really likes his game because he can guard.

I think if he gets the minutes hes gonna be a big key off the bench.

Here's crazy idea for Baker this offseason (so it’s not fair to call me an idiot, because I’ve already acknowledged that this is probably a crazy idea): I read that Fletcher Magee from Wofford worked hard between seasons to learn to fire up his shot almost as soon as he caught it (often squaring his body up in the air). What if Baker trained to do the same thing? He wouldn’t have to over-rush most of his shots like Magee did (the Hoover kid on Wofford’s team is an example of a quick release, but better shot selection); but could such training possibly give Baker greater confidence and allow him to play more relaxed knowing he was putting a lot of pressure on the defense?

 

[ORCAT]

And I'm hoping he returns. He just got screwed with that injury. Last year was just about getting confident on the court again. Cal really likes his game because he can guard.

I think if he gets the minutes hes gonna be a big key off the bench.

I feel the same way about Baker, lots of potential and he seems like the forgotten man by most fans. Some have been down on him but I think he could be important next season. Just hope all the talk of him transferring isn't true.

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

Perfect announcement by him. Was upfront about staying in the draft if a high draft pick, also would be thrilled to come back. Best of luck no matter what he chooses, will always be a BBN favorite

Yeah I mean you can't blame someone in that position. I was holding the slimmest hope he would come back, I knew he would test the waters for sure, who wouldn't in that spot. The reason Ashton didn't is he wasn't projected Top 50+. I like how he laid it out and didn't play games with us until the very end as KK did. I mean if you think you're ready and it's just about if you go high enough than cool just say that as Herro did. That way we watch the projections and we kind of know that more than likely if he stays in the top 20 he's gone. Was my favorite player to watch this year. We still are solid next year, but Tyler would have made #9 seem very doable. Dam! I thought he would be here for a while when they signed him. Shai last year and Tyler this year.

 

[JC CATS]

Can you just ban yourself anyways

We could take up a collection and give Tyler 1st round money just to get Z to ban himself. Well now we will prolly get investigated

 

[JC CATS]

Regarding UK looking at grad transfer bigs:



On guys returning last offseason:



On PJ playing in the Sweet 16:




Should I go on?

Z71 hits the nail on the head. How in hades is someone wrong 90% of the time

 

[JC43]

Would love to pull him away from duke. If Herro in fact leaves, Hampton would be the best consolation prize available IMO.

Him or McDaniels or Stewart says he doesn't want to play without brooks would be nice too.

 

[Hoskins91_rivals]

Not sure why these guys rush to the NBA when most of them dont last and are playing over seas The goal she nit be rushing to the NBA it should be staying and the chance of him staying long is slim to none

That’s likely the case anyway. Grab the money as soon as it’s available, especially a guaranteed amount over guaranteed years. Figure it out from there.

 

[Blue wood]

:joy::joy::joy: you mad bro . it will be okay

Yes, so mad! Idiots like you just piss me off

 

[kl40504_rivals]

Perhaps, but he still could be overshadowed by Maxey and he would be moved to the 3.

And you could be overshadowed by another poster.