Vaught’s note: Matt Kamalsky of draftexpress.com offers his insights on John Calipari’s recruiting class as well as the possibilities for the upcoming draft in this series. He also encourages UK fans to follow draftexpress.com president Jonathan Givony on twitter. His account is @DraftExpress or go to twitter.com/#!/draftexpress.
By MATT KAMALSKY
Michael Gilchrist wasn’t dominant in practice (at the Nike Hoop Summit), but he was consistent the whole week and showed why he’s a one-and-done candidate and potential top-5 pick (in the 2012 draft). There is no denying his athletic gifts and versatility, but he’s one of those prospects that can do all the other things that don’t show up in the box score.
He needs to get stronger and improve his jump shooting ability, but he’ll be dominant in transition early for coach John Calipari. Few incoming freshman forwards in the country can defend, handle, and pass like Gilchrist can.
Kyle Wiltjer isn’t a great athlete, but he’s gotten a lot better since I first saw him two years ago. At the time, it was clear that he hadn’t grown into his body yet, and he struggled with his consistency because of that. His play at the Hoop Summit game itself wasn’t inspiring, but looking at his body of work in All-Star competitions, it is hard to be anything but positive.
At this point, he has all the makings of a phenomenal offensive role player. He isn’t adept at creating his own shot outside of the post, but his spot-up shooting ability, one-dribble jumper, and ability to use both hands around the basket will give UK a welcome scoring punch off the bench. With time, Wiltjer could develop into a terrific stretch four, which will only help the type of guards Cal recruits. He may not have the same amount of NBA potential as UK’s other commits, but he’s a multi-season contributor with a great pedigree and a good head on his shoulders.
Marquis Teague needs to learn some of the same lessons Brandon Knight struggled with this season. He has the tools to create at will, and if he hones his decision-making to maximize the talents of the players around him, UK is going to be a nightmare matchup for most of the teams in the country. He’ll be big time one way or another, but his efficiency as a passer will determine how far the team is able to play into March.
Depending on how the season plays out, Teague could factor into the first round of the NBA draft as early as next season.
5 Responses to Draftexpress.com’s Kamalsky: Gilchrist, Teague, Wiltjer all terrific players with unique abilities
Leave a Reply
Blue Zoom Radio Show
Polls
Loading ...Choose Your Favorite!
All this talen and people are worried. Are you kidding me.
I would rather be us than anyone in the country. Let’s not forget how much we lost and still got further than Puke, Loserville, O St, North Crapolina and 300 plus other D-1 schools.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! GO BLUE OR STAY HOME! ! ! ! ! !
I’m not worried about our talent, we know Cal will always have a good starting 5. My only issue (and its a small one), is that its hard to build any depth at all the way things are configured right now. The returning bench players just aren’t that good, so we will have Lamb + Miller + the freshmen and thats about it. Thats a great group of 6 players though.
Agree with both of your comments. I was thinking today, darn we are going to need another guard – again. We need to get Lacy and a big guy for sure. Sure is fun again, isn’t it! Go BB!
I think Vargas will be better. He played well through out both tounaments. I also expect Hood and Poole to be better and I hope Cal will give Polson 5-7 minutes a game to help his confidence.
Cal proved this year what can be done with a small roster.
Love this kind of problem, too. Still think Lacey becomes a Cat by early May and Cal is still hunting another inside player