vas_a_morir
Banned
So, does this mean UK now has the best draft class?
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NCAA Men's College Basketball 2012-2013 Season |OT|
- Thread starter thefro
- Start date
So, does this mean UK now has the best draft class?
It was already the best class aside from ESPN rankings. But ESPN rankings have a bad track record overall. Remember they had Austin rivers over Anthony Davis. Also think they had josh Selby and Xavier Henry over john wall.
vas_a_morir
Banned
I'd say if you took Shabazz Muhammad out of the equation, it's a clear number one class for UK. Is Shabazz really that good? (I mean, is he still a lottery pick despite not being cleared?) I don't follow recruiting that much.
Most places have Shabazz projected as a top 2 pick without him having played a minute of college ball - I'd think it'd be the same if he was declared ineligible.
Yeah for most years top 5 recruits I imagine the year of college doesn't do all that much for their draft stock, just look at Enes Kanter. Of course big men are more likely to be drafted on potential than guards or small forwards, so he could drop a bit more than that, especially if some people have great years in college this year. If he dropped out of the lottery it would be a complete shock no matter what happens in college this year though.
MightyHealthy
Banned
So I'm late to the whole Zay Jackson thing, but Murray State and the prosecutors for the case should be ASHAMED.
He should have been charged with 2 counts of attempted murder and kicked off the team outright...not given a weak ass wonton endangerment charge and "suspended indefinitely."
SMH
He should have been charged with 2 counts of attempted murder and kicked off the team outright...not given a weak ass wonton endangerment charge and "suspended indefinitely."
SMH
He has basically no offensive game yet outside of dunks(even less than noel does), and he is not as quick on the defensive side moving his feet, but he is certainly closer than anyone thought at the start.
If he can be good enough to stay on the floor at the same time as Noel the interior defense will be insane.
I think Wiltjer and Goodwin are going to have to carry the load offensively this year, they are the two that are the furthest along and most consistent.
Poythress is quite possibly the most talented all around but I don't know if he has the full offensive toolkit yet though, he reminds me of a bigger MKG.
Mays and Hood have looked completely solid and make consistently good veteran decisions, so this team may have more depth than anticipated, and more of a buffer to get the young guys online.
Harrow it's hard to say, he certainly looks like he belongs skillwise(his handle looked like it could be the most solid of any of the point guards cal has had here), but he was getting bullied by Goodwin when he was playing point on the other team. But how many teams are going to have a 6'5" 200 lb point guard with that kind of athleticism?
Wiggins has been a "supposed" UK lock forever so that would be a huge huge huge get for Huckleberry if he could swing it.
Speaking of recruiting, Duke had Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor and Theo Pinson make an official visit this past weekend (they also visited UNC while they were there). They were there for the Countdown to Craziness event Friday and back with the Duke Basketball Team to watch the football game vs UNC.
My favorite part is Jones recounting their first visit to UNC
"Me, Theo and Jahlil were out there shooting around and we found the spot where Austin Rivers hit that crazy buzzer beater three to win the game last season. So we started to reenact it. All in fun though. Theo was the first one to make it."
Coupled by the huge football win and the great crowd at the game, that visit couldn't have gone any better.
I finally had a chance to sit down and watch the Duke practice at Fort Brag. It never hurts to scout an upcoming opponent 
. Anyways, there was one section where ESPN actually showed Coach K teaching/reviewing the Shake Pick and Roll to his players.
Here is the play:
Duke had the players in the following position in relation to the diagram.
1 = Cook
5 = Plumblee
2 = Murphy (?)
3 = Kelly
4 = Saluimon
When you have a such a good shooting PF like Kelly this is a pretty dangerous set. It really spaces the floor and gives Cook and Plumblee plenty of room to work the PnR. I do wonder how well Cook will be at running the PnR. My lack of knowledge is the reason for the doubt. I just haven't watched enough of Cook and Duke. He might be great at scoring and decision making. I just am ignorant at this point and time. The nice thing is even if the team stops the PnR, Plumblee should be able to get some great post positions off this action.
Kentucky runs this play as well. They call it "Fist Up" I believe. They used it quite a bit last year. This play works well against 2-3 zones as well as man to man. So when teams like South Carolina last year tried to zone up Kentucky, UK just ran this play and ate their lunch.
The Shake PnR is a variation of the Spread PnR. The only changes, to my knowledge, are the angle of the screen and the location where the screen is set ( wing versus, center of the floor ).
Here is the a picture of the Spread Pick and Roll. There is more info out there on the interwebs about this play than the shake.
You can see the differences I mentioned above about the location of the screen and the angle.
If you want to see the Spread and Shake PnR in action here is a clip someone put together of the Spurs running these plays. This clip show the Spurs running both types of plays. The second play in that clip is a Spread PnR that leads directly into a Shake PnR.
Anyways, props to ESPN for shutting their analysts mouths for a moment and letting the fans get to hear Coach K teaching some of the finer points of this play. Great stuff.
. Anyways, there was one section where ESPN actually showed Coach K teaching/reviewing the Shake Pick and Roll to his players. Here is the play:
Duke had the players in the following position in relation to the diagram.
1 = Cook
5 = Plumblee
2 = Murphy (?)
3 = Kelly
4 = Saluimon
When you have a such a good shooting PF like Kelly this is a pretty dangerous set. It really spaces the floor and gives Cook and Plumblee plenty of room to work the PnR. I do wonder how well Cook will be at running the PnR. My lack of knowledge is the reason for the doubt. I just haven't watched enough of Cook and Duke. He might be great at scoring and decision making. I just am ignorant at this point and time. The nice thing is even if the team stops the PnR, Plumblee should be able to get some great post positions off this action.
Kentucky runs this play as well. They call it "Fist Up" I believe. They used it quite a bit last year. This play works well against 2-3 zones as well as man to man. So when teams like South Carolina last year tried to zone up Kentucky, UK just ran this play and ate their lunch.
The Shake PnR is a variation of the Spread PnR. The only changes, to my knowledge, are the angle of the screen and the location where the screen is set ( wing versus, center of the floor ).
Here is the a picture of the Spread Pick and Roll. There is more info out there on the interwebs about this play than the shake.
You can see the differences I mentioned above about the location of the screen and the angle.
If you want to see the Spread and Shake PnR in action here is a clip someone put together of the Spurs running these plays. This clip show the Spurs running both types of plays. The second play in that clip is a Spread PnR that leads directly into a Shake PnR.
Anyways, props to ESPN for shutting their analysts mouths for a moment and letting the fans get to hear Coach K teaching some of the finer points of this play. Great stuff.
Grover Cleveland
Member
The thing is: we're all kinda in the dark as to how good Quinn Cook can be.
He was amazing in high school, but a nagging knee injury (torn meniscus that he played through instead of getting surgery for) set back his pre-season progression last year and he was never able to catch up all the way. He gave us some bright glimpses and poor moments, but I don't think he gave us enough of a sample size last year to project how good he'll be in the future at this level.
And...injury problems might be a concern with him. Duke had to sit him down in the middle of the season last year after tweaking the same knee again. He says he's fine now, the doctors say he should be fine, but I'm wary of whether or not that knee will be able to hold up for a full six month season.
I refuse to get my hopes up on Wiggins. Dude's going to UK, probably giving them the greatest recruiting class in history once they also land Randle.
They also saw UNC practice on Saturday morning, but to me the whole "visiting UNC" part seemed like a sympathy visit due to proximity. I still doubt the trio is a package deal anywhere, but I think the only one UNC has a shot at is Pinson.
They also saw UNC practice on Saturday morning, but to me the whole "visiting UNC" part seemed like a sympathy visit due to proximity. I still doubt the trio is a package deal anywhere, but I think the only one UNC has a shot at is Pinson.
The initial rumors on Wiggins were that it was UK if he went to 2013 and FSU if he stayed 2014, and it seems this whole group of players has planned from the start to play together as probably the most taletned college basketball team ever, all the current UK commits have been quoted talking about Wiggins and Randle as if they were already committed.
So it seems likely, but It's not a done deal until they sign on the line which is dotted.
Even if I try and detach my UK fandom I am interested in seeing it happen and how a team like that plays. It is basically completely unprecedented. That's just an absurd level of talent, especially if there are any players left from this years team.
You might be correct. I didn't know the coach was by default guilty unless he can prove otherwise.
Supposedly they have changed the penalty structure as well.
I am not up on all the rules and regulations. So some matters are "new to me" and not really new
ErasureAcer
Banned
We're #30. We're #30!
perfectchaos007
Member
We're #29! And I think a few years ago Texas and Minnesota faced off in an intense battle in the NCAA tourney.
ErasureAcer
Banned
Yeah, you guys had a few big 3's in a row while keeping us scoreless. The rest of the game was even. One bad 3 minute stretch can do a team in.
Another practice report has been posted on Cal's website. Interesting stuff for UK fans as always.
The possibility of Harrow and Wiltjer coming off the bench is pretty sick in one sense. Both players are excellent depth to have at the guard and forward positions. Though I would assume there would be more growing pains early with Goodwin learning the PG position than if Harrow was running it.
I thought all the Cauley-Stein chatter was just preseason hype... seems like I was mistaken.
The possibility of Harrow and Wiltjer coming off the bench is pretty sick in one sense. Both players are excellent depth to have at the guard and forward positions. Though I would assume there would be more growing pains early with Goodwin learning the PG position than if Harrow was running it.
I thought all the Cauley-Stein chatter was just preseason hype... seems like I was mistaken.
Brian Fellows
Pete Carroll Owns Me
Michigan does a similar drill with 3 pointers. Nik Stauskas broke the team record the first week he was there. Don't know what his official record is but I have seen him make 102 in 5 minutes in his back yard. That was using 2 balls though. I think the actual drill only uses 1 ball. His record with 1 ball seems to be 73.
Damn!
I am going to have to try and find a way to watch some of his games. That is pretty sick
I find it hilarious that the media is running with "The Big Handsome" nickname when it's totally the opposite of Cody Zeller's real personality (super humble, big Christian, level-headed, no ego). I guess that's what made it a great joke when the rap video came out.
Is Nov 1st the first day for exhibition games? IU plays on Thursday.
bucknuticus
Member
We play tonight.
Brian Fellows
Pete Carroll Owns Me
Damn!
I am going to have to try and find a way to watch some of his games. That is pretty sick
Yeah he's the freshman I'm most excited about. Pretty much everyone knows about McGary and Robinson by now but I feel like Nik is still coming in under the radar despite being a top 70 recruit himself.
Michigan's first game is also Thursday but I know Duke and Illinois have already played.
perfectchaos007
Member
Why are some of you guys acting like scrimmages mean something? No one starts the season until November 9th
bucknuticus
Member
Uk fans man, its all they got!
MightyHealthy
Banned
http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/110112aad.html
Free b-ball season posters at Rally's, O'Reilly Auto Parts, & Thornton's...
Free b-ball season posters at Rally's, O'Reilly Auto Parts, & Thornton's...
There is no one in college basketball that is as scary or as interesting to watch when they are mad as Frank Martin.
Yep, I'm happy to see us getting a bit more recognition in football and basketball.
Going to miss Royce White though.
For sure. I know it was what was best for him but I would be so excited for basketball this year if he had stayed. I might've bought season tickets.
Look out for Lucious and Clyburn this year. They had to sit out last year but they seem to be solid talent. I think we might surprise some people again. We're picked 8th in Big 12 again, at least.
TheNatural
My Member!
Cards rolling huge in exhibition game. Yeah, I know they mean jack shit, but this team looks really really good - even without two major contributors playing. Harrell looks like a fucking beast.
I'm thinking this two big lineup for UK is going to be nuts this year, team could be up there with last years in terms of block numbers. That lineup with Noel, WCS and Wiltjer has to be the biggest lineup in college basketball. Of course that lineup won't work if the opposing SF is more agile than a corpse, but still..
The main thing that is worrying me so far is that I don't see a facilitator on the team yet. No point guard that looks to pass first. Goodwin and Harrow both look decent at getting their own offense, not so much at setting up others.
The main thing that is worrying me so far is that I don't see a facilitator on the team yet. No point guard that looks to pass first. Goodwin and Harrow both look decent at getting their own offense, not so much at setting up others.
Woo, Gators beat the mighty Nebraska-Kearney 101-71. Good things is that most (all?) of the freshmen contributed significantly scoring wise and Yeugette has a double-double. On the bad side, perimeter defense was a bit subpar and Young & Murphy had subpar performances. Also offense not flowing well in the post due to some spotty efforts at the point by Rosario and Wilbekin. So good and bad. Next game against Georgetown will be a much stiffer test. Hopefully with Prather in the next game (sat out due to concussion suffered in a practice game) the rebounding and defense will be better. Onward and upward
PotatoeMasher
Member
I didn't watch all of it, but a little rough with lots of promise. Ball-handling and decision-making is suspect, as you'd anticipate at this point of the year.
Cal's proven he builds great teams by the end of the season, so I'm not worried at all.
TheNatural
My Member!
None of UK's freshman is as good as their positional counterparts that left early last year, because this class simply is just not near as good. "Building" only goes as far as how many players were already lottery projections before they even stepped foot on campus.