Randle no longer considering OU

[bgrch1350]

Never thought I'd find myself rooting for Kentucky.

Why? Kansas is going to win this league again next year, so why not root for them to get him and maybe decrease the odds that Kentucky wins it all.

 

[Smash Williams]

Why? Kansas is going to win this league again next year, so why not root for them to get him and maybe decrease the odds that Kentucky wins it all.

Because most OU fans care about Big 12 opponents more than they care about Kentucky. UK isn't everyone's most hated team.

 

[CoachTalk]

I hate all of those schools a whole bunch.

I like the gators. Good solid coaching staff. I really like Donavan.

 

[TheGimper]

Why? Kansas is going to win this league again next year, so why not root for them to get him and maybe decrease the odds that Kentucky wins it all.

1) I'd rather have a higher chance of winning two more conference games next season. That should be more important to an OU fan.
2) I'm not sold on KU winning the league next season. They lose all 5 starters and have the thinnest bench Self has had during his tenure.

 

[JBaker]

Why? Kansas is going to win this league again next year, so why not root for them to get him and maybe decrease the odds that Kentucky wins it all.

Trolls gonna troll.

 

[WTSooner]

if they get wiggin it is the best class of all time

On paper maybe.

 

[bgrch1350]

1) I'd rather have a higher chance of winning two more conference games next season. That should be more important to an OU fan.
2) I'm not sold on KU winning the league next season. They lose all 5 starters and have the thinnest bench Self has had during his tenure.

This year is his thinnest bench ever. Next year just won't be his best starting 5. Next year, he has already added a solid recruiting class. Plus, Self always makes it work ever year.

 

[WTSooner]

Plus, Self always makes it work ever year.

Maybe. But he too got lucky this year. Not only was/is KU down, but most of the rest of the league is as well. There have been several teams over the last decade or so that would have finished in front of KU this season. KU just lucked into having a pretty average KU team in the right year.

 

[JBaker]

This year is his thinnest bench ever. Next year just won't be his best starting 5. Next year, he has already added a solid recruiting class. Plus, Self always makes it work ever year.

KU returns 17.0 points per game, 4.6 assists per game, and 11.9 rebounds per game from this team for next season.

OU, who seems to be losing a lot in Osby, Pledger, Fitzgerald, and Grooms... returns 34.5 points per game, 7 assists per game, and 18.9 rebounds per game.


Self will have his work cut out for him. Look at Calipari at UK this year. Bringing in a bunch of top recruits and winning every game is not a guarantee when you lose your whole starting 5.

 

[AdaSooner]

Make no mistake, losing Withey, Releford, Johnson and Young will be huge next year. If McLemore leaves early, as expected, KU will struggle to get back to where they were this season. Top recruiting class or not, it's not easy to overcome the loss of four of your top five players (five if McLemore jumps to the league). Self is a good coach, but he's no miracle worker.

 

[Sooner-Bred]

On paper maybe.

If you're really trying to deny how monster of a class Kentucky has coming in, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

They have the..

#1 Ranked PG
#1 Ranked SG
#1 Ranked C
#2 Ranked C
#2 Ranked SG

If they land Wiggins and Randle, that would also give them the..

#1 Ranked SF
#1 Ranked PF

So...they would have the #1 ranked player at EVERY position coming in, and the #2 ranked player at 2 of those positions as well.

Not to mention, they would have 4 of the top 5 overall, and 5 of the top 10.

No class has ever even come close to that.

I'd rather him go to Florida or Texas.

Because Bgcrh is right, if he ends up in Lexington, just ship them the title now.

 

[JBaker]

Why do I care if Kentucky wins the title?

If it's not OU, I'd rather it be anyone else in the country than KU, UT, or OSU.

 

[TheGimper]

I'd rather him go to Florida or Texas.

Texas? TEXAS? You need to change your username.

 

[Sooner-Bred]

Texas? TEXAS? You need to change your username.

Honestly, I'd be okay with it.

Kabongo will be gone, and Barnes always under-achieves.

Randle will be a one man show, and I'm more than confident in Spangler and Amath to guard him.

 

[WTSooner]

If you're really trying to deny how monster of a class Kentucky has coming in, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

They have the..

#1 Ranked PG
#1 Ranked SG
#1 Ranked C
#2 Ranked C
#2 Ranked SG

If they land Wiggins and Randle, that would also give them the..

#1 Ranked SF
#1 Ranked PF

So...they would have the #1 ranked player at EVERY position coming in, and the #2 ranked player at 2 of those positions as well.

Not to mention, they would have 4 of the top 5 overall, and 5 of the top 10.

No class has ever even come close to that.

I'd rather him go to Florida or Texas.

Because Bgcrh is right, if he ends up in Lexington, just ship them the title now.

And MY point was that ON PAPER that may be the best class ever, but that doesn't mean crap until they step on the floor, and win games. If you want to hand them the title now should they land Randle or Wiggins, or both, fine. I'm going to wait. Because even if they are the best team all season long, there is still a 50/50 chance that they'd get upset in the tournament. The best team doesn't always win the NC.

As for my "on paper" comment, aside from simply pointing out that they have to play games, IMO, they have to beat what the Fab 5 did. While the Fab 5 didn't have the quantity that that UK class would have, it gets closing to matching on quality with 4 top 10 players, and another top 100 guy. That "class" went to back-to-back Championship games, pretty much entirely on the backs of those 5 kids.

Let's let next season play out before we start throwing around titles, and passing out crowns.

 

[Smash Williams]

Why do I care if Kentucky wins the title?

If it's not OU, I'd rather it be anyone else in the country than KU, UT, or OSU.

That's what I'm wondering as well. I'm more concerned with OU having a better shot at winning games versus those Big 12 teams than I am with anything related to Kentucky.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I care far more about what's best for OU than what's worst for Kentucky. Are you anti–UK guys going to be cheering for Kansas to beat OU next year if KU is battling UK for seeding?

 

[Smash Williams]

Because even if they are the best team all season long, there is still a 50/50 chance that they'd get upset in the tournament. The best team doesn't always win the NC.

Good point. Most fans don't appreciate the amount of luck involved in winning the tournament, even for the best team in the country.

Suppose you have a team that has a 99.9% chance of winning its first round game and is an absurdly high 90% favorite in each of the next five tourney games. That team would only be 59% to run the table in spite of the staggering odds in every individual game. Using more realistic estimates for individual games yields something well below a 50% shot of running the table.

 

[Sooner-Bred]

And MY point was that ON PAPER that may be the best class ever, but that doesn't mean crap until they step on the floor, and win games. If you want to hand them the title now should they land Randle or Wiggins, or both, fine. I'm going to wait. Because even if they are the best team all season long, there is still a 50/50 chance that they'd get upset in the tournament. The best team doesn't always win the NC.

As for my "on paper" comment, aside from simply pointing out that they have to play games, IMO, they have to beat what the Fab 5 did. While the Fab 5 didn't have the quantity that that UK class would have, it gets closing to matching on quality with 4 top 10 players, and another top 100 guy. That "class" went to back-to-back Championship games, pretty much entirely on the backs of those 5 kids.

Let's let next season play out before we start throwing around titles, and passing out crowns.

I get that.

But this class would be MUCH better than the Fab 5, going off rankings.

The Fab 5 had

Chris Webber- #1
Juwan Howard- #3
Jalen Rose- #6
Jimmy King- #9
Ray Jackson- #84

Kentucky would have

Andrew Wiggins- #1
Julius Randle- #2
Aaron Harrison- #4
Andrew Harrison- #5
James Young- #10
Dakari Johnson- #13
Marcus Lee- #18
Derrick Willis- #129

That would be 5 of the top 10, and 7 of the top 18 players. That is absolutely unheard of. My head still can't get around just how loaded that is.

Fab 5 had 4 Mcdonalds All-Americans.

Kentucky's class would have 7 Mcdonalds All-Americans.

I agree they have to get it done on the court.

But after watching their squad last season dominate college basketball, and knowing that some of their guys from this season are definitely coming back to join this monster class, I just have this feeling that it wont be very competitive next season, AT ALL.

On a more positive note, I can honestly see OU winning the Big12 next season.

Assuming Kansas doesn't land Randle, they'll be kinda down, and I think OU will keep the momentum going.

Maybe I'm being too optimistic, but I'm feeling good about our future :woot

 

[bgrch1350]

Make no mistake, losing Withey, Releford, Johnson and Young will be huge next year. If McLemore leaves early, as expected, KU will struggle to get back to where they were this season. Top recruiting class or not, it's not easy to overcome the loss of four of your top five players (five if McLemore jumps to the league). Self is a good coach, but he's no miracle worker.

They just did it 2 years ago. Returned only 22.4 ppg. Returned only 1 starter n Taylor and he only averaged 7.5 ppg. And what they do, just went to the national championship game. Tharpe is a good pg. Ellis will be better. And add some good recruits, they will win the big 12 again

 

[SoonerWarVet]

They just did it 2 years ago. Returned only 22.4 ppg. Returned only 1 starter n Taylor and he only averaged 7.5 ppg. And what they do, just went to the national championship game. Tharpe is a good pg. Ellis will be better. And add some good recruits, they will win the big 12 again

Yeah, but they had the man among boys on their roster (Robinson). Who on their roster do they return that is even close to him. ZERO.