[jaysmith1987Participant]

 This is probably the worst Kentucky team I have seen in maybe the last decade.  I don’t see any particular player who stands out as an nba prospect.  It’s funny that ever since coach k took over USA basketball duke looks more like UK and UK looks more like duke used to with more 4 year players than one and dones.  Hamidou Diallo is a superior athlete but with no handle.  The whole team is timid.  Kevin Knox has the height length weight attributes but not consistency of skills.  Guy reminds me of Justin Jackson.  It would be a mistake for any of these guys to go pro this year unless a major turn around happens.  Most of these guys are 4 years away from being 2 years away.  

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 I am picking Duke to go on a mini-dynasty run.

[SubZeroParticipant]

Yeah I’m not feeling too optimistic about the team this year, even though we do have a lot of talent. In the years past when we’ve been great, you could easily see who our stars were (Wall/Cousins, AD, KAT), but with this team it’s a bunch of guys that are pretty good but nothing really special. If we win it’ll be because we figured out how to use our insane length and just punish teams on the glass and on defense, because scoring the ball looks like a struggle for us

All that said, Jarred Vanderbilt isn’t playing yet, and most of how they practiced in the summer most likely was playing with Vanderbilt on the court. If we see him at 100%, he could be our best player and a real game changer for us. He’ll change almost everything about the way we look, so I’m hoping real hard that he comes back sooner rather than later and stays healthy

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Coach K is beating Coach Cal at his own game.

This might be the year the wheels fall off the Calipari Train.

Bonus points for a Four Way Coaching Shuffle between Calipari, Pitino, Tubby Smith, and Josh Pastner (only kinda joking)…

What if Pastner makes a Sweet 16 run at Tech? What if the FBI comes snooping in Lexington? 

What if Tubby wants to spend more time with the fam?

And, uh, Pitino makes one last run…

Cal to Louisville, Pastner to Kentucky, Tubby to Tech, and Pitino to Memphis.  Everybody at the FBI gets a bonus. 

And the Duke Death March continues.

[Robb_CParticipant]

Ohh you mean Calipari actually has to develop his talent this season instead of running a glorified AAU program?! 

[GBeeParticipant]

 Worst UK team in the last decade? You must not remember that team with Noel and Ryan Harrow on it. That team was raw, low IQ and full of a bunch of pieces that didn’t complement eachother.  I think the 17-18 team can be better than that one, better than that 15-16 team too.

I wouldn’t write em off or be all doom and gloom after these first 2 games.  It sounds cliche, but UK is the youngest team in the nation, with 6 of their 8 current rotation players being freshmen (Hami’s basically a redshirt).  They played 2 very experienced teams, Utah Valley being a transfer haven for players who left bigger programs and Vermont being one of the better mid major teams in the nation (likely tourney team IMO). 

This particular team might not have the top end, surefire top 5 pick talent but they do have very good talent and more importantly, they have pieces that complement eachother.  I just wish there was someone else pushing the buttons and trying to find the right combinations.  I think this team in particular is hurt by how generic Calipari’s schemes are.  I understand that with a bunch of freshmen, Cal likes to keep things simple so as not to overwhelm them, but with guys like Quade, Shai and PJ, I think they can run stuff a little more nuanced than what they do in the halfcourt. They’ve gotta do more than just play "talent ball" to reach their potential as a team.

 

 

[Bankroll PJParticipant]

I was with you until the Calipari critique.  He’s said that they’ve mostly been focusing on defense thus  far, but even so I think he’s been utilizing his players corretcly hypothetically.  Quade and Shai are used in ball screens; Hami is used in a heavy among screens and curl cuts to get him in the mid range and driving to the basket; Knox also gets a heavy amount of off ball screens and they’ve been trying to run plays to get him mid post touches, but haven’t been able to actually get him the ball off those sets (blame their youth); PJ was the focal point of the offense last game.  He dominated out of the mid and low post.  And the rest of the guys are complementary players.  His sets will get more complex as the season goes on.  This happens every year.  He focuses on defense early and lets the offense develop as he learns more about his team.  Patience my friend. 

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

When you are consistently bringing in brand new guys year in and year out, down years are bound to happen. I’m surprised Cal hasn’t had more years like the absolutely embarrassing year with Archie Goodwin and Nerlens Noel. In my opinion Cal is not a great coach but a master motivator and salesman. This year has a chance to be a bad one in Lexington, but I have thought that way about many years for Kentucky basketball and they end up putting it all together and going on a deep run in March. I guess we’ll see how it all plays out for Big Blue Nation.

[HobbyOGParticipant]

 Archie Goodwin Kentucky team was the worst team Cal had..

[whiteflashParticipant]

 Watched part of both games and was truly surprised at how raw Diallo is. He’s obviously pretty damn athletic, but he was struggling making basic basketball plays against two VERY mediocre teams. He should be much farther along from a skills standpoint. Liked Knox in HS, but not sure he has "it". They looked like a glorified pick-up team to me.

[McDunkin]

Too soon for this. Vermont is a damned good and experienced team. Disappointing? Yes but it’s way too soon to call any team the worst.

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