Both John Calipari and Tom Izzo are doing their best to talk up their opponents before tomorrow’s big Kentucky-Michigan State showdown. Last week, Calipari talked about how the game “is not fair” to the Wildcats because of how inexperienced they are compared to the Spartans, and today Izzo is praising the wildly abundant talent that UK possesses.
Izzo expressed that the current Wildcats have more talent than a lot of NBA teams:
Izzo “There are seven 1st round draft picks on this team right now and they haven’t played a game yet. There are NBA teams without that”
— Hondo Carpenter (@HondoCarpenter) November 11, 2013
He also singled out Julius Randle as being exceptional, comparing him to Chris Webber. Through two games, Randle is averaging 22.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per contest:
Izzo says Randle has a “Chris Webber-like body” with ball-handling skills. “We haven’t seen that before.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 11, 2013
Randle has already drawn comparisons to LeBron James as well, so most people agree that he’s a special talent. But as Izzo points out, Kentucky is far from a one-man show, with talent-loaded depth unlike any other program in the country.
Tomorrow’s battle in Chicago will be the ultimate test of veteran experience vs. young talent (although MSU is certainly talented as well), and should be a great experience for both teams regardless of which wins. You can catch the matchup on ESPN at 7:30 PM EST.
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