Yeah, after watching that, I really don't want Kid 'n Play.
As someone pointed out, it was what his teammates were saying, not Noel. We're in his top 4. The Tilton pipeline hopefully is still flowing.
If you've ever watched this kid play, you'd be wanting him more than ___________ (fill in the blank)! The kid's game is perfect for UConn. He blocks everything in sight. Runs the floor like a guard. Is a pretty good post passer. Is raw but has a budding post game.
He's got more a Marcus Camby type body and game compared to Drummond. On a side note, I saw some Knicks' highlights of Amare and apart from the lack of interest in playing D, I can see why people compare AD to him. Very similar combination of body and athleticism. If he is able to come close to doing the rest of the season what he did on Sunday, he's going to be the #1 pick in this year's draft. I wish they'd institute the 2 year rule now, but I'm sure they'll delay it one to two drafts. Getting back to Noel, although he's mentioned that he's not reclassifying back to 2012, it doesn't seem too much of a leap of faith for him to pull an Drummond and decide to fill the hole that AD will vacate after the season.
My dream scenario is we repeat as NCs, lose as few players as possible (Lamb & AD) and replace them with Omar and Noel, and why not throw in Anthony Bennett for good measure. Just as I was shocked that AD wasn't champing at the bit to join the local instate program that was coming off an NC and returning a lot of its talent, I'll be shocked if Noel would pass up playing for the regional powerhouse Huskies under similar circumstances. I'm banking on Ollie getting the point-man job done and JC closing the deal as he moves one year closer to finishing up his college coaching career. A 3-peat would be nice. Has anyone won more than 2 in a row since Wooden? My guess is no. That would be an awesome way for JC thumb his nose at the NCAA, ESPN and the rest of the JC critics and UConn haters.
I'm not saying any of this will happen, but I like our chances as much as any team to cut down the nets this spring. If we were to get Noel, who IMO can be a game changer like AD can if he puts even just 60% of his abilities together, I'd be liking our chances again in 2013 assuming a large core of our players return next season. I'd take a JC coached team over a squid coached team any day, especially if our team has a core made up of juniors on up, compared to some uber-talented young Cal lead team whose core made up of Freshman and a handful of Sophs on up. Let's hope that Noel sees it this way and a lot differently from his teammate who seem to have drunk the Calipari Kool-Aid.
