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Next years Roster is LETHAL

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dnabbott25

All-Conference
Dec 23, 2003
9,332
1,550
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In no order, here are the weapons (Im hoping Bolden is in) (and Skal, Lee go pro)....

PG
Fox
Hawkins

2G
Monk
Briscoe

3G/Swing Forward
Charles Mathews
Mulder
Floreal

Centers
Bolden
Humphries

PF
Bam
SKJ
Winyard

SF/Stretch Forwards
Willis
Gabriel

This is the most dynamic/interchangeable lineup Cal has ever had. You can play anyway any team wants to go. Im excited, Even in situational basketball, late tournament games, calling timeouts to switch it up, you can go with a Defensive lockdown team, you can go big, go small, scorers, etc. And ALL of the lineups are athletic.

Charles Mathews and Briscoe are lock down defenders, Fox and Monk are too. Whats great about these 4 is that they are all BIG guards, your talking about guards that are also very quick, can block shots and rebound. Bolden and Bam down low???? are you serious?? You cant double team either of them, and these guys against anyone 1 on 1 is a joke, Bolden and Bam cant be stopped together. SKJ is extremely underated athlete, but he is actually a small forward. He is a big small forward. This team will be a nightmare matchup for other teams. Bolden is PERFECT for Calipari. Coach Cal will take Bolden and blow his skills up to where no one will be able to handle him, and he will turn him into a defensive Monster. Im pumped up, and Im telling you guys now, Charles Mathews is going to shock people next year. That kid was one time the #1 player in his class. He was injured in high school, and had to wait his turn. If you go with a lineup of Fox, Monk, Briscoe, Mathews and Bolden or Bam, lmao, WOW. That's a bunch of 6'-4" athletic guards that are lock down defenders, and an athletic monster center. That is how you run breakaway fast break basketball.

Fellas, enjoy it, next years is the Big Blue Machine. Bolden will be a basketball god playing with those guards, wow!
 
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kyjeff1

kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
51,281
72,052
113
I would have to believe Briscoe would be Fox's back up at the 1 and Hawkins would be Monk's back up at the 2.
 
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X

Xception

Heisman
Apr 17, 2007
26,407
22,344
0
MychalG said:
Proceed with Caution, as they are all FRESHMEN it may take awhile for some to figure things out.

Signed,

Skal
Click to expand...
Despite the many examples of freshman success under Cal , you have chosen Skal as enough of a cautionary tale that it should be considered a possible norm . Given Cals track record it is more likely the freshman turn out to be very productive than it is for any one of them to have a year long struggle . The team as a whole will struggle but still win games early , they need time to develop chemistry and just get adapted to the college game . However the likelihood one of them will have a season like Skals is actually low .
 
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S

.S&C.

All-American
Jul 8, 2014
45,292
6,422
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Xception said:
Despite the many examples of freshman success under Cal , you have chosen Skal as enough of a cautionary tale that it should be considered a possible norm . Given Cals track record it is more likely the freshman turn out to be very productive than it is for any one of them to have a year long struggle . The team as a whole will struggle but still win games early , they need time to develop chemistry and just get adapted to the college game . However the likelihood one of them will have a season like Skals is actually low .
Click to expand...

To be fair, we've had quite a few underperforming freshman here, and in this system, we can't afford it. I'm cool with our methods while Cal is coaching, but we must evaluate at an extremely high level.

Having said that, we've done quite well considering. Not many misses, but underperforming freshman might as well be a bust in this system to an extent.
 
E

EvilMD

All-Conference
Dec 29, 2003
7,327
2,419
0
Just remember, every team in college basketball has roster problems. Not just us because of players leaving early. Guys leave unexpectedly. Guys don't pan out. Guys don't mesh together. Just because we have a bust or two isn't an indictment of signing the best players who have their eyes on the NBA. Look how many players transfer out of Louisville. Look how many have left Indiana or gotten in trouble.
 
J

JimmyJimmy

All-Conference
Apr 26, 2005
2,110
1,038
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Cal once stated that his dream team would be five 6'9" players who all could play like guards and finish like a beast.

Next years freshmen may not all play like guards (except the two great ones coming) but every one of them can finish like a beast.
 
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Elliott Tim

All-American
Dec 10, 2005
10,122
6,290
0
.S&C. said:
To be fair, we've had quite a few underperforming freshman here, and in this system, we can't afford it. I'm cool with our methods while Cal is coaching, but we must evaluate at an extremely high level.

Having said that, we've done quite well considering. Not many misses, but underperforming freshman might as well be a bust in this system to an extent.
Click to expand...
You're right. There's little to no margin for error.For example: We'll never know for sure if the 2015 class was an anomaly or they grew up at the right time. Jason Spear had a good post about getting into the other teams head. This is war and only the strong survive.
 
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B

buster3.0

All-Conference
Aug 10, 2009
5,219
1,833
113
Xception said:
Despite the many examples of freshman success under Cal , you have chosen Skal as enough of a cautionary tale that it should be considered a possible norm . Given Cals track record it is more likely the freshman turn out to be very productive than it is for any one of them to have a year long struggle . The team as a whole will struggle but still win games early , they need time to develop chemistry and just get adapted to the college game . However the likelihood one of them will have a season like Skals is actually low .
Click to expand...

It is not far fetched to be cautious with over hyping next year's team. The truth is we don't know what kind of players or team they will be. For crying out loud, before the 2013-14 season the talk around here was 40-0. They were even the pre-season #1 ranked team in the country. The best recruiting class ever in the history of UK. Instead of 40-0 they actually lost 11 times and went into the tournament as an 8 seed.
 
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BigBlueFanGA

Heisman
Jun 14, 2005
26,435
23,456
0
I will always temper my expectations when our talent is primarily freshmen. They are good, but there is a big adjustment playing at this level. I really wouldn't want to play us in March though.
 
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X

Xception

Heisman
Apr 17, 2007
26,407
22,344
0
buster3.0 said:
It is not far fetched to be cautious with over hyping next year's team. The truth is we don't know what kind of players or team they will be. For crying out loud, before the 2013-14 season the talk around here was 40-0. They were even the pre-season #1 ranked team in the country. The best recruiting class ever in the history of UK. Instead of 40-0 they actually lost 11 times and went into the tournament as an 8 seed.
Click to expand...
My point has nothing to do with 40-0 talk , a completely different topic . Based on the performance of Cals recruits and their teams results since he's been here it's fairly easy to see what's coming , no need for fretting over one player .
 
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Son_Of_Saul

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,471
99,888
113
MychalG said:
Proceed with Caution, as they are all FRESHMEN it may take awhile for some to figure things out.

Signed,

Skal
Click to expand...

Mathematically, this class could meet expectations on 4/7 of its prospects (counting Bolden and Wynyard) and still be a favorite to win the national title.

Skal has been the exception, not the rule. If Cal hits 4/7 with this class, they're a favorite to be in the Final Four.
 
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Son_Of_Saul

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,471
99,888
113
MKGMVP said:
Not me, I'm excited. Skal was more of an exception than a rule.
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Exactly.

How did the following guys do under Cal as freshmen?

Randle
Young
Noel
Goodwin
Murray
Towns
Lyles
Booker
Teague
MKG
Davis
Knight
Jones
Wall
Bledsoe
Cousins


The math favors at least 3 or 4 four of these incoming freshmen being very, very good (top 15 pick-good). Throw in a returning Briscoe (fingers crossed), a few improved role players (Matthews, Willis, Humphries) and UK is exponentially more rounded than they were this year.
 
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Son_Of_Saul

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,471
99,888
113
Chuckinden said:
THIS

After last year and then Skal this year, I will wait and see before I get excited.
Click to expand...

What's more of a guarantee: all seven of these incoming freshmen underperforming or a handful of them meeting expectations the way most of Cal's lottery-level freshmen have done?

Again, we don't need all seven of them to meet expectations, just a handful of them. If that happens, UK is in the driver's seat next season.
 
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Son_Of_Saul

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,471
99,888
113
JeffGoodmansVestigialTwin said:
Jesus we have ONE bust in Skal and now every one is holding their breath about every 5 star we get, they'll need to adjust but this class is full of studs
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Good post. When's the last time we heard Cal declare a class to be potentially his best ever? He didn't even sing these types of praises over the '13 class (Randle and friends) or the '14 class (Towns and company), not to this extent.

It's very telling as to what he's expecting.
 
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Son_Of_Saul

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,471
99,888
113
UKWildcats#8 said:
My main concerns for next year are:

1. 3 point shooting
2. Lack of experience. This is a norm for Cal teams though.
Click to expand...

We had elite shooters this year (Willis, Murray), and they crapped the bed in the Indiana game (with Ulis being the exception). Willis will be back, so the question becomes more about Monk and Fox making up some of what UK loses with Ulis and Murray.

That said, I'd rather have decent shooters with a roster filled with elite lottery talent who can generate offense on a dime than have a handful of shooters who could be shut down by a roster like Indiana possesses this season. Ulis and Murray were UK's only multi-level playmakers (Briscoe could drive, but was easy to defend beyond 10 feet), and the team became rather stagnant when Indiana played them because there was not one single play maker at the 4 or 5 positions.

Plus, the issue wasn't shooting this season. It was lack of offensive/defensive rebounding. One would think that problem disappears next year and UK is able to gather a number of misfires with Bam, Bolden (potentially), Gabriel, Humphries, Lee (potentially) and SKJ.
 
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R

rabidcatfan

Senior
Jan 25, 2003
9,198
512
0
StubbornPenny said:
Gabriel will play at the 3 above anyone. He will not be coming off the bench.

PG: Fox/Hawk
SG: Monk/Briscoe?/Matthews
SF: Gabriel/Willis/Matthews
PF: Bam/SKJ/Wynyard
C: Bolden/Lee?/Hump/SKJ
Click to expand...

Willis starts over Gabriel at this point. Almost guaranteed.
 
J

JRS_SC

All-Conference
Jan 2, 2003
2,102
1,459
98
I think next year's team will at some point in March face the same issue as the Wall, Bledsoe, Cousins team did against WVa. A very good defensive team will collapse on our bigs and force us to adjust. Wall and Bledsoe did not penetrate the zone and settled for 3 point attempts that they didn't convert. Will next year's team handle that scenario better? Can we make enough outside shots, or penetrate the defense or possibly get easy baskets off of our defense? We'll know about a year from now.
 
S

StubbornPenny

All-American
Nov 2, 2009
10,562
9,892
0
rabidcatfan said:
Willis starts over Gabriel at this point. Almost guaranteed.
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Agree to disagree. Gabriel will start over Willis. I think he will by day 1, but he certainly will by the end. Cal will try to sell Willis on the Darius Miller role - a starter, beloved by his home state, who sacrifices his spot for the good of the team. I think Willis plays a big role next year, especially if his defensive intensity can ramp up, but he will not start consistently over Gabriel.
 
CELTICAT

CELTICAT

Heisman
May 21, 2002
19,318
19,048
113
buster3.0 said:
It is not far fetched to be cautious with over hyping next year's team. The truth is we don't know what kind of players or team they will be. For crying out loud, before the 2013-14 season the talk around here was 40-0. They were even the pre-season #1 ranked team in the country. The best recruiting class ever in the history of UK. Instead of 40-0 they actually lost 11 times and went into the tournament as an 8 seed.
Click to expand...

Preseason #1 that finished as the national runner up.
 
B

Bobcat94_rivals

All-Conference
Feb 15, 2010
2,450
3,432
0
The more I see on Gabriel and hm being 6'10 and so fluid with the ball be is special player with his abilities. I see him being a nightmare for opposing teams to guard. I see him more skilled that Brandon Ingram at Duke.
 
H

Hoskins91_rivals

All-Conference
Jun 12, 2011
6,750
1,619
50
Son_Of_Saul said:
Exactly.

How did the following guys do under Cal as freshmen?

Randle
Young
Noel
Goodwin
Murray
Towns
Lyles
Booker
Teague
MKG
Davis
Knight
Jones
Wall
Bledsoe
Cousins


The math favors at least 3 or 4 four of these incoming freshmen being very, very good (top 15 pick-good). Throw in a returning Briscoe (fingers crossed), a few improved role players (Matthews, Willis, Humphries) and UK is exponentially more rounded than they were this year.
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Some of those guys are examples of why you should temper expectations. You left some notable players off as well.
 
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Hoskins91_rivals

All-Conference
Jun 12, 2011
6,750
1,619
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I'm not expecting SKJ to be a huge contributor this year with how loaded we will be in the frontcourt, especially if we add Bolden.

Bam is good at what he does, and shouldn't be a disappointment as long as people understand he's probably not a go to offensive player.

Fox and Monk will at least eventually be good players.

Gabriel is the big question mark. He's a late bloomer who gets the attention he does because he's a freak who plays hard. People are writing him in to start at a position he's yet to prove he can play.
 
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Hoskins91_rivals

All-Conference
Jun 12, 2011
6,750
1,619
50
I wouldn't expect Hawkins to play much if we get Briscoe back. Fox, Monk, and Briscoe are all going to play pg before Hawkins does. Unless he develops into a 40% 3pt shooter he's going to be situational like he's been the last few years.
 
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