Kentucky Sports Radio
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[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
Previous post from Jonathan Schuette…
With Kentucky reeling in yet another top rated recruiting class it’s easy to see that we’ll be in the running for our ninth national title. The stellar class in addition to transfer Ryan Harrow and returning sharpshooter Kyle Wiltjer will make certain of that. But, the current knock on next year’s ‘Cats is that they lack players who can send it home from deep. Over the past few months Coach Cal and his staff have been looking around the nation for the remaining elite players to be that last piece in that #9 puzzle, and Julius Mays may be that final piece. Mays, the Wright State transfer and former 3-star recruit (ZOMG!1!! Cal’s slipping!!1!1), has committed to Kentucky and will be an excellent fit. With Kentucky’s lack of perimeter shooting depth next season and May’s ability to connect from deep this can be a match made in heaven. Given the fact that basketball is more than just a perimeter shooting game I wanted to examine Mays’ career stats and give a preview of how he may be used in the Calipari system.
Last season while playing for Wright State Mays averaged a very respectable 14.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. While impressive Mays finished the season with an Offensive Rating of 107.4 (points produced per 100 possessions), this is encouraging because 100 is about the D-1 average. To obtain those offensive numbers one must be very efficient in shooting, and this was something that describes Mays perfectly. Last season he shot 42% (50-118) from three and connected on 83% (119-143) of his attempts from the charity stripe making him a very formidable weapon for an opponent to prepare for. In addition to his efficient shooting he also takes care of the ball on offense, only turning the ball over on 16.6% of personal possessions (or about 2.1 times a game). To go alongside his low turnover rate he also finished the season with a respectable assist rate of 20.6 (assists divided by the field goals made by the player’s teammates while he is on the court). So, it appears as though Mays can be a legitimate backup Point Guard for next year’s squad in addition to being a deadly perimeter shooter.
Mays isn’t just a one trick pony, he is a very solid defender to go with his balanced offensive attack. Last season Mays finished the season with a steal rate of 2.6, for perspective that would’ve put him in a virtual tie with Anthony Davis and Terrence Jones for first place on last year’s Kentucky team. This is an area where Kentucky has fallen flat over the past few seasons. The past three seasons we have rated 301st, 293rd, and 218th in turnovers produced so Mays would be a huge help in this area. Now it could be argued that steals aren’t necessary to excel in Cal’s system, but it is a nice luxury to have. Just think if a team is turning the ball over they are leaving potential points off the board which is a teams most critical asset (duh). Acquiring steals can be dangerous though, as it requires a player put himself in peril of having a foul called against him (I believe this to be the reason why Calipari coached teams to not force turnovers, his teams usually lack depth so unnecessary fouls while going for turnovers are a big risk). However, this was not an issue for Mays, per 40 minutes played last season he only averaged 2.7 fouls called against him per game. For perspective Marquis Teague averaged 2.8 fouls called per game last season. Given that Mays is not foul prone it may be of benefit to adjust the usual defensive game plan to make our defense more effective than it will certainly already be next season.
While Mays is a well rounded ball player he does have one area where he needs to work on and that is his interior shooting. Last season he connected on a mere 43% (77-179) of his two point shot attempts. Luckily for Mays he will not have to take the volume of two point shots in order for his team to be effective because Kentucky will have several elite big men and slashers that will take care of interior scoring. Despite his flaw I think that Mays will make the perfect addition to our Wildcats (if he were to decide to play here), he has every trait in his game that we need to have a complete team next season so I suspect that Cal and his staff are very happy with his decision to become a Wildcat.
Follow me on the Twitter @SchuetteKSR
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Bill Keightley Report : Never to be forgotten.
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May 10th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
why not, seems pretty decent and we could use a shooter. Plus he’ll only be here a year …. go get em Cal
May 10th, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Another UK football player got invited to a NFL training camp tonight!
May 10th, 2012 at 9:07 pm
Ummmmm……no.
May 10th, 2012 at 9:17 pm
Hey El President. Keep your vapid comments to yourself.
May 10th, 2012 at 9:20 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Fj6oR2EVc
May 10th, 2012 at 9:58 pm
I understand your point on steals but you do realize that Cal puts more emphasis on staying in your spot than going for the steal, right? You shouldn’t get burned if you’re in your spot. Seems to work our past 3 teams have been pretty darn good defenders.
May 10th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
We do have another great recruiting class, another good team — but I can’t imagine them being anywhere close as good as this year’s championship team. Just too green. Not enough experience to go with the new guys. Harrow/Wiltjer are not Miller/Lamb/Jones. Maybe the following year.
May 10th, 2012 at 11:15 pm
#6.
Look at the years before Cal got to UK. In 2009 his team was rated 89th in turnovers produced, 08 was 119h, 07 was 44th, and 06 was 64th. All those teams had at minimum 9 players who logged significant minutes as opposed to the 7 or 6 we’ve had the past two seasons. So it appears as though depth plays a pretty large factor in his defensive philosophy.
May 11th, 2012 at 12:25 am
#7 You are right.HS BB was down a little as a hole,but we can’t compair any class to this years.I don’t think it would be fair.The first class Cal had was great to but I think this years class was a once in a life time with attune,class,and over all talent to each other.Next years talent might be even better I just don’t see any class having the total package we had this year.
May 11th, 2012 at 9:32 am
Don’t forget about about Hood. He was a 4 star and ranked 40th coming out of high school.
May 11th, 2012 at 6:41 pm
Glad someone is remembering Hood….personally I feel he a a real key to next years
‘s yeam being good or very good….He just cannot catch a break..Hopefully he will be given his deserved opportunity to be an “item” on next year’s team and he will be productive.
May 13th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
Should I be happy?? I don’t know much about him, except he’s from Wright State, will he contribute next year?
May 13th, 2012 at 8:57 pm
Why the re-post. This is old news that was on here a few days ago……Mothers day, noone to report he is a Wildcat…..GO BIG BLUE
May 13th, 2012 at 8:57 pm
Looking at the possibilities for the ’13 recruiting class. Are Polson, Malone and Long all on scholarships?
May 13th, 2012 at 8:58 pm
Mays was top 5 in 3pt % last year. Mays got treys for days and days. This is a great get for Cal. He’s will be a solid contributor for one year, and we need that extra scholarship for the 2013. Perfect fit.
May 13th, 2012 at 9:11 pm
Schuette Balls !!
May 13th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
14 – Polson got a scholarship last season b/c at the beginning of the season we had one to give. If we ever needed a scholarship to land a guy, Polson, Malone, and Long will not be getting one. When doing your scholarship calculations don’t forget both Twany and Mays are seniors next year.
May 13th, 2012 at 9:29 pm
potential recruit?
May 13th, 2012 at 9:55 pm
I thought Twanny was a walk-on. Mays is perfect in that he will not be a factor for the 2013 class. Sign a freshman now and there is no way to tell if we will have enough scholarships left for what could be a great class. Cal is not Rick, but one might argue that it’s time for Hood to contribute as a 4th year junior or maybe look elsewhere for his senior year.
May 13th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
Yeah, he had a D-1 average but it came against subpar defense. I am not optimistic. Hopeful, but not optimistic.
May 13th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
I hear Cal is gonna sign a surprise point guard from Puerto Rico. Any word on that guy?
May 13th, 2012 at 10:22 pm
Glad he came to join the BBN!
May 13th, 2012 at 10:53 pm
Cal has said he wants to be last in the country in steals because steals indicate you are out of position. Interesting notion and that is what makes Cal so special.
May 13th, 2012 at 11:46 pm
17- Thx. Thought I had it figured out, just wanted confirmation.