Will our new Freshman Class be a contender?

[Lighthouse]

All of us are familiar with the drill. Cal recruits a new class loaded with talented freshmen, now what? I'm as excited as anyone that a good class is coming together but. Will Quickly step right in and lead from the PG spot early, or will it be February? Will Herro shoot the percentage we expect, or will he take awhile? Will Montgomery step in a fill the 4 spot as expected, or will he be weak and get pushed around at 215 lbs? Will Hagans and the others need a lot of time to play for each other, or will this team play for themselves? They look great on paper, but.....

[BobS]

Not without at least 2 of Washington, Vanderbilt and Gabriel returning, imo. And frankly, I think it has to be Gabriel and Washington. I'm not sure JV can stay healthy enough all year. Keeping Green is important as well. The true contenders have great guards. But all Freshman guards.....again....is problematic.

We have a really good class coming in ut we need key pieces to return to contend, imo.

[40bill]

Tune in tomorrow......same CAT time, same CAT channel......

[Matt Dillon]

I expect things to be the same as always.

[KevinHall]

It will be the same as last year. Up and down with a huge curve of learning. The end will be about the same too. Between the 2nd and fourth rounds.

[KevinHall]

Not without at least 2 of Washington, Vanderbilt and Gabriel returning, imo. And frankly, I think it has to be Gabriel and Washington. I'm not sure JV can stay healthy enough all year. Keeping Green is important as well. The true contenders have great guards. But all Freshman guards.....again....is problematic.

We have a really good class coming in ut we need key pieces to return to contend, imo.

I'm afraid you are right about Vanderbilt. He looks like someone who is just injury prone. If he does come back I'm not sure how much he will help.

[George]

If things fall into place, this group will be a serious contender. We have some great players coming in, including a couple bonafide stars.

[teamchemistry15]

A team of

Hagans/IQ/Green
Diallo/Baker
Johnson/Herro
EJ/Richards
Possibly a grad transfer like Travis
And two of PJ/Wenyen/JV

That team is a contender. It's deep, can play big and small, and has plenty of shooting. They will still be young, but that would be a top ten team all year, IMO.

[George]

A team of

Hagans/IQ/Green
Diallo/Baker
Johnson/Herro
EJ/Richards
Possibly a grad transfer like Travis
And two of PJ/Wenyen/JV

That team is a contender. It's deep, can play big and small, and has plenty of shooting. They will still be young, but that would be a top ten team all year, IMO.

I can appreciate the optimism, but there’s no reason to include Diallo in that lineup. He’s gone.

[Joneslab]

Impossible to say what might happen. Everything's still in flux.

We could lose all three of Vando/Washington/Gabriel. Or none of the three. We could add a grad transfer. Wiseman could reclassify.

There are so many options still on the table.

If we JUST lost Hami at this point and everything else remained as-is, this is probably a top 5/top 10 team with a lot of potential. The glaring holes are whether or not Nick Richards is good enough to anchor the post and whether we had enough outside shooting.

By all accounts Hagans might be a superstar, and it always puts you at a major advantage in the college game if you have a star who gets the ball on 100% of your possessions.

[George]

It will be the same as last year. Up and down with a huge curve of learning. The end will be about the same too. Between the 2nd and fourth rounds.

Why such a bleak prediction? If the right guys return, we’re automatically a much better team on paper than we were last season. The freshman are better than last year’s group, too. All signs point toward improvement.

[George]

Impossible to say what might happen. Everything's still in flux.

We could lose all three of Vando/Washington/Gabriel. Or none of the three. We could add a grad transfer. Wiseman could reclassify.

There are so many options still on the table.

If we JUST lost Hami at this point and everything else remained as-is, this is probably a top 5/top 10 team with a lot of potential. The glaring holes are whether or not Nick Richards is good enough to anchor the post and whether we had enough outside shooting.

By all accounts Hagans might be a superstar, and it always puts you at a major advantage in the college game if you have a star who gets the ball on 100% of your possessions.

I see no way we lose Washington. He isn’t going to keep his name in for the second round, and there’s no chance he gets first-round consideration. I know he says he wants to go, but...duh. They all do. I want to do lots of things, too. Doesn’t mean I’m equipped for any of it.

Still confused by those who think he’s going anywhere.

[KevinHall]

Why such a bleak prediction? If the right guys return, we’re automatically a much better team on paper than we were last season. The freshman are better than last year’s group, too. All signs point toward improvement.

Chances are its going to be mostly a freshman team. Unless just about everyone that is currently here returns then it will be leaderless again. We will see how it shakes out in another month or so. Its hard to win an NCAA tournament without a decent amount of veteran presence.

[George]

Chances are its going to be mostly a freshman team. Unless just about everyone that is currently here returns then it will be leaderless again. We will see how it shakes out in another month or so. Its hard to win an NCAA tournament without a decent amount of veteran presence.

That discounts any leadership that one (or more) of the freshmen might bring to the table.

John Wall. Brandon Knight. MKG. De'Aaron Fox. All leaders, all freshmen.

I could easily see Keldon Johnson stepping up if need be. Heck, if everything we've heard about him is true, he might be the alpha even among a stable of vets.

[Joneslab]

Don't think we lose Washington either. They seem to have a level-headed approach and I think they're genuinely testing the waters.

The only thing is if he were to get some kind of second-round promise or something. But I doubt that happens.

What's happened with Wenyen is what happens with a lot of Cal sophomores: they realize it's going to be a grind for them professionally whether or not they stay in school or if they leave, so you might as well jump out and see what's what.

Wenyen will never play in the NBA. But he could make some money somewhere. It's just so hard for Kentucky to keep people past their sophomore year when they realize the NBA dream is probably gone, because at that point the usefulness of Kentucky basketball is essentially zeroed out.