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  • VAUGHT: Calipari "Good" with roster next year

    By LARRY VAUGHT

    Maybe when he was holding his post-NBA Draft press conference Kentucky coach John Calipari already knew or sensed that Virginia Tech graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear was not coming to UK.

    Whether he did or did not know, though, Calipari made it clear that Kentucky was "good" going into next season with the roster he already knew he had.

    "We’re good one way or another. If we add, fine. If we don’t, I’m good," Calipari said.

    "You have stuff that happens last minute and things that are going, but our kids – I look at our group that we have and I’m really pleased with."

    He has grad transfer Nate Sestina to go along with junior Nick Richards and sophomore EJ Montgomery. He also has a standout group of perimeter players any coach in the country would like to have.

    "I think our guard play is going to be good, too. But you’re going to have – look, the whole idea defensively is do you have shot blockers behind them? Do you have athletes that are guarding?" Calipari said.

    "And all of a sudden now, this team should be a great defensive team. I may be wrong because it’s really early. I’ve been wrong before – 1978 – but I would guess that this team, people will talk about, ‘Man, are they good defensively.’ That’s what we should be.”
    Comments 7 Comments
    1. DanISSELisdaman's Avatar
      DanISSELisdaman -
      When I look at this team, I have some doubts. I would be really surprised if Richards and EJ can even come close to contributing on the level that PJ and Travis did and I don't look for Sestina to be any better . Hagans should be a much better player, but that remains to be seen. I look for Whitney to be a KJ type player, where it's either feast or famine. I don't think Maxey will be as good of a 3 pt. shooter as Herro was but he may be better at taking it to the hoop. Juzang is a mystery for me. I hope he is that player that plays much better than expected. I think Quickly will be a better player. I just look for this team to have, consistency problems. Brooks could be huge for us though. I think he could be that player that is somewhat overlooked and will be much better than expected. I'd like to see him be a healthy Vanderbilt type player that could shoot a much better percentage
    1. dtalbersjr's Avatar
      dtalbersjr -
      Quote Originally Posted by DanISSELisdaman View Post
      I don't think Maxey will be as good of a 3 pt. shooter as Herro was but he may be better at taking it to the hoop.

      Dirty little secret no one will mention: Tyler wasn't a particularly good 3 point shooter for us. He shot 35.5% from 3, 3rd best on the team behind PJ and Keldon. He was only 1% better than Quickley, and he shot really poorly down the stretch. He was 3/16 from 3 in the NCAA tourney (18.8%) and 14/41 our last 10 games (34.1%).
    1. UKFlounder's Avatar
      UKFlounder -
      He started and finished poorly, but shot well for a good stretch in the middle of the season and his shot to give us the lead against Houston was the kind of moment that adds to a reputation.

      Booker was somewhat similar though I think his % ended up higher.


      Quote Originally Posted by dtalbersjr View Post
      Dirty little secret no one will mention: Tyler wasn't a particularly good 3 point shooter for us. He shot 35.5% from 3, 3rd best on the team behind PJ and Keldon. He was only 1% better than Quickley, and he shot really poorly down the stretch. He was 3/16 from 3 in the NCAA tourney (18.8%) and 14/41 our last 10 games (34.1%).
    1. KeithKSR's Avatar
      KeithKSR -
      Quote Originally Posted by dtalbersjr View Post
      Dirty little secret no one will mention: Tyler wasn't a particularly good 3 point shooter for us. He shot 35.5% from 3, 3rd best on the team behind PJ and Keldon. He was only 1% better than Quickley, and he shot really poorly down the stretch. He was 3/16 from 3 in the NCAA tourney (18.8%) and 14/41 our last 10 games (34.1%).
      Quickley may be our most important shooter at tourney time. Freshmen lose their legs by mid February and it impacts their jumpers.
    1. KeithKSR's Avatar
      KeithKSR -
      Quote Originally Posted by UKFlounder View Post
      Booker was somewhat similar though I think his % ended up higher.
      Booker went nuts from behind the arc from mid December to mid January.
    1. DanISSELisdaman's Avatar
      DanISSELisdaman -
      Quote Originally Posted by dtalbersjr View Post
      Dirty little secret no one will mention: Tyler wasn't a particularly good 3 point shooter for us. He shot 35.5% from 3, 3rd best on the team behind PJ and Keldon. He was only 1% better than Quickley, and he shot really poorly down the stretch. He was 3/16 from 3 in the NCAA tourney (18.8%) and 14/41 our last 10 games (34.1%).
      Yeah, I know this, but I still think Herro was a better shooter than Maxey, just going by what little I have seen and read about Maxey! I think we will have a good team, but not a great one. Hagans and Brooks are really key I think. Maybe I should put Juzang in there too.
    1. kingcat's Avatar
      kingcat -
      We have a complete team with experience that is rare for a modern UK team imo.

      We could actually start no freshmen and still have five star, former starters for good UK teams and a top two fifth year transfer, on the court.
      How many times could we have said that before? 2015, 20..?
      Now, we would look like some Gonzaga teams size wise and be a little lumbering, but still...
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