Mohamed Bamba

[AntG168]

He's been to 4 Final Fours in 6 years. If not for UConn he'd have 3 NCAA titles in 6 years. On top of that, he was 2 games from a perfect season. Has a legitimate Final Four contending team this year. Hate reading garbage like this.

"If not for UConn" lol

 

[mauconnfan]

He's been to 4 Final Fours in 6 years. If not for UConn he'd have 3 NCAA titles in 6 years. On top of that, he was 2 games from a perfect season. Has a legitimate Final Four contending team this year. Hate reading garbage like this.

Wow speaking of garbage? LOL

best players in the country year in- year out and you lose to UConn twice and only win 1 of 4? Sorry we did better with A LOT less here in Storrs so take your garbage out elsewhere.

 

[Jaker]

Glad UK likes paying millions to " get close" every year. LOL

 

[Brochacho]

Wow speaking of garbage? LOL

best players in the country year in- year out and you lose to UConn twice and only win 1 of 4? Sorry we did better with A LOT less here in Storrs so take your garbage out elsewhere.

Its posts like these that make me realize how many UConn fans do not truly appreciate it how hard it is to win a NCAA championship, let alone make it to the Final Four.

 

[7774]

Its posts like these that make me realize how many UConn fans do not truly appreciate it how hard it is to win a NCAA championship, let alone make it to the Final Four.

I think that's definitely true in general, we really have made it look 1000x easier than it actually is.

In this specific case, it's just that people on this board are so far off the deep end when it comes to Kentucky/Calipari that there is no room whatsoever for rational thought. Any rational thought puts you into the category of a Calipari defender in their minds.

 

[upstater]

He's been to 4 Final Fours in 6 years. If not for UConn he'd have 3 NCAA titles in 6 years. On top of that, he was 2 games from a perfect season. Has a legitimate Final Four contending team this year. Hate reading garbage like this.

Coudln't UConn make this argument too? Ousted 4 times by eventual national champions in the F8 or S16? There was no one ahead of the eventual champs in those years--it was clear sailing.

 

[Junction]

Rebuild, that's hilarious. Team usually rebuild after NC's and such, why do you guys have to? Oh that's right those one and done's, how's that working? They are good everywhere and as we stand now, I can appreciate that. If they keep winning NC's like they should be I'd get it, but you fans who are actually buying into Squids "we're an NBA draft program" like Hami and others, well that must be getting sickening. Eventually with the country's best talent year after year on the the court you'd love to pull another NC banner up to the rafters on occasion?

Only implying the team has three more scholarships to hand out in theory.

 

[navery12]

At the risk of sounding like a Calipari defender, I don't get the hate for UK. They have good teams consistently which is what some people on here prefer. They also win it all occasionally which is what other people (like me) prefer. And most of all, we always beat them so no bitterness about losing to them

 

[champs99and04]

You had to have felt like Bamba would have been legitimately in play had we signed Hami, right? Envisioning a lineup of Gilbert, Adams, Hami, Larrier, and Bamba is making me incredibly sad. I still think he should come here though, or at least consider it, given that Texas is as worse off as us and we have a gaping hole in the front court next year.

As for Cal, it's one thing to win with the Wall/Davis/Towns teams, but what he has done in-between has really impressed me. This current team is very talented, but by no means is it some NBA all-star squad. He's coached his ass off this year.

 

[Matrim55]

As for Cal, it's one thing to win with the Wall/Davis/Towns teams, but what he has done in-between has really impressed me. This current team is very talented, but by no means is it some NBA all-star squad. He's coached his ass off this year.

Monk, Fox and Adebayo are all potential lottery picks this year, and Briscoe is probably a first rounder if he keeps shooting like he is. I'll grant you this team isn't as packed with future stars as those that you referenced, but let's not undersell their talent.

Also, they're 1-2 against teams that are currently ranked, with the only win courtesy of Monk going bonkers against UNC.

They're not paper tigers or anything, but let's not go crazy here. They have arguably the most talent in the country and are a top 10 team because of it.

 

[Brochacho]

Coudln't UConn make this argument too? Ousted 4 times by eventual national champions in the F8 or S16? There was no one ahead of the eventual champs in those years--it was clear sailing.

No.
UConn beat UK in the title game. UConn beat UK for the right to roll Butler in the title game.

They're not comparable.

 

[King Husky]

At the risk of sounding like a Calipari defender, I don't get the hate for UK. They have good teams consistently which is what some people on here prefer. They also win it all occasionally which is what other people (like me) prefer. And most of all, we always beat them so no bitterness about losing to them

Because 1. The hype machine proclaims UK is the best, the blue blood, the team that we should all be fans of. (Which is not only incorrect and unfair, but directly against our interests as UConn fans). 2. Calipari is a scummy, disrespectful egomaniac.

 

[champs99and04]

Monk, Fox and Adebayo are all potential lottery picks this year, and Briscoe is probably a first rounder if he keeps shooting like he is. I'll grant you this team isn't as packed with future stars as those that you referenced, but let's not undersell their talent.

Also, they're 1-2 against teams that are currently ranked, with the only win courtesy of Monk going bonkers against UNC.

They're not paper tigers or anything, but let's not go crazy here. They have arguably the most talent in the country and are a top 10 team because of it.

No doubt it was a loaded class - not trying to say it wasn't - but it wasn't so loaded that things like experience, continuity, and leadership don't matter. He didn't merely inherit a ready-made championship team; there was a building job to be done, and despite the statistics you cite, most metrics indicate that they're currently the best team in the country.

The guy isn't re-inventing the wheel, but I've been watching this sport too long and seen too many people these things up to believe that he isn't a hell of a coach. If he trades rosters with Ollie retroactive three months ago I can pretty much guarantee you that things go better for us and worse for them, and I say that as somebody who thinks Ollie is and can be a great coach.

 

[mauconnfan]

Monk, Fox and Adebayo are all potential lottery picks this year, and Briscoe is probably a first rounder if he keeps shooting like he is. I'll grant you this team isn't as packed with future stars as those that you referenced, but let's not undersell their talent.

Also, they're 1-2 against teams that are currently ranked, with the only win courtesy of Monk going bonkers against UNC.

They're not paper tigers or anything, but let's not go crazy here. They have arguably the most talent in the country and are a top 10 team because of it.

Not sure how others miss this? And the guys coming off the bench - Gabriel would be a star at UConn this year, he really would and we don't even mention him. No one is saying he's not a good coach ut he's not half as good a coach as he is a salesman. UK did it right, they have a product to sell, legacy fan base and they added some snake oil good for them. But I promise all of these guys calling for KO's head would be twice as bad of he wasn't winning championships with these kind of players on the floor. Imgine the posts "he can't teach anything he's gotta go, Elite 8 doesn't work we need to win the big one", all relatively speaking of course.

 

[upstater]

No.
UConn beat UK in the title game. UConn beat UK for the right to roll Butler in the title game.

They're not comparable.

I agree. But it all depends on who you lose to and who they beat to get their NC. I mean, losing to Michigan St was kind of a ho hum loss for UConn in 09, because UNC was waiting for us. So losing to MSU in the F4 was not nearly as bad a loss as losing to Maryland in the F8. The Maryland loss was exponentially worse. That was a national championship team for UConn, and the difference was a bucket.

 

[David 76]

Somebody gathered the data that over the time the Squid got to KY to the present, KY has had more top players than the UConn women.
Slightly different results.

 

[James]

I actually agree with @mauconnfan on gabriel, he would 100% be able to showcase everything he has here as a 30 mpg+ starter. Its not like scouts will favor him JUST because he goes to UK, but if you star there you are set... just facts. he is in that fringe territory where he might get recruited over soon. Marcus lee could have been here and progressed as our main big too.

Adams has to be on nba scouts radar, he has a ton of physical tools (plus wingspan, bounce, first step) and is putting up NUMBERS. His assist rate is kind of crazy, as is his overall efficiency. Elfrid payton was a recent top ten pick out the sun belt playing worst comp... its all about opportunity really. I'm 100% sure adams is satisfied with being able to run his own team as a sophomore even though we have struggled with injuries and the wins column. We all saw how much he gave it to Evans in the second half in Maui, and Evans is touted as a first rounder. we all saw him defend Levert, who is putting in work for the brooklyn nets right now.

 

[BUConn10]

I actually agree with @mauconnfan on gabriel, he would 100% be able to showcase everything he has here as a 30 mpg+ starter. Its not like scouts will favor him JUST because he goes to UK, but if you star there you are set... just facts. he is in that fringe territory where he might get recruited over soon. Marcus lee could have been here and progressed as our main big too.

Adams has to be on nba scouts radar, he has a ton of physical tools (plus wingspan, bounce, first step) and is putting up NUMBERS. His assist rate is kind of crazy, as is his overall efficiency. Elfrid payton was a recent top ten pick out the sun belt playing worst comp... its all about opportunity really. I'm 100% sure adams is satisfied with being able to run his own team as a sophomore even though we have struggled with injuries and the wins column. We all saw how much he gave it to Evans in the second half in Maui, and Evans is touted as a first rounder. we all saw him defend Levert, who is putting in work for the brooklyn nets right now.

You are right, Gabriel likely would have been able to showcase at UConn vs riding the bench at UK this year, but in my opinion saying "scouts wont favor him just because he went to UK" in my opinion is slightly false. I think guys DO get a bump in scout's eyes by simply wearing a UK jersey. Let me put it this way; Gabriel coming off the bench with minimal impact and minutes at UK still gives him late first round attention maybe this year or next, but him averaging tose same minutes and numbers on this current UConn team in my opinion would not. NBA scouts are treating Calipari right now as a senior NBA scout himself, when he identifies a guy he wants much of the league will look at that guy, simply put, differently.

 

[navery12]

You are right, Gabriel likely would have been able to showcase at UConn vs riding the bench at UK this year, but in my opinion saying "scouts wont favor him just because he went to UK" in my opinion is slightly false. I think guys DO get a bump in scout's eyes by simply wearing a UK jersey. Let me put it this way; Gabriel coming off the bench with minimal impact and minutes at UK still gives him late first round attention maybe this year or next, but him averaging tose same minutes and numbers on this current UConn team in my opinion would not. NBA scouts are treating Calipari right now as a senior NBA scout himself, when he identifies a guy he wants much of the league will look at that guy, simply put, differently.

I don't know what it is, but I wonder about the correlation. Do NBA scouts give UK players more attention or does UK just recruit players who NBA scouts will be looking at anyway?

 

[James]

You are right, Gabriel likely would have been able to showcase at UConn vs riding the bench at UK this year, but in my opinion saying "scouts wont favor him just because he went to UK" in my opinion is slightly false. I think guys DO get a bump in scout's eyes by simply wearing a UK jersey. Let me put it this way; Gabriel coming off the bench with minimal impact and minutes at UK still gives him late first round attention maybe this year or next, but him averaging tose same minutes and numbers on this current UConn team in my opinion would not. NBA scouts are treating Calipari right now as a senior NBA scout himself, when he identifies a guy he wants much of the league will look at that guy, simply put, differently.

thats facts, i agree. if he played the same role he does on UK but here he would be cooked, very bad for his trajectory as a pro. Thing is, ollie would just force feed him minutes and make him do stuff in his iso heavy offense. Scouts like to see guys getting an abundance of minutes bu.

as far as cal being treated as a guy who scouts and gets great talent as so nba respect his taste in players, i disagree... vehemently. A good scout (i dont know nba scouts, ive been around guys who scout for prep schools) will see production when its apparent. A guy like monk exploded and is now a consensus top 8 pick , starring at kentucky is what you shoot for , its what diallo is trying to do.

But the other guys ( dakari, lee, the Australian kid) dont get that juice. KO has a good pitch working, if you are pro level, you'll get all the minutes you want and all the touches you want. Dham, and well purvis is the OG example of this, kind of got exposed in this scenario but adams imo is still thriving. Gabriel would really thrive.

 

[James]

I don't know what it is, but I wonder about the correlation. Do NBA scouts give UK players more attention or does UK just recruit players who NBA scouts will be looking at anyway?

They don't. its not JUST about the uk brand, Cal gets supreme talent so a ton of his players will always head to the league. If you don't have impressive numbers in college or show out in workouts, going to UK wont save you. For instance i think if Bam was at NC state he would be in the same slot scouts are putting him in now, but monk and fox really got a boost because of their star power.

 

[UConnfan8]

He's been to 4 Final Fours in 6 years. If not for UConn he'd have 3 NCAA titles in 6 years. On top of that, he was 2 games from a perfect season. Has a legitimate Final Four contending team this year. Hate reading garbage like this.

you're garbage.

 

[gtcam]

I don't know what it is, but I wonder about the correlation. Do NBA scouts give UK players more attention or does UK just recruit players who NBA scouts will be looking at anyway?

All Kensucky's practices are open invitations to NBA scouts and that exposure is great for all of the Kensucky kids
Where else are you going to see 12 of the top 20 kids in one place?

 

[boog204]

Somebody gathered the data that over the time the Squid got to KY to the present, KY has had more top players than the UConn women.
Slightly different results.

Slightly different levels of parody too. In the men's game, the difference between recruit #15 and #50 is often negligible. In the women's game, it's the difference between being able to dribble with your off hand or not.

 

[David 76]

Slightly different levels of parody too. In the men's game, the difference between recruit #15 and #50 is often negligible. In the women's game, it's the difference between being able to dribble with your off hand or not.

I agree. But many, dismiss Geno's success because " he gets all the best players". The press and commentators never say that about Squid.

You making a parody out of parity?