NCAA Tourney Talk

[Joneslab]

He and his entourage are dying to go pro...

I would say almost everybody who's rolled into Kentucky in the last two decades is in this boat.

Most do not because there are two sides to the coin. You can want to be a pro with everything in your being, but they have to want you back.

I don't think there's enough want with Vanderbilt unless he takes a colossal risk. Cal hasn't had a freshman taken in the second round and that's likely what would happen. The advice there will be (IMO) to play a full season healthy and see if you can be a lottery pick. There have been freshmen who've left Kentucky too early but almost every one has made the correct decision. Even Daniel Orton was being talked about as a first rounder.

Absolutely no heat around Vanderbilt. He'll have to absolutely kill it in the workouts.

[KevinHall]

I would say almost everybody who's rolled into Kentucky in the last two decades is in this boat.

Most do not because there are two sides to the coin. You can want to be a pro with everything in your being, but they have to want you back.

I don't think there's enough want with Vanderbilt unless he takes a colossal risk. Cal hasn't had a freshman taken in the second round and that's likely what would happen. The advice there will be (IMO) to play a full season healthy and see if you can be a lottery pick. There have been freshmen who've left Kentucky too early but almost every one has made the correct decision. Even Daniel Orton was being talked about as a first rounder.

Absolutely no heat around Vanderbilt. He'll have to absolutely kill it in the workouts.

There have been a couple that have fooled me and stayed an extra year. Terrence Jones is one that comes to mind. Vanderbilt should stay but as now I think he will go no matter what. I guess we won't know until late May.

[Dwight Schrute]

I just don't think he will come back. He and his entourage are dying to go pro just like Diallo's gang, and they will go pro. I'll be shocked if he is back next year.

I agree.

[Dwight Schrute]

I would say almost everybody who's rolled into Kentucky in the last two decades is in this boat.

Most do not because there are two sides to the coin. You can want to be a pro with everything in your being, but they have to want you back.

I don't think there's enough want with Vanderbilt unless he takes a colossal risk. Cal hasn't had a freshman taken in the second round and that's likely what would happen. The advice there will be (IMO) to play a full season healthy and see if you can be a lottery pick. There have been freshmen who've left Kentucky too early but almost every one has made the correct decision. Even Daniel Orton was being talked about as a first rounder.

Absolutely no heat around Vanderbilt. He'll have to absolutely kill it in the workouts.

I mean, this was almost Hami last year. The dude killed it in the workouts and was a borderline first rounder. Taking that into consideration, it's a lot more plausible to see Vanderbilt gone.

[KevinHall]

Matt Jones just tweeted that the UL players have voted not to play in the NIT. UL says they are. UL players may boycott the game. Times are good Louieville.

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2018/03/12/louisville-basketball-players-vote-against-nit-invitation/415576002/?hootPostID=6732065ea249f3f52b9d58520dca6455

[Joneslab]

I mean, this was almost Hami last year. The dude killed it in the workouts and was a borderline first rounder. Taking that into consideration, it's a lot more plausible to see Vanderbilt gone.

Difference with Hami is that Hami went to the combine and set records. Once he ran and jumped I think most thought Hami was gone. I saw some mocks that had him squarely in the middle of the first round. Fran Fraschilla was saying on the night Hami made his decision that he could be a franchise player and that he loved him when he saw him in person.

Vanderbilt has nothing like that. The similarity with him might be somebody like Archie Goodwin...but even Goodwin was in the first round in the mocks.

I do think they will love some parts of Vanderbilt's game in the workouts. His passing ability looks to me like something you see when you watch the NBA with all these big guys out handling the ball.

But right now there's just nothing really going on with him when you read NBA guys. Really anybody could go if they want to, but with freshmen they've almost all made the right decision with Cal. You would think Kentucky would start trying to brand him the way they've started to do with Shai; notice how Cal talks about Shai: they're trying to sell him to the NBA. That makes me think he's obviously gone, as he should be: the guy could play in the NBA right now.

Vanderbilt has hit 29 shots all year. Now you may say that it doesn't matter because the NBA drafts on potential...that's true, but the number of players historically who've overcome stuff like that in college and gone on to be drafted in the first round is very, very short.

If Vanderbilt wants the second round then he could probably get that. But that'd be dumb as piss.

[Dwight Schrute]

Difference with Hami is that Hami went to the combine and set records. Once he ran and jumped I think most thought Hami was gone. I saw some mocks that had him squarely in the middle of the first round. Fran Fraschilla was saying on the night Hami made his decision that he could be a franchise player and that he loved him when he saw him in person.

Vanderbilt has nothing like that. The similarity with him might be somebody like Archie Goodwin...but even Goodwin was in the first round in the mocks.

I do think they will love some parts of Vanderbilt's game in the workouts. His passing ability looks to me like something you see when you watch the NBA with all these big guys out handling the ball.

But right now there's just nothing really going on with him when you read NBA guys. Really anybody could go if they want to, but with freshmen they've almost all made the right decision with Cal. You would think Kentucky would start trying to brand him the way they've started to do with Shai; notice how Cal talks about Shai: they're trying to sell him to the NBA. That makes me think he's obviously gone, as he should be: the guy could play in the NBA right now.

Vanderbilt has hit 29 shots all year. Now you may say that it doesn't matter because the NBA drafts on potential...that's true, but the number of players historically who've overcome stuff like that in college and gone on to be drafted in the first round is very, very short.

If Vanderbilt wants the second round then he could probably get that. But that'd be dumb as piss.

I dunno man, I think there's the real possibility that Vanderbilt goes to the combine, wows people with the abilities he has for his size, and realizes his history of injuries and the chance to make money and seizes the opportunity.

[BobS]

Matt Jones just tweeted that the UL players have voted not to play in the NIT. UL says they are. UL players may boycott the game. Times are good Louieville.

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2018/03/12/louisville-basketball-players-vote-against-nit-invitation/415576002/?hootPostID=6732065ea249f3f52b9d58520dca6455

Pretty stupid, imo. Beat Syracuse at home...you are in. Don't let a team score 5 points in less than a second....you're in. Beat anyone other than Fl St and VA Tech and you're in. Sort of like some UK fans whining about a 5 seed. Win more games and issue goes away.

Go ahead and boycott it so that stupid fanbase can continue to cry about their beloved Jurich and Pitino and how the world treated them so bad.

Stupid

[Joneslab]

I dunno man, I think there's the real possibility that Vanderbilt goes to the combine, wows people with the abilities he has for his size, and realizes his history of injuries and the chance to make money and seizes the opportunity.

Definitely possible. Guy obviously has an incredible motor...but some of these other guys who are at the edge of the first round do too. It's obviously not Kentucky's players in a vacuum. If he gets in he'll have to beat out some very good players. One guy who comes to mind that I've seen at the edge of the first is Keita Bates-Diop. I mean I love Vanderbilt, but anybody who's seen Baites-Diop play would say he brings the same kind of energy Vanderbilt does...and he can put up 35 if you aren't careful.

I really like Vanderbilt. He just doesn't jump out to me as a pro. Only two guys on this team do, and that really hasn't changed since December.

[BobS]

If we lose JV to a POSSIBLE late 1st round or 2nd round hunch, the I am done with the UK model. Knox and SGA are the only 2 players that have any business going pro. Gabriel because of finances possibly, even if he plays overseas. Other than that, none of them are good enough.

But since it's UK, I still think at least 4 are gone.

[Joneslab]

I think there's been a bit of a change in the NBA in the last three to five seasons.

It used to be, when Cal first got here, that if you didn't go after your freshman year you had this stigma on you. Most of the can't-miss rookies were guys who had killed it as freshmen and jumped.

Over the last three or four seasons particularly, there've been a lot of guys who stayed at least two years in school and who went on to have big-time rookie years. Some guys stayed longer than that. I just don't think the stigma is there as much as it used to be for players who stay. Malcolm Brogdon and now Donovan Mitchell and Kuzma suggest that we'll hopefully see guys staying that extra year or two to work on their game, because the NBA is becoming more of a skill game than it was a decade ago.

We'll have to see how it goes but to me this team looks like 2014. Just not a whole lot going for it in terms of pros and we remember what that team got back.

Kentucky could lose one of Vanderbilt and Wenyen. Both would hurt. Wenyen is interesting because if you look at the fluidity he plays the game at and his lack of explosive athleticism, it's unclear if he'll ever play in the NBA. So his people might just accept that and look to make money somewhere else. Vanderbilt is a pro at some point; how good of one and whether he can stick remains to be seen.

[VirginiaBlue]

Matt Norlander doesn't like the Cats at all. This should be put on a loop in the UK locker room.

[UK8STL11]

TV Teddy Valentine left out of the NCAA tournament because of his antics.

So happy to see this. About time these zebras were held accountable!!

[Lighthouse]

TV Teddy Valentine left out of the NCAA tournament because of his antics.

So happy to see this. About time these zebras were held accountable!!

It makes no difference to me whether Ted moves on or not, but may I ask how you this?

[BobS]

I know one thing. Nobody likes Ky. Nobody thinks we go anywhere and quite a few even think we are one and done. Zero respect.

I get it. I somewhat agree. But this is the kind of thing that puts a chip on Cal's shoulder and motivates teams.