stole this from PP, but good that Ryan is getting some press

http://njhoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1071951

Best Ball Handler in the Class

4th best offensive PG

4/7/2010 11:24:16 PM

So let me get this straight, Ryan can be considered by one of the main basketball scouts as one of the top point guards in two of those categories, while Kendall Marshall is nowhere to be seen, yet Marshall is the one that gets selected as a McDonald's All-American? Fucking bullshit. It's just a popularity contest, rather than selecting who's actually the best.

4/8/2010 12:45:24 AM

you are preaching to the choir

4/8/2010 12:53:22 AM

hopefully Ryan comes out with a chip on his shoulder and whoops up on kendall when we play them next year ...would love to see him drop 25 on UNC and shut down kendall. (breaking his ankles a few times in the process)

4/8/2010 9:05:10 AM

^ Marshall probably won't even play much next year. Strickland and Drew will probably still get most of the PT.

4/8/2010 9:46:22 AM

Quote :

"So it looks like Wall and the gang are gone. Will Leslie be the next group of one and done guys?"

Wall leaving is probably a good thing for State's chances. If Wall had by some miracle decided to stay at Kentucky Leslie would have committed to Kentucky in a heartbeat.

4/8/2010 10:12:13 AM

I can't decide if it's good or bad that all the Kentucky guys are leaving.

If they all leave, then all these blue chip "undecideds" will decide to commit to UK and Leslie might think they can be version 2.0.

Or if they all leave, then he might not want to be in a "starting over" type year. Although as good as those recruits will be, I'm sure they'll still be at least a sweet 16 team.

4/8/2010 10:55:41 AM

I don't know if I would want to go to UK and rely on all freshman. I'd rather go elsewhere and have a chance to go further. In this day and age you will be recognized on whatever team you're on, no matter what. TV coverage is everywhere and you don't need a big name team to get the hype.

If I had 1 year, it'd be a place that had a legitamate shot to either surprise the nation or win the title. I don't think UK can win next year even with a whole superstar freshman class.

4/8/2010 11:01:12 AM

at what point do schollies get yanked for having a shitty graduation rate?

cause kentucky just took a huge dump on their graduation rates

4/8/2010 11:04:18 AM

if you're going to be in school just one year and feel confident in going pro next year, why not be the man in your hometown and make momma happy? Add in we have Tracy Smith, Harrrow, and Brown as a supporting cast, why is there even a decision? You'll make a lot of money next year, you don't have to take it from Calipari now.

4/8/2010 11:09:38 AM

Quote :

"If I had 1 year, it'd be a place that had a legitamate shot to either surprise the nation or win the title. I don't think UK can win next year even with a whole superstar freshman class. "

We are neither of those.

4/8/2010 11:13:35 AM

I think we have a shot to be a surprise. Smith and Howell inside, Wood, Brown outside and Harrow/Javy running the point will at least make us more competitive than this year.

4/8/2010 11:50:55 AM

There's a very good chance that we have a better season than kentucky next year

4/8/2010 11:56:17 AM

They get all those "undecideds" who have Kentucky on their list...and there is no way we have a better year than Kentucky.

4/8/2010 12:02:22 PM

I hate how it is acceptable for there to be teams like Kentucky with no continuity or loyalty to their school or tradition. It is turning NCAA bball into the NBA development league. The players who are celebrated are the ones who have no desire to be involved with the traditions and awesomeness of college bball.

[Edited on April 8, 2010 at 1:30 PM. Reason : I can't spell ]

4/8/2010 1:27:56 PM

Quote :

"I hate how it is acceptable for there to be teams like Kentucky with no continuity or loyalty to their school or tradition."

I don't see how this is different from any other school in Division I athletics. With the exception of maybe Carolina, have any other schools had guaranteed first rounders stick around for loyalty. Even Carolina has top 5 picks that bolt after one year. We are not immune to this here either. This is world of college hoops we live in today.

4/8/2010 3:05:49 PM

I think one of the biggest things about State next year other than Leslie potentially re-committing is the sophomores. We know that Harrow/Brown and maybe Leslie will add a lot, but Howell/Painter/THE BIG DANDY VANDY/Wood will all improve their games as well and improve. Hopefully Tracy can add a jump shot as well. I'm not going to say we're good, but we have the most potential to be a legitimately good team since Hodge left.

4/8/2010 3:10:33 PM

we had potential when hickson was coming in and the team was fresh off an ACC tournament run. development and chemistry are big parts of being successful in college basketball.

i don't think it's vital for smith to develop a jump shot since he does well around the post. wood does need to develop consistency on his shooting. he's shown flashes of great touch but so did fells. we need him to step up and score not just when we're playing FSU. before derailing this thread anymore, we do have potential, but we need the returning players to step up if we want to be a tournament team (although with the new format possibly coming, it looks like every team will get in...)

4/8/2010 3:18:58 PM

Calipari preemptively announces Patterson's early entry to the draft in an effort to land recruits. Patrick Patterson's mom says he has not made any decision and understandibly is not happy.

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/62129/patrick_pattersons_departure_to_the_nba_is_news_to_patrick_patterson#page_break

4/8/2010 4:27:35 PM

^ what's sick is that Calimari was probably pushing whoever was gonna leave to leave. Like others have said, there's only like 4-5 5* guys just waiting in the wings.

4/8/2010 4:38:19 PM

I can't see why patterson would stay unless he just enjoys college. His stock is as high as it's ever been (except maybe as a senior in high school) and with the freshman leaving, he's going to have to hope there's another great pg to get him the ball and a solid cast around him to keep from getting double teamed.

4/8/2010 4:46:06 PM

Plus Lexington is a shithole.

4/8/2010 4:47:14 PM

Quote :

"at what point do schollies get yanked for having a shitty graduation rate?"

i'm sure cal would jump ship to somewhere else before this ever happens

4/8/2010 5:01:49 PM

I think Patterson was going to and still plans on going pro. However, it is understandable that he wants to weigh his options before making a decision, considering he tested the waters last year and will not be allowed to test the waters and return again. It is his decision along with his family, and I don't think he should be pushed into it. One would think his 3 years at UK have earned him that...

4/8/2010 5:03:04 PM

Honestly watching all of the UK players, I think Patterson may make the best pro out of the bunch not named John Wall. He's got an NBA body and developed a 3 pt shot this year to go with his already solid inside skills. I assume he projects as a 4 in the NBA maybe a 3?

Cousins and Orton both are big guys and maybe both develop into good NBA players, but Patterson just seems more NBA ready to me even though Cousins will go higher in the draft.






[Edited on April 8, 2010 at 5:23 PM. Reason : sd]

4/8/2010 5:23:09 PM

^patterson really impressed me this year. i remember as a freshman, he couldn't hit anything outside of 10 ft. now, hes a pretty decent 3 pt shooter

4/8/2010 5:48:12 PM

That's going pretty far on a limb since Cousins is likely to be the most successful NBA player.

Wall didnt do much to distinguish himself as a future star like Cousins did but PG's do sometimes take some time to blossom so maybe he'll end up okay.

4/8/2010 7:01:09 PM

^ Wall is definitely going to have to develop his outside shot if he is going to be an elite scorer, but with his speed and the slack defense they play in the NBA, he'll be able to get in the paint regularly. I think he'll be like Rose without as much size, but more speed.

I know Cousins could dominate games when he tried, but he just does not seem to have the drive or athleticism to compete for 48 minutes each night IMO. You know more about the NBA than I and I actually trust your opinion on basketball more than others on this site so what makes you believe Cousins will make the best pro out of that bunch?

4/8/2010 7:42:38 PM

do people that always say nba plays slack D ever even watch the NBA?

there are some damn good defensive teams in the league.

4/8/2010 7:59:36 PM

the nba draft is all about potential. cousins is far from peak fitness and still was a beast in the post. at 6'10", he could end up being a very good PF in the league. whether that happens or whether he's better than wall is up in the air, but people like bilas and the pti guys have stood behind cousins.

again it's just a potential issue. the pistons thought darko had great potential at 18 or 19 years old and they missed on some very good guys.

4/8/2010 8:05:58 PM

^^ some, but the way the teams have to play man to man and all the rules that favor the offensive player make it much easier for a guy like Wall to have success as a slasher than in college. Plus for every team that plays great D, there is a team that plays equally shitty slack defense (Suns, GS, etc).









[Edited on April 8, 2010 at 8:08 PM. Reason : fgh]

4/8/2010 8:07:40 PM

Just to get everybody's hopes up again:

http://ukbasketball.bloginky.com/2010/04/08/leslies-coach-friend-in-derby-festival-game/

Quote :

"When asked what influence he might have on Leslie’s decision, Harrow said, “He says he wants to play with me all the time. I guess that’s as good an influence as you can get."

4/8/2010 8:49:25 PM

^ I hate you. I just got done convincing myself I don't care anymore

4/8/2010 8:52:12 PM

Maybe the Kentucky Derby Festival will be on this site?:

http://kdf.org/Wazoo-Sports-Network.html

Harrow will win the dunk contest.


(I was watching clips of last year, there was a 2 vs 2 competition)

[Edited on April 8, 2010 at 9:22 PM. Reason : ]

4/8/2010 9:08:33 PM

^^^ Hopes officially raised. When he goes to UK I will curse your name you bastard.

4/8/2010 9:12:45 PM

I wouldn't get your hopes up until the ink is dry. Even then, hope for the best but expect the worst.

4/8/2010 9:13:50 PM

Quote :

"but the way the teams have to play man to man "

You can play zone in the NBA you dolt. Quit talking about shit you have no clue about.

4/8/2010 9:55:04 PM

word is Tracy may put his name in the draft...but only to get notes on what to work on and to get his name out there.

also...it appears CJL may announce at the Jordan game.

/packpride sharing

4/8/2010 9:58:00 PM

Tracy has emphatically said that he will be back next year. So even though he might go to get evaluated and get some pointers, the chances of him going to the draft this year are probably like 5-10%. The only way I could see him going would be if the evaluators told him that he was going to be a lottery pick, but I dont see that happening.

4/8/2010 10:02:33 PM

good thing he didn't have a great NIT showing or he'd pull a Josh Powell on us

4/8/2010 10:08:56 PM

^^^ I'll be on press row at the Jordan game! (Covering Bullock.)

With any luck, I could have a front row seat for some good news.

4/8/2010 10:13:47 PM

Quote :

"You can play zone in the NBA you dolt. Quit talking about shit you have no clue about."

Technically your defense could be walking to the bench and sitting down

4/8/2010 10:28:49 PM

According to twitter (fwiw): cj will announce on the 17th at Jordan game and apparently Calipari visited his home today. "It was a great visit,” Leslie's mom said

4/8/2010 10:31:36 PM

^what twitter account did that come from?

4/8/2010 10:59:15 PM

i just googled "cj leslie twitter" and see what comes up

home visit goes well
http://kentucky.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?ReturnTo=&sid=&script=content.asp&cid=1072564&fid=&tid=&mid=&rid=

4/8/2010 11:06:37 PM

meh, he's not going to say that his visit was just okay

4/8/2010 11:17:41 PM

Quote :

"You can play zone in the NBA you dolt. Quit talking about shit you have no clue about."

yeah technically you can play zone, but it is different in the NBA than college with no unguarded defender in FT lane. What kind of zone can you really run with a rule like that?

Plus I find it funny that you are calling me a dolt when you are the fucktard pretending WF is somehow a superior basketball program to State. Go cry some more about Sidney in the credibility thread you whiny douche.



[Edited on April 8, 2010 at 11:27 PM. Reason : ghj]

4/8/2010 11:26:35 PM

If Smith is "entering" the draft then it'll be the same reason that Delaney is doing it, these guys want to get their name out there and get more advice on what they need to work on.

4/9/2010 9:06:27 AM

Quote :

"Plus I find it funny that you are calling me a dolt when you are the fucktard pretending WF is somehow a superior basketball program to State."

Mad because you had no argument against any of my points in that thread??

A lot of NBA teams are using the zone frequently these days. Just the other night the Suns shut down Manu's driving to the basket by using the zone. He's been tearing it up since the All-Star break and their zone pretty much took him out of the game. With the length and athleticism of NBA big men, the three second rule doesn't hurt the zone as much as you would think.

But I doubt you watch much NBA basketball too make a semi-intelligent comment on the game.

4/9/2010 10:59:44 AM

Average college big man is maybe 6'8" with a 6'10" wingspan

Average NBA big man is maybe 6'11" with a 7'3" wingspan

With the extra 3 feet inside the arc the pros have to cover, it pretty much eqalizes out

4/9/2010 11:03:03 AM