Goose on Leach Report

[K_TIME]

Good teams need two or at a minimum one go make a play type guy. Doesn’t matter what kind of offense you run. Play makers are play makers. They matter.

But many teams can generate offense just thru better spacing, ball movement, screens and player movement. Nuggets create a fair amount of offense just by certain sets on floor with multiple players that can shoot, pass and dribble (even when Jokic is resting).

For sure there are longer spans that having amazing player/players you need to score when defense is set....but with Cal it was almost exclusively, clear out with a single ball screen up top and the rest of the players just standing with little to no movement. Wasn't crazy hard to guard most of his teams.

 

[IL Wildcat]

I think Pope will get that scoring DUDE starting in the next recruiting cycle. It's hard to build a team up from nothing as a brand new coach and only being able to use the portal.

You may be right, but then again, there are still 4 spots open on the roster and Pope has said he's looking to use some spots for guys who have declared but end up withdrawing. So, one of those could be our DUDE.

I will say, as others here have mentioned, and having looked at the way Pope's teams have run offense, when you have 5 guys on the floor all moving, screening, back cutting, running to corners, looking to work as a well-oiled machine to get the best look, it's not a necessity to have a guy who can create for himself while everyone else clears out. A great example of that to me was Tennessee's team this last season with Dalton Knecht. They had a good season, but we all saw that their offense became Knecht by himself at the end of games, and sometimes even earlier in games. And a guy like that is rare to begin with, but even he couldn't carry them to a title. Pope's offense (out of necessity due to lack of being able to recruit the top guys) is based on outworking and outsmarting the opponent as a team. That's why BYU won 20+ games with a team full of 3-stars and a couple 4-stars.

 

[Ukgold]

I trust papa pope and the boom crew at this point mire than the universe of Cal. All Pope wants is to win..We all know all cal really wants is 10 5stars on draft night in the greenroom. It should look different

 

[trueblujr2]

We can start three guards and two of Carr/Williams/Garrison and have four legit shooters on the floor. The problem we face lacking a forward is if we run into a night when the shots just aren't falling and we need to play more of an inside game. That's where retaining a guy like Thiero would have been nice, but that ship has sailed.

 

[catfan220]

UConn also had two lottery picks.

And those two lottery picks took the 4th and 5th most shots on the team... sound familiar?

 

[BlueRunner11]

I mean, he's got an offensive scheme that promotes open shots and movements/cuts to the basket and he's already loaded the roster with multiple 40%+ 3 point shooters in multiple positions.

Yea, having a 'star' would help (I'm personally hoping everyday Robinson comes here) but this whole 'go get a basket' that people like marble mouth Goodman are pushing is way overblown I think

Yeah there’s multiple guys on the roster that can do that. Running an actual play, getting a shot off and not turning it over will be an improvement from the last few years.

 

[catfan220]

If you don’t have guys that can break down the defense and/or command a double team, those spot up shooters have a hard time getting good looks. Not saying they don’t have that, but for an offense like this it becomes pretty important. That shot clock starts getting really short when you don’t have somebody that demands the defenses attention. Like I said, maybe they have that guy already, but it’s necessary with the kind of roster they have at the moment.

The BYU offense involved so many screens, double screens, PnRs, off-ball backdoor cuts, DHOs, quick passing, motion, and ball reversals that more possessions than you might expect end up with one-on-one, beat your guy type buckets. But that was possible because the motion inevitably led to mismatches that BYU wanted to exploit. Big on little in the post, or little on big on the perimeter. Super fun offense to watch, having now replayed most of 8 BYU games from last season. I think the better caliber of player, shooter, and athlete Pope is getting/will get at Kentucky is going to work for his offense really well. I wish we a summer international trip to let the guys work on it a bit this year, with an entirely new team to coach up.

 

[blue cincy]

I mean, he's got an offensive scheme that promotes open shots and movements/cuts to the basket and he's already loaded the roster with multiple 40%+ 3 point shooters in multiple positions.

Yea, having a 'star' would help (I'm personally hoping everyday Robinson comes here) but this whole 'go get a basket' that people like marble mouth Goodman are pushing is way overblown I think

Think of a type of Princeton offense. Really never had a DUDE but had guys fit a system. Pope is not bogged down to a single offense (by watching some BYU games) as he sets up different offense depending on who he had on the floor.

 

[sosoblue]

We still need 5 star guys but now we have a COACH to bring the best out of them.

 

[blue cincy]

I am more excited to see what defensive schemes Pope and staff scheme with the players signed. This is a man to man team, 1-3-1 team for sure (Butler up top), Oweh down low with Williams, Carr and (Brea or other player) on the wing. 3-2, 1-2-2 and so forth. Along with switching schemes to confuse teams. If you put in the right combo you could have a good press team as well.

Rebounding will be something to keep an eye on. Depending on players on the floor. Williams, sure, garrison yes, Carr yes, (rest of the guys) will have to see. But man body really helps with rebounding. Will be fun year to watch us morph into Pope's vision of the new KENTUCKY BRAND!

 

[Cawood86]

Easy for Goose to say. Joe B. Hall ran a real offense too -- that worked when you had Goose.

Goose had some help bud...guys named Macy, Robey, and Philipps and James Lee

 

[tug1543]

In my opinion based on watching Perry in person and both Chandler and Perry on multiple Youtube videos I am convinced we already have "dudes" in those two players that can get a clutch basket regardless of who is guarding them and the pressure involved. I watched clips of Chandler when he played in the 2022 Nike Summit HS tournament. His lateral quickness, and ability to go from warp speed to a dead stop in a split second are unbelievable. He has a very quick release and is a dead eye shot from 3pt range. Perry has the entire package and kicks his performance into another gear when the game is on the line. I expect both of these players to log a minimum of 25 minutes each by the time the SEC games kick off in January. If we have 5 players that are better than Perry or Chandler then Barney needs to dust off the trophy case and make an appointment for FEDEX to deliver # 9 NCAA trophy to Rupp arena,

 

[RondoBaller21]

Robinson will be that dude.

 

[blue cincy]

Easy for Goose to say. Joe B. Hall ran a real offense too -- that worked when you had Goose.

Go check that offense in 1975 goose came off the bench. early 80s again some good teams that had different guys score. each team will always develop the guy. Jack was the guy and then some. Hall was the 3rd best coach at UK. Won as many championships as Cal in less years. went to 3 final fours to Cals 4 and so forth. Look at BCG if you want teams that did not do anything.
Hall was great defense minded as well. Not defending Hall but UK played teams like LSU and Tennessee and they had go to guys and you knew where the ball was going at the end of the games. UK you might get Jack a shot, Roby a shot, Macy a shot, Johnson and so forth.

 

[jwphelps]

Saying exactly what I’ve been thinking. Basically that because Pope runs a real offense (unlike Cal), it becomes much less important to have that “go make a play” guy.

He said he still wants a guy like that, but it would be more of a luxury now and not a necessity.

Goose is so right, Cal rolled the ball out and said drive to the basket or make a play, with freshmen who never even knew each other this system was a hit or miss. Really good coaches have offenses, players know where each other are going to be, who is cutting etc, the offense will get players shots if executed. Where as Cal just rolled the ball out and yelled make a play.

 

[ukfan1622]

UConn also had two lottery picks.

But one of those was NOT "the guy" on offense; Clingan is a lottery pick because of his size and defense and rebounding and having some offense.

 

[blue cincy]

CMP's offense is based on moving the ball with passing (not dribbling) and running cutters off 1 and/or 2 screens, not 1 on 1 play. If defense sags to defend cutters, you have 1 or 2 outside the 3 point line looking for a pass. Unlike COW's "offense" there is no "go make a play" being your main offense. BYU liked to get an early shot off a break if available, then run the cutter/screen action if not. I watched 5 games and rarely saw a player having to create his own shot or the clock shot run out.

With the screening, the opponent's defense has to determine to either sag and play the cutter, giving up the 3 point shot, or play tight on the cutter which allows a pass to be made to the cutter coming of the screen for a layup. There is little help side defense as the defensive player does not want to come off their man as it opens up the cutter passing the ball outside for a 3 point shot. Kelvin Sampson when asked how to defend BYU just shook his head and said it was the most difficult team to prepare for defensively.

I also noticed CMP used his bench often. Don't know the minutes per player breakdown but he had fresh legs to run this offense on the floor at all times. Whereas Pitino pressured the opponent with defense, CMP seems to pressure the opponent with his offense. It is tiring having to play defense anyway and the constant movement of CMP's offense makes it even more so. For this reason, I think he will play 9, 10, or 11 players in a game.

The talent that is on board at present is enough to be successful and compete. The main weakness will be that none have ever played together and this cohesiveness can only be attained with game action. Also, I don't understand how long it might take for next year's team to master this offense. It will be foreign to every incoming player so the early season games will truly be a test for "our new team." Fortunately, we will have a very veteran team with mostly 5th year players, instead of mostly 5* freshmen that Ellen's roommate preferred.

I think there will be some early losses before SEC play begins but feel that CMP and staff will bring these guys along and have a tough team to deal with later in the SEC regular season.

Just the Kansas Box score had 8 guys with 17 to 31 minutes and 1 with 7 minutes. He plays a ton of guys. This roster has right now will have something similar.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

If you don’t have guys that can break down the defense and/or command a double team, those spot up shooters have a hard time getting good looks. Not saying they don’t have that, but for an offense like this it becomes pretty important. That shot clock starts getting really short when you don’t have somebody that demands the defenses attention. Like I said, maybe they have that guy already, but it’s necessary with the kind of roster they have at the moment.

Lol. Somebody has been watching Cal offenses for too long. Think less dribble, nobody camped on the baseline, more screens, and open cutting lanes. You don't necessarily have to have a guy to "make a play". The offense does a pretty good job of getting the play. The key is having enough shooters on the floor. One non-shooter is doable, two isn't.

 

[JrandoUK]

Easy for Goose to say. Joe B. Hall ran a real offense too -- that worked when you had Goose.

And Macy, James Lee, twin towers etc…

 

[Eagles_Ball]

Just based on what I’ve watched from BYU’s action that spot up guy is usually getting free from the side zoom action or that double high screen pick with the butt screen that can hit the cutter or kick out to the spot up you if his man tries to help off/hard hedge the first screen.

Every team wants a guy that can get a basket if there’s a breakdown. The problem was the previous coach’s entire core offensive strategy was predicated off the dribble and shooters could spot up with help from the penetration. But it leads to stagnation and teams packing it in to cut off the drives.

I think this offense is going to be so drastically different it will take time for UK fans to change their perception of what fits the new system best.

Couldn't agree with all of this any more if I had to. Spot on.

 

[sluggercatfan]

If you don’t have guys that can break down the defense and/or command a double team, those spot up shooters have a hard time getting good looks. Not saying they don’t have that, but for an offense like this it becomes pretty important. That shot clock starts getting really short when you don’t have somebody that demands the defenses attention. Like I said, maybe they have that guy already, but it’s necessary with the kind of roster they have at the moment.

MP"s is so much more. Go watch some BYU games from this season.

 

[ib4ky]

2023/24: RANDOM OFFENSE, run ghost motion at top of key (with little purpose) or to shorten shot clock.......

2024/25: 5-OUT OFFENSE, Run ghost action at top of key (with options) or to get backdoor cut layups......

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

 

[G-PIP]

I think Pope will get that scoring DUDE starting in the next recruiting cycle. It's hard to build a team up from nothing as a brand new coach and only being able to use the portal.

I agree that it has to have been more difficult for Pope & Co. trying to build almost entirely from the portal this season. But I think the scoring dudes are going to continue to come from the portal. It's hard to keep guys that blow up, especially with the spotlight they get at UK; and freshmen are best being developed off the bench or as a role player in a starting lineup.

 

[G-PIP]

Duke will have a lot of youth too.
They have embraced the one and done and it hasn't taken them to a ff since 2015.

Duke, for whatever reason, has seemed to have had much better luck retaining some of those freshmen for an extra year than UK did. But it also meant they lost guys to the portal after their freshman year who had to play behind the returning guys. That hurts. A team puts a year into developing that "talent" and then somebody else gets the benefit of it.

 

[BigRedMachineBigBlueNation]

Goose is so right, Cal rolled the ball out and said drive to the basket or make a play, with freshmen who never even knew each other this system was a hit or miss. Really good coaches have offenses, players know where each other are going to be, who is cutting etc, the offense will get players shots if executed. Where as Cal just rolled the ball out and yelled make a play.

Cal ‘s offense was out talent the opponent which worked half of the time by the end of his career. We made Fun of the “Cal rolls the ball out” comments early only for it to be proven later.

 

[BigRedMachineBigBlueNation]

Lol. Somebody has been watching Cal offenses for too long. Think less dribble, nobody camped on the baseline, more screens, and open cutting lanes. You don't necessarily have to have a guy to "make a play". The offense does a pretty good job of getting the play. The key is having enough shooters on the floor. One non-shooter is doable, two isn't.

Movement! Something Cal’s offenses didn’t have I’m excited to see some movement. His offenses were so stagnant and ugly to watch.

 

[Elliott Tim]

Duke, for whatever reason, has seemed to have had much better luck retaining some of those freshmen for an extra year than UK did. But it also meant they lost guys to the portal after their freshman year who had to play behind the returning guys. That hurts. A team puts a year into developing that "talent" and then somebody else gets the benefit of it.

It creates an air of greater parity.