Following 2019 draftees!!!

Staying in that same vein of players you may not have heard of, this player is one of my favorites who may or may not declare. If he declares he's probably a 2nd rd pick, and if he's sitting there when the King's 2nd rd pick comes up, you take him. I'm referring to Neemias Queta, the 6'11" center for Utah St. He's an excellent athlete with a great motor, and who plays with an intensity at both ends of the floor. Right now his calling card is defense, and if the King's are concerned about Willie, then this is a guy you could start grooming as his replacement.

Queta reportedly has a 7'5" wingspan and a 9'6" standing reach. He's averaging 9.7 ppg on 63.3% shooting overall. He's also averaging 33.3% from the three, but the sample size is so small it's irrelevant. However, he does have a nice looking shooting stroke. Offensively, he shows promise, but is still a work in progress. Defensively, he's a force, averaging 2.2 blocks per game along with 7.8 rebounds, all in 22 minutes per game. He's an explosive athlete with good and quick hops. He has good lateral quickness and defends on the perimeter, and the P&R very well.


Still haven't caught a game yet but I just heard of this kid recently. He does appear to be around those measurements. Looks interesting.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
I hope we could get him with our 2nd if there. When KK is gone, a young defensive stalwart big like this that isn't a lumbering buffalo is just the kind of guy I'd like developing at end of bench.
Yeah, I agree. He has very good defensive instincts. Not much of a game away from the basket offensively, but he's young, and has time to develop. He'll get you ten points on put backs right now.
 
Queta looks great in that video. He's running very well for a player that size. He's got broad shoulders. On a FIBA basketball page I see his DOB is July 13th 1999, so he'll turn 20 right before the draft. He could actually blow up way out of the Kings range, this is the type of player who could go flying up boards late in the process.
 
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Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
After losing to Liberty by 15 at home? Yikes. The only thing that surprises me is that Guerrero actually had the stones to do it in the middle of the season. It's amazing how quickly that team went from fun to literally unwatchable.

There's a rumor going around one of the UCLA boards that there was a bit of a mutiny - one player demanded relaxed academic standards or he wouldn't play more than 20 minutes per night, a few more followed suit, and the whole thing spiraled (no names attached to these mutineers). I don't know if it's true, and it's a damned vicious rumor if not, but it would explain the drop-off from early season play to the current dumpster fire in Westwood.
 
After losing to Liberty by 15 at home? Yikes. The only thing that surprises me is that Guerrero actually had the stones to do it in the middle of the season. It's amazing how quickly that team went from fun to literally unwatchable.

There's a rumor going around one of the UCLA boards that there was a bit of a mutiny - one player demanded relaxed academic standards or he wouldn't play more than 20 minutes per night, a few more followed suit, and the whole thing spiraled (no names attached to these mutineers). I don't know if it's true, and it's a damned vicious rumor if not, but it would explain the drop-off from early season play to the current dumpster fire in Westwood.
yeesh... I wonder how it all would've gone down if Tyger Campbell didn't tear his ACL (and if Shaq's son didn't have the heart issue).... I hope they can save some face for the players sake... UCLA has to find a miracle worker to take that job.. The westcoast landscape is changing going into the 2020's, the rise of USC and Oregon is imminent not only as teams but as tier 1 recruiting destinations.....

What is gonna happen with all these underclassmen tho;

Kristafer Wilkes
Jaylen Hands
Chris Smith
Jalen Hill
Kenny Nwuba
Cody Riley
Shareef O'Neal(RS)
Tyger Campbell(RS)
Jamie Jaquez Jr (highest rated incoming recruit)

I assume Moses Brown is gonna be in the draft for sure. We could see an exodus. The next coach is gonna wish those guys stick around.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
yeesh... I wonder how it all would've gone down if Tyger Campbell didn't tear his ACL (and if Shaq's son didn't have the heart issue).... I hope they can save some face for the players sake... UCLA has to find a miracle worker to take that job.. The westcoast landscape is changing going into the 2020's, the rise of USC and Oregon is imminent not only as teams but as tier 1 recruiting destinations.....

What is gonna happen with all these underclassmen tho;

Kristafer Wilkes
Jaylen Hands
Chris Smith
Jalen Hill
Kenny Nwuba
Cody Riley
Shareef O'Neal(RS)
Tyger Campbell(RS)
Jamie Jaquez Jr (highest rated incoming recruit)

I assume Moses Brown is gonna be in the draft for sure. We could see an exodus. The next coach is gonna wish those guys stick around.
Brown, Wilkes, Hands were basically all goners from the jump. Nothing changes there.

I can't say much about the other guys. Hill/Nwuba/Campbell basically aren't pro prospects as of yet, so I'd assume they'd stay. I guess a transfer is possible, but not declaring for the draft. O'Neal has no financial pressure to get to the NBA fast and has been pretty consistent about using college to improve his game. Since he wasn't originally a UCLA commit anyway I doubt he has any particular loyalty to Alford. Smith/Riley seem like marginal declarations right now - I can't imagine either would sniff the first round and a good chance they'd go undrafted. No idea on Jaquez.

Resets can be painful, but now is probably the time, both given how Alford had lost the team and the fact that the committed recruits right now don't look to be immediate game-changers - if we don't keep them, I guess that's the way it goes. There was a bunch of noise about firing Alford the summer before Ball and Leaf (and Anigbogu) were coming in...yeah, THAT would have been dumb timing.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Brown, Wilkes, Hands were basically all goners from the jump. Nothing changes there.

I can't say much about the other guys. Hill/Nwuba/Campbell basically aren't pro prospects as of yet, so I'd assume they'd stay. I guess a transfer is possible, but not declaring for the draft. O'Neal has no financial pressure to get to the NBA fast and has been pretty consistent about using college to improve his game. Since he wasn't originally a UCLA commit anyway I doubt he has any particular loyalty to Alford. Smith/Riley seem like marginal declarations right now - I can't imagine either would sniff the first round and a good chance they'd go undrafted. No idea on Jaquez.

Resets can be painful, but now is probably the time, both given how Alford had lost the team and the fact that the committed recruits right now don't look to be immediate game-changers - if we don't keep them, I guess that's the way it goes. There was a bunch of noise about firing Alford the summer before Ball and Leaf (and Anigbogu) were coming in...yeah, THAT would have been dumb timing.
The bigger Question is who will replace Alford. The right choice might be able to keep some of the team together. Most of the coaches I would want are probably out of reach. I'd love for UCLA to snag someone like Jay Wright or Mark Few, but that's not going to happen. The two names that I've heard being bandied around are Fred Hoiberg, and Eric Musselman. Both guys have college and NBA experience, and in Hoiberg's case, he was an NBA player as well. Musselman has done a great job at Nevada, and I'm sure he would listen to an offer Hoiberg is unemployed, so I'm pretty sure he would listen.

Whatever the case, I would love to see UCLA become relevant again in college basketball. The Pac 12 is one of the few major conferences that doesn't have that couple of teams that you know will be there every year. The Pac 12 doesn't have one team in the top 25 this year. That's unbelievable.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
The bigger Question is who will replace Alford. The right choice might be able to keep some of the team together. Most of the coaches I would want are probably out of reach. I'd love for UCLA to snag someone like Jay Wright or Mark Few, but that's not going to happen. The two names that I've heard being bandied around are Fred Hoiberg, and Eric Musselman. Both guys have college and NBA experience, and in Hoiberg's case, he was an NBA player as well. Musselman has done a great job at Nevada, and I'm sure he would listen to an offer Hoiberg is unemployed, so I'm pretty sure he would listen.

Whatever the case, I would love to see UCLA become relevant again in college basketball. The Pac 12 is one of the few major conferences that doesn't have that couple of teams that you know will be there every year. The Pac 12 doesn't have one team in the top 25 this year. That's unbelievable.
Well, if you ask some of the UCLA fanbase, Brad Stevens is just BOUND to leave the Celtics to come back to coach the Bruins! Billy Donovan would GLADLY leave the Thunder! (Idiots, all of them.)

Like you, I can't see either Wright or Few leaving. I'm not excited about Musselman - obviously we've had him here in Sacramento, and I feel like a lot of his success this year has been built on putting together a starting lineup of five transfer seniors, so these kids are all like 23 with 5 years of college experience. I don't see that as the be-all-end-all. I don't have much of a feel for Hoiberg. People have also thrown around names like Tony Bennett of Virginia, Gregg Marshall at Wichita St., Chris Beard at Texas Tech and I'm sure some others I'm not so familiar with. Bennett would be a super-interesting hire if he can be dragged to the west coast, and Beard's turnaround of Texas Tech is intriguing.

You're right, the Pac-12 needs to get its act together. It should be a power basketball conference but lately it has been just a shambles, and with the threat of some pretty serious NCAA sanctions hanging over Arizona, it may be hard to pull the conference back to relevance. That in and of itself might make the UCLA job less desirable. If you finish 5th in the ACC you're probably going to the big dance. If you finish second in the Pac-12, you might miss it these days. It's a damn shame.
 
They have to land someone who can recruit with Oregon and USC and that is gonna be impossible short-term... USC is gonna land the #1 ranked junior in HS his father is an assistant coach there and older brothers on the team... Jalen Green is another Cali kid ranked right at the top of that class and it is assumed he's gonna leave the state for college, latest rumors are Memphis and Penny Hardaway --- which is something all west coast teams will hate to see..

Tony Bennett is not for hire. Gregg Marshall too.

There's also these lawsuits looming over cbb, which if you're hiring you've gotta pay attention to closely, the last thing UCLA needs right now is to catch a falling knife.... if not for this I'd say they should go after Greg McDermott currently at Creighton.

I cant imagine they'll find a better guy than Musselman.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Well, if you ask some of the UCLA fanbase, Brad Stevens is just BOUND to leave the Celtics to come back to coach the Bruins! Billy Donovan would GLADLY leave the Thunder! (Idiots, all of them.)

Like you, I can't see either Wright or Few leaving. I'm not excited about Musselman - obviously we've had him here in Sacramento, and I feel like a lot of his success this year has been built on putting together a starting lineup of five transfer seniors, so these kids are all like 23 with 5 years of college experience. I don't see that as the be-all-end-all. I don't have much of a feel for Hoiberg. People have also thrown around names like Tony Bennett of Virginia, Gregg Marshall at Wichita St., Chris Beard at Texas Tech and I'm sure some others I'm not so familiar with. Bennett would be a super-interesting hire if he can be dragged to the west coast, and Beard's turnaround of Texas Tech is intriguing.

You're right, the Pac-12 needs to get its act together. It should be a power basketball conference but lately it has been just a shambles, and with the threat of some pretty serious NCAA sanctions hanging over Arizona, it may be hard to pull the conference back to relevance. That in and of itself might make the UCLA job less desirable. If you finish 5th in the ACC you're probably going to the big dance. If you finish second in the Pac-12, you might miss it these days. It's a damn shame.
Yeah, Stevens and Donovan are ridiculous. I really doubt Bennett is an option either. I'll tell you who I would hire, but it would take some huevos, and that's Rick Pitino. The AD would take some heat in the short term, but Pitino would get the program back on track. He's a good recruiter, and he can coach. I seriously doubt that will happen though.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
Yeah, Stevens and Donovan are ridiculous. I really doubt Bennett is an option either. I'll tell you who I would hire, but it would take some huevos, and that's Rick Pitino. The AD would take some heat in the short term, but Pitino would get the program back on track. He's a good recruiter, and he can coach. I seriously doubt that will happen though.
Yeah, Pitino can turn a program around, but the scandals around him are probably way too big for UCLA to ignore. He would seem to be one of Ozy's "falling knives" - maybe a good bit more than a knife! I doubt he gets even a sniff.

The super out-of-the-box suggestion I've seen is Becky Hammon. But her resume may be a bit thin yet and unless I've missed something there's zero data out there on how well a female coach would gain the respect of the young pro-hopefuls at a high D-1 school. I doubt UCLA is up for that sort of interesting experiment.
 
Yeah, Pitino can turn a program around, but the scandals around him are probably way too big for UCLA to ignore. He would seem to be one of Ozy's "falling knives" - maybe a good bit more than a knife! I doubt he gets even a sniff.

The super out-of-the-box suggestion I've seen is Becky Hammon. But her resume may be a bit thin yet and unless I've missed something there's zero data out there on how well a female coach would gain the respect of the young pro-hopefuls at a high D-1 school. I doubt UCLA is up for that sort of interesting experiment.
I'd bet UCLA wouln't touchPitino with a 1000-foot pole.


I just can't see Becky Hammond being able to recruit at the level UCLA needs... If u presume she can pull a big recruit that can help bring other recruits in, it could work, if she can't though it's something that will go stale quickly. They must hit the ground running..

I've seen Earl Watson's name thrown around. They could do a lot worse than him tbh.

Lemme post the list of the 26 open offers the Alford Regime had in the class of 2020. It pretty much reads like the top-25 in the recruiting rankings of 2020;


R.J. Hampton
Adam Miller
Sharife Cooper
Daishen Nix
Jalen Green
Jalen Johnson
Brandon 'B.J.' Boston
Jaden Springer
Johnny Juzang
Jalen Suggs
Joshua Christopher
Kyree Walker
Zach Harvey
Julian Strawther
Marcus Bagley
Jaylen Clark
Ché Evans, Jr.
Ziaire Williams
Joshua Hemmings
Cam'Ron Fletcher
Isaiah Todd
Jaemyn Brakefield
Evan Mobley
Isaiah Cottrell
Xavier Foster
Walker Kessler



Plus they had offers out to 2 of the very top ranked players in 2021; Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Michael Foster.

They can't afford to hire anything less than a big game hunter...
 
I'll be damned if Joe Weiskamp isn't one of the most underrated freshman in the nation and an eventual NBA player.. Everytime I've seen Iowa this year he looks great. he's a legit 6'6 too. lights out shooter.
 
Oh crap. Dewan Huell (Miami) now goes by Dewan Hernandez.. and the NCAA has ruled him ineligible and upheld the ruling recently, for signing with an agent last summer..

That went over my head, I remember seeing his name in some mocks and thinking "i'm pretty sure I know Miami's roster, who the heck is Hernandez and why is he a draftable prospect and how many good bigs do they have there ?! " :p now it all makes sense
 
Abdoulaye N'Doye 6'7" (his position is a bit up for debate) for Cholet Basket is 19/39 from 3 to start the year. This is a situation definitely worth monitoring for the Kings in the 2nd rd.

6'7" and has a 7'2" wingspan and he's got a very sturdy strong frame, he looks lean these days, good sign.. He has PG skills, I believe his fathers a coach or was a pro or something. I think he could play SF for the Kings. He has very good basketball instincts. I've seen him several times over the years in fiba youth play he''d often start next to Frank Ntilikina. He's not some crazy athlete at all but he's definitely good on the break, has some vision.

There was a kid years ago I thinkt he bucks near the top of the 2nd rd drafted named Damien Inglis and he had some botched foot surgery or something and flamed out, but N'Doye seems like that kid but better.

He would also be a legit stash candidate. Idk if he'd be in a rush to get to the league, probably not. Turns 21 in march.
 
James Banks III breakout season at Georgia Tech's continues, He's probably only 6'9" but has a massive wingspan in the 7'5" or 7'6" territory and a solid frame. He's a blue-collar type, rebounds and he blocks shots and dunks at the rim. Could be interesting player, would like to see him on the SL team if he declares and goes undrafted.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
I'd bet UCLA wouln't touchPitino with a 1000-foot pole.


I just can't see Becky Hammond being able to recruit at the level UCLA needs... If u presume she can pull a big recruit that can help bring other recruits in, it could work, if she can't though it's something that will go stale quickly. They must hit the ground running..

I've seen Earl Watson's name thrown around. They could do a lot worse than him tbh.

Lemme post the list of the 26 open offers the Alford Regime had in the class of 2020. It pretty much reads like the top-25 in the recruiting rankings of 2020;


R.J. Hampton
Adam Miller
Sharife Cooper
Daishen Nix
Jalen Green
Jalen Johnson
Brandon 'B.J.' Boston
Jaden Springer
Johnny Juzang
Jalen Suggs
Joshua Christopher
Kyree Walker
Zach Harvey
Julian Strawther
Marcus Bagley
Jaylen Clark
Ché Evans, Jr.
Ziaire Williams
Joshua Hemmings
Cam'Ron Fletcher
Isaiah Todd
Jaemyn Brakefield
Evan Mobley
Isaiah Cottrell
Xavier Foster
Walker Kessler



Plus they had offers out to 2 of the very top ranked players in 2021; Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Michael Foster.

They can't afford to hire anything less than a big game hunter...

Yeah, I agree. UCLA needs to hit a home run on this one. They can't afford to gamble on an unknown. That bridge has already been crossed. It hasn't helped that they've been operating on the cheap as far as college coaches go. When you have Kentucky forking out around 3 mil a year for Calipari, you Can't get by on your historical reputation anymore. The Wooden era is a distant memory.
 
Terence Davis at Ole Miss is easily one of the best seniors in the nation. He put a whooping on Auburn today. I feel like he could be groomed to be a nice fit for the Kings if everything works out for him.
 
Markus Howard is the only player in the past 20 seasons with multiple 50 point games...

I'd love to see him picked. It's like we have the midget of doom coming off the bench for Fox. LOL.

 
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He is not also a freak amongst freaks athlete?
He's very explosive. Doesn't possess great defensive potential though.


Ochai Agbaji is a kid to keep an eye on at Kansas. 6'5" they just removed his redshirt. He looks like a freak amongst freak athletes. very impressive first showing today.
 
Dejan Vasiljevic 6'2 Junior Guard on Miami is under the radar. Unothodox release but an excellent shooter nonetheless. Not in the best spot to showcase. He's got Serbian roots, plays for Australia youth teams, lived in Canada. He slightly reminds me of Matthew Dellavedova.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
The bigger Question is who will replace Alford. The right choice might be able to keep some of the team together. Most of the coaches I would want are probably out of reach. I'd love for UCLA to snag someone like Jay Wright or Mark Few, but that's not going to happen. The two names that I've heard being bandied around are Fred Hoiberg, and Eric Musselman. Both guys have college and NBA experience, and in Hoiberg's case, he was an NBA player as well. Musselman has done a great job at Nevada, and I'm sure he would listen to an offer Hoiberg is unemployed, so I'm pretty sure he would listen.

Whatever the case, I would love to see UCLA become relevant again in college basketball. The Pac 12 is one of the few major conferences that doesn't have that couple of teams that you know will be there every year. The Pac 12 doesn't have one team in the top 25 this year. That's unbelievable.
You and me both!