Official gameday thread. Champions Classic
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And then when Wheeler does have a clear shot 2 feet from the rim he tries to pass it, lol. WTF man. I JUST NEED 5 MORE POINTS!
Keels needs to learn how to pass but there is a lot of promise with this team.
He's a great passer but he gets himself into trouble dribbling. Just needs to slow down and process what he's doing.
What a goofy ending. Both teams have Huge upside. Fun game to watch. Oscar with 19 rebounds is nuts.
Fun game. Tshiebwe looked like what I expected last year. Thought Duke showed some toughness
Way closer than it should have been. Both teams (hopefully) will get better but Duke should have won by a ton. Good game Kentucky, the players fought hard and made some baskets that were pretty incredible.
I definitely expected it to be more of a blowout. The only reasons it wasn't is Duke was 1-13 from 3 while UK was 7-18 and Oscar had 375 offensive boards.
Good game. Duke took over for awhile there but Kentucky fought back to make it close but Duke was just too much for the Cats in the end.
This is a very talented Duke team with two elite freshman Banchero and especially Keels is a baller.
And this Duke team is deep. Lots of talent coming off the bench too... though I'm not sure how well they can shoot 3s, hardly took any 3 points attempts tonight so we'll see.
Duke is back!
This is a very talented Duke team with two elite freshman Banchero and especially Keels is a baller.
And this Duke team is deep. Lots of talent coming off the bench too... though I'm not sure how well they can shoot 3s, hardly took any 3 points attempts tonight so we'll see.
Duke is back!
I'm not mad. I expected it. This team will get better but I'm still done with Cal.
He’s the small guard that the other team always has that has a career night against us.
yeah i think he’s washed tbh. he’s still a good coach. but he just hasn’t been the same since the wisconsin loss in 15. Apparently that wasn’t just a basketball game that took place in indy. it was a mortal kombat semi final and Bo Ryan was shang tsung and took Cal’s soul.
Our record against ranked opponents since 2015 is abysmal.
I’ll be honest I came away liking all 4 teams tonight. Can’t say I’ve felt that before coming out of the Champion’s Classic.
Kansas came in the only team in the top 5 and they did not disappoint. Outside of the first 10 minutes it felt like KU was in complete control of the game even when it was a 1 possession game. Could tell they had the most experience playing together returning of the 4 teams. Executed the offense well getting basically whatever they wanted inside and out. The floor is very high for this KU team and I expect them to be top 10 all season.
MSU the only I ranked team but they looked much improved over last year. Bingham will be a problem especially if he starts to knock down the 3 with any consistency because he has a good stroke. I feel they should go small and move Hauser to the bench and start Hoggard in the backcourt with Walker. Gabe Brown can be a matchup nightmare at the 4.
UK is your typical early UK team. A lot of gelling needs to happen but you can see the potential. They don’t have that blow you away NBA prospect but they have more shooting than previous years and I expect TyTy and Wheeler to play better together at the year goes along. I think Cal needs to embrace the small ball and go super small around Tshiebwe. Give Tshiebwe a bunch of space and spread the court with Wheeler, TyTy, Mintz, and Grady. Almost think Shaedon Sharpe should play right away instead of redshirting. They could use his offense.
The NBA talent on Duke was incredible tonight. Banchero is the real deal with an NBA perimeter game already built in. Keels looked like Justice Winslow but can actually shoot. That frontcourt of Keels, Banchero, and Williams is going to be formidable. Only question I have is the PG play and if that will be good enough as Duke gets farther into the season.
Kansas came in the only team in the top 5 and they did not disappoint. Outside of the first 10 minutes it felt like KU was in complete control of the game even when it was a 1 possession game. Could tell they had the most experience playing together returning of the 4 teams. Executed the offense well getting basically whatever they wanted inside and out. The floor is very high for this KU team and I expect them to be top 10 all season.
MSU the only I ranked team but they looked much improved over last year. Bingham will be a problem especially if he starts to knock down the 3 with any consistency because he has a good stroke. I feel they should go small and move Hauser to the bench and start Hoggard in the backcourt with Walker. Gabe Brown can be a matchup nightmare at the 4.
UK is your typical early UK team. A lot of gelling needs to happen but you can see the potential. They don’t have that blow you away NBA prospect but they have more shooting than previous years and I expect TyTy and Wheeler to play better together at the year goes along. I think Cal needs to embrace the small ball and go super small around Tshiebwe. Give Tshiebwe a bunch of space and spread the court with Wheeler, TyTy, Mintz, and Grady. Almost think Shaedon Sharpe should play right away instead of redshirting. They could use his offense.
The NBA talent on Duke was incredible tonight. Banchero is the real deal with an NBA perimeter game already built in. Keels looked like Justice Winslow but can actually shoot. That frontcourt of Keels, Banchero, and Williams is going to be formidable. Only question I have is the PG play and if that will be good enough as Duke gets farther into the season.
Kentucky used to be the team with NBA bodies and athletes. We looked like high schoolers last night with Duke outside Oscar. Think I agree with a couple other Cats fans, Cal is about done.
Duke came out with a fairly comfortable win despite being poor in key categories. 1-13 from 3, only 7 assists as a team and did not rebound well.
Duke was 1-13 from 3. Cal, per usual, refused to zone, so it was open season on the rim for Duke.
Once teams knock UK off their schedule they phone it in for the rest of the season. We’ve become everybody’s piñata 🪅.
Yep! As a freshmen he showed flashes of brilliance. I really thought he would have a breakout year as a sophomore. Didn't happen. And then again, as junior, I thought he would break out and be 1st Team All-Conference/HM All-American type of player. Didn't happen.
Agbaji has always been supremely talented. He's been a good player throughout his career, but never a great player. Thought he's been a little too passive in the past, mostly hanging out on the wing. His performance last night was what many thought he was always capable of doing. He went in attack mode, didn't force anything with bad shots/passes, and took control of the game. I like the fact that he drew something like 7 fouls. He looked like KU's clear #1 option. And if they stay a top 5 team, you gotta really like his chances of being an All-American.
See, I make bad evaluations all the time! Although, I think I did concede he still has All-American potential. With Timme and Agbaji, you might just be the team to beat.
So, Agbaji is now the all-time leading scorer in Champions Classic history. Spectacular performance last night.
Champions Classic All-Time Leading Scorers
Top 10
1. Ochai Agbaji, Kansas 61
2. Frank Mason, Kansas, 57
3. Grayson Allen, Duke, 55
4. Keith Appling, Michigan State, 54
5. Perry Ellis, Kansas, 53
6. Amile Jefferson, Duke, 51
7. Denzel Valentine, Michigan State, 47
8. Branden Dawson, Michigan State, 47
9. Cassius Winston, Michigan State, 46
10. Seth Curry, Duke, 43
Champions Classic All-Time Leading Scorers
Top 10
1. Ochai Agbaji, Kansas 61
2. Frank Mason, Kansas, 57
3. Grayson Allen, Duke, 55
4. Keith Appling, Michigan State, 54
5. Perry Ellis, Kansas, 53
6. Amile Jefferson, Duke, 51
7. Denzel Valentine, Michigan State, 47
8. Branden Dawson, Michigan State, 47
9. Cassius Winston, Michigan State, 46
10. Seth Curry, Duke, 43
Tshiebwe is a monster. I always liked seeing him go to the bench... same thing for Joey Baker.
Unfair criticism for a player who raised his PER from 5.7 last season to 6 last night
Aka all seniors so not auper suprising no UK players on the list. Most only play in 1-2 id say.
Derek willis about the only player that cal recruited that i remember staying at UK four years, im sure theres a few more, Poythress maybe? Darius miller but can’t remember if he was a cal recruit of came from the prev admin. Not that its a bad thing that most of them are making nba money much before they ever get to their senior year.
It’s impressive for Agbaji considering he only played in 3 of these games vs everyone else on the list who I believe played in 4 of them.
Yep. Alex Poythress was #10 until Agbaji knocked him off the leaderboard. FWIW, Seth Curry actually only played two years of the Champions Classic, as it began in his junior season. And similar for Keith Appling, as his first opportunity to play in the CC was his sophomore year.
And Grayson Allen only played 1 minute his freshmen year. So, kind of like he only played three years.
didn't he drop 30 his senior year against MSU? figured he would be much higher than he is on the list.
what the hell happened to TyTy lol. We shot horribly. It'll get better. Team is gonna be good. Good game Duke you bastards
Banchero is legit. Looking forward to seeing him and Chet go at it.
Keel (is that his name) looked like a rich man's Lou Dort out there.
Hoggard was the best player on the court in game 1, don't understand why he didn't start.
Kentucky is trash.
Keel (is that his name) looked like a rich man's Lou Dort out there.
Hoggard was the best player on the court in game 1, don't understand why he didn't start.
Kentucky is trash.
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