Posts Tagged “darnell dodson”
In case you haven’t seen this from UK Photo Day
By: Guy | September 3rd, 2009 | Category: Cats
This photo from The Cat’s Pause has been everywhere I’ve looked this morning, but in case you haven’t seen it, I needed to make sure you did.
It’s nice to see these guys in UK uniforms.
Options, options, options: A look at some potential lineups for 2009-2010
By: Guy | July 16th, 2009 | Category: CatsI know we’re a good three months away from the official debut of the 2009-2010 Kentucky Wildcats at Big Blue Madness, but I think I speak for a lot of UK fans when I say that I can’t stop thinking about basketball. Football is great and I love UK football and I’m looking forward to covering it, but it’s just not basketball.
Lately, one topic that has been on mind a bunch is how John Calipari is going to distribute playing time. I posted an article last week about what I thought UK’s rotation would look like, so check that out if you haven’t already.
All the talent that John Calipari has brought in his first months will give John Calipari something UK never had last year: flexibility. John Calipari is going to be able to bend and stretch his rotation to play about any kind of lineup you could ever want to play and do it with some serious, high level talent. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some lineups that we could see next year and some of the strengths and weaknesses of each:
The Starters
John Wall
Eric Bledsoe
Darius Miller
Patrick Patterson
DeMarcus Cousins
Wall, Miller, and Patterson are all but set to start in my mind, but I think this group of five is the most likely to take the floor against Morehead State in mid-November. It’s a bit non-traditional in that there are two point guards on the floor, but John Wall’s size and athleticism and Bledsoe’s build and athleticism allow each to guard a 1 or 2 if necessary.
The obvious strengths here are ball handling and passing. With how sketch the ball handling in the backcourt was for so much of last season, the upgrade is tremendous. Miller was arguably the best ball handler by the end of last year and he’s the tertiary ball handler in this lineup. Also, DeMarcus Cousins is very good on the dribble and as a passer for a big man, so it’s hard to see this group making many turnovers.
These five could also be a terror in a full court press. Wall and Bledsoe are about as quick as they come and Darius Miller’s length and athleticism would present some serious problems.
The only clear weakness you can point to is shooting. Miller is the best option from the perimeter and he was not consistent until the end of last season. I’ve said it before, but expect this kind of lineup to see zones over and over and over until Wall or Bledsoe shows an outside shot.
The Traditional
John Wall
Darnell Dodson
Darius Miller
Patrick Patterson
DeMarcus Cousins
This lineup features the traditional mold of two wing players with one point and presumably would not struggle as much against a zone (assuming Dodson can stroke it like he reportedly can). It could potentially be exposed by an opponent with two penetrating guards since Dodson and Miller could struggle against a smaller player.
If the starting lineup I offered earlier turns out to struggle due to lack of shooting in some games, this kind of lineup (with Wall and Bledsoe interchanging and Patterson, Cousins, and Daniel Orton splitting time) could be the one that becomes the default.
The Dribble-Drive Special
John Wall
Eric Bledsoe
Darnell Dodson
Darius Miller
Patrick Patterson
Darius Miller showed in New Zealand that he can play some post defense on a 4 man and John Calipari’s 4’s are typically called on to play more like 3’s. I think this is a lineup you will definitely see next year, especially with how many SEC teams play smaller, three guard lineups.
The rare team that has a traditional post up 4 man would be difficult to deal with for this lineup, but I think this group would play well together.
The Humvee
John Wall
Darius Miller
Patrick Patterson
DeMarcus Cousins
Daniel Orton
The dribble drive isn’t made for this kind of lineup, but if John Calipari wants to absolutely clean the glass, he could go with this group. Patterson will be called on to develop his ball skills and I’m sure Calipari will want him to be able to play like a 3 by the end of the year, so it’s not stretch to think he may be put in that spot. Besides, can you imagine Patterson posting up a small forward?
The weaknesses here are shooting and defensive matchups. Patterson would likely have some trouble playing his guy straight up on the dribble and Miller may struggle with a 2.
The Freshmen
John Wall
Eric Bledsoe
Jon Hood
DeMarcus Cousins
Daniel Orton
OK, you probably won’t see this lineup often, if ever, but I just wanted to remind you how good the freshman class is.
Veteran Presence
John Wall
Darius Miller
Ramon Harris
Patrick Patterson
Perry Stevenson
I haven’t included Stevenson or Harris in a lineup yet and I think we can expect Harris and Stevenson to get some time (especially Harris).
The Victory Lap
DeAndre Liggins
Jon Hood
Ramon Harris
Perry Stevenson
Josh Harrellson
Hopefully we’ll be seeing this group a bunch with 20+ point leads, with a little Dwight Perry or Mark Krebs sprinkled in.
The Billy G
Michael Porter
Jon Hood
Ramon Harris
Perry Stevenson
Daniel Orton
Ladies and gentleman, your starting lineup for the 2009-2010 Kentucky Wildcats had Billy Gillispie kept his job. I don’t even know, what’s the name of the tournament that teams that miss the NIT play in? The CBI or something?
I just threw up in my mouth looking at that.
Never a quiet week in UK basketball
By: Guy | July 12th, 2009 | Category: CatsOutside of the beginning of the July recruiting period, I figured this past week wouldn’t be the worst to go MIA because of a trip down to South Florida for work. Well, it turned out that there wasn’t any earth shattering Kentucky news, but we did get a pretty steady stream of stuff going on with the Big Blue. Let’s take a look at the happenings:
July recruiting in full swing – John Calipari and his staff were all over the place this week, evaluating many of UK’s top targets for the class of 2010 and beyond. Calipari has made his opinion of summer recruiting well known and he used Twitter to restate his views. Calipari takes part in summer recruiting only because he would lose ground to his competition if he did not.
Calipari says that eliminating the summer evaluation period would allow the power in recruiting to shift back to high school coaches instead of AAU coaches. The AAU system is responsible for so much of what is wrong with amateur sports. It is conducive to the culture of hangers on that so many athletes fall prey to. Additionally, freeing up coaches during the summer would allow coaches more time with their current players instead of future players and more time for family as well.
However, John Calipari takes full advantage of his opportunities to see top high school talent and to be seen by top high school talent. Perhaps the most intriguing development of the week was the fact that Calipari was seen rubbing shoulders with one LeBron James. Cal is not afraid to point to and take advantage of some of his high profile relationships to help himself in the recruiting game, and there’s really no better name to be associated with than LeBron.
UK is being mentioned by such a ridiculous volume of top names right now that it’s really not even worth it to run them down. Really, just look at any list of the top 50 in the country and you’ll have a pretty good idea who UK is after.
Jodie Meeks and the NBA – One piece of news that particularly excited me this week had to do with a player who won’t be on the roster next year. The man who made UK basketball remotely watchable in 2008-2009 signed a 3 year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, 2 years of which are guaranteed.
This is really excellent news for a guy who was assured nothing after being passed over by every team that had a pick in the top 39 of the NBA Draft. Getting a deal like Jodie did as a second rounder is not too commonplace, so congrats to Meeks for getting this done.
Jodie promptly played a very efficient first 27 professional minutes in the Vegas summer league, scoring 14 points on 6-9 shooting in an ugly 65-59 game between the Bucks and Dallas Mavericks. He and Joe Alexander led the Bucks in scoring, but Joe Alexander needed twice as many shots to get his points. Juan Palacios played 10 minutes but only put up one shot and did not score or get a rebound. The Bucks have 4 more summer league games and we will keep you updated on Jodie’s and Palacios’ play.
Patterson and Orton bust it in California – Patrick Patterson and Daniel Orton still have about 2 weeks left of their workouts with Hell’s Trainer, Frank Matrisciano. Accounts from the families of Orton and Patterson have been 100% postive to this point. The two were already close and they should come back even closer…and without an ounce of fat on their frames. Also, neither the troublesome ankle of Patterson or the balky knee of Orton have presented any problems, which is great news.
Darius Miller grabs the gold – Darius was a key member of Team USA that won its first U19 World Championship since 1991. Darius wasn’t the go-to scorer and he didn’t get to play as many minutes as I’m sure he will this season, but he made a bunch of big plays, including 2 steals early in the 4th quarter of the gold medal game to help seal an 88-80 victory.
This is such a great experience for Darius. It’s an experience that will help him mesh well with a UK team next year that will be similarly talented. Darius did exactly what you would expect of him. He found a role and filled it very well. When he needed to get a basket, he got it. When his team needed a big rebound, block, steal, or assist, he got it. Miller got great reviews from his coaches and you always hear players talk about what a great experience it is to play for their country. Very few get the opportunity, so you have to feel good for Darius.
The next step for Miller will be bring that confidence he has built back home and also to use that confidence to grow into a more assertive scorer, because he is going to be UK’s best option as a wing scorer. I know I can’t wait to watch him play.
Darnell Dodson – Dodson is the one member of UK’s six man recruiting class that has not yet arrived on campus. There has been some speculation that he is facing some academic obstacles, but Calipari has said that Dodson will be in Lexington for the next summer session. Also, he was included on UK’s officially released roster, which should alleviate concern. This video has also been making the rounds this week, which shows Dodson in an excellent 32 point performance in which Dodson seems to be a very diverse scorer with a solid stroke, which will be a welcome addition to the roster.
An early look at UK’s ‘09-’10 rotation
By: Guy | July 5th, 2009 | Category: CatsWhen I found out once and for all that Xavier Henry would stick with his Kansas commitment, I immediately started wondering “How is John Calipari going to structure the rotation for his first team at Kentucky?” I figured that the best predictor of next year’s rotation would be the rotations for Calipari’s last few teams at Memphis.
Consequently, I researched a little bit into how minutes were distributed for John Calipari’s last 4 teams as the head coach of the Tigers. What I found is that Calipari has been very consistent in the depth of his rotation and his starting lineup. I consider a player “in the rotation when he averages over 10 minutes per game and plays in a majority of the team’s games:
2008-2009:
-9 man rotation
-5 players started at least 27 of team’s 37 games
-Same 5 players averaged at least 25 mpg
-1 player averaged more than 30.2 minutes
2007-2008:
-9 man rotation
-5 players started at least 33 of team’s 40 games
-Same 5 players averaged at least 25 mpg
-No player played more than 29.5 mpg
2006-2007:
-8 man rotation
-5 players started at least 35 of team’s 37 games
-7 players played at least 20 mpg
-No player played more than 28 mpg
2005-2006
-9 man rotation
-6 players started at least 21 of team’s 37 games
-Each of those 6 played at least 21.1 mpg
-No player played more than 27.3 mpg
As you can see, Calipari has used a 9 man rotation in 3 of the past 4 seasons and has found a pretty consistent starting lineup by the end of each year. Calipari’s starters generally get the bulk of the minutes and the 3 or 4 players off the bench play around 15 minutes a game. Also, in 2008-2009 Calipari had 2 players play 30 minutes a game (Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier), and that was the only time he had a player play that many minutes in the last 4 seasons.
I believe we can expect basically the same the same during the upcoming season. Let’s take a look at the 9 men who I believe will fit into this rotation. Players in bold are expected starters.
John Wall – G
Eric Bledsoe – G
Darius Miller – G/F
Patrick Patterson – F
DeMarcus Cousins – F/C
Daniel Orton – F/C
Ramon Harris – F
Darnell Dodson – G/F
DeAndre Liggins – G/F
The 3 players that I do not believe will factor into the rotation are Perry Stevenson, Josh Harrellson, and Jon Hood. I think each will get chances early in the year as Calipari learns his team, but I see the rotation shaking out like this.
Some will also argue against Ramon Harris factoring in the rotation, but Calipari has reportedly liked his defense. If you look at Calipari’s last 4 Memphis teams, it has been Antonio Anderson who has led the team in minutes the past 4 years. His defense got him minutes even though he average double figures just once. For this reason, I think you will see Ramon Harris on the court this year.
I also think DeAndre Liggins will be a part of the rotation because of his ability to play point guard in case Bledsoe and Wall are on the bench and the small forward position due to his size. I see him playing 15 minutes or so per game.
I also think that it is likely that 6 players on this years roster will play at least 20 minutes a game (5 starters plus Daniel Orton). You will notice that I include only 3 natural post players in the rotation. Patrick Patterson figures to play 30 minutes a game at either the 4 or 5 (maybe even the 3 from time to time), which leaves 50 minutes at those two positions. I think Orton and Cousins will get the vast majority of those minutes.
Also, people who have not been hearing reports about the pickup games in Lexington may be surprised to see Eric Bledsoe along John Wall in my forecasted backcourt. Bledsoe has been a revelation in these games, giving John Wall everything he wants and more. I think Bledsoe and Wall will be able to play very effectively together, although you have to imagine that a lineup with Wall and Bledsoe will see plenty of zone defense. That will put pressure on Darius Miller or whoever is playing the 3 to hit the outside shot. Even so, can you imagine a bigger upgrade in ballhandling in the backcourt from last season with these 2 playing together? Bring on the ball pressure!
Let’s take a look at how I see the minutes being divvied up at each position when UK plays a close game. Expect the 3 players not listed in the rotation to steal a minute or 2 here or there, but for simplicity’s sake I have excluded them.
PG – Wall (25), Bledsoe (10), Liggins (5)
SG – Bledsoe (13), Miller (10), Wall (5) Dodson (5), Liggins (7)
SF – Miller (15), Dodson (10), Liggins (7), Harris (8)
PF – Patterson (25), Cousins (5), Orton (5), Harris/Miller (5)
C – Cousins (17), Orton (17), Patterson (6)
Comment below if you disagree with any of this!
It’s official: Darnell Dodson signs with UK
By: Guy | April 24th, 2009 | Category: Cats
According to UK Athletics, John Calipari has announced that Darnell Dodson will play basketball for UK next year.
LHL: Dodson commits to UK
By: Guy | April 24th, 2009 | Category: CatsIt seems to be pretty much a foregone conclusion that former Memphis signess Darnell Dodson will follow John Calipari and sign with Kentucky, so this isn’t exactly earth-shattering news. However, the Herald Leader has a nice write-up on Dodson complete with quotes that’s worth reading:
Kentucky apparently is moving quickly after highly regarded wing prospect Xavier Henry cast his basketball lot with Kansas. UK looks poised to fill the void with junior-college swingman Darnell Dodson, one of the players who originally signed with Memphis and then followed Coach John Calipari to Kentucky.
Dodson, a 6-foot-7 player, committed to UK on Wednesday night, according to the Web site KentuckyInk.com.
UK has not confirmed the signing.
Henry made his choice official on Thursday by signing with the Jayhawks. Kansas Coach Bill Self hailed Henry as the “highest-rated player we’ve ever signed” and forecast good things ahead.
“Few players in high school possess the body, strength, explosion and outside shooting Xavier has,” Self said in a mid-afternoon teleconference. “You have to defend him anywhere on the floor.”
Recruiting analysts saw Dodson as a good Plan B.
“He’s not going to score like Xavier Henry,” analyst Brick Oettinger of the Prep Stars recruiting service said of Dodson. “He’s not that good an outside shooter and scorer. Henry has a knack for scoring.”
But, Oettinger added, Dodson might be a better athlete than Henry and could be a contributing player for Kentucky.
“He’s a good all-around basketball player,” said Oettinger, who acknowledged that he had not seen Dodson play since the player’s final high school season of 2006-07. “He plays defense. He’s team-oriented. He’s a blender type. He doesn’t have to shoot it all the time.”
When Dodson was a high school senior in Greenbelt, Md., Prep Stars rated him as a top-100 national prospect, Oettinger said.
New UK assistant Orlando Antigua has a history with Dodson. Antigua originally recruited Dodson for Pittsburgh.
Dodson was enrolled and taking classes at Pitt during the summer and fall of 2007 before it was determined that he was ineligible due to NCAA Clearinghouse issues. He transferred to Miami Dade Community College in October 2007.
Dodson wanted to return to Pitt but Big East rules prevented his return. So he went to Miami Dade.
While only at Pitt briefly, Dodson had time to impress. In one pickup game, he made six straight three-point shots.
Dodson committed to Memphis after a visit last October. After Calipari moved to Kentucky, Dodson re-opened his recruitment.
Dodson would become the second Memphis recruit to follow Calipari to UK. Earlier this spring, highly regarded big man DeMarcus Cousins did the same. Henry would have been a third.
Dodson averaged more than 15 points and five rebounds for Miami Dade this past season.
Is Calipari eyeing John Wall AND Eric Bledsoe?
By: Guy | April 23rd, 2009 | Category: CatsTwo point guards are better than one: that seems to be the mantra of John Calipari on the recruiting trail.
Coach Cal’s pursuit of John Wall is highly publicized, and for good reason. First of all, John Wall wants it to be that way. He wants to build as much hype around himself as possible.
Do you remember how good everybody thought Jai Lucas was because he dragged his recruitment out for so long? Well, John Wall is being hyped even more than Lucas and it seems to me that me might actually be THAT good.
Most of what is being speculated by the people that I trust the most when it comes to this kind of thing are saying that UK is the leader in the clubhouse. Florida has gotten involved of late, and while Billy D cannot be discounted, they are a long shot. Duke missed out on a Wall visit on Wednesday and there’s no guarantee it will be rescheduled. UNC stars Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington declared for the Draft today, but this really doesn’t change much because it was expected. Some think Roy Williams could still break out the big guns and go after Wall, but I’m not sure that the issues between Wall’s “handlers” and UNC can be resolved. Also, recent word is that the infamous jack of all trades Worldwide Wes, William Wesley, has been involved in the Wall recruitment. This will likely make some UK fans shudder and all UofL fans gnash their teeth, but it is what it is.
There’s still a ways to go in this thing, but almost all buzz after Calipari’s visit with Wall in Raleigh on Wednesday is positive for UK. Wall is scheduled to visit Miami this coming week, but that is not being viewed as anything more than a nice trip to S. Florida.
Another trip that Coach Cal made this week was to Birmingham to see Eric Bledsoe. UK has now offered a scholarship to Bledsoe. Unless the staff knows anything that would make them think that Wall is not a UK lean like most do, this makes me think that they want both Wall and Bledsoe.
It’s no easy sales job to bring in two of the top point guards in one class to one school, but if anybody can sell it it’s Calipari. I can see the two on the floor at the same time for short stretches and it would be a perfect solution as far as I’m concerned. You get a one and done elite talent for a season while you groom a kid who’s going to be around for a while, provided he qualifies.
This also means that Calipari believes he can make three more scholarship spots available for Wall, Bledsoe, and Darnell Dodson. I guess this is another good reason why he’s now working individually with his current players: final tryouts/cuts.
More on UK recruit Darnell Dodson
By: Guy | April 23rd, 2009 | Category: Cats
Find more videos like this on Kentucky Sports Network
Kentucky Sports Network posted this clip of Darnell Dodson in action. Based on these short 94 seconds, he looks to be pretty athletic with a good motor and court awareness. Unfortunately we don’t get to see his stroke (which is supposed to be very good) in this video.
We were just a little bit ahead of ourselves in saying Dodson was already committed to UK yesterday, but I don’t think there’s any doubt it would be a BIG surprise if he played anywhere but Lexington next year. Brett Dawson had a conversation with Dodson’s father, in which David Dodson (I guess the Dodson family loves alliterative first and last names) confirmed that Darnell is a UK lean:
The father of junior college forward Darnell Dodson says the onetime Memphis recruit “probably” will end up at the University of Kentucky.
Dodson, a 6-foot-7 forward who played last season at Miami Dade College, signed with Memphis when John Calipari was the coach there, but now is “seriously looking” at attending UK, his father, David Dodson said tonight.
“He’s leaning extremely hard toward that,” David Dodson said.
David Dodson said that his son would like to make a decision by the weekend, and that UK is his likely destination.
Darnell Dodson originally signed with Pittsburgh but left the school in October of 2007 after he was ruled ineligible to play as a freshman by the NCAA Clearinghouse, according to a 2007 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story. He enrolled at Miami Dade but redshirted his first season there.
Dodson will have three seasons of Division I eligibility remaining.
Xavier Henry out of the picture, enter Darnell Dodson or Eric Bledsoe?
By: Guy | April 22nd, 2009 | Category: CatsSo, it looks like Xavier and CJ’s mother is going to win out and her boys will play in Lawrence, Kansas next year and it seems that Xavier will announce it at a 12:15 press conference tomorrow.
With the roller coaster ride that the last two weeks have been in Xavier’s recruitment, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if one more change happens in the next 18 hours. Even still, I wouldn’t bet on it.
It is disappointing to lose out on the Henry’s, but pretty much everybody recognized from the get-go that UK was facing an uphill battle with the way their parents felt. Add that to the Orton-Henry issue, and you can’t really be that upset that UK lost out. By the way, I’m not sure it’s was a coincidence that Larry Orton said Daniel was a 100% commitment the same day the Henry-to-Kansas buzz started to generate.
Henry is a great player, an NBA player, but UK’s biggest need remains at the point guard spot, more specifically John Wall. Wall reportedly visited Duke today, which doesn’t exactly make me happy, but Coach Calipari also visited with Wall in Raleigh. Wall is an ACC kid, but I think he’s an NBA kid first…with John Calipari, I still like where UK stands, as long as no more Senior Proms interfere!
Presumably, Xavier Henry’s decision makes it much more likely for Calipari to pursue another guard or small forward in this year’s class. It looks like the two guys Calipari is targeting are Darnell Dodson and Eric Bledsoe.
Darnell Dodson
I briefly brought up Darnell Dodson last Tuesday as a possibility for UK, but now it seems that Dodson will be visiting UK this weekend with Henry going to KU.
Dodson was a Calipari signee at Memphis. He plays small forward and signed with Jamie Dixon and Pittsburgh (while UK assistant Orlando Antigua was there) with offers from Boston College, Georgetown, and Virginia Tech in hand. He is originally from Greenbelt, Maryland.
He decided to go the junior college route, honing his game at Miami-Dade College. He has always been a shooter, but he grew to about 6-8 during his two years in Miami. More good news is that Dodson has three years of eligibility remaining because he redshirted in 2007-2008 after transferring from Pitt in the pre-season. Dodson’s coach had this to say about his player:
“There may be 2-3 people in the country that have a clue how good this kid is,” Miami Dade JC coach Matt Eisele said. “We think he’s really underrated. He was 6-5 out of high school and he’s a legit 6-8. He’s toned his body and can almost play anywhere on the floor. He’s one of the best scorers in that class.”
I am honestly not sure if Dodson has been released from Memphis, but he must be if he’s planning on visiting this weekend.
Here’s a link to ESPN’s profile of Dodson: they give him a grade of 95!
UPDATE: Matt Jones is reporting that Darnell Dodson will commit to UK and that he in fact has been released from his Memphis LOI. I should know better than writing these posts. As soon as I post them some kind of news breaks!!
Eric Bledsoe
UK fans should be much more familiar with Alabama PG Eric Bledsoe. Billy Gillispie was pursuing Bledsoe before going on permanent Keeneland vacation. He’s an academic question mark, but has skyrocketed up the recruiting charts (currently the #6 PG and #37 overall).
Bledsoe backed out of his visit to UK after the KDFC to visit Mick Cronin in Cincinnati. At the time, he listed Florida as his first choice because he felt like a “second round pick” behind John Wall. Well now Billy Donovan is also pursuing Wall, would that make Cincinnati his new first choice, or would UK be able to jump in the fray?
Kentucky Sports Radio thinks that may be the case with Calipari visiting Bledsoe tonight. Even so, I don’t see Bledsoe coming to UK. I really don’t think he’ll qualify, and even if he does, he’ll be at Florida or Cincinnati.
Are Calipari, UK after Memphis JUCO signees?
By: Guy | April 14th, 2009 | Category: CatsJust when you thought Memphis was getting the recruiting shaft as much as possible, this comes out:
MEMPHIS EDGE – There could be more bad news for Memphis on the recruiting front this week.
While most people have just assumed that hiring Miami-Dade coach Matt Eisele onto the Memphis staff would secure the two junior college players who signed last fall, multiple sources have indicated that’s not necessarily the case. That leaves a lot of things in limbo, including the Memphis staff and just how much of the recruiting class Josh Pastner will be able to salvage.
Though neither Darnell Dodson nor Will Coleman had asked to be released from their letters-of-intent as of last night, I wouldn’t be shocked if Dodson made that move in the near future. Coleman has been harder to get a read on because he’s out of the country right now playing basketball with an all-star team. The tough thing for Pastner is that he didn’t really recruit either player last year, so he’s got more ground to make up in re-recruiting them. Those guys were brought in primarily by Orlando Antigua, who is now on the Kentucky staff. And if Eisele can’t guarantee both players would come to Memphis, it’s unlikely Memphis would hire him.
The question now is whether John Calipari would try to get involved (or if he already is). The answer is most likely yes. What Calipari has been telling people close to him is that he is worried he might win 15 or 16 games at Kentucky next year after seeing the lack of talent in that program. Whether he really believes that or not, he’s clearly laying the groundwork to grab some players because he needs them. Perhaps even if it comes at the expense of his former assistant.
Like this writer, I never really paid any attention to Memphis’ two JUCO signees, because I literally thought there was no chance they would follow him to UK. Both Will Coleman (6-9 230 lb. PF) and Darnell Dodson (6-7 215 lb. SF) are highly rated, 4 star JUCO players, and would probably contribute. However, I have no idea where the scholarships would come from, and don’t know really anything about these kids. One thing I do take away from this story is the fact that Coach Calipari is very worried about our current talent level. I think pretty much anybody who followed this year recognized UK had a talent deficit compared with where UK should be, but it might be even worse than we thought.
We’ll obviously keep you posted on this, and next time I promise to be better informed about these kids. At the moment, though, you should at least know these names in addition to the high school seniors that UK is targeting.
