‘Cats could be sitting pretty

Kentucky, Arizona both make key recruiting moves on Wednesday. Plus, are we really discussing Mark Few’s bonafides?

July 07, 2022

While the college basketball transfer news is light, we’ve got plenty more for you in today’s Field of 68 Daily. There are reclassifications, teams playing overseas and Kentucky landing ANOTHER 5-star. Plus, how do we feel about Mark Few?

Let’s get to the news.

THREE POINTERS

1. Kentucky landing another five-star?

John Calipari is doing (old school) John Calipari things.

Aaron Bradshaw, a 2023 5-star forward, looks Kentucky bound. 247sports recently logged three crystal balls placing Bradshaw in Lexington — and decision day appears to be on the horizon.

Coach Cal already landed 5-star prospects Reed Sheppard and Donda Academy pioneer Robert Dillingham; Bradshaw would make the third top-25 recruit in the 2023 class. Once the big man officially commits, he’ll be in line as the Oscar Tshiebwe successor in the paint (assuming this is Tshiebwe’s last season with Kentucky).

Also, don’t forget Kentucky is seen as a contender to land D.J. Wagner, who’s a top-2 player per every outlet in next year’s class. A trio of Wagner/Dillingham/Bradshaw would give Kentucky one of the scariest freshman trios we’ve seen since Zion/Cam/RJ at Duke. We’ll have to see how the Wagner saga plays out, but Bradshaw seems more likely than not to play for Kentucky.

2. Kerr Kriisa gets a running mate

Five-star guard and Arizona commit Kylan Boswell announced he’ll reclassify into the 2022 class. That’s major news for a team that saw their top three players leave for the NBA. Let me say, just because someone reclassified doesn’t mean it’ll work right away — for every Jalen Duren there are probably five Khristian Landers (who didn’t crack the rotation for two seasons at Indiana and now plays at Western Kentucky).

And at the point guard, it’s even more difficult to transition from high school. There’s one key difference, though. Boswell can learn from Kriisa and Courtney Ramey while filling into spots. Also, Boswell isn’t draft-eligible until 2024, so he’s an Arizona Wildcat for two seasons at least. Plus, despite his excellent feel, high-level decision-making, and creative passing, he might not fall on NBA teams’ radar right away due to his size and shooting limitations. He and his family seem to be okay with unpacking their bags in Tuscon, though.

The Boswell family doesn’t expect him to start, his father told 247sports, “He’ll be ready to come in and play his role and not try to do too much and he understands what his role will be.”

It’s a year of learning for Boswell. It’s not a Shaedon Sharpe situation. Boswell could be the future of Tommy Lloyd’s program if things pan out.

Only four weeks ago, Arizona lost Dalen Terry and the guard position didn’t have depth. Soon after, Ramey transfers in and their prized recruit jumps recruiting classes. What looked like a weakness became a strength.

3. Is Mark Few a bad coach? (How is this a question?)

The Twitter machine started dropping takes about Mark Few’s coaching chops, all because Chet Holmgren went ballistic during his first summer league action. Few ran the Zags’ offense around multi-year All-American Drew Timme, who’s only led the Zags in scoring in consecutive seasons.

Easy Answer: Calling Mark Few a “bad coach” is complete blasphemy. Is John Calipari a bad coach because Devin Booker didn’t start at Kentucky? No.

Chet himself didn’t like the criticism about Timme as the go-to option last year. If Chet wanted to take a million shots, staying home at Minnesota would’ve been the best option. Instead, playing on a winning team stayed the priority, and Gonzaga, as it usually does, won a ton of games.

Now let’s talk about Coach Few. Remember these accolades:

Could you imagine Pepperdine becoming a national powerhouse for two decades? That’s pretty much what Gonzaga did. It’s unprecedented and it’s unlikely to happen again, and Few deserves all the credit in the world for putting Gonzaga in this position. He’s made two of the past six national title games, produced numerous first-round draft picks and brings Gonzaga to the second weekend of the tournament consistently. Put some respect on Coach Few’s name. That national title is the only thing left for him to accomplish…

OFF THE CAROUSEL

Matt McMahon’s road ahead in Baton Rouge

Matt McMahon led Murray State to three NCAA Tournaments and helped develop Ja Morant during his time as the Racers’ lead man. Headed to SEC country, McMahon looks to keep LSU on the right track amid a likely NCAA Tournament ban from the Will Wade scandal. Take a look at how McMahon plans to handle the situation in Baton Rouge in his exclusive interview with the Field of 68:

THE FAST BREAK

Links while you listen to “Master of Puppets” for the 22nd straight time.

Thanks for reading the Field of 68 Daily! Pass it on to a friend!