When looking at the composition of our 2010-2011 roster, as of now we should have Daniel Orton, Josh Harrellson, Darius Miller, Darnell Dodson, Stacey Poole, Jon Hood, and Eric Bledsoe. Two wild-cards right now are Demarcus Cousins and Deandre Liggins. Cousins has recently dipped to #28 in both NBAdraft.net and draftexpress.com's 2010 mock drafts. Those sites are by no means the gospel, and he still has time to improve his stock. How he looks Saturday against Ed Davis will go a long way in answering any questions NBA teams might have about him, but there is a chance he could end up back for his sophomore year. As for Liggins, we will just have to wait and see what his situation is.
Looking at what we can expect back, the cupboard should be far from bare. The pieces will be in place for a solid team, but Calipari has given us every reason to believe his recruiting prowess will have more help on the way. The roster we have returning is a versatile bunch, which gives us the same versatility in approaching recruiting.
The #1 need is likely PG or at the very least a combo guard. Bledsoe will be the only man on the roster with much experience in this department. Brandon Knight (Rivals #1), Josh Selby (Rivals #4), and Doron Lamb (Rivals #21) are Calipari's top targets to fill the void in the back court. We easily have room for two of these players, but getting at least one of them is really important for the program moving forward. Calipari will have had three straight top five picks (Freshman no less) in the NBA draft come from his backcourts in Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, and John Wall. That has to speak volumes to any recruit who has dreams of playing at the next level.
As big guys go, our primary targets are two athletic forwards Terrence Jones (Rivals #13) and CJ Leslie (Rivals #14). Jones's skill make him the perfect fit for the Dribble Drive Offense, as he can take almost any big guy off the dribble and do a little bit of everything. In Leslie, you have a player that is considered by many to be the biggest athletic freak in the class as well John Wall's former high school teammate. CJ is considered a "Kentucky lean" by many and his connection to Wall certainly won't hurt.
I think CJ and Selby will be Cats. If he could just ink those two alone, it would be mean another Top 10 class. I would like to think we have a good shot at Knight with Cal's PG track record, but he seems to like the hometown schools right now. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up at Florida or FSU.
ReplyDeleteI think Florida's revial on the national scene will only help them in the Knight sweepstakes. However, if Wall goes #1 in the draft, that will have to play into Knight's thought process. What kid wouldn't want to play for a coach that does nothing but put point guards in the lottery every year? Anyway, since we'll have Bledsoe at the point next year, regardless of the Wall/Knight situation, we'll be fine there.
ReplyDeleteyeah....being from Oregon, I would love to see T.Jones in Blue and White, but he may decide to stay out West...I think Selby and CJ are in...BK may not want to compete with Selby AND Bledsoe (although at Florida he may have Rivers and Boynton to contend with...he may shock and sign with Miami) the kicker for me is Doron Lamb...don't need him going to Kansas, OK or Tenn...and I think if we can add him, Poole, Selby and Leslie that would make for an excellent (and very attainble) class...I think Big Cuz may stay for his Soph. year... and honestly, don't be surprised if JWall stays a second year as well (honestly, I think he goes NBA, but holding out hope) have to post as anonymous for some reason..not reading my URL...but my name is Dave Ball...from Silverton, OR...go Big Blue
ReplyDeleteDave, I'd love to get Lamb, Poole, Selby and Leslie. If we added those four along with Cousins returning we would probably be top Five in the country. That scenario is possible, but even with a little less we would be in great shape... In the past, our best chance at a great team was always in the future. It is nice to have a team as talented as this one to distract us!
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