With the addition of Knox they now have a stupid quantity of 5-star players. If Diallo shows up, they seem to be 2 deep at every position.
Will Kentucky Go Back to the Platoon System Next Year?
- Thread starter What Would Jesus Do?
- Start date
The minutes might work out similar but Cal can't allow it to be branded that way as it hurt them last time around.
How many didn't win the national championship? Over 300. Just one of the "also rans" that year.
Did UK hang a banner for that or did Coke issue a commemorative bottle?
The platoon couldn't win with a future NBA great KAT, Booker who is a stud, Ullis, Lyles, WCS all future 10+ year NBA year players. Not to mention the twins, Johnson, Poythress (former top 3 recruit) and Marcus Lee. Next year's team won't be even close to as talented at any position, except possibly PF/SF. The guy has won one title with so much NBA talent you could build multiple pro rosters with the players he has failed to win with.
SKJ and Gabriel will be lucky to play, they have a bunch of SF/PFs. Luckily for them Knox thinks he can play the 2. If Diallo doesn't come back they're in trouble in the backcourt. They have one PG and a couple of lower ranked SGs if he stays in the draft. Guards win championships at the college level more often than not and that is not a very good backcourt.
SKJ and Gabriel will be lucky to play, they have a bunch of SF/PFs. Luckily for them Knox thinks he can play the 2. If Diallo doesn't come back they're in trouble in the backcourt. They have one PG and a couple of lower ranked SGs if he stays in the draft. Guards win championships at the college level more often than not and that is not a very good backcourt.
Cal gives the players 2 years at most. He forced Briscoe and Humphries out (sophomores) that will likely go undrafted. Calipari knows how to work the system. You have to give him credit. He really does not need Knox, but I think he added him just to keep him from Duke or UNC.
He will probably start Knox at the 2 as he promised. At least he is not K who lies to players. K told Goldwire that he was coming in to run the second unit. Second unit? When has K had a second unit?
He will probably start Knox at the 2 as he promised. At least he is not K who lies to players. K told Goldwire that he was coming in to run the second unit. Second unit? When has K had a second unit?
Last edited:
Very interesting take on adding Knox to keep him away from us or dook. UK will have talent again, but a lot of young talent. The backcourt will not be nearly as good as it was this year with Fox and Monk.
^^^^^
The LOM with a second unit. That made me laugh. The only time the second unit guys get on the court is to wipe up the sweat when Tripper trips someone in practice.
The ultimate measure of a coach is championships. Cal has won one while having the most talent every year for almost a decade now.
I also agree that their backcourt won't be nearly as good next year. You have to have great guard play to win it all.
The LOM with a second unit. That made me laugh. The only time the second unit guys get on the court is to wipe up the sweat when Tripper trips someone in practice.
The ultimate measure of a coach is championships. Cal has won one while having the most talent every year for almost a decade now.
I also agree that their backcourt won't be nearly as good next year. You have to have great guard play to win it all.
They won't be nearly as talented or experienced in years past, but what's funny is ESPN is still going to eat that right up and probably have them at pre season #1. If Tony comes back or not, I hope we get a shot at these guys to knock them down a few.
UK fans love "publicity" ..but that is NOT results on the floor..platoon system or dribble drive..can Cal coach? or will the assistant coaches coach?...the team chemistry will be challenged by the OAD policy...those that return are not even 2nd round picks-not enough minutes to go around ..SKJ are you listening-watching?
Where's the spacing? Look like I said, loaded with talent but a lot of guys who play the same position(s). Knox is not and will never be a 2G. It's like when they kept saying that Gabriel could play the 3 at the college level and I discussed with a few of them that he simply didn't have that kind of game. To be perfectly honest Knox is probably best at the 4 in the college game. He's not a great shooter or an explosive ball handler. I would have welcomed him with open arms but he can't play the 2G.
Looking at it from a Coach's perspective, it's got to be tough to manage all those egos...I mean all these guys are going to Kentucky for one reason, and that is to elevate their own status in the eyes of NBA owners and GMs, and that of course means that they need a lot of minutes on the floor to make that happen.....It's happened only 1 time during the OAD era at Kentucky, and it might not of even happened then had Kendall Marshall not have been injured against Creighton?
Sure didn't happen last year!
Have to agree that Calipari does seem to be able to reel in the top shelf high school talent every year just like a used Car Salesman reels in people to buy a Lemon on his car lot...
Sure didn't happen last year!
Have to agree that Calipari does seem to be able to reel in the top shelf high school talent every year just like a used Car Salesman reels in people to buy a Lemon on his car lot...
For all the negativity on this board directed at UK and Calipari, does anyone honestly think UNC is closer to their next NCAA Championship than UK is?
We just won the Championship, but UK (and Duke) are loaded every year and deserve the preseason accolades directed their way. For many years, we were "that" program. The program loaded with McD AA that rarely would ever win a Championship.
I don't like our rivals, but I respect the fact they have embraced and thrived in the OAD system. We can't keep up with recruiting so hopefully we can continue to develop Championship level play from great talent.
We just won the Championship, but UK (and Duke) are loaded every year and deserve the preseason accolades directed their way. For many years, we were "that" program. The program loaded with McD AA that rarely would ever win a Championship.
I don't like our rivals, but I respect the fact they have embraced and thrived in the OAD system. We can't keep up with recruiting so hopefully we can continue to develop Championship level play from great talent.
As a Coach, you have a better basketball IQ than I do. What makes you say UK is a "Lemon?" Five Elite 8 and Four Final 4 trips this decade (last 7 years) puts all those players in the National spotlight. That's better than any stretch I have experience since being a UNC fan since 1984.
If one or two of Ky big men turn out to be a difference on defense they will be hard to beat.
Ky won a Natty with Anthony Davis, not because of his offense, but it was his defense. Not sure if any of these guys are Anthony Davis.
If TB goes to draft I am officially done with one and done guys. They are not winning championships ( they help for bench play).
I like winning more than knowing MJ or Vince played for us.
Ky won a Natty with Anthony Davis, not because of his offense, but it was his defense. Not sure if any of these guys are Anthony Davis.
If TB goes to draft I am officially done with one and done guys. They are not winning championships ( they help for bench play).
I like winning more than knowing MJ or Vince played for us.
Will we go back to not giving two craps about Kentucky this year? Guess not.
And here is the other side of that coin that makes Kentucky so attractive to these kids. At more than any other school, the minutes and productivity don't seem to matter. Maybe it is Cal's selling skills to scouts, but we have all seen kids that barely seemed to contribute at Kentucky picked fairly high in the draft. It is almost like we have entered the age where if you just get recruited by Kentucky that seems to be good enough for the NBA.
I really don't get this.
I would put doing well year after year ahead of winning the infrequent championship. Sure, winning a championship feels great, and can compensate for too many years of double-digit losses.
As for the platoon system, I thought it was a great way to handle the potential chemistry problems of an over-talented bunch of kids. And the idea that it wasn't successful because they were only 38-1 is laughable.
You must not remember the 90's very well.
UNC went to 5 elite 8s, went to the Final 4 in 91,93,95,97 & 98. Won the championship in 93. I say that's better than UKs run.
They don't have the upper class experience they had when they first deployed the platoon system BACK in the 2014-15 season. I doubt it will be as successful this time around.
That being said, their teams usually blossom near the start of march. So this is all speculation.
That being said, their teams usually blossom near the start of march. So this is all speculation.
UK has the exact same record in a span of 7 years...
'11 (Final Four)
'12, (Championship)
'14 (Runner Up)
'15 (Final Four)
They make it this year, they tie that exact same span.
You can also factor in UK missed the tournament in that time frame. UNC made the tournament every year in the 90s & went to the sweet 16 every year but 94,96 & 99.
Not only the 90's but the 00s as well.
05 - championship
06 - 2nd round
07 - elite eight
08 - final four
09 - championship
4 EEs, 3 FFs, and 2 NCs in a 5 year span is more impressive than what UK has done in the last 7.
For someone who's been a fan since the 80s, you've been pretty good at blocking out 2 decades of dominance.
It's undoubtedly True that 38-1 is a phenomenal season. However, considering that a good chunk of their fans were predicting 40-0 and a chip, I would bet they feel that overall the season was a failure.
Last edited:
OK, OK, I'm duly impressed and agree that UNC in that 90s span outperformed UK in the 2010s.
I'm less impressed that we had to go back 2 decades to cherry-pick a range of the Dean Smith era to do it. I mean pitsburghheel is looking at all of Cal's years at UK, not the best slice.
Dean will always be the best coach to me. Even if Roy wins another championship (putting him 2 ahead of Dean). Which is not to dis Roy in the slightest - just to say that Dean was that special. But Cal is certainly impressive. I don't have to like him to see that.
That's bound to be the best 5-year slice, unless maybe K has something comparable. Which, at a glance, he doesn't. Thank you Tyler Hansbrough.
The comparison between Roy and Cal this decade is pretty close on post-season play. Cal has the edge.
Both spent 1 year in the NIT
Both won 1 championship
Both were runner up 1 time
Cal got to 4 Final Fours, Roy 2
Cal got to 6 Elite Eights, Roy 4
Cal got to 7 Sweet Sixteens, Roy 5
Neither was knocked out in the first round
Cal's NCAA record 26-6
Roy's NCAA record 21-6
Both spent 1 year in the NIT
Both won 1 championship
Both were runner up 1 time
Cal got to 4 Final Fours, Roy 2
Cal got to 6 Elite Eights, Roy 4
Cal got to 7 Sweet Sixteens, Roy 5
Neither was knocked out in the first round
Cal's NCAA record 26-6
Roy's NCAA record 21-6
This class is a level or 2 below when Cal did the "platoon" thing. Theyve recruited 3 very similar players in Knox, vanderbilt and washington and not one of them can shoot very well. Their pg is Greene who is a very skinny average PG compared to Fox, wall, etc. I am not sure they will be anywhere near as good as this past season. Of course if they get Bamba as well that will change things some, but still the talent isnt as good.
Expanding this to include K
Code:
CH RU FF EE SS 32 64 NIT W-L
Cal 1 1 4 6 7 7 7 1 26-6
Roy 1 1 2 4 5 7 7 1 21-6
Krz 2 0 2 3 5 6 8 0 20-6I'm not taking anything away from Cal or UK but let's not pretend that they're dominating like UCONN's women team.
Do you also have the number of 5 stars and/or OAD's that each program has brought in during that same time frame? I would bet Roy's accomplishments would look even more impressive considering that he hasn't
been getting all the talent that shady and rat get.
That sounds about right. But still a good team, that looks ripe for platooning.
Frankly, if I were a Duke fan I'd be worried that Cal would try to snag Duval. With 2 clearly good PGs the platoon thing probably becomes real. Otherwise a CG or SG would have to run the B squad.
Greene - Duval (or Gilgeous-Alexander)
Diallo - Gilgeous-Alexander (or Baker)
Knox - Vanderbilt
Gabriel - Washington - Killeya-Jones
Richards - Wynyard
Both those squads should be very good. Both also have question marks - with Diallo being uncertain and Duval a long shot. OTOH, I didn't even include Bamba (because I am holding out for him to come to UNC). But the A squad gets a big boost if Bamba commits to UK.
Don't have enough energy to gather those numbers at the moment, but I would bet that you are clearly correct. Which is why it is so baffling that we can't seem to land more top players.
I have started to suspect that so many kids who are not actually OADs have been convinced that they are OADs. So they look at UNC and see a school where, sure, kids get good and win a lot but they are very rarely OAD. So, since they think they are going to be OAD, they don't think UNC is a good fit.
Nor are they wrong on part of that. Roy has often gotten top-ranked players, but has rarely gotten those who were ready to go pro. That worked out well a decade ago, when fewer kids were sure they were OAD and were happy go to a teaching school where they could get better. Now they think they are already good enough and only want to be showcased. Playing a year behind some junior isn't being showcased in their view, so we aren't their choice.
Similar threads
