7 Kentucky players declare

[Tommyboy]

No reason to sit the bench anymore. Everything's coming up Marcus!

 

[Kitaman]

Interesting and amazing that we had a similar 'mass' turnover this past season and our reloading was nowhere near theirs. Oh and we lost experience as well.

We have some work to do (broken record I know).

 

[Hugo]

WOW!!! ... Calipari is awesome!

Their HS and AAU coaches developed these kids more than this pond-scum. If anything, most have regressed.

Hey, you can't talk about Cal like that, after all he is a HOF coach

 

[JimHurley]

I think Towns will be a great pro. Lyles and Booker will be good pros. Cauley-Stein i'm not sure about. He can play defense put can't score so that could be a problem. Dakari and the twins probably won't be picked in the first round and for good reason. Neither of those three will make good pros.

 

[mauconnfan]

Hey Cal - nice job with the Harrison twins and Dakari Johnson - none of whom are ready and may never be. Booker also not ready but will eventually be after being coached for a while.

I can hear it now "See what happens when you come to UK"??

Fn funny stuff!

 

[James]

They lost all their size, could be a rough year. freshman zimmerman is no WCS or KAT. even if you add swanigan.

 

[bturn]

Anyone know how good the Harrisons are at speaking Turkish, 'cause that's where they're headed....
When Cal had Anthony Davis pump up Towns before the Wisk game, did he have Daniel Orton pump up Dakari? Wasn't he the #2 recruit a few years ago?
ok that's enough from me for one day

 

[aceboon]

They lost all their size, could be a rough year. freshman zimmerman is no WCS or KAT. even if you add swanigan.

Apparently Skal Labissiere has been killing at the Nike Hoops Summit and Givony is projecting him as next year's #1 pick, although at this time last year I believe he had Cliff Alexander #2 so take that with a grain a salt. If he qualifies they'll probably be fine up front with him and Lee, and apparently Derek Willis can play too but he hasn't got much time the past two years.

 

[James]

Apparently Skal Labissiere has been killing at the Nike Hoops Summit and Givony is projecting him as next year's #1 pick, although at this time last year I believe he had Cliff Alexander #2 so take that with a grain a salt. If he qualifies they'll probably be fine up front with him and Lee, and apparently Derek Willis can play too but he hasn't got much time the past two years.

if cal gets zimmerman,skal, and brown i might just lose my mind. they would probably be on the level of this years kansas team though.

 

[bear]

Apparently Skal Labissiere has been killing at the Nike Hoops Summit and Givony is projecting him as next year's #1 pick, although at this time last year I believe he had Cliff Alexander #2 so take that with a grain a salt. If he qualifies they'll probably be fine up front with him and Lee, and apparently Derek Willis can play too but he hasn't got much time the past two years.

Most think Skal will not qualify is that correct?

 

[huskyblooz]

Should he forbid them from entering the draft?

These kids have dreamed of going to the NBA, and now they are gonna get their shot. I don't like Calipari, but calling him pond scum for taking players who anyone in the country would have gladly taken (Even Bo Ryan - see Diamond Stone), is really stoopid.

Who said anything about forbidding them to enter the draft? Their intent is to enter after the 1 year.
I just don't understand how he gets all this credit for developing these kids. They've been there for 4 months. We sure didn't develop Drummond.
If these kids could go directly to the NBA after HS, the majority would've been drafted higher.

Pond-scum is more slippery than a Squid

 

[BUConn10]

All these HS recruits citing how many guys Cal got "drafted" seem to forget that for every Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins Calipari has worked with, he has also had a Marquis Teague, Archie Goodwin types. Hype and physical potential gets these guys drafted, yet maybe about half of them realistically have what it takes to get a decent second contract. Yet glitz and glamour will always beat out facts.

 

[TheChamps990411]

So the twins and Dakari johnson are clearly not ready for the NBA. Most likely none of them will be first round picks. Why are they declaring again? Wouldnt this be a bit of a warning to future recruits? LIke at the end of all the hype you have a 50% chance of leaving early to be a second round pick?


Edit: I mean Amida could be a second round pick in this draft if he declared no? Maybe even Daniel Hamilton. Whats the point of doing that when you still have 2 years of eligiblity left?

Imo this just shows how sleazy Cal is. While im not there and cant prove this im pretty sure he let the Harrisons go even though he knows damn well they are not NBA first rounders. He should be convincing them to come back and get better but he wont because he knows the Harrisons are the reason he Lost out on national titles last year and this.

 

[temery]

In a press conference Towns, Cauley-Stein, Lyles, Booker, Dakari Johnson, and the Harrisons declare for the draft.

And of course every one of those kids will continue to go to, and pass all of their Spring term classes.

 

[aceboon]

Most think Skal will not qualify is that correct?

not sure about most but around the time of his commitment there was alot of talk about his guardian basically shopping him to the highest bidder, plus his guardian created his own school so that Skal could have a team to play on. I think he actually attends another school for academics tho, not 100% sure on that one.

 

[BUConn10]

Imo this just shows how sleazy Cal is. While im not there and cant prove this im pretty sure he let the Harrisons go even though he knows damn well they are not NBA first rounders. He should be convincing them to come back and get better but he wont because he knows the Harrisons are the reason he Lost out on national titles last year and this.

That is the price Cal and UK's system costs. Its textbook oversigning and recruiting over players. At this point, the program, fans and the media have set certain expectations for UK, so if you dont develop into the first round pick you had anticipated in your first year, or two if you are lucky enough to be able to stick around, you will be pushed out of the lineup, forcing you to sit on the bench while your stock plummets or transfer out. Its the nature of the beast he has created. My response to the guys getting pushed out?

"F' em". This is what you signed up for, you bought into all of the hype, now either live up to your advertised skill or go somewhere else and wait a year for your transfer eligibility.

 

[ZenConn]

Here we go.
Another season of "We've got a young team" excuses again.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I like this new idea that "recruiting over players" is a bad thing that only Calipari does. Calhoun used to tell the guy he was recruiting over that he was recruiting over him. I mean, christ, one of them happens to be the current head coach.

The sentence about being "forced to sit on the bench" doesn't make any sense. If you're a second year player and you're better than the first year player, you'll play. If you're not, you won't.

The obsession with Kentucky on here leads to some amusing commentary.

That is the price Cal and UK's system costs. Its textbook oversigning and recruiting over players. At this point, the program, fans and the media have set certain expectations for UK, so if you dont develop into the first round pick you had anticipated in your first year, or two if you are lucky enough to be able to stick around, you will be pushed out of the lineup, forcing you to sit on the bench while your stock plummets or transfer out. Its the nature of the beast he has created. My response to the guys getting pushed out?

"F' em". This is what you signed up for, you bought into all of the hype, now either live up to your advertised skill or go somewhere else and wait a year for your transfer eligibility.

 

[Huskies4ever]

Should he forbid them from entering the draft?

These kids have dreamed of going to the NBA, and now they are gonna get their shot. I don't like Calipari, but calling him pond scum for taking players who anyone in the country would have gladly taken (Even Bo Ryan - see Diamond Stone), is really stoopid.

He's not calling him pondscum for taking kids anyone would take. He's calling him pondscum because, well, that is what he is.

 

[BUConn10]

I like this new idea that "recruiting over players" is a bad thing that only Calipari does. Calhoun used to tell the guy he was recruiting over that he was recruiting over him. I mean, christ, one of them happens to be the current head coach.

The sentence about being "forced to sit on the bench" doesn't make any sense. If you're a second year player and you're better than the first year player, you'll play. If you're not, you won't.

The obsession with Kentucky on here leads to some amusing commentary.

What are you talking about Big? Im saying how things go under Calipari's system, Im not throwing any sourpuss spin on the situation like you imply. You're right, if a second year player is better than a first year player, he will play. But the way Cal has talent coming in, if you dont leave after the first year, its most likely because your simply not that good as advertised or you are not mentally prepared to play the game. If thats the case, Cal will not hesitate playing the incoming freshman over you. Thats all I said, simple as that, should I dumb it down for you even more?

 

[UCweCONN]

Ulis should go pro. He's better than the Harrisons.

 

[BlueMAB]

Who said anything about forbidding them to enter the draft? Their intent is to enter after the 1 year.
I just don't understand how he gets all this credit for developing these kids. They've been there for 4 months. We sure didn't develop Drummond.
If these kids could go directly to the NBA after HS, the majority would've been drafted higher.

Pond-scum is more slippery than a Squid

He's not calling him pondscum for taking kids anyone would take. He's calling him pondscum because, well, that is what he is.

Let's not try to rationalize this okay?

Calipari has a better reputation among recruits than our guy, and we don't like him because of it. (Well, that and the sanctions he's left in his wake at every other stop)

But whether or not he's scum has nothing to do with 7 players declaring for the draft, or whether or not he gets undue credit for "getting" them in the league. He's not out there saying "these kids would never be in the league if it weren't for me". He's saying "come play for me before you go to the league". We had a down year, but we hold our own against them in regular season games, and own them in the tourney. Who cares what he says/does. We're UConn, we'll be fine.

 

[jayfromfla]

How to limit the one and done nonstudent athlete.
You cannotcontrol the player once he leaces but you can ompact the institutions abusing the process. Baseball wont pick a student until the 3rd year is completed. football 4 years. lets use 3 years of scholarship penality for early leaving. If a player leaves after 1 year his scholarship is frozen for 2 years. The school cannot use that scholarship for 2 more years. if he leaves after 2 years his scholarship is frozen for 1 year. It cannot be used the following year. If a team recruits 4 one and done the school will have 4 less scholarships in the following year and the year after that.

 

[storrsroars]

I don't see the logic in Johnson and the Harrison twins declaring if they are projected 2nd round picks. Especially Johnson, with Cauley-Stein and Towns gone, he has a good chance to be the man at the #5 and could potentially catapult his stock.

I think Squid wants the Harrisons gone. Ulis is the better pure PG as far as vision/playcalling goes. Harrisons shoot better, but aren't true PGs, IMO.

Anyway, not sure why any of this news is surprising. The UK "program" is simply an alternative to D-League. Objective #1 is to get these talented kids draft ready during their year (or two) under Squid's tutelage. Objective #2 is to get them to play together often enough to make a deep tourney run. Squid has said the objectives are in that specific order many, many times.

So if kids choose UK to get to the NBA quickly, should we not expect them to declare quickly as well?

 

[Matrim55]

freshman zimmerman is no WCS or KAT.

If I recall correctly, it was Zimmerman that Enoch took apart last summer when he burst onto the scene.