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Factoids about the 2015-16 Kentucky Wildcats

Rhavicc

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Dec 15, 2014
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A lot of pessimism about next year's team, I feel like it may be unwarranted. People act like next year's team lacks talent, so maybe this will change some peoples' perspectives on that.

Alex Poythress is the highest ranking PF from the 2012 recruiting class remaining in college.
  • Last season, before his injury, he held his man to 12.8% FG% defensively.

    Per 40 minutes, without doing the math, he would average roughly 10.8 ppg, and 7.4 rpg. Good production from the 4, especially considering how good he is defensively.

    Offensively and defensively alike, I viewed Poythress as UK's best transition player. Whether it would be finishing over the top, or finishing through contact offensively, or making run-down blocks defensively, he was always terrific in transition.

Marcus Lee is the 2nd highest ranked PF from the 2013 recruiting class remaining in college.
  • Isaiah Hicks from UNC*** is the highest rated remaining PF of that class.

    Marcus Lee has always stepped up for us when WCS was unable to. Obviously keeping WCS off the floor was a task in his junior season due to his defensive ability, but Marcus Lee has always had as much, if not more potential that WCS due to just being a more energizing presence, as well as being a terrific passer, on top of having similar athleticism.

    Lee has made it well known that he's been in the gym constantly since the final four loss, and knows he has to step up next season. I'm confident that he'll do just that.

    Also another terrific player in transition. Very fast, very long with an insane vertical, and he always attacks the rim hard.

    Very possible that he is the best offensive rebounder, and overall rebounder on the team next season. Potential to be one of the elite offensive rebounders in the country because of his length, athleticism, and obvious nose for the ball that we've all seen.

Tyler Ulis is the highest ranked PG from the 2014 recruiting class remaining in college.
  • We all caught a glimpse of his ability. He has a knack for seeing plays 2-3 passes before they ever happen. He has uncanny court vision that most college guards never get, and some NBA guards don't even have.

    Outstanding shooter and scoring ability. Notice, I said ability. Whether or not Calipari tells him to pull the trigger more often is yet to be seen, but while he was playing on the D1 EYBL circuit (which is full of players who move on to play division 1 basketball in college), in 15 games, he averaged 13.7 ppg, 5.9 apg, 3.4 rpg, and 2.1 steals per game. Highest scoring game was 31 points.
    It's not farfetched to think that we could see remotely similar numbers if Calipari tells him to pull the trigger more often next season. The kid shoots the ball well and has a very diverse skill-set offensively.

    Last season, his assist-turnover ratio was 3.55, good for 3rd in the NCAA. The only other freshman to get in the top 25 in that statistic was Tyus Jones, who came away with an assist-turnover ratio of 2.86, good for 19th in the NCAA.

    Ulis forces the team to move the ball very well and play at a pace that benefits all of the athletes that UK has on the floor. Where Andrew Harrison often let the offense go stagnant and pass the ball around on the perimeter, you could always see good ball movement with Ulis on the floor due to his ability to utilize dribble penetration so well.

We have the top player in the class, who is the #1 center/#1 draft prospect coming in.
  • At 7'0 tall, with a 7'1 wingspan, Labissiere and his superb athleticism has a lot of potential in itself. He has tremendous lateral quickness, which would immediately draw comparisons to WCS at least, but his offensive arsenal, defensive skills, and basketball IQ has drawn more comparisons to AD at the same point.

    On the All-American circuit, he's been phenomenal. Games like 21 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks, or 16 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocks, and even 12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks. Skal has shown that he can do it all, and I wouldn't be shocked if he was the best player on the court in every game next year.

    He always knows how to be involved.Despite not having outstanding rebounding form, he pulls down a lot of them. Even against other All-Americans. Once he gets to Kentucky and starts getting both hands on the ball, and rounding out a few little things, he's going to be a force.

    It's been a bit since we've had a 5 man who can run the floor and do all of the things that Skal can do. It opens up and entirely different game when you have a center with his versatility. 2012 is a good example of that.

We have the #1 ranked PG in the class coming in.
  • It never hurts to have a SG with PG skills and elite PG ball handling abilities. It helps a lot that he's 6'4, 220#, and serves as more of a scoring point guard. That should go very well with Ulis as our main facilitator. Better ball movement, better ball handling.

    He's a very intense and competitive player that will play as hard as he can every time on the court. That kind of intensity from your backcourt will win you a lot of games.

    Apparently his 3 point shooting is improving, because he locked up that 3 point shooting contest in dramatic fashion. I figured that to be his one weakness (Only shooting it about 36% in high school) but he has shown that he can hit those shots. If he nails them at 37, maybe 38% at least, life will be that much harder for opposing teams.

Charles Matthews used to be a top 15 player in the class before his injury
  • What was the one thing that was missing offensively last year from the 3 position that we could have used desperately? An elite slasher. Don't get me wrong, Lyles was good, but he was only able to stretch the floor out to mid-range. He was still pretty effective if he came off the pick and pop, or was able to back down his man though.
    Aaron Harrison and Devin Booker both had the ability, but rarely used it. Aaron Harrison only used that ability on the baseline. Matthews will utilize this often. He's a very strong finisher at the rim, and he is a terrific slasher that finishes with both hands. He catches lobs, he can serve as a 2 way guard, and he's incredibly athletic. It opens up the offense in ways that we seen in 2012, and 2014.

    He's an outstanding defender. He has the ability to lock somebody up on the perimeter, but shows off his ability to make blocks in both the half-court, as well as transition. He can also steal the ball from the guards, which is a huge plus at the 3.

    More ball handlers, more versatility, and more chemistry. He and Ulis were teammates on the AAU circuit for the Chicago Meanstreets, which produced both Anthony Davis, as well as Tyler Ulis. Good lineage.

Mychal Mulder is an incredibly unique blend of length, athleticism, and skill.
  • Seriously, I know some aren't high on him, but take these things into account. He's 6'5, with a 6'10 wingspan, he has a 40+ inch vertical, and shoots 46% from deep. He blocks shots, he rebounds really well for a guard, he steals the ball. He can shoot off the pick and pop, he has very nice touch on the mid-range floater, and he gets points off of put-backs. He'll play in the NBA, and there's a good chance he goes in the lottery.

    Look past his terrific stats and freakish measurables, and you still have the kind of player that you need to win. He brings energy, determination, and he wants to be great. On top of that, he brings veteran leadership from a winning team, and has actually played against some of the other elites in AAU ball. He knows what it takes to be great.

    If you kept track of his latest JUCO All-American game, he played terrific. Scored 15 points, got about 6 or 7 rebounds, shot the 3 at 42%. That's against the most talented JUCO players, all of whom can, and will (if they so choose) play for mostly any D1 school in the NCAA.
I see no reason why next year's team can't win it all. We have all the pieces, and we do not lack depth. We have the same depth that 95% of your title winning teams have. Last year we were absurdly deep, in the way that may not have been done before. That was an anomaly.
I know that some will still be pessimistic after this, and understandably so, with the spring that we had, but this team can and will compete. That's why they're going to be ranked top 5, and that's why they're the current co-favorites to win the national title next season.
 
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Edited! Sorry to those who were trying to read it the first time around and had it cut short. Accidentally posted and then something came up for a moment.
 
I like the post and agree with a lot of it. But to play devil's advocate, is it a good thing that Poy and Lee are the highest remaining PF from their classes?
 
I like the post and agree with a lot of it. But to play devil's advocate, is it a good thing that Poy and Lee are the highest remaining PF from their classes?

fair point, but a case can be made for both. Poy got injured last season, or he would have left. If Lee wasn't stuck behind Julius Randle, and last year WCS, he would likely be gone as well. Both of those players named before him were outstanding college players.
Plus, they have a lot of experience. Good, bad, and ugly.
 
Nice uplifting post, and I'd like to agree with it. Thing is, post like these go up every year about UK's incoming class. All these same things were said about every incoming player since Cal came to UK. Then when the season starts we begin to see reality. Rarely are any of these players as dominate as the predictions. AD proved to be better than his hype but name anyone else that lived up to his lofty preseason expectations? There were post here Cals first year that said Wall was unstoppable, that he could score at will anywhere anytime. Wall was good shooter but not a great shooter. if we needed a basket he could usually get it by driving to the rim but he was not money for the 3. I'm not saying that we didn't have some great players but rarely do they live up the god like super hero's that fans give them before they ever see Rupp. Next year will be the same. There will be a learning curve and a few of these guys will emerge as very very good players and hopefully there's a AD in the mix. while some will not meet the lofty and forgive the verbiage but exaggerated expectations. All that said, I'm looking for an exciting season and hope to see a final four team come March/April.
 
Nice uplifting post, and I'd like to agree with it. Thing is, post like these go up every year about UK's incoming class. All these same things were said about every incoming player since Cal came to UK. Then when the season starts we begin to see reality. Rarely are any of these players as dominate as the predictions. AD proved to be better than his hype but name anyone else that lived up to his lofty preseason expectations? There were post here Cals first year that said Wall was unstoppable, that he could score at will anywhere anytime. Wall was good shooter but not a great shooter. if we needed a basket he could usually get it by driving to the rim but he was not money for the 3. I'm not saying that we didn't have some great players but rarely do they live up the god like super hero's that fans give them before they ever see Rupp. Next year will be the same. There will be a learning curve and a few of these guys will emerge as very very good players and hopefully there's a AD in the mix. while some will not meet the lofty and forgive the verbiage but exaggerated expectations. All that said, I'm looking for an exciting season and hope to see a final four team come March/April.

I understand what you're saying, but I don't intend to place those lofty expectations on the players rather than make an evaluation of their skills, talents, and stats. My biggest reach may be Skal, but everything I've seen from him makes me truly believe that he will contend for national player of the year next season. I'm saying we have a collection of very good players that can fill necessary roles to make a great team, and compete for a championship like the fans want.

Also, your name seems familiar, and not necessarily in a good way.
 
Very good points OP. I think a lot of people have underestimated this team. Charles Matthews is one player that IMO is one that will surprise quite a few fans. The biggest question is Lee and Poythress. Lee will have to step up his game and I hope he is doing that. Poythress how good can he come back from his injury? If we don't have any more injuries we should have another run year.
 
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Briscoe and skal are not ordinary players. Very excited for them. Add in the fact that cal does not need to teach the basics to a new pg and

Like others have noted. We only need to go 7 deep, our starting five is very very good.

Ulis
Briscoe
Tbd
Poy
Skal
 
Very good points OP. I think a lot of people have underestimated this team. Charles Matthews is one player that IMO is one that will surprise quite a few fans. The biggest question is Lee and Poythress. Lee will have to step up his game and I hope he is doing that. Poythress how good can he come back from his injury? If we don't have any more injuries we should have another run year.

Agreed. I don't know if we can really gauge Lee's improvements due to his lack of PT. WCS was literally just that good, to the point that you couldn't take him off the floor because of his unique defensive abilities at this time. Lee does the little things more often that WCS did though, which I love. WCS rarely attacked the rim for rebounds and put backs, and those are plays that change games tremendously.
Only time will tell if Poythress comes back like I hope and expect him to.
 
Briscoe and skal are not ordinary players. Very excited for them. Add in the fact that cal does not need to teach the basics to a new pg and

Like others have noted. We only need to go 7 deep, our starting five is very very good.

Ulis
Briscoe
Tbd
Poy
Skal

This is how I viewed it. I've been so back and forth on Mulder and Matthews, but this seems to be like a good scenario where we don't know who the 3 will be. We have 2 very good candidates, both are big enough, long enough, and athletic enough to be great college small forwards. The other could come in and back up Briscoe, or back up the other SF. Briscoe could back up Ulis if needed, and both could come in and play. A lot of possibilities.
 
Most interesting thing about this team is how much of Ulis's leadership and Briscoe's fire will improve the team over summer.
 
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I really don't think the fans have looked at the 7 or 8 players we do have coming back and coming in that are all at the top of their positions. I think the ? is how good will Poy coming back after injury, and how good will Marcus Lee be next year. I do believe he is working extra time to get to the level he needs to be at next year. I hope they are working with him on developing a 10-12 ft shot. We all know how Lee can be around the Rim and he has excellent hands and is a good rebounder and defender. There were alot of times I wanted Lee in the lineup over Dakari Johnson last year. I felt that Lee brought more excitement to the team when he was in the Lineup. We all have see how well Skai Labissiere can score and if he gets 30-35 minutes of playing time he can easily score 20ppg and 10+rpg. Then we have Poy at the 4 or 3 and we all know how he was his Senior year in high school and his 1st year when he started out the gates pretty good as a freshman. He was draining 3's in his last year of High School and averaging 30ppg. and 10rpg. I would love to see the consistent shooter and 3 point shooter that Poy once had in senior year of HS and his first games as freshman were not bad. Then with Ullis and Briscoe at the guards and Matthews and Mulder playing the 3 or SG so UK can go with a 3 guard lineup sometimes. That would be interesting. If we could add Murray in the next month or two that would be the icing on the cake with who we have coming in this year to go along with who came back from last year's team. We even have two 4-star players of the bench in Willis and Hawkins. Coach Cal will get back to his 7-8 player rotation so that these Elite Players in 2016 and going forward will see he in fact is not Platooning for sure anymore and that gets these Elite recruits for 2016 to start Committing for next year.
 
Nice uplifting post, and I'd like to agree with it. Thing is, post like these go up every year about UK's incoming class. All these same things were said about every incoming player since Cal came to UK. Then when the season starts we begin to see reality. Rarely are any of these players as dominate as the predictions. AD proved to be better than his hype but name anyone else that lived up to his lofty preseason expectations? There were post here Cals first year that said Wall was unstoppable, that he could score at will anywhere anytime. Wall was good shooter but not a great shooter. if we needed a basket he could usually get it by driving to the rim but he was not money for the 3. I'm not saying that we didn't have some great players but rarely do they live up the god like super hero's that fans give them before they ever see Rupp. Next year will be the same. There will be a learning curve and a few of these guys will emerge as very very good players and hopefully there's a AD in the mix. while some will not meet the lofty and forgive the verbiage but exaggerated expectations. All that said, I'm looking for an exciting season and hope to see a final four team come March/April.
The passive aggressive troll makes his appearance. The name speaks for itself.
 
Don't know anything about the incoming guys, but of the ones coming back, I have the most confidence in Ulis. He is going to be the leader from day 1. What remains to be seen is what UK gets from the others. Poythress and Lee certainly have potential, but will it ever be realized? Lee has all the athletic ability in the world, but will his mental game catch up with his physical ability. The team is counting on him to stay on the court, not have the same mindlessness and blown assignments that he had this past season. He says he's in the gym. Will that pay off with better free throw shooting and the ability to hit shots out to 10 feet? We will see.

What I want to see from Poythress is to be the senior leader that Miller was in 2012. He may not lead the team in any statistical category, but he needs to be the one to bring the team together in tough situations and also step up when needed as Miller did.
 
Did you really just post Mulder will have a good chance to go in the lottery? Maybe the most insane thing I have ever seen posted in my life. Some of you have such high hopes for everyone that plays for UK. No wonder ppl think you fans are idiots lol.
 
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This coming yrs team will be different, but I still thank they will be very good, they will have a great pt guard and lots of experience with Poy and the new players coming in will be very good, plus I thank Lee, Willis and Hawkings will surprise a lot of folks..
 
I'm actually not too worried about lees ft shooting. Okafor was terrible too. He went to the line a lot more than Lee will next year. If Lee will learn how to pass out if situations to Poythress and skal. I think our fromtcourt will be pretty good. Lee just needs to play cleanup down low and outback dunks
 
here we go again. this board has been perfectly content the last month and a half to second guess, bash belittle and wring hands of last years team and coach; and begin the same for next years...
go blow you sunshine up some other board. RR's aint wanna heard none of that,dem be luking to qureel and scrap.
jk,jk ty for some good points
 
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