IMO this year's talented team may be the closest thing to Cal's Platoon Year. I see J.J. and M.M. coming off the bench. I wonder if competing schools will use the "top twenty talent goes to Kentucky to sit on bench" pitch against us with H.S. talent.
Will Platooning Hurt us with H.S. Recruits?
- Thread starter WallMash
- Start date
Yes, it hurts us with recruits from #6 to high four star
But top 5 guys likes of Stokes, Holt will go here to be starter regardless. Do not think top high school guys will be affected
If we can get one or two top high school guys in each class, I think we are fine
But top 5 guys likes of Stokes, Holt will go here to be starter regardless. Do not think top high school guys will be affected
If we can get one or two top high school guys in each class, I think we are fine
Do we really care about HS recruits so much.....
If Jasper isn't better than Aberdeen, Chandler, Otega or Kam Williams....all are wings...so why fret over it.
If Moreno isn't better than Garrison or Quantenance (I think there is a chance he's better than Garrison....but not Quantenance...so again...where was teh money better spent?
If Jasper isn't better than Aberdeen, Chandler, Otega or Kam Williams....all are wings...so why fret over it.
If Moreno isn't better than Garrison or Quantenance (I think there is a chance he's better than Garrison....but not Quantenance...so again...where was teh money better spent?
Didn't bother Shaedon Sharpe. Happy to sit on the bench.
jasper very well could be one of the best guards on the team, moreno is the best big until jq comes back, which by the way jq was a elite hs recruit
I think recruiting with Cal suffered after the platoon year because of Cal's system. It was all about getting the best and pushing them through to reset the table. If guys return because they didn't get 25+ minutes the year prior, that would create a backlog.
Pope's system attempts to distribute the minutes evenly to keep guys fresh and he doesn't shy away from the fact that his plan is for the athletes to grow within his system while sharing time. He also recruits a certain type of player as opposed to Cal's philosophy of "take the best and figure it out later."
So, I don't think it'll be an issue. I think differences in both the system and recruiting/portal philosophy (and by extension, the type of player we get) are the biggest reasons why "platooning" won't kneecap Pope like it did Cal.
But, who knows?
Pope's system attempts to distribute the minutes evenly to keep guys fresh and he doesn't shy away from the fact that his plan is for the athletes to grow within his system while sharing time. He also recruits a certain type of player as opposed to Cal's philosophy of "take the best and figure it out later."
So, I don't think it'll be an issue. I think differences in both the system and recruiting/portal philosophy (and by extension, the type of player we get) are the biggest reasons why "platooning" won't kneecap Pope like it did Cal.
But, who knows?
Platooning is a lazy coaches way to sub. A good coach reads the game and plays the guys who fit into that game. After going 38-0 and then losing in ff I figure the term platoon would never be uttered again. If we’ve seen anything it is too sensitive to the chemistry of the team. One injury ruins the platoon.
We aren't platooning. This team is deep, but we will never see something like that 2015 team ever again. Had Devin Booker coming off the bench.
Recruiting is no more. Its only money.
As long as we have the highest payroll in college basketball, nothing is going to effect recruiting.
As long as we have the highest payroll in college basketball, nothing is going to effect recruiting.
Its a new age of CB, and high school recruiting is just less of a concern for UK. The transfer portal has changed the game, and, so far, Pope is doing very well in the transfer portal. The HS kids just don't have the same leverage, at UK anyway, to state their demands of PT.
Our new strategy needs to be getting two top 5-10 talents a year to go with 3 or 4 transfers and have 5 or so returnees. This way you have high level talent, experienced transfers to fill needs and some returnees to build culture and help others learn the system so we don't have to start all over every year like we did with Cal.
To me the question is would a platoon system make a particular team better. I believe it did for the 2015 UK team in a big way due to a number of reasons. Would it work as well for this year’s squad? I don’t know. But if Pope and his coaches determine it gives UK its best chance, then I think platooning is absolutely what UK should do regardless.
And while I don’t care about UK signing predetermined OAD high school kids – because I don’t think they’re necessary or maybe even generally a good idea if a championship is the goal – I don’t understand why platooning should cause a smart OAD high schooler to not want to come to UK. Platooning can make a guy look better and more ready for the NBA than he is. How many of the guys platooning on UK’s 2015 team played in the NBA? I think it was nine (9). Seems to me that Wille Loman could sell that?
Can't disagree enough with this. First of all, heaven forbid we ever have a team that was dominating as the 2014-15 team. What led to their demise in the tournament was not because of using the platoon, but frankly because they didn't use enough of it IMO. As the season wore on, the less Cal used platoons and the further he went away from platoons the worse the team played. By the time of the tournament, Cal may have started with platoons in the early part of the first half but he soon abandoned it for the remainder of the games. In other words he was hardly using it the last third to quarter of the season.
Secondly, what's lazy is taking a deep team and articially reducing your rotation down because you can't figure out how to best manage numerous players, like Cal regularly did. Or worse because the coach couldn't be bothered to continue to develop his bench during the season so rather than be ready to contribute if needed, they end up demoralized by the end of the year and ready to transfer, another Cal specialty.
Platooning itself is a tool which allows for achieving maximum energy on the court at all times, which puts tremendous pressure on the opposing team. It doesn't have to be rigidly followed, there's a lot of variations that can be utilized within the basic framework and it doesn't even need to be utlized the entire game. But it is an effective way to wear down other teams while avoiding foul trouble, if used properly and if you have the right depth and talent and mindset to platoon.
Most teams don't have the depth to platoon. This year's team has the depth but it's not clear if they have the balance in the right places. To me the big quesiton mark is point guard. 2015 had Andrew Harrison and Tyler Ulis. This year's squad has Jaland Lowe and then a number of question marks. But if they were able to platoon, they shouldn't hesitate to utlize it. It's a huge advantage if done properly.
Edit: As far as recruiting. The kind of player Kentucky should be recruiting iMO, and what I believe Pope looks for, is someone who is talented but willing to sacrifice for the good of the team. If UK loses a recruit because they'd rather play somewhere else for 28 minutes rather than play 20 minutes on a deep UK team challenging for the national championship, then to me that's probably a good thing they miss on those types of recruits anyway.
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Exactly. Not concerned at all about HS recruits. I trust Mark to find what he needs. This isn’t Crapapari, who needs loaded rosters just to flame out in the tournaments.
We could even get a little unconventional with one platoon if we wanted, run point forward or point center, like we were forced to do last year with Amari. Something to keep the opposition on their toes or set up some imbalances. A platoon thats smaller and faster, and a height and physically platoon.
You’re not considering the NIL/ $$$ Sharing aspect that dictates the game now! MCBB is basically Professional BB Lite. No worries whatsoever going forward
"If we can get one or two top high school guys in each class, I think we are fine" ... I believe you are spot-on correct. Cal was gluttonous and his system of wholesale OAD served his own personal ambitions, regardless of what he told BBN. His annual rebuilding of the entire roster was insanity ... then add onto that his coaching was mediocre and you get his cut and run behavior when all the flaws were exposed. Pope is a high IQ guy and knows what it will take to succeed in today's game ... and he relates to the players and he can coach. We're good and we're blessed.
The thing that will hurt getting the number 1-4 type guys is the system. Not platooning.
Pope is a system guy. Those truly elite guys don’t want to be labeled system guys.
Even if they are.
And Pope should not change what he does for those unicorns.
There’s not even 1 of those true can’t miss players every year.
I wish Pope didn’t rely on analytics so much. But he does.
He had to stay true to himself. He proved last season that his method works.
Injuries robbed us of what could have been.
Pope is a system guy. Those truly elite guys don’t want to be labeled system guys.
Even if they are.
And Pope should not change what he does for those unicorns.
There’s not even 1 of those true can’t miss players every year.
I wish Pope didn’t rely on analytics so much. But he does.
He had to stay true to himself. He proved last season that his method works.
Injuries robbed us of what could have been.
It's just my opinion but I think platooning probably helps with as many recruits as it hurts you with. If a team is really stacked(like this one), I think platooning can help keep players happy and get the most out of their depth. If Cal had kept up the platoon in 2014 I think that team wins and I've never heard of winning championships killing recruiting.