John Wall to UK: Is Big Blue Nation Back?
John Calipari - Miracle Worker?
Less than two months ago, Kentucky was winding down a disappointing campaign, culminating in a loss to Notre Dame in the NIT quarterfinals. Their head coach was on his way to being ushered out the door, their two best players were weighing their NBA options, and an unrelenting fan base was sounding off at every opportunity to show their disdain for an uneven season.
Yet here we sit, just hours after uber-recruit John Wall announced his intentions to come to UK, and there's realistic talk of a national title next season. A team that started the 2008-09 season by losing at home to Virginia Military Institute will enter the 2009-10 season as one of the favorites to cut down the nets. An elite program some felt was on the decline has all of a sudden become nationally relevant again. A school that has had three head coaches in four years now looks to be the new hot spot of college hoops. A team that ended their season wondering whether next year would bring drastic changes now is wondering how to mesh all of their incoming talent.
How in the world of Shagari Alleyne did we get here??
The obvious answer is John Calipari, who has endeared himself to the UK fan base more in two months than former coach Billy Gillispie did in two years. Cal's vibrant personality, self-deprecating humor and outright honesty are a stark contrast to Gillispie, who often appeared uncomfortable as a public figure, and tended to sound condescending when being interviewed.
Of course it doesn't hurt that Cal knows a thing or two about recruiting as well.
The signing of Wall adds even more luster to a class that could go down as one of the best in history, as he joins forwards DeMarcus Cousins and Darnell Dodsen, center Daniel Orton, wing Jon Hood and guard Eric Bledsoe. Add in the return of big man Patrick Patterson (who pulled out of the NBA draft), and talented wings Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins, and you can understand the optimism in Lexington. And that doesn't even take into account the potential return of All-American guard Jodie Meeks, who declared for the NBA Draft but still could return to school.
Add that all up, and it's easy to see that the 2009-10 Cats will bear little resemblance to last year's team. With two five-star point guards in Wall and Bledsoe on their way, excessive turnovers should be a thing of the past. With Orton and Cousins joining Patterson up front, no longer will frontcourt depth be a problem. And with the excitement and flair of Calipari, the boos that occasionally filled Rupp Arena last year will be replaced with legions of cheers.
Of course, there are no guarantees in this game. While the talent of Wall, Cousins and their classmates is unquestioned, how will they all mesh? Can they all play effectively together with one eye on the NBA? How will Patterson, and potentially Meeks, respond to fewer touches on the offensive end? And what about the Ramon Harris and Perry Stevenson-type players at UK, who will lose most, if not all, of their minutes to the newcomers? There's no question that the Cats are getting a talent upgrade, but for players like Harris and Stevenson, who played with pride and passion amidst all of the distractions, is a seat at the end of the bench a fitting reward for their perseverance?
While those questions will be hopefully answered over the course of the season, one thing we do know for sure right now is that the Cats will open the season in the top five, and will be expected to make a deep tournament run. They'll likely be the favorites in the SEC, and they'll be on the national pictures all year.
A potential starting lineup of Wall, Meeks, Miller, Patterson and Cousins has very few weaknesses, and with Liggins, Bledsoe, Orton, Dodsen and Hood coming off the bench, the Cats will be able to rotate fresh bodies throughout the game. They'll have speed, athleticism, size, ball-handling, passing, shooting, experience and defense, not to mention the adrenaline rush from 24,000 screaming fans at Rupp. They'll have a passionate coach who understands the public facets of his job, and the support of a town anxious to have a winner again.
So the pieces are definitely in place for a fantastic season. The Big Blue Nation may not be back yet, but they're certainly on the way.
Comments
Ramon Harris will be on the
Ramon Harris will be on the team next year and will play back up minutes and Darnell Dodson will definitely be playing significant minutes (some people say he will start over miller). I understand fans are coming out of the wood work now but at least read up a little bit and make an educated comment.
ummmmm...how about were awsome!!! lol
i woke up this morning from a phone call at around 10...yes i slept late lol...and low and behold would the voice on the other end say..."DUDE, JOHN WALL IS COMING TO UK...HE'S A CAT BABYYYYY" I WENT FROM BEING HALF ASLEEP TOO HOLY SHI*, I CANT BELIEVE THIS RIGHT NOW. he has kidded me like that often for the past month...i know its a horrible thing to do to such a crazy as* fan like myself. There is nothing in this world that makes me as anxious and happy and excited as the university of kentucky basketball, and i mean that. Being a kentucky boy myself makes it even that much more of some fantasy ride that i would have only dreamed about a month and a half ago. that fantasy ride now is is happening for real and I, myself, am speechless,. I cant take so much excitment and joy in oneday but i have managed not to break down and sceam loudly outside to where my neighboors can hear lol. this is a great time to be a kentucky wildcat fan and even a better time to gloat ramble on and, as many have said on aseaofblue.com...embrasse the hate. Because it has been along time coming fellow cat fans, and the years of head scratching and shoe throwing and player cursings are over...for a while i am sure! One thing is for certain, as tradition never lies, history will repeat itself and the repeatition has begun for the bluegrass. We are ONCE AGAIN the pinacle of all college basketball...and those mild whimpering sighs you hear are the "other" hoops teams begging for mercy. WELCOME BACK UK, YOUR AT THE TOP OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL ONCE AGAIN...WHERE YOU RIGHTFULLY BELONG!!! GO CATS!!!
I wanted to respond to the
I wanted to respond to the second post. Ramon Harris may be on the team, but he will not play that many minutes, maybe none at all. Chino is absolutely right about Ramon. Dodson will play significant minutes, but I doubt it will be anything that will make huge splashes.
Look at the whole roster and tell me if that's not accurate. We have great players and not all of them will play significant minutes, even if he's a four star or five star.
Ramon Harris is an
Ramon Harris is an interesting topic in itself. If he was to go ahead and stay on the team, he would not be playing much at all. To be honest, he is not that great of a player. Tubby made a mistake bringing him on. Now is he a good player? Absolutely, but not the type of good that UK is in need of right now. He came from nowhere (alaska) when he got onboard with Tubby at UK. Tubby Smith just did not do a very good job recruiting these players early on in the signing periods.
I highly doubt he will be seeing any significant minutes. Calipari will play guys that will make the greatest impact at the highest level. Even if Harris is a senior and is consistent, that don't mean anything when it comes to winning championships. Those who are jumping on the Harris bandwagon in regards to his success for his last year is insane.
Ramon Harris will play back
Ramon Harris will play back up minutes as i said in my post. I looked at what Chino wrote and thought that there were mistakes considering Harris will play a back up role, Pilgrim might not be on the team, i think Perry Stevenson will play over Pilgrim if both are still there, Dodson was left off the list who is a potential starter. Im sure what he wrote is a possibility but i was just simply stating what i had read over the past month or so.
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About Jason Brubaker
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Kentucky & SEC
Contact
jkbru22@yahoo.com
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Jason Brubaker is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He formerly worked as a reporter for WVLK 590 AM in Lexington covering UK athletics, local high school sports, and the Kentucky Derby for a nightly
sports talk show. He is currently a reporter for The Community Recorder in Florence, Ky.
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1996 / Pitino or 2010 / Calipari?
Man, I am having a very hard time deciding if this is a better class then the boys of '96. Only time will tell. Looks to me on paper, these players are ranked collectively much higher than the boys in '96. Only time will tell if they actually both mesh and play to their caliber.
I think the starting lineup should be this:
PG Wall
SG Meeks
SF Miller
PF Patterson
C Cousins......
Second String
PG Bledsoe
SG Liggins
SF Hood
PF Pilgrim
C Orton
Man, looking at the second string, who wouldn't want these players as their own starting lineup.
As for the players that I think will be leaving by the time summer is done, is as follows:
Kevin Galloway, Donald Williams, Josh Harrellson, Ramon Harris (possibly), and majority of the walk-ons.
CAT SCRATCH FEVER!