by Paul Jordan
ESPN, the worldwide leader, had an article in their “Rumors” section asking if Kentucky could field an all freshman starting lineup in 2010-2011. Of course, the UK recruiting class still stands at four, so as of now, this looks like an impossibility. But let’s take a look and see if an all five Freshman lineup is possible.
Let’s assume for a minute of course that John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton, and Patrick Patterson do not return. Only Cousins has signed an agent, and it is only a matter of time before John Wall does the same. You also figure that Patrick Patterson is headed to the NBA and with a press conference planned for this week, you have to think it is to announce plans to leave Kentucky. Now Orton and Bledsoe have seen their stock slip a bit in the latest NBA projections as other players declare, so you would think their stats is up in the air. If either Bledsoe or Orton do return, there goes the possibility of an all freshman lineup.
You can pencil in Brandon Knight as a starter at point guard and Enes Kanter as a starter at Center, assuming he has full eligibility. I think that Doron Lamb has a very good start at being the starting shooting guard, but he will have to earn the position through practice. I think Liggins will get a nice long look as the starter as well so the practice sessions should be interesting. Right now, I give Ligggins the edge.
As of right now, I still think the smart money is on Kentucky landing C.J. Leslie, although if he signed with hometown NC State, I would not be shocked. Even though C.J. has been making comments about visiting UConn, I still think UConn has the worst chance of Leslie and Florida pulled out of the Leslie Derby today … so we are still stuck at Kentucky and NC State. If Kentucky gets C.J. Leslie, he has to be a favorite to start at the PF position, although don’t count out Josh Harrelson. Reports have been that Rock Oliver has been doing wonders getting Harrelson into the best shape he has ever been into. I’m not saying that Harrelson has turned into a top 15 player, but I think that he has the size and strength to put up a battle for the starting position.
So now we have three possible freshman starters and we come to the SF position. Terrence Jones, who Kentucky is aggressively pursuing is technically a SF, bit at 6’9, I think he will be thrown into the PF/C rotation and used like how Patterson/Cousins/Orton was. Terrence Ross, if he commits here, would be a candidate for the SF position, but as of now, you have to consider Darius Miller the incumbent at SF.
So can Kentucky have five freshman starters? They can, it’s technically possible. But as for now, I think that Miller will be tough to knock off, and the SG will be an interesting battle to look at. We will take more of a look at the returning players and position battles in a bit more detail tomorrow as Alan and Ben offer their takes.
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