Allen Odd Man out?

[The Flea Market]

With all of the new talent at UK I see Allen as one that will not have much PT?  Toppin and Mintz also will have fewer minutes.   Look for two to leave by Christmas?

[sportsfan41]

Neither of the players you mentioned is going anywhere. 

[MJAlltheWay24]

Season hasn't even started yet and we are already trying to force a story that isn't there?

[bugatti]

🤣🤣🤣

[cincyswords]

I don't think anybody leaves but I do think its a legitimate question.  Mintz is not going to get the minutes he did last year.  If he does its because of massive injuries, way overrating recruits or Mintz developed into a first round draft pick over the off season.  None of those scenarios is likely.  I think Toppin has his work cut out for him to find a role.  Allen, well he can provide some instant offense off the bench, but can he become a guy who gets into the rotation?  I wonder about that.  

 

[HoopJunkie]

Definitely way too early to worry about this. But Calipari’s annual “it’s an open competition to fight for time” thing is so tired. He knew in September who would be playing. The experience and talent balance of this team will be tricky to navigate. He has some guys that have been “the guy”. These aren’t 18 year old 5 stars. 22 year olds won’t fall for it. If they don’t win big and spread the love early, there could be major chemistry issues. 

[Tones]

How many guys do you think Cal will have in the rotation? 

[HoopJunkie]

2 hours ago, Tones said:

How many guys do you think Cal will have in the rotation? 

Historically, he likes to keep it to 7, maybe 8 that actually see double digit minutes. Aside from the “platoon” season. But if I recall, the platoon didn’t last all that long once they got into conference play. Could be wrong. Like I said, a lot of talent and personalities to juggle. 

[bugatti]

2 minutes ago, HoopJunkie said:

Historically, he likes to keep it to 7, maybe 8 that actually see double digit minutes. Aside from the “platoon” season. But if I recall, the platoon didn’t last all that long once they got into conference play. Could be wrong. Like I said, a lot of talent and personalities to juggle. 

You are incorrect. The platoon remained pretty well in-tact until Poythress got hurt. If games were closer, he did stick more with the better players... which makes sense.

History shows that in college basketball if you have a 7-8 person rotation, it is all you need. The overwhelming majority of teams don't roll into seasons giving 15+ minutes to 10 guys.

[bugatti]

I don't know. Call me old fashioned, but I think it is fair to actually play a few games, maybe wait until we actually know how the rotation will work before we start speculating which players are unhappy and looking to transfer.

[bugatti]

14 hours ago, cincyswords said:

I don't think anybody leaves but I do think its a legitimate question.  Mintz is not going to get the minutes he did last year.  If he does its because of massive injuries, way overrating recruits or Mintz developed into a first round draft pick over the off season.  None of those scenarios is likely.  I think Toppin has his work cut out for him to find a role.  Allen, well he can provide some instant offense off the bench, but can he become a guy who gets into the rotation?  I wonder about that.  

 

Not that Mintz is bad, but if he is not playing as much it will be for good reason. He was forced to play more last year out of necessity. I think he will see plenty of minutes. With Toppin, I always got the sense Calipari loved him because of his athleticism and will do his best to work him into the rotation. Allen is a TBD. We have to see if his game has expanded beyond being a catch and shooter and have the ability to guard his position.

[Randy Parker]

5 hours ago, Tones said:

How many guys do you think Cal will have in the rotation? 

8.

Wheeler, Washington, Oscar, Brooks, Grady, Mintz, Collins, Fredrick.  I think by season's end, those are the main players.

[HoopJunkie]

5 hours ago, bugatti said:

You are incorrect. The platoon remained pretty well in-tact until Poythress got hurt. If games were closer, he did stick more with the better players... which makes sense.

History shows that in college basketball if you have a 7-8 person rotation, it is all you need. The overwhelming majority of teams don't roll into seasons giving 15+ minutes to 10 guys.

Well. I did say “could be wrong” about how long they did the platooning. 

[Irish Cat]

On 11/1/2021 at 1:33 PM, The Flea Market said:

With all of the new talent at UK I see Allen as one that will not have much PT?  Toppin and Mintz also will have fewer minutes.   Look for two to leave by Christmas?

Where could Mintz really go.  He's already played in 120+ games over four full seasons.  If he were to stay til Christmas would he even be eligible anywhere else.  He's already 23 years old if anything if he were to leave at this point I'd have to think it would be to go ahead and try his luck overseas.  He's not going to play in the NBA.  Ray Harper used to take D1 transfers with half a semester of eligibility left back when he was at KWC, but I can't think that is very common and if he were going to drop to D2 he might as well go somewhere that he can get paid.  

[jvdfc]

Allen with a good game tonight.  Mintz isn't going anywhere.  Toppin looked great tonight too.  Just chill and let things work into a rotation which may change as the season proceeds.  Go Cats!