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They weren't that thin up front defensively last year or this.
They're #16 in the nation in blocks. They were #15 last year.
The 2014 team that played in the title game was #10.
Louisville is #2.
This team's defensive issues tend to be in its inability to stop the dribble. They aren't a good defensive team on the whole but really outside the superteam and 2012 none of Cal's teams were great defensively at this point. It took the John Wall team about three months to guard people consistently.
That's freshmen.Comment
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Also: I'm pretty sure last year's team spent almost the entire year in the top 10 in blocks. The stat probably decreased as the team got better defensively, because there were fewer blocks to be had.
Monk and Fox were never great defenders but they did get better. Early on they couldn't guard much of anyone. Shai is easily the best defender of the bunch.Comment
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Good Write-up... Some of my general thoughts as well:
* Shai has been playing fantastic but I don't see him as a 1st round pick. Loving his game though. I see it being Diallo and Knox as mid to late rounders at best. Personally though - I don't think any of them are even remotely ready for the next level but that doesn't mean they won't go.
* Wenyen has played much better - especially on the boards. His energy has never been an issue - he's terrible with the ball in his hand and defensively - he loses his guy consistently. He's for sure a 4-year player.
* Washington - slowly becoming that UK player that I just don't like. There's been a few for whatever reason. Only thing he can do consistently is "flex" if he does something decent. Already tired of seeing it.
* Richards - Man, there are shades of so much talent here and then shades of so much bad. In 2 to 3 years, could be a really good player.
* Green - I like this little dude. I think there is a lot of talent and potential here. Him and Shai in my opinion are the big keys to this teams season. As they go, the team goes.Comment
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Looking at the stats, Shai is the most productive player on the team. It's not close. JMO.Comment
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1} John Wall
2} DeMarcus Cousins
3} Eric Bledsoe
4} Brandon Knight
5} Anthony Davis
6} Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
7} Nerlens Noel
8} Julius Randle
9} Devin Booker
10} Karl-Anthony Towns
11} Jamal Murray
12} DeAaron Fox
13} Malik Monk
He wouldn't take a spot on that roster, but I'd be comfortable putting him on the next tier with Trey Lyles, Aaron/Andrew Harrison, Tyler Ulis, James Young, Bam Adebayo, Kevin Knox, and Hamidou Diallo.Comment
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I like Shai a good deal because he plays with a funkiness that reminds me of Eric Daniels, but he has a ways to go before he's considered as elite as some of the great freshmen we've had. The last two games have been pretty jaw-dropping though. His ability to finish from virtually every angle is crazy to watch.
Probably moving toward where Tyler Ulis was as a freshman, which is saying something because I thought Ulis was great even then.Comment
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Good call on his angles. He has a knack for making the "hard" play routine. Well, it looks hard to us, but he seems to lay it up the only way possible. He's good at drawing contact and finishing the And One. He is the smartest player, Freshman or otherwise, that Cal has had here IMO.Isaiah 5:20Comment
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I watch because I have been a UK fan since 1966. I don’t like the Culture Cal has brought to UK, just as you obviously don’t like many of my posts due to your frequent snarky comments about them. I will have to live with my feelings about Cals stewardship of the program just as you will have to learn to live with my opinions on here, or not, I could care lessComment
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NBADRAFT.NET has updated their predictions and they’re listing SGA as the 11th pick in the draft. It was updated yesterday. Knox 9th, SGA 11th, Vanderbilt 15th, and Diallo 17th. If we lose all four of those guys then it’s gonna he another tough season in 18/19.Comment
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They obviously finalized their positions before yesterday. Washington has now had 1.5 good games too.Comment
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