Which Kentucky roster of recent years would you compare next year's team to?
I think the 2017 team, a 2-seed that got Rofereed on the way to a fluke last-second shot loss in the Elite Eight to eventual champion UNC-Cheats is the closest.
Not trying to match up position-by-position, but player by player, in three tiers:
1. Fr. DeAaron Fox -- Fr. Cason Wallace. Both Top 5 recruits about whom much was/is expected.
2. Fr. Malik Mony -- Fr. Chris Livingston. Top Ten recruits in strong classes. Again, much expected.
3. Fr. Bam Adebayo -- Sr. Oscar Tschiewbe. There were high expectations for Bam, which he mostly met. Oscar is returning NPOY.
4. So. Isaiah Briscoe - Sr. Sahvir Wheeler. Key players, both perhaps underrated. Wheeler has proven more.
5. F. Wenyen Gabriel - Jr. Jacob Toppin. Toppin has proven more and has much more potential.
6. Sr. Mychal Mulder - Jr. CJ Fredrick. Clear edge here, assuming Fredrick is healthy.
7. So. Isaac Humphries - Jr. Lance Ware. One would probably take Humphries as a back-up center, based on what they'd done heading into the season. I think Ware may surprise.
8. F. Sacha Killyea-Jones - So. Damion Collins. I love Collins' potential. Let's leave it at that.
9. Sr. Derek Willis - Sr. Antonio Reeves. This is an interesting comparison to me. Reeves is a real wildcard for 2022-23.
10. Sr. Dom Hawkins - So. Adou Thiero. Certainly this is a place where the 2017 team had better depth, unless Thiero is a pleasant surprise.
So, both teams went into the season with, essentially, ten-man rosters. Which one was more talented? Well, we know how Fox and Monk turned out. Wallace and Livingston are ranked about the same. But that's no guarantee. Bam was very good, but I think we tend to remember him at his best. He had freshman growing pains, for sure. We know what we have in Oscar. Beyond each team's three best players, I think an objective person would give an edge in talent and experience to 22-23. Of course, it goes without saying that injuries and other things will be factors.
I think the 2017 team, a 2-seed that got Rofereed on the way to a fluke last-second shot loss in the Elite Eight to eventual champion UNC-Cheats is the closest.
Not trying to match up position-by-position, but player by player, in three tiers:
1. Fr. DeAaron Fox -- Fr. Cason Wallace. Both Top 5 recruits about whom much was/is expected.
2. Fr. Malik Mony -- Fr. Chris Livingston. Top Ten recruits in strong classes. Again, much expected.
3. Fr. Bam Adebayo -- Sr. Oscar Tschiewbe. There were high expectations for Bam, which he mostly met. Oscar is returning NPOY.
4. So. Isaiah Briscoe - Sr. Sahvir Wheeler. Key players, both perhaps underrated. Wheeler has proven more.
5. F. Wenyen Gabriel - Jr. Jacob Toppin. Toppin has proven more and has much more potential.
6. Sr. Mychal Mulder - Jr. CJ Fredrick. Clear edge here, assuming Fredrick is healthy.
7. So. Isaac Humphries - Jr. Lance Ware. One would probably take Humphries as a back-up center, based on what they'd done heading into the season. I think Ware may surprise.
8. F. Sacha Killyea-Jones - So. Damion Collins. I love Collins' potential. Let's leave it at that.
9. Sr. Derek Willis - Sr. Antonio Reeves. This is an interesting comparison to me. Reeves is a real wildcard for 2022-23.
10. Sr. Dom Hawkins - So. Adou Thiero. Certainly this is a place where the 2017 team had better depth, unless Thiero is a pleasant surprise.
So, both teams went into the season with, essentially, ten-man rosters. Which one was more talented? Well, we know how Fox and Monk turned out. Wallace and Livingston are ranked about the same. But that's no guarantee. Bam was very good, but I think we tend to remember him at his best. He had freshman growing pains, for sure. We know what we have in Oscar. Beyond each team's three best players, I think an objective person would give an edge in talent and experience to 22-23. Of course, it goes without saying that injuries and other things will be factors.