Class of 2018 - General Discussion

[catfaninin]

The couple of times I've seen Langford he reminded me of Brandon Knight.

I saw D'Angelo Russell play once in hs. That's who he reminded me of.

[Joneslab]

The Rivals guys say Kentucky has shown interest in Afernee Simons.

I've heard he's probably the best point guard in the class. Only problem is that he'll be eligible for the NBA Draft and many don't think he'll play in college.

[Catsrock]

Rivals lists Simons as SG. That would make sense. With Green, Quickley and maybe Shai we should be fine at PG.

[BobS]

A shooting guard who's biggest weakness is------shooting. Terrific.

[Spiritof96]

A shooting guard who's biggest weakness is------shooting. Terrific.

Lol! I am seriously sick of that kind of player...

[George]

Rivals lists Simons as SG. That would make sense. With Green, Quickley and maybe Shai we should be fine at PG.

I'd bet my home that Shai won't be back. He'll make a few million while he gets passed around between the G-League and a pro team, then he'll return to Canada and disappear forever. We'll find a freshman replacement who will do the same thing the following year (50/50 on the Canada part), and on it goes until Cal retires.

CATS.

[Joneslab]

Shai's one of the only guys you can't be mad at on this team.

He's performed wildly better than anybody expected. He's held us in games, won a couple of games for us, and at times is the only player out there who seems to be able to do anything.

Guy is our best player and it's probably not close. Who would have ever thought that when you looked at him in high school? He wasn't really even considered a point guard in high school. I know it's rough to watch this team, but imagine them without him. Holy Lord.

And through all this, he's a likeable guy. Plays with a smile. He's a leader on the court. And he kills it.

If we had two or three more of him we'd be fine. I'm not going to be bitter about anything that guy chooses to do. The players who tick me off are PJ Washington and Nick Richards and those types--guys who have so wildly under-performed that they really haven't even registered for a good percentage of our games. Those players are the ones that irk me, because if you look at PJ Washington you see a player who has the tools to be so much better than he is.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has absolutely maxed out at Kentucky. He isn't the problem.

[George]

I don’t think SGA is a problem at all, nor am I irked at him. I’m irked that he’s going to leave. Don’t blame him, but I was hoping for a long-term player.

And really, I’ll feel the same about any freshman who leaves a crap team after one year. If you’re one-and-done, I’d at least like to get a good run out of you.

[Spiritof96]

I don’t think SGA is a problem at all, nor am I irked at him. I’m irked that he’s going to leave. Don’t blame him, but I was hoping for a long-term player.

And really, I’ll feel the same about any freshman who leaves a crap team after one year. If you’re one-and-done, I’d at least like to get a good run out of you.

Seems fair.

The original deal pitched to the fans was, "We are going to get the BEST players and then be fine when they leave." Well, we aren't getting the best players these days and yet they still move on. My hope is that this year is an anomaly.

[Joneslab]

And really, I’ll feel the same about any freshman who leaves a crap team after one year. If you’re one-and-done, I’d at least like to get a good run out of you.

I feel the same way for the most part.

Unfortunately the game of basketball is the sort of sport where you can have a couple of guys playing well but three or four others not giving you anything, and those three or four can sink the ship.

Really this team has one consistent player, and it's Shai.

[KCKUKFan]

The big problem isn't that we only have one consistent player. It's that the one consistent player is the wrong guy.

Kevin Knox has to be the man on this team. He's not.

[Joneslab]

The original deal pitched to the fans was, "We are going to get the BEST players and then be fine when they leave." Well, we aren't getting the best players these days and yet they still move on. My hope is that this year is an anomaly.

It's been two recruiting classes in a row where he's missed on a bunch of his targets, so we might be past this being an anomaly.

The problem with recruiting up at the very top is that you have to have elite talent to get those players. Elite talent begets more elite talent, because these new guys are wanting to fill up voids the old guys left.

It's unclear how many--if any--voids this team is going to have. Anybody looking at this bunch is going to ask themselves the inevitable question, "Are there any one-and-dones on this team?"

If you want to recruit studs then you have to have no-doubt NBA players in front of them. This team doesn't, and so the whole deal Cal pitched has gotten funky.

It may turn out to our advantage but we'll have to have some luck once this season ends not only in how many guys stay, but in whether or not those guys who stay can improve. As we've seen with Wenyen and with guys like Poythress and Briscoe: just because they come back doesn't mean they're going to automatically be better players.

[Joneslab]

Rivals reports that EJ Montgomery will visit Kentucky.

[KCKUKFan]

Rivals reports that EJ Montgomery will visit Kentucky.

Word is that Cal is hitting the pavement on this kid, HARD. Sounds like he's angry and is going to throw the kitchen sink at the kid to ensure that he doesn't end up at Duke.

At this point, I think it's more of a save-face thing rather than Montgomery being a can't miss prospect (although he is very good).

[Joneslab]

I know zero about Montgomery's game.

He seems to have really blown up in the rankings over the past year, which is usually a good sign. But other than that he's sort of a mystery.