Am I the only one that thinks UK is the team to beat this season?

[Fox2monk]

A little bit of a bummer to hear about the defense since we have like three guys who were their conference DPOY. However, it can improve and I think we will have a staff that will gameplan and play different d styles for the game and moment.

I definitely think they will be pretty good defensively, we have some pieces it will just take time to become a good unit together. I’m happy to hear the offense looks that good because I was more worried about that. I bet after last year it will be better.

 

[Fox2monk]

Jones TBT said that the team is better than he thought they would be but didn't think they was national title contenders. Said that defense will be an issue even though we have three elite defenders. Also a problem only having one go to guy in Robinson. Commented that Robinson is way better than anyone else. Perry WILL play IF he can guard. Also mentioned that only one player has not been what they hoped for.

Wonder which player that is.

 

[Fox2monk]

Ohhh damn that’s tempting. If I win I won’t need my truck for about 5 years.

Remember 24% of that is going to Uncle Sam so about a year of that plan comes off the top.

 

[zoid1]

I think the offense will be fine we have what 109 points per game among the 9 players coming in. I bet we can score with anybody. It's gonna be how well we stop the other teams in crucial possession's that determines how good we are. I mean the team last year could shoot lights out and score in bunches it just played horrible defense all season.

 

[Cleatortoises]

Is it at all possible, that the offense is so kick ass, that even the DPOY's can't eff with it?
109 is a large number.

 

[ukfan1622]

Think about it..we not only have a killer roster but we have a competent coach! We not only have talent but we have big time experience! We also have a Pitino guy.

Thats a deadly combo that we really havent had since 1997.

I'm agree with you 100%. So what if the government says I have mental problems; it's nothing cure don't drugs.

 

[zoid1]

Almoror 16.4
Robinson 14.2
Carr 13.5
Williams 12.2(13.7 year before)
Oweh 11.4
Brea 11.1
Krissa 11.0
Butler 9.3
Garrison 7.5

Perry all-time leader scorer in KY HS basketball history, KY Mr. Basketball
Noah 5th all-time leading scorer in KY HS basketball history
Chandler top 40 recruit avg 24 his Senior year of HS, Utah Mr. Basketball
That's 106.6 points per game not counting Perry, Noah and Chandler who are all know for shooting and scoring. Pope is a offensive genius who knows how to put points on the board. I don't think we will have a problem scoring with anybody in the nation.

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

Wonder which player that is.

That is what I would like to know. One guy they have not talked about much is Almonor. And of course Brea hasn't practiced much so maybe his injury wasn't expected? Just speculation though. Pretty much said the offense will not be an issue for winning the title. Said when we are hot on some nights there will be some blowouts and when we have an off night will still have to out score people, kind of like last year I suspect. But we should be able to wear a few people down with our depth. One writer said we had two 'elite' point guards in Butler and Kriisa.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

Yes, but almost everyone of the 9 guys wanted to go pro. They just couldnt make the case.
Honestly, I do not know about Pope yet. He had a few big wins during the season but still finished no where close to the top tier in the BIG 12. I sure hope he proves to be what we want but I am going to wait until after a couple of tough games before saying we are the team to beat. Right now I am hoping we can finish top 5 in the SEC.

Kentucky has an all star team full of talent, size, shooters and experience. Yet many of you seem gun shy to accept that we are going to be elite; I can only guess the reason is the biased media’s hesitance to say we are. But remember, they all hate us because its UKs birthright to be the Kings of College Basketball.
We have the best on ball defender in Butler, the best 2 guard in Robinson and the best three point shooter in Brea.
That doesn't even scratch the surface regarding the size, depth and shooting ability of this team.
We are going to run Duke silly.
“Then” maybe some of you guys will start to come around to my prediction.
Im just glad we play Duke early in Nov. so it wont take long for me to be vindicated.
That prediction?
#9

 

[cat tat2]

I have no idea how good this team will be. That said, I’m excited for a fresh start.

 

[Zissou87]

Kentucky has an all star team full of talent, size, shooters and experience. Yet many of you seem gun shy to accept that we are going to be elite; I can only guess the reason is the biased media’s hesitance to say we are. But remember, they all hate us because its UKs birthright to be the Kings of College Basketball.
We have the best on ball defender in Butler, the best 2 guard in Robinson and the best three point shooter in Brea.
That doesn't even scratch the surface regarding the size, depth and shooting ability of this team.
We are going to run Duke silly.
“Then” maybe some of you guys will start to come around to my prediction.
Im just glad we play Duke early in Nov. so it wont take long for me to be vindicated.
That prediction?
#9

Define "All-star" because outside of Jaxson Robinson, I don't see any.

 

[Fox2monk]

That is what I would like to know. One guy they have not talked about much is Almonor. And of course Brea hasn't practiced much so maybe his injury wasn't expected? Just speculation though. Pretty much said the offense will not be an issue for winning the title. Said when we are hot on some nights there will be some blowouts and when we have an off night will still have to out score people, kind of like last year I suspect. But we should be able to wear a few people down with our depth. One writer said we had two 'elite' point guards in Butler and Kriisa.

I’m hoping Almonor is really good here. He seems like the kind of player at a small school who always kills it in March. I loved his defense honestly from the tape I watched. He’s really smart about his positioning. He can shoot the ball as well. I don’t expect him to be all SEC but a solid 20MPG guy who can guard the post and stretch the floor on offense.

 

[bthaunert]

My goals for this years squad:

1. No really bad losses in the regular season. We have had a few recently. UNC Wilmington in 23/24, 11-21 USC in 22/23, Richmond in 20/21, etc.
2. 3-2 at worst in the big OOC games (Ohio State, Duke, Gonzaga, UL, Clemson)
3. Make it to the weekend of the SEC Tournament
4. Make it to the 2nd weekend of the NCAA Tournament

I'm excited about Pope, but I'm also cautious. His 0-2 mark in the NCAA Tournament (both 6 seeds losing to an 11 seed) is the big thing that tempers my expectations.

 

[BlobUK]

Cal isn't coaching us this year. That's a massive win!.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

Define "All-star" because outside of Jaxson Robinson, I don't see any.

Lets put it like this, one doesn't have to score 20 ppg to be labeled an all star in college basketball.
-Best on the ball defender and big shot Butler
-Best three point shooter in Brea
-Possibly the best low post defender in Amari Williams
-All these guys avg double figures in scoring last season.
-We have the #1 and #5 all time Ky HS scorers coming in
How much longer do I have to spoon feed you guys? I work!

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

Surprised we was picked 9th in the conference. All the older proven type guys we have, that means a whole lot. And we go at least two deep at every position quality wise.

 

[zoid1]

The media is not going to make us the bell of the ball even with Pope. They just think ok here's a coach 0-2 in the big dance middle of the pack big 12 standing. UK's roster has a lot of proven players but no Impact frosh like Flagg or super upperclassmen All-America. That's why we're ranked so low pre-season. Plus teams and coaches like Self, Hurley, Scheyer etc have had that system in place for years and players who know it coming back. We don't YET.

I know what most on here know is that we have a hungry great coach back at his alma mater ready to go big time. 6 super seniors, another regular senior, a Junior, soph and 3 really good frosh. We could have that star in Robinson, Oweh or Carr. The experience we have so the learning curve for the system should be fairly easy to the 9 upperclassmen. I think if we beat Duke early and don't lose to any no names out of conference we'll get ranked high pretty fast. The SEC is gonna be a dog fight every night but if we win the games at home and a few on the road we're good. At least make it to Sat in the SEC T and get a decent seed. Go to the second weekend hopefully beyond in the NCAA T. Land a big fish in recruiting before next season. Have Oweh and Garrison come back with the frosh. Then we will get some respect and be annually pre-season top 10.