Ostensibly Hoops

[Jungle Rat]

given that all of UK's freshman class would have been lottery picks if they'd gone straight to the NBA, I can't see how UK is a dream maker, other than giving them a chance to win an NCAA title.

You just answered your own jealous question.

[Saint]

who are you, Rashard McCants?

[eCat]

yea, to the average guy they know Cal is full of shit, and I"m sure he is pissing off coaches left and right but he has to feed the monster and he is the best at it we've had yet.

[hedge]

Feed the monster. Best description of UK fandom yet...

[crotch]

......looks as if Willie Cauley-Stein is gonna be a hoss for the Wildcats.


Since practice began Cal has given rave reviews to the 6-10 guy from Kansas, saying this back in June to Andy Katz


The latest player to raise Calipari’s expectations is the least heralded of the four freshmen — 6-10 center Willie Cauley. “He’s so skilled, real skilled,’’ Calipari said Wednesday night. “I was stunned how good he was.’’ Calipari is already considering playing Cauley, as well has heralded 6-10 recruit Nerlens Noel together on a frontline with 6-7 Alex Poythress rotating in, as well.

Then this in his practice notes earlier this week


Surely you’ve heard Coach Cal call Cauley-Stein underrated. Watch him for 10 minutes and you’ll understand why. He may be the least heralded of UK’s four-man freshman class, but the guy is really talented. Not only is he tall, he’s long (there’s a difference). He has a great vertical jump so lob dunks will still be a big part of the offense, but he’s also extremely fast. During sprints on Wednesday, Calipari noticed that Cauley-Stein gallops like a gazelle. “This becomes a problem,” Calipari said. “Willie just showed me he’s fast. If Willie’s not finishing first or second (in our sprints), we’ve got a problem. You’re making (Kyle) run faster than he ever has. That’s good. We’re helping each other.” Calipari said speed could be one of the strengths of this team.

[Bklyn]

What's crazy is that he played WR in HS, too. You would expect he would have some speed. That's a target and a half in the red zone.

[crotch]

He's too athletic and skilled to play for the UK football team..........

[hedge]

"......looks as if Willie Cauley-Stein is gonna be a hoss for the Wildcats."

Yeah, yeah, and "everybody" (i.e., the posters at IC) is saying this 6'10" four star guy we've got coming in this year (Joel James) is looking great and will contribute immediately. I'll believe it when I see it. Something else I think I'll wait to see before I believe is Cal turn a kid who isn't already a lottery pick out of high school (as Stu said) into one. Cal is a good coach but he's a better salesman. Let's not fool ourselves that the reason Derrick Rose, John Wall, Cousins, etc, etc, are NBA studs is b/c they spent a year developing their game under Cal. Now then, if he turns a comparative marginal player like this guy Crotch mentioned into a lottery pick, I'll reassess that opinion...

[crotch]

Hedge, if given the chance, Cal could turn your wahed up semi-athletic butt into a lottery pick... ....If only you'd have a little faith bud, you could be a millionaire...and a UK basketball alum. .

...and btw, was smart of ol' Roy to decide not to play UK in roundball next season. Would have been a massacre.

[crotch]

Erin Andrews to Fox...

http://www.lex18.com/news/erin-andrews- ... l-pregame/

[Bluecat]

So crotch.........is Cal good enough for you now?

Hedge -- I don't think anyone anticipated Bledsoe being a top 20 pick (maybe even a lottery pick?) or Josh Harrellson as even an NBA role player, so he does have a few bullet points to throw on the coaching resume.

[Saint]

Bledsoe was a top 25 recruit so there was an expectation that he could be a lottery pick. playing on a team of great players at UK just enhanced that.

Harrelson was only under Cal for 2 seasons so I don't think he can take that much credit for him but him being on an NBA team probably says more about Cal's coaching ability than his lottery picks the last few years.

Cal's a great recruiter (mainly because of WWWes but I guess that's part of the game now) but he (and a lot of other NCAA coaches) are getting undue credit for turning players into NBA prospects. Many of those lottery picks would have been so out of HS if the NBA didn't change its rules so playing a year or 2 in college and still being a lottery pick doesn't mean your college coach is the key to an NBA guaranteed contract.

You want to go to a big-name college, play on TV a lot, maybe win a national championship? Go to UK, Carolina, KU or maybe UCLA and that could happen. But don't think that going to these schools is what is going to help you get into the NBA. In fact, if you're a 25-50 player, you might be better off going somewhere you could get more of a chance to shine instead of behind these top 10 guys the big programs are pulling in annually.

[crotch]

So crotch.........is Cal good enough for you now?

The jury is still out on Calipari.... Great recruiter and good coach. I'm waiting for him to become a great coach before I give the seal of approval. Check back with me in a couple of years.

[eCat]

Bledsoe was a top 25 recruit so there was an expectation that he could be a lottery pick. playing on a team of great players at UK just enhanced that.

Harrelson was only under Cal for 2 seasons so I don't think he can take that much credit for him but him being on an NBA team probably says more about Cal's coaching ability than his lottery picks the last few years.

Cal's a great recruiter (mainly because of WWWes but I guess that's part of the game now) but he (and a lot of other NCAA coaches) are getting undue credit for turning players into NBA prospects. Many of those lottery picks would have been so out of HS if the NBA didn't change its rules so playing a year or 2 in college and still being a lottery pick doesn't mean your college coach is the key to an NBA guaranteed contract.

You want to go to a big-name college, play on TV a lot, maybe win a national championship? Go to UK, Carolina, KU or maybe UCLA and that could happen. But don't think that going to these schools is what is going to help you get into the NBA. In fact, if you're a 25-50 player, you might be better off going somewhere you could get more of a chance to shine instead of behind these top 10 guys the big programs are pulling in annually.

maybe what he is getting credit for is turning them into Kobe Bryants and not Kwame Browns. I have to believe that playing on a team that gets national exposure, plays in made for TV matchups and makes deep tourney runs is going to enhance your opportunities. It will be interesting to see where Shabazz Mohammed ends up going in the draft. He was the #1 consensus player before Noel reclassified and signed with UK. Now , before ever playing a game he is the #1 draft pick consensus, and Mohammed is going to have to prove he is playing on a west coast team at 11pm every night. To an NBA scout that won't make a difference but to a national audience it will.

[eCat]

So crotch.........is Cal good enough for you now?

The jury is still out on Calipari.... Great recruiter and good coach. I'm waiting for him to become a great coach before I give the seal of approval. Check back with me in a couple of years.

Sounds like that jury would even convict a white man.

[crotch]

So crotch.........is Cal good enough for you now?

The jury is still out on Calipari.... Great recruiter and good coach. I'm waiting for him to become a great coach before I give the seal of approval. Check back with me in a couple of years.

Sounds like that jury would even convict a white man.

Indeed it would, eCat.......

[crotch]

Nice graphics added to the front of Memorial .......

[hedge]

Hanging banners for conference championships now? oh, the shame...

[crotch]

It's not a banner....only a big poster.

[Fifer]

Ooooo that picture brings back memories. Just to the right of that poster is the door to the mens locker room of the old Memorial Coliseum pool. Where I spent a good part of four years of my life.