I go back and forth, because of the number of newcomers, and the athleticism of many. I picked Jones, but I also think Ellingson, Fleming and Moss will add the most offensively behind Jones. I look for Hutton and Wagner to make their mark with defense and rebounding.
It's got to be Jones as the incoming player with the biggest impact. Which would make it quite an insult if we didn't get Jones after an offer. Where else would he have a chance to make as much of an impact on a power conference team in the wake of White's and Olaseni's departures? If he didn't sign, I can only think after visiting that he or Fran didn't think he was good enough for the team once he was in IC in person.
Both Hutton and Wagner play 'bigger' than their heights would suggest. Both are very athletic, very strong, and play good defense. Both should contribute this next year.
That has to be hard for these kids. I think it's the really good coaches who can make it work. As much as I can't stand Calipari he is obviously able to get his recruits to understand the benefit of 'patience' with regards to playing time. With several high school all-Americans on a team not everyone is going to play 20+ minutes each and every games.
True but even if you're a minor contributor on the Kentucky teams, you're probably already a pro prospect and are not going to be in college long. Counter that with Bo Ryan who gets kids to buy into redshirts and then staying for four more years after that. I think that speaks to something impressive.
This is what makes me feel cheated as a fan about the teams like KY: there's so much talent on those teams that players don't play very much in college and so aren't as prepared to be as good a pro as they could be playing for teams where they could carry teams themselves. So, as a fan, you get cheated both ways: both on the college and pro levels.
You've just made a very good argument why it makes so much sense for the NBA to raise the legal age for entry which would solve so many of these problems. Without probably even realizing it they did the stupidest thing they could have raising to 19. Everybody would win with a higher age limit although it would meet some resistance from the players.
I could be wrong but I think you're thinking of Fleming (given the talent on his squad, that part isn't surprising). I think AAU evaluations are bit better to see how a player will translate to the next level. I think people, including myself, have seen that when Moss is given more freedom in a wide open game (which happens way more in AAU than in more structured high school ball), they see a very athletic 6'6 who glides pretty effortlessly on his dunks and has pretty solid shooting, decent handles, and decent vision. He'll need work on his D like every freshman. This is where my Marble comparison comes from.
+1. Moss was a starter as far as I know, and IIRC Simeon was rated one of the Top 10 HS teams in the nation. As a Jr and first year player at Simeon, Moss wasn't a starter, but that team churns out high major talent.
