Kentucky and one and dones

[CorduroyG]

I dont get why people think kentucky and calipari have this secret formula for getting these guys ready for the next level. ALL THESE GUYS ARE TOP HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITS! THE CREAM OF THE CROP! these guys could go to any college and still be in the nba after 1 year. if john wall went to uhhhh north carolina st would he be out of the league right now? if anthony davis went to alabama would he have suddenly turned into freshman fab melo?

im not denying calipari has had great success with these guys, but any freakin coach would have success with them and they'd be in the nba the next year no matter what, unless theres a coach dumb enough not to play them for whatever reason. noel will be a top pick next year whether he comes here or gtown or uk, its not like calipari is gonna magically transform him into a top pick, he already is. calipari gets credit for recruiting these guys and getting them to committ (whether legal or illegal), but not for molding them into nba players or whatever you wanna call it.

and ive said "these guys" way too many times

 

[crazyqx83]

Here are the facts:

Calipari has had 14 recruits suit up at Kentucky in his 3 years in Lexington. As of next season, only 3 of those players will not be in the NBA. One was a player that transferred out after 1 year (Poole), one was a JUCO transfer (Vargas) and the third was a lanky unorthodox freshman (Wiltjer). Only 1 was ranked as a 5-star in his class (Wiltjer).

During the same time period, many prospects have seen their draft stock plummet for various reasons. Players that were ranked in the top-25 and had an opportunity to go to UK (Josh Selby, Will Barton, Adreian Payne, CJ Leslie) now find themselves as 2nd round picks, or worse. Others, like Harrison Barnes and John Henson saw their development stagnate.

For whatever reason, Calipari has been the best coach in the country at maintaining his player's draft stock and has made three of his players OAD #1 overall picks. Not to mention going to 2 FFs and winning 1 NC in 3 years. How can you argue with that track record?

 

[Knicks411]

Yeah, I think it is a little inbetween the first post and the second post.

Guys like Anthony Davis, John Wall, Derrick Rose; these are the cream of the crop. But then you look at a guy like Daniel Orton who went in the first round, or Eric Bledsoe, who was the 52nd ranked player according to RSCI during his senior year in high school, he went inside the top 20.

im not denying calipari has had great success with these guys, but any freakin coach would have success with them and they'd be in the nba the next year no matter what, unless theres a coach dumb enough not to play them for whatever reason. noel will be a top pick next year whether he comes here or gtown or uk, its not like calipari is gonna magically transform him into a top pick, he already is.

I hear that, but at the same time, as the second post points out, there are guys whose stock drops as they come to college. Maybe that has nothing to do with their coaches in college, or maybe it does. I dunno. Brandon Knight was one spot ahead of Tobias Harris in the RSCI rankings last year; he went something like 12 spots ahead of Harris in the draft. He was 2 spots ahead of Josh Selby, who went in the second round. Sullinger, who was ahead of Knight in the RSCI rankings, is likely going to go later in this draft than Knight went in his.

 

[maxxyz]

No doubt the Kentucky freshmen were great, but I feel it was the sophomores that pushed them to the top. Without Lamb and Jones staying (both could have declared last year and been drafted) they likely don't make the final four.

 

[orangecuse]

Yeah, I think it is a little inbetween the first post and the second post.

Guys like Anthony Davis, John Wall, Derrick Rose; these are the cream of the crop. But then you look at a guy like Daniel Orton who went in the first round, or Eric Bledsoe, who was the 52nd ranked player according to RSCI during his senior year in high school, he went inside the top 20.




I hear that, but at the same time, as the second post points out, there are guys whose stock drops as they come to college. Maybe that has nothing to do with their coaches in college, or maybe it does. I dunno. Brandon Knight was one spot ahead of Tobias Harris in the RSCI rankings last year; he went something like 12 spots ahead of Harris in the draft. He was 2 spots ahead of Josh Selby, who went in the second round. Sullinger, who was ahead of Knight in the RSCI rankings, is likely going to go later in this draft than Knight went in his.

Yeah, clear cut one and doners/cream of the crop as you mention are certainly not products of Calipari and would be NBA lottery type picks no matter where they had to go to school for one year. Many non lottery type, though still relatively highly regarded, likely are just too highly rated coming out of the preps, as many know there are flaws in the rating system. It's really hard to buy into the premise that obvious one and doner lottery type kids were developed by Kentucky, or any program, to that elite level in 6 short months. They themselves are responsible due to their own talent and work/effort they put in honing their skills, etc. up to that point more than the very short time spent at that program.

 

[Knicks411]

The best thign you can say for UK is it seems like none of their freshmen come in and underachieve. Look at guys like Harrison Barnes, Perry Jones; they were supposed to be one and done and go in the top 3 in the draft.

 

[orangecuse]

Maybe...I don't know though...UK seems to get the cream of the crop with the cherry on top type...the best of the best...Top Gun Maverick and Ice Man type...destined not to underachieve in any way, shape or form.

 

[jekelish]

I think the biggest, or one of the biggest, things with Calipari is that he is much more willing to actually PLAY all of his big time recruits, which is largely because he has so much turnover from year to year. That immediate playing time gets them ready faster than getting 10-15 minutes a game.

 

[Knicks411]

I think the biggest, or one of the biggest, things with Calipari is that he is much more willing to actually PLAY all of his big time recruits, which is largely because he has so much turnover from year to year. That immediate playing time gets them ready faster than getting 10-15 minutes a game.

Yeah, I was going to say this. It's a function of the way he coaches and builds his team, not only is he willing to play them, he HAS to play them no matter what, because the veterans from the team the year prior are probably already in the NBA.

If instead of getting Teague to be his PG, he had MCW instead, MCW would've been forcefed 30 minutes per game, pretty much regardless of whether or not he was ready.