Considering that the last three posts have been *total downers* I figured it is time to throw something out here with a happier note to it. So as I sit here downing a bowl of Cap'n Crunch, because I am actually an 8 year old child, I am going to breakdown the recent recruiting news. Accompanied of course with my usual soapbox ranting.
I know a lot of my followers do not follow UK basketball - I apologize for this one
Brandon Knight - #1 in Rivals 150
This was a big get for the cats, but I want to put Cats fans on notice about a few things regarding this young man.
He is not John Wall/Derrick Rose/Tyreke Evans
This is my biggest concern with our fans. Brandon Knight is not the dominating athlete that Rose and Wall are. He is not the physical specimen that Evans is. Knight is a 'shoot-first' point guard with a great stroke and a nose for the basket. This means that almost inevitably, he will have some early season struggles. It is easy to shoot over a 6'0 defender in hs. A 6'6 one in college is a little tougher, so expect some issues here. He sets guys up by getting in a dribbling rhythm and then shooting from deep going to the right. A college coach will scout this out and tell anyone who is on him to force him left, and make him get bye you. He won't have the same space that he is used to to get his shot off, so its going to be an adjustment.
I say all this because our fans have a bad habit of expecting too much too soon. Don't expect this kid to come in right away and blow everyone's doors off. If he does, more power to him. But let's let him adjust, give him support, and come what may. I wouldn't be shocked if he stayed 2 years due to a lot of the things he has to work on.
Enes Kanter 5 Star on Rivals
For whatever reason, Meyer hasn't figured out where to put him yet, but I imagine it will be high. Now this one right here is worth getting pretty wacky about. I can't wait to see him in the SEC. A big advantage of playing in Europe for club teams is the fact that Enes has been playing (most of the time) against grown men. Which is why in age division competitions, he has been crushing people. He killed in U-17 in Europe, and dominated American prospects in the Hoop Summit game going for 34 and 13 against Jared Sullinger (currently rated as the third best player in the nation)
Demarcus v. Enes
Unlike Knight, who doesn't bear much resemblence to Wall, Kanter bears a close resemblence to some of Demarcus Cousins' game. He is a ferocious rebounder, has excellent footwork, and can finish through contact. But thats about it. The biggest difference is that Kanter can shoot the hell out of the ball. From just about anywhere. Expect the Turkish phenom to shoot around 80% from the line this year. Kanter is shorter than Demarcus, which may be a bit of a problem for him in the SEC, but I think he will adjust pretty easily.
Stacey Poole Rivals 4 Star
This is kind of the darkhorse guy at the moment, but I have a feeling we have a four year guy here. The downside is that he doesn't seem to think of himself that way; bad sign. Poole is a decent shooter, decent athlete, decent ballhandler, decent rebounder, good defender. He didn't blow me away at the Derby Classic, and honestly he was outperformed by Elisha Justice and others pretty badly.
If he commits to work hard and be humble, we are looking at a nucleus type of player. If he doesn't we are looking at a future member of the Florida International Fightin' Zekes.
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