http://shanahan.report/a/divide-in-developing-talent-separates-coach-k-and-coach-cal
My story on Coach K vs. Coach cal
My story on Coach K vs. Coach cal
My story on Coach K vs. Coach Cal
- Thread starter Tom Shanahan
- Start date
I don't know the stats, but what Coach Cal players that stayed 3-4 years made significant progress in that time and then went to the NBA?
Because I can think of quite a few recent Duke players off the top of my head from Coach K.. Nolan Smith, Lance Thomas, Gerlad Henderson, Mason & Miles Plumlee.. All players that had pretty underwhelming freshman years but progressed each year after and played in the NBA.
Because I can think of quite a few recent Duke players off the top of my head from Coach K.. Nolan Smith, Lance Thomas, Gerlad Henderson, Mason & Miles Plumlee.. All players that had pretty underwhelming freshman years but progressed each year after and played in the NBA.
Didn't "Jorts" just get cut from a Puerto Rican League team? Yep some serious development there.
Yet somehow he still made it to a D1 college. Walk on or not give me a break. The kid is genetically wired to play basketball. Get Calipari to get me on an NBA roster and I'll be impressed. Lol!
Might want to revise your Allen vs Ulis part of the story. In addition Cal has always talked about how important he is, and Tyler has known that he could possibly end up at Kentucky 4 years
Funny how things change. Cal was lauded for player development while at UMass. Remember seeing an article about hownthe 96 UK v Umass game would be about true coaching vs just recruiting talent when talking about Cal vs Pitino. Pretty funny. Seeing what Cal did for guys like Harrelson, Liggins, Miller, Patterson, and WCS is amazing.
Patterson wasn't a scrub. He was a 5-star talent and was already an excellent college player before his one season under Calipari. If I'm not mistaken, he nearly averaged a double-double as a Freshman and Sophomore.
As for the other players listed:
Harrellson (didn't even spell his name right) - currently plays for Brujos de Guayama
Liggins - Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League (with previous stops in Germany, Russia, and the D-League)
Miller - Brose Baskets in Germany (with a previous stop in the D-League)
I'll give you WCS. He was raw and developed into an outstanding player.
I'm still waiting for someone to explain who else qualifies under this "etc." That term implies other examples, and yet I haven't seen a single one offered beyond Liggins (who isn't in the NBA) and Patterson (who was already an outstanding player before Calipari had him for a single season).
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Jorts, Liggins, and Miller were all drafted and all played a couple years in the NBA becoming millionaires. Jorts had multiple surgeries that knocked him out of the league, Liggins had a legal issue that got him cut and Miller just couldn't hit the 3 consistently enough. However, they have all continued to make basketball their career. Jorts is just getting healthy and was the last cut for the Suns this season, so there's a good chance he gets back into the league.
- Beyond WCS, I would point to Eric Bledsoe as another major success story. He was a consensus 4* player in HS.... never mentioned as a possible 1 and done when he arrived at UK. His RCSI ranking (average of major recruiting services) was #52. Rivals ranked him by far the highest at #23, but he was in the 50s & 60s in Scout and ESPN rankings. He was universally considered to be a lower rated prospect than such players as Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee, Kenny Boyton, Dexter Strickland, etc. He wasn't at McDonalds AA... didn't play in the Jordan game... But he got drafted1st round as a Freshman and is averaging 23 & 6 for the Suns this year.
