Any chance at Ament?

[Bluegrassking]

I agree that I would like for Pope to check that box. But I'm not sure that one comes if the other does! These freshman want immediate playing time regardless if they are ready or not.

If I have to pick one of the 2, I'm probably picking the portal player, unless it's a Davis, wall, cousins ect!

The issue with that mentality is you never can be certain they are Davis, Wall, or Cousins until they prove it.

We will have to take some risks or we will quickly discover we are building to middling due to lack of upside and star power.

I've always felt a balance is needed between potential one and dones, portal talent, and development of 3 and 4 stars over time.

It is all of the above, carefully balanced.

 

[North Carolina Blue Wildcat]

I’m over one and done kids.. give me a roster like we have now every year and I believe we hang 9 soon. Pope is a fantastic coach and teacher, he is the real difference maker for us.

 

[Edgarman]

Ament being seen as a Duke lean is funny, for years we had recruits saying if so and so is going to Kentucky, then I’m going somewhere else. I never hear anybody that’s going to Duke worry about who’s there or who’s going there, seems odd to me. Can’t but 5 people play at once yet they all line up like they are following the pied piper. Splinter is gone now, but I have a hunch he’s still heavily involved.

I thought Duke, Louisville, and TN were his top 3 teams. Has that changed? I thought we spend our efforts on Wilson and did not heavily recruit Ament and he wrote us off. If this is true why even waste time on him?

 

[electricat2]

I thought Duke, Louisville, and TN were his top 3 teams. Has that changed? I thought we spend our efforts on Wilson and did not heavily recruit Ament and he wrote us off. If this is true why even waste time on him?

kind of the jist i got.
but with nil who knows

 

[Wonky]

If you want to recruit him or anyone in that ranking area-you better understand they will want a lot of $$$. If you want to invest that time, then be prepared to close. Otherwise, don't waste your time and focus on guys who are happy with financial discussions and willing to come to Lexington. Who is the UK GM on Pope's Staff? The amount of $/resources are available to get these type of players too. It's not a lack of funding.

What’s your personal opinion on whether these players should be pursued or not, versus portal options?

 

[FtWorthCat]

Oweh is a Junior and could return, correct? If so, right now the depth chart for next year would be something like:

PG-Kriisa/Perry/Lewis
SG-Oweh/Chandler
SF-Johnson/Noah
PF-Garrison/Almonor?
C-Moreno

So we need a couple of big men out of the portal and we should be set, assuming no one transfers. Maybe another guard, but I expect significant develop from the returning players from this season.

 

[Titpwhami2014]

Oweh is a Junior and could return, correct? If so, right now the depth chart for next year would be something like:

PG-Kriisa/Perry/Lewis
SG-Oweh/Chandler
SF-Johnson/Noah
PF-Garrison/Almonor?
C-Moreno

So we need a couple of big men out of the portal and we should be set, assuming no one transfers. Maybe another guard, but I expect significant develop from the returning players from this season.

I think we’re looking at:

PG - Lewis/Perry
SG - Portal/Johnson
SF - Oweh/Chandler/Noah
PF - Portal/Almonor
C - Garrison/Moreno

And then maybe one more portal that can swing between the 4/5.

 

[AJG-15]

If you want to recruit him or anyone in that ranking area-you better understand they will want a lot of $$$. If you want to invest that time, then be prepared to close. Otherwise, don't waste your time and focus on guys who are happy with financial discussions and willing to come to Lexington. Who is the UK GM on Pope's Staff? The amount of $/resources are available to get these type of players too. It's not a lack of funding.

I agree .
Do we really believe that Ament can start at UK playing against the grown man in SEC ?
Do we think he wants to be developed and be a multi year player?

If the answer is no at any of these two questions why would waste time and money on him?

Are we trying again to be number one on recruiting and first team to exist the NCAA tournament?

 

[true blue1]

I think we’re looking at:

PG - Lewis/Perry
SG - Portal/Johnson
SF - Oweh/Chandler/Noah
PF - Portal/Almonor
C - Garrison/Moreno

And then maybe one more portal that can swing between the 4/5.

This.

 

[Padsfs07]

I’m over one and done kids.. give me a roster like we have now every year and I believe we hang 9 soon. Pope is a fantastic coach and teacher, he is the real difference maker for us.

This is the last year of the Covid seniors, unless the rule changes. Plus we have a rather low ceiling this year for a top 10 team. I love this team too but I don’t think they can last in the tourney.

 

[Padsfs07]

I agree .
Do we really believe that Ament can start at UK playing against the grown man in SEC ?
Do we think he wants to be developed and be a multi year player?

If the answer is no at any of these two questions why would waste time and money on him?

Are we trying again to be number one on recruiting and first team to exist the NCAA tournament?

Ament is a consensus top 5 player. He will absolutely start where ever he goes.

He’s more of a SF than Wilson. Excellent shooter, skinny though. A lot like Brandon Ingram maybe.

 

[AJG-15]

Ament is a consensus top 5 player. He will absolutely start where ever he goes.

He’s more of a SF than Wilson. Excellent shooter, skinny though. A lot like Brandon Ingram maybe.

Isn’t the same guy from Highlands / DMV? I have seen him play …. You didn’t answer my question can he hold his own at 4 against SeC players? There is one thing to play against 6”4 and 6”5 guys and shoot over them vs banging against 22 years old that have 50lbs on you and same height and skills.

I don’t care about consensus top 5 players….. that can go both ways….for every Bam you get a Skal and for every Shaq you get a Kwame Brown….

 

[FtWorthCat]

Yep . I’ll say it again. There has been only ONE top 10 freshman on a national championship team since 2015 . Coming into this year Dan Hurley had signed exactly ONE top 30 guy since he’s been at UCONN .

Maybe so, but Clingan was clearly under ranked, if he wasn't the one. Or Castle, take your pick.

 

[yoshukai]

Maybe so, but Clingan was clearly under ranked, if he wasn't the one. Or Castle, take your pick.

Im sure there’s “under ranked” kids in every class . And we’ve seen first hand that there are “ over ranked “ kids in every class . So you’re saying you can’t go by rankings ? The fact is, Castle was borderline top ten and he’s the ONLY top 30 kid that Hurley has signed. This is about rankings not how they turned out.

 

[Padsfs07]

It’s a clever stat since there’s been 8 champions in that time. I also think the stat is more of an indictment of Duke and Kentucky who were getting 40% of the top ten each year. Also you had teams like Villanova, Virginia, Baylor, and the first UConn team winning it with teams that UK can’t really replicate.

Only KU UNC and the 2nd UConn team are models we can emulate. Maybe the Brunson led Nova teams

 

[FtWorthCat]

Im sure there’s “under ranked” kids in every class . And we’ve seen first hand that there are “ over ranked “ kids in every class . So you’re saying you can’t go by rankings ? The fact is, Castle was borderline top ten and he’s the ONLY top 30 kid that Hurley has signed. This is about rankings not how they turned out.

I get what you are saying and agree in principle. But I'm just saying the only reason Clingan wasn't rated higher was probably the fact he grew up close to UConn, and was going there all along. Because he dominated at UConn, even as a freshman backup.

 

[JonathanW]

We need to get out of the “have to have he shiny high school kid” mindset.

Sure, you go after any highschool kids that are projected lotto coming out of HS. And then you get 1-2 of the 30-50range that show the right mindset of wanting to be here for 2-4 years…..

But the majority of your key pieces should come from the portal. You’ll find an immediate contributor that is equal to, or better than, the not lotto highschool kid. Go get that highly productive soph/Jr from a bubble team….Oweh/Garrison types. Especially with your front court, I’d prefer the 20-22 year old that has developed in the weight room vs the 18 year old stick figure unless they are Davis/Noel aka guaranteed lotto. It’s easier to find highschool guards that are ready for college physicality but the learning curve is steeper w PF/C

I don’t want “the shiny HS kid”, unless he is elite. 5* alone is not enough. We’ve seen lots of 5* simply not live up to the hype, more often than not this happens. But if a guy is a generational player (Cousins, Wall, Davis, Towns) then yes I want those guys. The ones I want to avoid, even if it means occasionally missing out on one who does produce (like Murray or Dillingham) are the ones who aren’t generational players but because of 5* have expectations of being OAD.
So give me the guys who the nba may view as flawed, such as very good but too short for position, or a post player who can’t shoot 3’s, etc…

But yes!!! The Portal needs to be a major piece in roster construction.

 

[B.B.H.]

I like to keep things really simple:

Has Pope earned equity enough to trust him with roster construction?

Yes! Let Mark Pope cook! We will enjoy the fruits of it. No need to sweat about it. This is the least talent Pope will ever have at Kentucky and we are top 10. We will be fine, folks.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

I think we’re looking at:

PG - Lewis/Perry
SG - Portal/Johnson
SF - Oweh/Chandler/Noah
PF - Portal/Almonor
C - Garrison/Moreno

And then maybe one more portal that can swing between the 4/5.

Add a portal point guard to that list. We get 15 scholarships next year, and there's no way Lewis is going to be good enough from day one to lead this team.

 

[EliteBlue]

Excellent point on going after older bigs.

I would rather have 6'9 240 lbs with 1-3 years of college weight training over 6'9, 195 lbs who just went to prom any day. That was one of my biggest complaints with Cal at the end. Some of our freshman bigs were not physically ready to play 30 mpg in the SEC. We often were bullied and manhandled inside.

It’s the difference between freshman Nick Richards and Jr Nick Richards. Johni Broome is another great prototype that grew into an AA NPOY candidate.

 

[yoshukai]

I get what you are saying and agree in principle. But I'm just saying the only reason Clingan wasn't rated higher was probably the fact he grew up close to UConn, and was going there all along. Because he dominated at UConn, even as a freshman backup.

Wish we could get that lucky with Moreno .