Dustin Hughes never reports anything until he independently verifies it with at least three of his numerous inside sources
Kyle Tucker per NBA source
- Thread starter EmCats3
- Start date
Sadly this has never stopped UK guys from leaving in the past.
I wouldn't take much stock in either. These reports will change and go back and forth 10 times before May or June and the draft isn't til at least August or September so UK might not know who they have til then ( like all schools with good players) as I think the NCAA will pass a 1 time rule where if you go undrafted you can come back .
But I bet between now and whenever the final decisions are made we here every player but Maxey is coming back for sure and leaving for sure 3-5 times each. Take it all with a grain of salt. IMO the most common sense decision is the one that will happen - EJ comes back and the rest stay in the draft . Which is what people thought would happen before all this craziness started with Covid 19 . Maybe , maybe Hagans or IQ could come back but i would bet against it . Both will be drafted and Hagans is a lock for the top 35ish area.
I suspect in the next 2 weeks we add a back up pg for Askew and that will tell you both IQ and Hagans are gone .
Because of the **** sandwich we're all trapped in, the NCAA should allow undrafted players to return this season.
Will be shocked if they don't . Could easily see EJ staying in the draft not getting drafted and coming back.
So when are the boys gonna officially declare...been a lot of talk. Something would happen soon...you’d think anyways.
I don't have a problem with Hagans, for that matter I didn't have a problem with Maxey
I know I am in the minority on this one but I felt that in many cases Maxey cost us more during the game than Hagans did.
and again, lots of conjecture on my part but if Hagans is a true competitor, if he had a problem with Maxey in the locker room, I suspect it was because of his 1 on 3 drive to the basket attempts. Near the end of the season, Maxey greatly improved on that aspect of his game but 3/4 of the season he was making many bad decisions during the game, and during many in game threads, people were commenting on how he was trying to score when he had no business doing so.
now if all that conjecture is close to being true on my part, I kinda respect Hagans for it.
I know I am in the minority on this one but I felt that in many cases Maxey cost us more during the game than Hagans did.
and again, lots of conjecture on my part but if Hagans is a true competitor, if he had a problem with Maxey in the locker room, I suspect it was because of his 1 on 3 drive to the basket attempts. Near the end of the season, Maxey greatly improved on that aspect of his game but 3/4 of the season he was making many bad decisions during the game, and during many in game threads, people were commenting on how he was trying to score when he had no business doing so.
now if all that conjecture is close to being true on my part, I kinda respect Hagans for it.
I don't doubt this happened, but to say which player to blame I won't. Just watching over the years since Cal has been here I am always concerned of wondering about players that do come back and how they will react when a freshman comes in and gets more attention than they do in their second or third years. Cal has a hard job getting everyone on the same page. I think Briscoe had trouble with this and I thought Hagans did as well.
It also seems to be a problem when the first mock drafts come out and certain players aren't predicted where they hope to be. That is why I think Cal is the best in handling these kind of things! It must be hard to get them to understand that the best way to get to the league is play on an outstanding team of winners, and the only way to do that is not care who gets the credit. Easier said and than done!
I am not saying that Hagans or Maxey are bad kids either just a lot of pressure on all UK Players!
JJ was terrible defensively. That's why he didn't play. Then on top of that he couldn't hit a shot for about 80% of the season. Don't be so sensitive Papa Juzang.
He was improving and at least rebounded very well (that’s part of defense too). Also was starting to knock down shots regularly. Was easy for anyone who knows basketball to see that his ceiling was much much higher than guys like baker or quade.
They both did that too much, Maxey did make the shot sometimes, Hagans rarely made the shot.
Makes you question how much Tucker really knows/how valid anything he's hearing is
Ideally, Hagans would be perfect PG for the type of team UK will have next year--a distributor with experience. Thing is, he's got to realize that his selling point is to master what he does well, not try to prove he's Steph Curry. Each time he'd jack up a jumper would be taking away shots from better offensive weapons. Make layups, make FT's and you look up and avg double figures in this offense. Defensively he's got to play with more discipline on the ball which should be his easiest adjustment. The hardest is attitude. Maxey was far from the only guy who was butting heads with Hagans later in season.
EJ Montgomery will never get where he needs to get until he's real with himself. That pile of BS he was telling media about "Teams said 1st Round" was a lie. Nobody told him that because he'd have been gone if that was case, and Cal would've told him to leave. Jaden McDaniels would've been at UK and team moves on. Instead he waited.....because he wanted to leave like he likely does now and he is a guy who was benched for most of UF game until the end--glad he ended on good note. He's capable but he has to understand competition is on the way and these guys are tougher/meaner and more competitive. EJ is a nice kid, but not built that way. Any big you have to repeatedly enforce to dunk the ball around the rim is a guy who needs to be coached hard.
Which leads me to the fact Hagans/EJ were the 2 guys who wanted a "better relationship" with Cal. They are guys he usually avoids lighting up and speaks positively about. How did that work? Hagans took a crap on Cal/team in his last game played, and Montgomery would flash, but didn't get where most guys who come into the program get because Cal handled them differently. Cal treated Maxey, Richards, Quickley like he usually coaches and which guys became better players? He was screaming at Maxey for Hagans **** ups because Maxey can handle yelling and hard coaching. He'd still get on Nick. Nick always talked of as a "Great person" well he's also mature in that he knows Cal/Staff always saw what he turned out to be this year and would hold him to standard. Quickley the same. So you come to a school where the guy produces billions of dollars for players who listen, interact, and take the hard coaching and pushing. We're not talking team success either because that has maintained due to the individuals who do take the coaching--if not for Quickley/Richards improvement, this team was NIT Bound in a very mediocre year.
Best way to get individual success is to embrace the way the program operates and not try to change the way they do it. Either be in or out. If players are to return, then they need to buy in and embrace that methods that have proven to work, not fight or try to change it. Real results come from allowing yourself to hear real information and be coached.
EJ Montgomery will never get where he needs to get until he's real with himself. That pile of BS he was telling media about "Teams said 1st Round" was a lie. Nobody told him that because he'd have been gone if that was case, and Cal would've told him to leave. Jaden McDaniels would've been at UK and team moves on. Instead he waited.....because he wanted to leave like he likely does now and he is a guy who was benched for most of UF game until the end--glad he ended on good note. He's capable but he has to understand competition is on the way and these guys are tougher/meaner and more competitive. EJ is a nice kid, but not built that way. Any big you have to repeatedly enforce to dunk the ball around the rim is a guy who needs to be coached hard.
Which leads me to the fact Hagans/EJ were the 2 guys who wanted a "better relationship" with Cal. They are guys he usually avoids lighting up and speaks positively about. How did that work? Hagans took a crap on Cal/team in his last game played, and Montgomery would flash, but didn't get where most guys who come into the program get because Cal handled them differently. Cal treated Maxey, Richards, Quickley like he usually coaches and which guys became better players? He was screaming at Maxey for Hagans **** ups because Maxey can handle yelling and hard coaching. He'd still get on Nick. Nick always talked of as a "Great person" well he's also mature in that he knows Cal/Staff always saw what he turned out to be this year and would hold him to standard. Quickley the same. So you come to a school where the guy produces billions of dollars for players who listen, interact, and take the hard coaching and pushing. We're not talking team success either because that has maintained due to the individuals who do take the coaching--if not for Quickley/Richards improvement, this team was NIT Bound in a very mediocre year.
Best way to get individual success is to embrace the way the program operates and not try to change the way they do it. Either be in or out. If players are to return, then they need to buy in and embrace that methods that have proven to work, not fight or try to change it. Real results come from allowing yourself to hear real information and be coached.
Yea and just like the other two guys in this thread, we won't see any of their ceiling's. Quade was more productive in his time here and JJ averaged .6 more a game than Baker did.
Ralph may be the best analyst we have. I appreciate your work.
Do what I do. I expect everyone to leave every year so when we have returnees im always pleasantly surprised.
Look, i always defend Cal. But something has to change. This **** has become ridiculous. You can't start from scratch every year. And all the transfers. I have faith that he'll figure it out but still.
Look, i always defend Cal. But something has to change. This **** has become ridiculous. You can't start from scratch every year. And all the transfers. I have faith that he'll figure it out but still.
This is pretty much how I feel. Anybody that knows me will tell you I love John Calipari. Absolutely love the man. I don’t want anybody else. But something is a little out of kilter with the program right now. Fortunately, if we see it then Cal sees it.
5 guys "test" the NBA for UK every year. Its part of the system Cal has setup. That's why we have a pre-season NBA combine, They get scored and then they get a 2nd score after the season. The change is this, in the past, you had 1 shot to test the waters. Now you can do it again. We have studs coming next year. EJ will have his shot to go from undrafted to 1st round and he needs to do that.
With IQ its different, he came on late so he would just be about getting more exposure. With Ashten, he needs to go. I don't see him improving, He is what he is and if you consider his attitude problems at the end of the year I'd rather him just go on and go and wish him the best. We don't want or need attitudes on the roster. And it sucks because we all like the kid his freshman year. I knew he was arguing with Maxey and had arguments with a few others, but when he did that to Nick it said a lot about his character.
With IQ its different, he came on late so he would just be about getting more exposure. With Ashten, he needs to go. I don't see him improving, He is what he is and if you consider his attitude problems at the end of the year I'd rather him just go on and go and wish him the best. We don't want or need attitudes on the roster. And it sucks because we all like the kid his freshman year. I knew he was arguing with Maxey and had arguments with a few others, but when he did that to Nick it said a lot about his character.
all of you seem to forget one guy ALLEN I believe he could be a star next year maybe the first or second guy on the team. I have faith in this kid
I think people would be in for a shock if they knew just how much a typical basketball or football team argues amongst each other . That doesn’t mean they hate other but that’s going to happen from time to time .
Hagans and Maxey probably bumped heads a few times but I doubt they flat out hated each other .
Hagans and Maxey probably bumped heads a few times but I doubt they flat out hated each other .
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That's a lot to ask of a kid who hasn't played for a year.
We hear this every year. Hard to know how they will perform till they play a few games. Take this past year, we looked great against Mich St the. Lost to Evansville, and that was with 4 guys returning.
Can't blame IQ. Wins SECPOY. His game has improved drastically. Not sure he wouldn't benefit from another year imo.
Just can't see EJ and Hagans being drafted. EJ should definitely return. Hagans seems he will likely go pro either NBA or overseas.
Just can't see EJ and Hagans being drafted. EJ should definitely return. Hagans seems he will likely go pro either NBA or overseas.
And when Cal has landed multiple top 10 recruits, it's been mostly true. And when one of those is top 5, it's been better. Clarke and Boston are rated higher than every player Cal has signed since 2015 except Fox. And they are both in the same class. It might not pan out, but there is more evidence that it will, than it won't.
100% right on this take, but this **** with Hagans was much deeper then Cal played it off. Let's put it this way, Cal isn't missing a postgame radio spot and Hagans isn't "finding himself" and missing a game if it was just the typical stuff. Was told that it was suggested that Hagans be dealt with a month before they finally did. When you reach point you **** on the guy always hyping you up and in your corner, it's got to be dealt with. With a guy like Cal, he was likely just as upset it stole from Senior Night for the people who have helped the program on their night and became about some petty/individual BS.
Only as Cal can do, he put this out and has focused on positives. Best coach I've seen at making a team believe they can advance deep in a tournament, no matter what is going on/how the season goes.
Those who talk of another title, just have to see it play out. It's hard to accomplish no matter what format you operate with. I'm of opinion when Cal gets Elite Lottery Prospects, they are best suited to make a Final Four and that's goal because from there, you have shot to cut nets down. Still need ball/calls/breaks to go your way as we've seen with several teams. In some seasons it's just avoiding clutter ('12 they did it in SEC Tournament, loss refocused) and injuries (only time I even thought '12 team was vunerable in NCAA's was when AD went down against Baylor--once he was back in game, knew it was going to be fine).
I'll just say that many didn't think UK would get another #1 class and they have one now and are looking to add.