Class of 2019 - General Discussion

[Dwight Schrute]

Well, he isn't going to miss out on all his targets. We have two top ten players already and a good chance at a third (McDaniels).

But Kentucky's problem will continue to be what we lose versus what we get to replace them.

It looks like we only have two surefire pros at the moment (Johnson and Washington), but you know Kentucky will lose far more than that.

You can recruit the way Cal is going to this year but you've got to return guys. Cal isn't in the game of returning guys and he's still not really recruiting a whole lot of players who are longterm players. That's a recipe for program erosion.

I tended to read Brad's redshirt year the opposite of most people: I thought it might mean he's going to try and transfer to somewhere he can play his last two years. If true, and if you go back and listen to Cal's very early comments about the Kentucky job ("This isn't an old man's game," "I don't want to wear out my welcome here"), then you have to think the end of the Cal era might be hurtling toward us.

A more interesting question is where Cal fits in historically, both at UK and in the history of the game.

If this team continues like it has and loses 10 or 11 games and goes out in the Sweet Sixteen and Cal leaves, then you'd have to put Cal as the third best coach all-time at Kentucky, and probably in a group just below Roy Williams and Jim Calhoun all-time.

No, but you can't operate the way Cal does and not replace with top level players. Losing Wiseman isn't the end of the world, but losing out on all 4 of the Wiseman/Carey/Stewart/Hurt group is disastrous unless you return players. But like you said, that isn't how Cal operates.

We'll see how recruiting pans out but I tend to think it's a possibility that Cal isn't our coach next year.

[catfaninin]

What the heck are you talking about? Adam Zagoria, Evan Daniels, TJ Walker, Matt Jones all today said UK is not expected to be in his top three...what exactly am I making up? I guess I missed the catfaninin blog, Twitter account, radio show, and podcast you host showing off your recruiting expertise.

TJ Walker quotes below. I don't quite read "not expected to be in the top 3" anywhere there. I guess it's all in how one chooses to comprehend.

"I’m not sure Kentucky or Miami can do enough to jump ahead of Duke or Michigan State, but it seems like it will be the Cats or the Canes as the third team on the list."

"I’m not ready to give up on UK’s chances of making the final three, but I haven’t heard anything to indicate it’s a lock."

[lilproUK98]

Well, he isn't going to miss out on all his targets. We have two top ten players already and a good chance at a third (McDaniels).

But Kentucky's problem will continue to be what we lose versus what we get to replace them.

It looks like we only have two surefire pros at the moment (Johnson and Washington), but you know Kentucky will lose far more than that.

You can recruit the way Cal is going to this year but you've got to return guys. Cal isn't in the game of returning guys and he's still not really recruiting a whole lot of players who are longterm players. That's a recipe for program erosion.

I tended to read Brad's redshirt year the opposite of most people: I thought it might mean he's going to try and transfer to somewhere he can play his last two years. If true, and if you go back and listen to Cal's very early comments about the Kentucky job ("This isn't an old man's game," "I don't want to wear out my welcome here"), then you have to think the end of the Cal era might be hurtling toward us.

A more interesting question is where Cal fits in historically, both at UK and in the history of the game.

If this team continues like it has and loses 10 or 11 games and goes out in the Sweet Sixteen and Cal leaves, then you'd have to put Cal as the third best coach all-time at Kentucky, and probably in a group just below Roy Williams and Jim Calhoun all-time.

Took the words right out of my mouth Will. I agree with all of this.

[lilproUK98]

Probably wrong but recruits seem to want to play in a system that is more open and very few plays are ran. Just my opinion.

That's Cal's system tho...

[SCBlu]

Assuming the tea leaves are accurate and Wiseman goes to Memphis, probably marks the first time I've felt bad about the future of the program in 10 years. Cal's system relies on getting elite top level guys - a series of one-and-dones with second tier guys is just brutal.

Maybe we'll see just how good our recruiting assistants really are. Forget the no-brainer 5-stars, let's see them find some gems "in the rough.

[Joneslab]

Maybe we'll see just how good our recruiting assistants really are. Forget the no-brainer 5-stars, let's see them find some gems "in the rough.

We've gotten some of those guys. Devin Booker was one of those. Tyler Ulis. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was really one of those types. You hope Dontaie Allen is one next year.

Problem is, Cal doesn't really spend a lot of time looking for those types of players. He doesn't offer much unless you're in the top 20.

So in essence what they're doing is going after a lot of OAD types but not actually landing a lot of legit OADs. I sort of thought we might be changing our recruiting methodology last year, but that really hasn't happened. In this recruiting season we're after almost all the top 15 guys without any offers outside that group. That means we're still going to lose players but we're not replenishing those players with elite-elite talent.

Clearly the assistants haven't been great for UK since Antigua left. Justus was brought in as a way to get in with younger players but for whatever reason Cal hasn't been able to close on a lot of these guys.

[justford]

The G League is going to be a wildcard in recruitment of top players.

[Dwight Schrute]

Evan Daniels evidently changed his pick to Memphis, so another recruit we’re missing out on.

[justford]

Would be a miracle if he chooses UK. I can't see him announcing this early for UK and then playing his senior year in Memphis. Will wait and see.

[Joneslab]

Just to sort of take up a little for Cal here:

If you look back at the last three seasons, you see that Kentucky has really coveted three players.

And I mean by that guys they have wanted more than anybody else. That they've spent time and resources on beyond any other player in the class.

Trae Young. Zion Williamson. James Wiseman.

Two of those three players picked their hometown school (assuming Wiseman picks Memphis). One school (Memphis) fired a coach and paid a huge buy-out in part to land that particular player.

That's tough. And I think it's tipped the scales against us and set everything back so that we were playing catch-up. I still think Cal did a very good job with the 2018 class by grabbing Travis and Hagans, but when you miss on your top prospect it just throws everything in disarray. That wasn't happening in Cal's first few years here: the top guys he wanted he generally got up until Malik Monk, and then he ran into some trouble.

[Lighthouse]

What the heck are you talking about? Adam Zagoria, Evan Daniels, TJ Walker, Matt Jones all today said UK is not expected to be in his top three...what exactly am I making up? I guess I missed the catfaninin blog, Twitter account, radio show, and podcast you host showing off your recruiting expertise.

I know exactly what he's talking about. Negative is very evident in someones history. And that's not the case with catfaninin.

[Joneslab]

When crazzed is over there telling us how much Kentucky lost a half by he's just being silly.

But this...well, I'd say the situation we're currently in calls for a tad bit of negativity. This is pretty sobering. And shocking really when you consider where we started from with Cal.

If you're in the phenom game you've gotta get phenoms. The only question is (assuming we keep missing on these kids) whether Cal sees the writing on the wall or whether he's going to be obstinate and try to hang on.

[JFCats22]

"Borrowed" from another site -

When Wiseman picks Sewage Plant University in a few hours, it will make the 13th time that a top 5 kid has rejected a UK offer since 2015.

The only kid who said yes was Skal. That's a 1/14 rate, or 7.1%.

[Joneslab]

In a weird twist, 2020 shooting guard Anthony Edwards announced his reclassification and is now the #1 player () in 2019.

Um...I don't even know what to say about that. Have no idea if Cal is recruiting him or not, but it's kind of a wild plot twist.

Edwards is 6'4"/200 lbs. and is from Atlanta.

[Joneslab]

Edwards says Kentucky has offered.

http://www.zagsblog.com/2018/11/20/anthony-edwards-reclassifies-to-2019-class/