Seniors become freshman, what to look for out of Kentucky’s class, part 1 of 3

As a Kentucky fan, you would have to be crazy to NOT  be excited right now. With the way John Calipari has put this incoming class together, it really is like the stars have aligned.

I remember back on March 29 when substantial rumors about John Calipari started to pop up. A website was started and a Facebook group formed and an entire fan base began to think about the possibilities. Take a look at this excerpt from my post about the “Bring John Calipari to UK” Facebook group:

Perhaps most interestingly, it includes A LOT of 2009 kids who are either unsigned or Memphis commits: John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Xavier Henry, and DeMarcus Cousins.

Folks, even if half of these names are impersonators, this certainly bears watching: so much so that I venture to break out the go-to cliche for any UK coaching search-”where there’s smoke, there’s fire”. I’m definitely tempering my expectations, because we’ve been burned before, but this is fun to think about.

John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Xavier Henry, and Eric Bledsoe. At the time, thinking about the possibilities was exciting, but you had to wonder how realistic actually targeting those guys was.

Fast forward to May 20. John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe have signed with UK. The two star recruits, Jon Hood and Daniel Orton, that Billy Gillispie had wrangled decided to hold to their commitments. Also, UK nabbed Darnell Dodson to replace the spot that was created when Calipari narrowly missed out on Xavier Henry.

Almost every dream that UK fans possibly could have conjured back on March 29 has been realized, and then some…90% of UK fans probably didn’t even know what Twitter was back on that day.

However, other than John Calipari, I’m the first one to point out that a top ranked recruiting class does not translate directly to a number seed in the NCAA Tournament. These kids don’t get to wear their 5 star ratings on their UK jerseys. Just like every kid who graduates from high school and goes to college, they instantly change from super seniors into freshman in a new place with new friends.

In the case of UK’s incoming freshman, not only do they have to deal with that transition, but they also have to learn to play under a new coach, a new system, and with new teammates. This is no flip of the switch process. That’s not to say that UK will not be a juggernaut by the time they finish their SEC schedule, but there will be bumps along the way.

UK’s six man “Noah’s Ark” recruiting class (in the words of Dave Telep, two point guards, two big men, 2 wings) is going to have to contribute. They will make up almost half of UK’s roster next year. Over the next three nights, we’re going to be taking a look at the sets of two at each position. First up is point guard with newcomers John Wall and Eric Bledsoe:

John Wall – I don’t think I need to tell you that John Wall is THE guy next year. He’s going to step in and start right away. He’s going to have the ball in his hands more than anybody, and it probably won’t even be close. Wall is a talent unlike any I have ever seen at the college level. He’s blazingly fast, he can jump out of the gym, his ball handling is superb, and he’s ambidextrous.

He’s been compared to Derrick Rose, but he’s more athletic and Telep calls him smoother on the ball than Rose. Derrick Rose, in case you didn’t realize, is pretty good. Even so, Rose’s ascension to the status of best player on the floor in the NCAA Tournament took time. He was far from flawless early in the year and I expect John Wall to go through some of the same growing pains. He’s going to get there though.

Eric Bledsoe – In the wake of John Wall’s signing with UK, Bledsoe’s high school coach Maurice Ford expressed dismay at the situation created for Bledsoe:

“Like I told Coach Calipari, I can’t see them playing together,” Ford said. “He said they can, but they both play with the ball in their hands. I just don’t see it getting done.”

The entire basketball universe sees the 6-foot-4, 184-pound Wall as Calipari’s next Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans, as a special point guard who’ll spend one year in college before jumping into the NBA as a lottery pick.

“If he’s one-and-done,” Ford said, “you think they’ll sit him down?”

Not likely.

So where does that leave the 6-1, 185-pound Bledsoe, who just became the second-best point guard in UK’s blockbuster recruiting class?

“That’s my biggest question,” Ford said. “How much will he play? I tried to get Eric to understand that.”

Ford’s concerns are valid. Like I said, John Wall is going to be the guy from day one. Eric Bledsoe has an impossibly uphill climb to a starting job next year as a freshman, which he almost assuredly would have had if Wall had gone anywhere but Lexington. Would Eric Bledsoe, though, be better off if he decided to go to Memphis and likely starting?

I’m not so sure.

If you ask me, I think it’s going to better practice for Bledsoe to go up against John Wall every day in practice than to start against Houston or UAB in C-USA. They are going to challenge eachother every day and push eachother to be better every day. I don’t think Bledsoe held any realistic notions that he could be a one and done, as our friend Moondog suggests.

Bledsoe was always going to be a 3 or 4 year player. Playing for Coach Cal, I think he will be much better positioned to have a successful NBA career than starting right away somewhere else.

And even though Bledsoe will have to fight for playing time, I think it’s going to be there. With Wall’s size and the fact that Bledsoe plays bigger than his size, I can see the two playing together, especially if Jodie Meeks decides to forgo his senior season. The dribble drive calls for guys who can handle the rock. Both of these guys can do that. Also, as good as Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans were under Calipari, they played 29 and 29.2 minutes per game respectively.

I look for Bledsoe to find his way on the floor for 12-15 minutes per game next year and to follow a career path similar to Wayne Turner: role player on a very good team in his freshman year, increased role as a sophomore, starter on a great team each of his last two years. Wayne Turner finished his career playing in 3 national title games, winning 2, and as one of the winningest players in NCAA history.