Daimion Collins - now leaning toward Kentucky

[rickjames]

Two new crystal balls to Kentucky today

https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma/Season/2021-Basketball/CurrentTargetPredictions/

It was nice to have hope and have the lead while it lasted. Oh well.

 

[Soonerinkc]

so 66% OU 33% UK

they got T Alexander 100% to OU...thought the thought was he was going out of state...

ouinsiders recruiting

 

[Kewllane]

Now it's 66% Kentucky, and 33% OU. Really tough if we end up losing this kid.

Really getting tired of "Hey, it's (insert power school here), you don't win many of those." While that is correct for the most part, there are other schools out there (with a lot less basketball history than OU) getting big time players. I'm not going to sit here and point fingers, but it gets really frustrating as an OU basketball fan.

 

[NYC-Fool]

Now it's 66% Kentucky, and 33% OU. Really tough if we end up losing this kid.

Really getting tired of "Hey, it's (insert power school here), you don't win many of those." While that is correct for the most part, there are other schools out there (with a lot less basketball history than OU) getting big time players. I'm not going to sit here and point fingers, but it gets really frustrating as an OU basketball fan.

Agreed. Too many to name at this point. Seems to happen every year.

 

[daqman]

Not surprising. He's from out of state. No ties to OU. Where would you go if you had a choice between Kentucky and OU and were not an OU fan from birth?

Only 5* we've gotten from out of state were bums that Capel cheated to get.

 

[skyvue]

Now it's 66% Kentucky, and 33% OU. Really tough if we end up losing this kid.

Really getting tired of "Hey, it's (insert power school here), you don't win many of those." While that is correct for the most part, there are other schools out there (with a lot less basketball history than OU) getting big time players. I'm not going to sit here and point fingers, but it gets really frustrating as an OU basketball fan.

Which five-star players have gone to OU-level or below teams this year?

I don't know what more OU could have done to bring in Collins except break the rules. He's got talented friends on the team, we've been in on him hard from the jump and we've got three recent NBA stars whose success we can tout. I'm not much of one for moral victories, but Kruger and Co. can only do so much and this is one instance in which one could they've overachieved to this point. I guess they could have maybe hired his dad.

UK might have turned his head with their blue blood status or who knows, they might have made him an offer of the $ort we're not willing to make (and I'm glad we're not). I'm not saying they did -- I don't have a clue one way or the other -- but neither that coach nor that program is considered squeaky clean, so anything is possible.

Or we might still end up signing him. Crystal balls going against us are upsetting, but they're not a signature on paper so we'll see.

 

[Eielson]

I still think we have a good shot if he signs early, and much less if he doesn't.

 

[BoulderSooner]

I still think we have a good shot if he signs early, and much less if he doesn't.

I think this is very real

 

[Stikboy]

I said it before, feels like he’s been looking for an excuse to go elsewhere. Good luck to him. Hope Lon has a backup plan!

 

[inoref]

Kentucky, like Bama in football can pretty much take who ever they want and from where ever they want. Kids want to play in the NBA and Kentucky can and does that better than OU by a very wide margin

 

[WTSooner]

Which five-star players have gone to OU-level or below teams this year?

Schools that have 2021 5* players committed to them (based on 247 rankings):
Auburn
Alabama
Stanford
Baylor
Tennessee
Oregon
UCLA
Florida State x2

You might be able to argue 1 or 2 of those schools is "above OU", but the rest aren't.

For the 2020 class:
OSU
USC
Stanford
Florida State
Texas
Memphis
Arizona State
Tennessee x2
Howard (lol)
Auburn
LSU
Indiana

For the record, I'm not really taking a side in this discussion, but there are examples of programs that I wouldn't consider better than our own that are landing 5* kids. In some cases, those kids are local, but fewer than you might think.

 

[rickjames]

Kentucky, like Bama in football can pretty much take who ever they want and from where ever they want. Kids want to play in the NBA and Kentucky can and does that better than OU by a very wide margin

Because they sign nothing but 5 stars that are one and done. If OU signed the same guys, they would also make it to the NBA with no problem. Kind of hard to send kids to the NBA when you are signing the Jamal Bienemy's of the world instead of Trae Young's every year.

 

[WTSooner]

Because they sign nothing but 5 stars that are one and done. If OU signed the same guys, they would also make it to the NBA with no problem. Kind of hard to send kids to the NBA when you are signing the Jamal Bienemy's of the world instead of Trae Young's every year.

I'm making this comment 100% off the cuff, but I bet those schools also send a much larger percent of 4* kids to the NBA as well. Not everybody they send to the NBA is a 5* one and done.

 

[NYC-Fool]

I think this is very real

Very real that we still have a shot or very real that he’s gone? I assume the latter but if there is reason for hope I would love to hear it.

 

[hoopsaustin]

I mean come on guys.. if i were offered a Kentucky offer and an ou offer, id be wearing blue..

 

[TINY]

I'm making this comment 100% off the cuff, but I bet those schools also send a much larger percent of 4* kids to the NBA as well. Not everybody they send to the NBA is a 5* one and done.

Not all 4* are created equal. Most Kentucky players are top 50 guys which are mostly 4* players. OU’s 4* players are usually right around top 100 mark. Kentucky does not develop talent better than ou.

Ou’s problem when going up against Kentucky has nothing to do with development (and to a degree winning) and everything to do with our terrible fan base. We treat our hoops players low rent and they are royalty in Kentucky.

 

[WichitaSooner]

I feel like this is one of those discussions where there is a lot of gray area that people aren’t willing to acknowledge. It’s perfectly fine to be disappointed that we might not get him, and to believe that we would have developed him well and gotten him ready for the NBA as well as possible. At the same time, we can also acknowledge that Kentucky is probably the top program in America when you combine consistent winning, fan support, and getting guys ready for the NBA. I think it’s inaccurate to suggest that Cal doesn’t do a good job preparing guys for the next level. Sure he gets lots of elite talent, but not all five star or top 50 kids turn into NBA players. Most experts feel he does a very good job each year of getting a lot of elite players to buy into the team concept while on campus, while also putting them in position to be very high picks.

I hope the Collins rumors aren’t true and that we still land him. But if not, everything I’ve heard suggests our staff truly did everything possible. I just don’t think there is any real blame to assign here.

 

[daqman]

Not all 4* are created equal. Most Kentucky players are top 50 guys which are mostly 4* players. OU’s 4* players are usually right around top 100 mark. Kentucky does not develop talent better than ou.

Ou’s problem when going up against Kentucky has nothing to do with development (and to a degree winning) and everything to do with our terrible fan base. We treat our hoops players low rent and they are royalty in Kentucky.

Fan support is definitely a huge problem but I could also argue an awful lot of players have underperformed under Lon.

 

[Soonerinkc]

Just a question..

Being “one of the fish” at uk vs being the main fish at ou?

Will that influence it at all?

 

[WichitaSooner]

Just a question..

Being “one of the fish” at uk vs being the main fish at ou?

Will that influence it at all?

Influence it in what way? Won’t affect how NBA teams analyze him at all. Anthony Davis took the fewest shots of any starter in his one season in college and was still the unquestioned first pick. Anyone who goes to a school like Duke or Kansas or Kentucky knows he will be playing with other elite talent and will have to share the spotlight and touches, but if they play well, they will have plenty of chances to show their talent. I have no idea if Collins cares one way or the other, but if he is leaning Kentucky, that would indicate he isn’t overly concerned about being The Man.