Starting Five 2018
- Thread starter JC43
- Start date
Knox is seriously thinking of returning next year at this point. Family is not in need and is supportive if he wants to stay and play his way into a top 5 pick. Specifically he needs to improve his ball handling and strength, which as we know he can do in the NBA as well. I am not saying he will stay, but it's not automatic as of this past weekend from what I was told. Alexander is gone. Wynyard I've heard will be asked to leave. Hear 2 other guys are thinking of transferring but wasn't given names at this time--will have more soon.
Thanks for the info. Would guess the two considering transferring would be Green and SKJ.
Whew doggy getting Knox back along with Vanderbilt would be stunning
Makes no sense for anyone to transfer IMO.Jones contributed when finally given a chance and Green more than likely will be starting point guard.
Why in the world would Green transfer this year and have to sit out a year and not get to play for 2 years. Green was getting 30-35 minutes when Cal went with SGA, Green, Vanderbilt, PJ, and Gabriel playing more at the starting 5. Diallo and Richards minutes went down considerably over the year and Richards was down to about 10-12 minutes and Diallo went from about 30 minutes to 15 minutes. PG Green is set up to start and be one of the leaders next for UK. In Richards position any school including small schools would have sit Richards on the bench how he was playing from Mid-year to end. Richards could have really helped us if he would have taken Coach Payne's working and practicing with the big guys and would have listened to him and Coach Cal more. To start the Kansas State game right out of the gate a beautiful pass to Richards that should have went for a layup or a Huge Dunk that would have been a huge start for him and for Kentucky Thursday night but Richards once again gets stripped and KSU gets the ball on 1st possession on the Turnover. This is how Richards was most of the season he doesn't have the best of hands, how many layups and even Dunks did he miss this year. The big one was in the South Carolina game when he missed 2 huge layup and a Dunk that put South Carolina on there way on that big comeback that night in Columbia South Carolina. His rebounding as Coach Cal tells him over and over to rebound with both hands is either stripped or stolen or knocked out of bounds on him. The best I seen on Richards is he does have a nice touch from 10-15 FT and at the Free Throw Line. Richards should stay at UK and work with Payne and Cal and improve his game and become that Double/Double player that he can be if he puts the effort in and works on that in the off season and get ready for next year.
For all we know it’s baker and Take your pick skj or Richards. I don’t see green leaving. He is too big a contributor and is gonna be solid next year.
That's a lie. Knox was upfront from day 1 about his intent to be in this draft. Coach Cal has been totally supportive. The Knox family will be interviewing agents in the coming weeks. His days of playing for free are over.
Agree as is diallo , Vanderbilt and Alexander !!!! Kentucky really needs to land ej Montgomery and they will be fine. If not it's vital they keep Richards and skj. A transfer from one of them would be a crucial blow if they didn't land Montgomery. Washington will have a monster year next year. The backcourt is insane ... might be the best 3 pt shooting team in a long time . Definitely will be Cals best shooting team. My guess is they will play a different style next year. Should look something like Villanova. Run and shoot. Despite what was said there is still possibility of a Ashton hagans and James wiseman reclass. Will know around July or August for sure.
I think Montgomery goes to Duke to replace a transferring Bolden. Diallo shocks BBN and returns. UK loses Knox, SGA, and Vanderbilt
UK:
Richards
Washington
Diallo
Johnson
Green
--------------
Bench:
--------------
Quickley
SKJ
Gabriel
Herro
UK:
Richards
Washington
Diallo
Johnson
Green
--------------
Bench:
--------------
Quickley
SKJ
Gabriel
Herro
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Tai Wynyard would probably be one of them. Maybe Baker as well.
Green’s unlikely to leave. He’ll be the starting point guard if Shai leaves as expected.
My starting 5 is green , quickly , johnson , Washington and Richards or Montgomery .
Bench : baker , Gabriel , herro and skj
I'll believe Knox when I see it. Every year there's one or 2 players "considering" coming back who never do. Terrence Jones is the only one in recent memory who had every right to leave and didn't. Maybe WCS but TJ was a lottery if memory serves me right after being a double double machine his first year. He may not be top 5, but depending on his draft workouts, he's almost guaranteed lottery. No guarantee he's top 5 next year either. And 2 transfers? I can see SKJ, maybe, but who else?
Even if Duke gets Montgomery, he is not a center and they will have no inside game at all. Duke will be down next year, don't let them getting the 3 top guys fool you. They all play same position and are sure as hell no Bagley.
I certainly can't see Baker transferring after spending the entire season on the bench with an injury. Would he want to sit out a second straight year without playing one second of college ball??? I just can't imagine that scenario.
While I think it unlikely, it is certainly possible that everyone returns (I give it less than a 5% chance).
How could it happen?
- JV realize he isn't a first round pick due to his in ability to make a contested shot outside 3', and NBA concerns over his injury history, & needs to show he can make 10-15' jumpers and stay healthy
- HD realize his stock did not improve from last spring, in fact it went down, and he needs to show he can be more consistent and not a 3pt liability
- PJW realize he is an undersized PF, and needs to either dominate down low or develop some SF skills
Now the big 2:
- KK I don't think is a hardship case. Yes he is probably a lottery pick, certainly 1st round. But he realizes his game is not NBA-ready, and so would he rather develop it in the G-League or as the 12th-13th man on the bench, or in college. Pro's for leaving would be obviously the instant $, and to get to that 2nd contract sooner, focus only on basketball (no classes), and practice w/ slightly better competition. Con's would be that he wouldn't "play" nearly as much, so he actually might not improve as well or as fast, and so he might get to that 2nd contract not in as good a position to demand top $ as if he entered the league "more ready".
- SGA, much the same as with KK. Yeah he scored a lot for the the last couple of weeks, and had a high assist total. But he's not really a scoring PG when you watch him (whose hesitation drives won't work in the NBA), and he's not really a assist guy either.
Even if we don't keep KK or SGA, do I dare say it?
Platoon 2.0.
Not a pure (50/50) platoon, but a 60/40 or 65/35 platoon.
"Starters" play 6 min segments, "bench" play 4 min segments.
Until the Poythress injury, the Platoon worked incredibly well, with the 15 team playing Historically Great Defense until then.
Richards, Vanderbilt, Washington, Diallo, Quickley
SGA, Gabriel, Johnson, Herro/Baker, Green
How could it happen?
- JV realize he isn't a first round pick due to his in ability to make a contested shot outside 3', and NBA concerns over his injury history, & needs to show he can make 10-15' jumpers and stay healthy
- HD realize his stock did not improve from last spring, in fact it went down, and he needs to show he can be more consistent and not a 3pt liability
- PJW realize he is an undersized PF, and needs to either dominate down low or develop some SF skills
Now the big 2:
- KK I don't think is a hardship case. Yes he is probably a lottery pick, certainly 1st round. But he realizes his game is not NBA-ready, and so would he rather develop it in the G-League or as the 12th-13th man on the bench, or in college. Pro's for leaving would be obviously the instant $, and to get to that 2nd contract sooner, focus only on basketball (no classes), and practice w/ slightly better competition. Con's would be that he wouldn't "play" nearly as much, so he actually might not improve as well or as fast, and so he might get to that 2nd contract not in as good a position to demand top $ as if he entered the league "more ready".
- SGA, much the same as with KK. Yeah he scored a lot for the the last couple of weeks, and had a high assist total. But he's not really a scoring PG when you watch him (whose hesitation drives won't work in the NBA), and he's not really a assist guy either.
Even if we don't keep KK or SGA, do I dare say it?
Platoon 2.0.
Not a pure (50/50) platoon, but a 60/40 or 65/35 platoon.
"Starters" play 6 min segments, "bench" play 4 min segments.
Until the Poythress injury, the Platoon worked incredibly well, with the 15 team playing Historically Great Defense until then.
Richards, Vanderbilt, Washington, Diallo, Quickley
SGA, Gabriel, Johnson, Herro/Baker, Green
I could easily see this happening and that is definitely the lineup Cal would go with.
This board might explode. We finally have two dead eye shooters in Baker/Herro and Gabriel has proven his worth shooting the ball as well; on top of that Quickly is one of the better shooting PGs we've recruited.
So finally a team with 4 legitimate shooting threats...and they are all in the bench likely to be used one at a time for the most part with small spurts of 2 at a time.
This board would be comical after the first bad shooting game.
5-Vanderbilt
4-Washington
3-Johnson
2-Quickley
1- Green
Gabriel, Richards, SKJ, Baker, Herro on the bench
Length and athleticism with our starters...Dominant low post...Floor general point guard.
3-point shooters and rim protection on the bench.
That's assuming Shai, Knox, and Diallo go pro.
4-Washington
3-Johnson
2-Quickley
1- Green
Gabriel, Richards, SKJ, Baker, Herro on the bench
Length and athleticism with our starters...Dominant low post...Floor general point guard.
3-point shooters and rim protection on the bench.
That's assuming Shai, Knox, and Diallo go pro.
With Vanderbilt
PG Quickley
Combo Quade
SF Johnson
PF Washington
C Vanderbilt
6th Man - Gabriel
Bench:
Herro
Baker
SKJ
Richards
Without Vanderbilt
PG Quickley
Combo Quade
SF Johnson
PF Washington
C Richards
6th Man - Gabriel
Bench:
Herro
Baker
SKJ
Either way, I am stoked. Experience returning, great 3-point shooting, a lot of frontcourt improvement.
PG Quickley
Combo Quade
SF Johnson
PF Washington
C Vanderbilt
6th Man - Gabriel
Bench:
Herro
Baker
SKJ
Richards
Without Vanderbilt
PG Quickley
Combo Quade
SF Johnson
PF Washington
C Richards
6th Man - Gabriel
Bench:
Herro
Baker
SKJ
Either way, I am stoked. Experience returning, great 3-point shooting, a lot of frontcourt improvement.
Why are there so many people putting the incoming freshmen in their projected starting lineups? I don't see any of them being transcendent game changers, just solid contribution-type players. I'd much rather have some experience on the court, and work the freshmen in more and more over the season. It's not like the juniors and sophomores weren't also 5 stars...
True Plus SGA is at his draft ceiling IMO he should go. Knox, on the other hand, can get in the Top 5 next year. ..
as he throws gasoline on the fire..........You know there are some "realist" that will be thinking this is possible.......
Knox is more of a question mark but he should absolutely go too. Very rare a guy who is ALREADY considered a lottery pick improves his stock by staying another year in college and getting older.
Ivan Rabb, Miles Bridges, Robert Williams, Grayson Allen, etc all hurt their stock by staying when they were lottery picks.
The degree in which they impact the game can and likely will vary. And frankly it could change throughout the season, like we saw with SGA this season.
My starting lineup, which includes Johnson and Quickley, is based on position.
Johnson is the most sure-thing in my opinion. He is a true wing player. I expect him to make a huge impact as a replacement for Knox. It's possible Cal may go with Herro as a third guard (Herro is 6-5 btw) I suppose, but generally that's not something he likes to do. He's a sucker for true wings.
Quickley I am giving the nod to because he is a true PG. Quade seemed to play better off the ball this season, so I expect Quade will "primarily" play SG with some minutes here and there at the 1. Both Quade and Quickley are good shooters, especially Quickley.