2021 Transfer Portal Thread

[Joneslab]

He'll probably go out to UCLA and win a championship with Juzang next season, lol.

But seriously, it cracks me up when people put out this stuff and then flip, I guess he didn't think Cal was gonna bring in players that would play over him.

The Askew news has to mean something has happened. That didn't happen in a vaccuum.

We've probably got somebody who's ready to commit at the point guard position.

[JFCats22]

Disastrous class...

...but the class as a whole is not done. Jackson was a pleasant surprise and I'd love to have him back. Toppin was a huge surprise.

But all in all that bunch was an epic fail that, if not for COVID, might have set us back years. The transfer rule has allowed Cal to dig out of the hole way more quickly than he normally would.

Yeah, I wasn’t including Mintz or Toppin since they were transfers.

I guess, with the new transfer deal, we should probably start including them in the “recruiting” analysis.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Doesn't surprise me one bit.

Not gonna lie.....I am not sad over this

[40bill]

Askew reclassifying was a pretty bad mistake as it worked out. Hope it settles down for him at his next school. My luck it will be UCLA or Gonzaga.....

[George]

Possibly of note: the guy who broke the Askew news is the same who gave the Carr/UK heads-up.

[DA#23]

A recruit comes here hoping to jump to the NBA after one season.

Are there any other reasons a guy might choose to come to UK? The rate of turnover here is infuriating.

What do we have to offer to the high level D1 recruit who might expect to be in college a few years?

Seriously.

This demonstrates that the image of this staff is not one where a player can come in and have top shelf instruction. The facilities, the infrastructure...currently doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters here right now is an opportunity for exposure and to “get to the next level” whether ready or not.

[lilproUK98]

A recruit comes here hoping to jump to the NBA after one season.

Are there any other reasons a guy might chose to come to UK? The rate of turnover here is infuriating.

What do we have to offer to the high level D1 recruit who might expect to be in college a few years?

Seriously.

This demonstrates that the image of this staff is not one where a player can come in and have top shelf instruction. The facilities, the infrastructure...currently doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters here right now is an opportunity for exposure and to “get to the next level” whether ready or not.

Just look at the success of guys who have stayed at UK 2 or 3 yrs under Cal... Pretty solid.

This isn't a matter of Askew leaving because he didn't make it to the league after one season. He's leaving because he isn't good enough.

[Joneslab]

Hard to tell with Askew. I liked some things about him but man, he didn't have hardly any athleticism or skills at all. Seriously raw.

He's much different than somebody like Juzang. Juzang just didn't play a lot. Askew played a bunch and was a known commodity. And what we knew wasn't pretty.

I would imagine the staff told him they were bringing in somebody like Carr and he didn't want to be part of that dynamic. I respect that. But he was unbelievably unpolished as a player.

The larger point, the one about Kentucky bleeding too many players, remains true. And it's been that way for a decade now and will not stop as long as Calipari is here. We'll have to win despite it.

[Dwight Schrute]

Just look at the success of guys who have stayed at UK 2 or 3 yrs under Cal... Pretty solid.

This isn't a matter of Askew leaving because he didn't make it to the league after one season. He's leaving because he isn't good enough.

The problem with this blue tinted point of view is that there are more guys who got lost in the system than there are two and three year success stories.

Basically 3 - Cauley-Stein, PJ, and Immanuel Quickley. Many more who come to UK, fall through the cracks and get recruited over.

[Joneslab]

I thought Alex Poythress was having some success when he got hurt. Really, in hindsight, his injury was big for that team.

Nick Richards also had a very solid junior year.

Andrew Harrison is totally forgotten, but man you talk about a guy who improved. He wasn't much as a freshman; as a sophomore I really liked him. One of the more underrated guards we've had.

Doron Lamb as a sophomore became a killer.

Derek Willis and Dominique Hawkins became very, very good role players.

Deandre Liggins as a junior was arguably the best defender we've had in the Cal era.

So there have been a few. We certainly need more going forward and I look at a guy like Jacob Toppin and wonder if he could be in that boat of somebody who makes a huge jump.

[KCKUKFan]

Terrence Jones had a fantastic sophomore year.

[Joneslab]

Terrence Jones had a fantastic sophomore year.

What was interesting about Jones is that he went from a go-to guy in his freshman year to being a role player his sophomore year, and somehow became a better player.

Excellent shot blocker for his size and great out-of-area rebounder.

[lilproUK98]

The problem with this blue tinted point of view is that there are more guys who got lost in the system than there are two and three year success stories.

Basically 3 - Cauley-Stein, PJ, and Immanuel Quickley. Many more who come to UK, fall through the cracks and get recruited over.

Definitely more than three. Is Cal supposed to just say to some of these guys no? CBB isn't what it was even 10 yrs ago. Rosters are fluid. People need to get used to it.

[Joneslab]

Another weird thing I think about sometimes: how much better Andrew Harrison got his sophomore year and the fact that Aaron Harrison got worse.

Aaron Harrison had a great freshman year. I really liked him as a freshman and thought he got unfairly lumped in with Andrew, who was pretty mediocre.

Andrew's sophomore year was very solid. Aaron, not so much. In fact he struggled for a good part of that season. His shot went away, he didn't really help us much offensively, he just kind of flatlined.

Dakari is another guy who became a totally different play his sophomore year.

[DA#23]

DS nails it. It comes down to the individual as well as the fit with the program. There are a lot of guys who did not benefit at all from their time here. I hope we improve on recruiting the appropriate prospects.