All of those guy, except Bledsoe, also played more than 1 year which is the normal progression. If any of them had left after their freshman year they would be viewed differently.
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All of those guy, except Bledsoe, also played more than 1 year which is the normal progression. If any of them had left after their freshman year they would be viewed differently.
This could be good news on the Wilson/Cenac front or he wasn’t interested in being a backup plan.
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I think Cal’s first class put a lot of unrealistic expectations and pressure on Cal and with him putting together future recruiting classes. Those weren’t normal freshman and Cal chased his own tail trying to replicate it every year when it wasn’t possible.
He created a monster unknowingly and then fans had some unrealistic expectations with some freshman as did those players as well who thought if they came here they’d be one and done guaranteed.
Then if they failed to meet the expectations, unfortunately a big chunk of them they still left early although they shouldn’t have or transferred. Part of this cycle caused many guys to leave as they felt they were being recruited over by Cal’s next class.
For those guys I listed, regardless of what year it happened for them, ended up exceeding expectations.
If you miss on Cenac/Wilson (which could very well happen), you could still possibly have Miika possibly as a back up option. And no need to freak out if you miss both because the portal can come to the rescue.
It's really impressive to me how Pope is already doing with next year's class even before he's had a game played here yet. I thought it would take more time for next year's class to come together with recruits wanting to see us in games first.
People will debate whether bringing Pitino around is a good idea. I always ask myself these three things. If the answer to any of them is yes. I am all for it.
1) Will it piss UT fans off -still dazed from Sat
2) Will it piss UL fans off -yes
3) Will it piss Cal off -yes
1) Will it piss UT fans off -still dazed from Sat
2) Will it piss UL fans off -yes
3) Will it piss Cal off -yes
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Never left, still lives in Lexington working for the Spurs.
After reading a bit more on this, apparently Niko is a headcase who's likely to end up at KU (fitting) and Pope is trying to get both Wilson and Cenac. Doubt it will happen but he's selling them on playing together.
Yeah I was meaning freshmen only.
I expected Bledsoe to be pretty good. And a lot of others.
I didn’t expect SGA to progress like he did even with whispers of “this guy is being overlooked” and I don’t think anyone with a straight face, including Reed and his parents, could have predicted how effective he was as a freshman. I expected a bench contributor 6/2/2 type thing. Reed is almost hard to explain.
Turpin is the #1 player in this category. There wasn't a sweeter, kinder, soul that ever wore that jersey. I went to HS with him at Station, and he was the gentle giant from day 1 on the court. For someone who literally came from nothing, and overcame many obstacles, he fought as hard as he could and thanked everyone along the way.
Agree. He played in 37 games. Scored double figures in 30 of them. Just a FEW below :
20/7 vs Kansas
25 on 9/9 shooting from 2FG vs UIC
21 v/s Virginia Tech
17/10 vs ETSU
20/7 vs Harvard
16/11 @ LSU
21/8 @ SC
18/8 @ Vandy
19/5 @ Auburn
23/7 @ Arkansas
22 vs Ole Miss
21 vs Mizzou
15/9 vs Georgia SECT
18/7 vs UT SECT
25/6 vs Davidson NCAA
13/8 vs K-State NCAA
51% shooting from 2FG / 25% from 3FG / 77% FT shooter. 1st Team all SEC, SEC freshman of the year, 1st Team SEC Tournament team. 6th in the SEC defensive rebounding (as a Freshman). I mean he didn't score 34 every game like he did vs WVU, but he DID NOT suck in every game other than the WVU game.
Building a roster completely from scratch had to be incredibly challenging, but also incredibly fun, for Pope.
I thought it was really interesting today when he pointed out the fact that they dug deeper and had more data on these guys than anyone else in building this roster.
He could very well continue to lean heavily into the portal since he’s able to find more data on college guys than high school players and that could enable him to find fits for his system better that way.
Judd ended up with Terrence Jones’ phone after the Final Four win against UL or the title game, can’t remember.
What a weird story/person
What a weird story/person
Even my UT brothers love him
That Texas Tech game where he was caught on the live mic -
"You're a bunch of cheatin' mother fkkers"
Knox - that boy was unfortunate
My all time favorite player -
Always love hearing ppl talk about him like that that
I didn't realize he worked at Chandler hospital at some point
He and Mashburn were similar in that they could dominate a game but sometimes needed some jerk to piss them off '& ignite their efforts even more
Tubby had Chuck Hayes - another nice dude , universally respected- and did so many things well
I’m not going to look it up but what was our record in those games you mentioned? I guess because I hated that team so much that I associate him with sucking *** too. Plus I watched a lot of American Pickers that year so I could have missed some moments.
Knox was a solid freshman, Problem
was he was played out of position on a remarkably poorly constructed roster.
That 2018 team is Cal’s most fascinating team to me in hindsight. Turned out to be ridiculously talented, but the most Cal roster we ever had.
SGA
Vanderbilt (of course barely played)
PJ Washington
Nick Richards
Hamidou Diallo
Wenyen Gabriel
Absolutely NO outside shooting or floor spacing. Way too few guards.
What a F up.
was he was played out of position on a remarkably poorly constructed roster.
That 2018 team is Cal’s most fascinating team to me in hindsight. Turned out to be ridiculously talented, but the most Cal roster we ever had.
SGA
Vanderbilt (of course barely played)
PJ Washington
Nick Richards
Hamidou Diallo
Wenyen Gabriel
Absolutely NO outside shooting or floor spacing. Way too few guards.
What a F up.
You forgot finally got the dream run of a 12, 13, 8, 11 run to a Final Four....
Mel was a security guard there for a while before he passed. His knees became so bad it was tough for him to walk, and he also had diabetes.
Back in the Day I worked at Whayne Supply off Leestown Rd. I would go to lunch at the Meadowthorpe Subway a lot and I regularly ran into Mel there. He was always super nice to everyone. He drove a little blue hatchback and him getting in/out of that car was a sight to see.
Mel told me he went to high school with a weird kid who was always scratching his butthole area and then sniffing his fingers.
Jaxson's middle name Eldrick? Dude sounds dead on Tiger.
That sort of unforced idiocy just had no purpose. What possible benefit did that have for anyone?
Per Tripod himself, Cal brought Wenyen in claiming he was going to turn him into an NBA shooting guard (like GD Bobby Perry).
That sort of unforced idiocy just had no purpose. What possible benefit did that have for anyone?
The whole Khalil Whitney saga was when I realized something was “off” in Cal’s entire approach to recruiting at UK. Kids began using Cal and UK to amplify *their brand.
Poythress is also a true gentleman from all I’ve heard and read.
Haven’t heard the term Epizootiac in a while. That was the derivation in our house, at least.
Back to the beach. Peace!
Poythress is also a true gentleman from all I’ve heard and read.
Haven’t heard the term Epizootiac in a while. That was the derivation in our house, at least.
Back to the beach. Peace!