Kentucky Wildcats 2010-11 Thread

[wildcatchild]

Okay, so I'm an idiot - totally forgot this section of OS existed. With that being said, the NBA Draft is over and it's time to focus on next year's version of the Kentucky Wildcats.

When last season ended, I was pretty devastated. Like many UK fans, I had already put all my eggs in the 2009-10 basket. Calipari hadn't finalized his recruiting class, and I had already written 2010-11 off. I had basically come to the conclusion that there was no way this year's team was going to the Final Four and our drought would continue. However, that was before he inked Knight, Lamb, Vargas, and the cherry on top of the sundae, Jones. As I peruse our roster, I am pleasantly confident we won't lose much from last year. Granted, we do not have a Patrick Patterson to lean on during tough times, but the personnel fits the dribble drive better. Oh, and we'll be a much better shooting team. Knight and Lamb can flat out stroke it. We wont' have as many highlight reel plays...but I do foresee more blowouts due to our improved marksmenship.

Anyway, here are some jersey numbers that have already been released for next year:

Enes Kanter: #0
Brandon Knight: #12
Terrence Jones: #3 (not sure what this means for Darnell Dodson)
Stacey Poole, Jr.: #22 (unconfirmed - but it was his HS number as well as his father's number at Florida).

Go Cats!

[PhantomPain]

I agre wildcatchild, this team will likely be a better "all round" team than last year if the chemistry is there. I also think that this team will be better defensively as a whole.

The thing to remember is that Cal won't have to teach everyone, everything, from the beginning to the end of the season as there will be some returning players (not many but enough to make an impact) to help the newbies along.

Knight is not John Wall and I hope for his sake that UK fans don't try and compare them. But Knight is an elite pg with a nice stroke and high IQ. Lamb will great at the mid range game, something that was missing last year. Miller I am praying finally has a break out year and shows night in and night out what he is capable of. Jones is going to be hard to stop, he does so many things. And Kanter will replace Cousins quite nicely as I think he is nearly as effecient but will log more time as he doesn't have the attitude during games that can sit him on the bench. Not to mention he will probably hit about 75% of his FT's.

Don't be surprised to see Hood back up Knight some. He ran the point in high school a lot, almost totally in China and has been instructed by the staff to work on his pg skills about 90% of the time. Poole will be very good at getting to the rim, but needs to work on his outside shot. I have heard Harrelson looks better than ever. Lost more weight, really bouncy now and if he can improve his defense, then he will be fine backing up Kanter with Vargas. And Vargas, to me, is the wildcard. If he has gotten back to his high school form, only more mature and determined, can be a very solid back up to Kanter, or if Miller is playing with his head up his butt then don't be surprised to see Jones/Vargas/Kanter frontcourt.

I am excited about this season. Much more so than I was after the last game. The big question will be if this team gets the chemistry down. If they do, play the kind of defense they are capable of, then I can see a better finish than last year. Maybe not as good as an overall record, but by tourney time this team can be very good.

Go Cats!

P.S. Not sure I care one way or another about Dodson. If he returns then it would mean he has gotten his crap straight and maybe will play the way he is capable. If he doesn't return, then it's meant to be.

[CWood2]

Best part about going into this year ... if we lose 4 of these guys to early entry, Coach Cal already has the top 2 players for next year and 2-3 more top 25 guys rumored with major interest.

The one and done era is upon us, but it's kind of exciting the way we're recruiting.

Btw guys, great background material for you on the UK website, congralating our 5 1st rounders.

[wildcatchild]

Quote: Originally Posted by PhantomPain

I agre wildcatchild, this team will likely be a better "all round" team than last year if the chemistry is there. I also think that this team will be better defensively as a whole. The thing to remember is that Cal won't have to teach everyone, everything, from the beginning to the end of the season as there will be some returning players (not many but enough to make an impact) to help the newbies along. Knight is not John Wall and I hope for his sake that UK fans don't try and compare them. But Knight is an elite pg with a nice stroke and high IQ. Lamb will great at the mid range game, something that was missing last year. Miller I am praying finally has a break out year and shows night in and night out what he is capable of. Jones is going to be hard to stop, he does so many things. And Kanter will replace Cousins quite nicely as I think he is nearly as effecient but will log more time as he doesn't have the attitude during games that can sit him on the bench. Not to mention he will probably hit about 75% of his FT's. Don't be surprised to see Hood back up Knight some. He ran the point in high school a lot, almost totally in China and has been instructed by the staff to work on his pg skills about 90% of the time. Poole will be very good at getting to the rim, but needs to work on his outside shot. I have heard Harrelson looks better than ever. Lost more weight, really bouncy now and if he can improve his defense, then he will be fine backing up Kanter with Vargas. And Vargas, to me, is the wildcard. If he has gotten back to his high school form, only more mature and determined, can be a very solid back up to Kanter, or if Miller is playing with his head up his butt then don't be surprised to see Jones/Vargas/Kanter frontcourt. I am excited about this season. Much more so than I was after the last game. The big question will be if this team gets the chemistry down. If they do, play the kind of defense they are capable of, then I can see a better finish than last year. Maybe not as good as an overall record, but by tourney time this team can be very good. Go Cats! P.S. Not sure I care one way or another about Dodson. If he returns then it would mean he has gotten his crap straight and maybe will play the way he is capable. If he doesn't return, then it's meant to be.

You know what the coolest thing about your post is? You didn't mention Liggins one time....and I think he'll have a huge impact on next year's team. I think he'll give both Lamb and Miller a run for their starting positions. Of course, I love his energy and hustle off the bench....but don't be surprised to see him in the lineup during crunch time.

Speaking of Kanter...Jeff Goodman said he weighed in at 6'11, 265 lbs. with 6% body fat at Amare Stoudemire's camp. Looks like we won't be losing much in the transition from Cousins to the new guy...how insane is it to be able to say something like that considering where we were a little over 400 days ago?

[CWood2]

Anyone watching the scrimmage from Canada online??

Terrence Jones can handle the ball ... wow.

[DakkoN]

Cats looked sloppy, which can be expected from a team that has only 4 returning players and has only been practicing about 2 weeks.. Usually they aren't playing games until 2 and a half months from now. Seen enough in the game to get me really excited about the year though.. Brandon Knight is a scoring machine, he put up a very quiet 31 points. I thought he only had about 15 and then they mentioned he had 31 and it shocked me.. He's got a knack for the net and also rebounds well. His J is WET. DeAndre Liggins' gameplay echoed what has been being mentioned for the last week or so in that he is the most improved player on the team and is due to be a stud this year. He looked like a whole new player last year compared to his year under Gillispie and it seems he's finally bringing it all together. Darius Miller also had a solid all around game and had a flat footed posterize dunk that I loved. Terrence Jones has incredible handles for a guy his size.. There was one fast break play when he had the ball and did that fake behind the back pass into a layup that Rajon Rondo loves to do so much. I loved seeing more of the dribble drive and I love the offensive rebounds it creates on misses. Jon Hood got a ton of playtime and seemed to get his hand on every loose ball. Walk on from Jessamine County, Jarrod Polson also impressed me in the time he was on the court and I could see him getting a couple minutes a game when Knight needs a breather, but he'll still be 3rd or even 4th on the PG depth chart behind Knight/Lamb/Miller. Really didn't see much from Stacey Poole and Lamb to form an opinion on them.. Really can't wait until this team is healthy (T Jones had an injured ankle and shoulder, and Lamb had a bad ankle as well) and I can't wait to see Enes Kanter with the team

[CWood2]

Quote: Originally Posted by DakkoN

Terrence Jones has incredible handles for a guy his size.. There was one fast break play when he had the ball and did that fake behind the back pass into a layup that Rajon Rondo loves to do so much. I loved seeing more of the dribble drive and I love the offensive rebounds it creates on misses.

At that exact play, I decided to write my above post!

Really happy to see Darius and DeAndre back with better bodies and better games. Those two playing like legit starters will only make the froshies work harder and give them time to acclimate to Cal's system.

[DakkoN]

The refs for these games have been some of the most inconsistent refs I have ever seen in my life. I don't understand how our guys can get killed going to the rim with no call, and then on the other end they call a hand check foul on us.. I just don't understand it.. We're playing with only 8 guys tonight, Terrence Jones has a stress fracture in his rib cage.