Are we drinking the Koolaid?

[LineSkiCat14]

Last year, Roach averaged 13.6 PPG & 3.1 assists on 43% shooting.
Last year, Reeves averaged 14.4 PPG & 1.1 assists on 41% shooting.

Roach had more talent around him so he wasn't asked to score as much, but those numbers could have been 15-16 PPG. Roach moved to SG because a future lottery pick was playing PG, Proctor was a better distributor and the team took off when Proctor got over his freshman woes. Roach has played in a Final 4, Roach has scored 21 points in a Sweet 16 game. Roach is a former 5-star. It's definitely close, but Roach is the better college basketball player.

Reeves shoots better from 3, but that is it. However, Reeves does fit this years UK team better than Roach would, UK needs shooting from 3, not another dribble-drive playmaker like Roach is.

The big difference is this is just Reeves 2nd year at Kentucky, with Cal, and with Cal's staff and some of the same teammates.. but, this is Roaches 4th year. If you ask me, there's a lot more room for growth for Reeves in COLLEGE than there is for Roach. Reevs has had his 20+ point games, he's also had his near FORTY pt games, hes been a leader, he has experience, and again, this is only his 2nd season at an elite program.

We've been over this, Proctor is in no way a sure fire future lottery pick. I explained to you that some mock drafts have him barely in the 1st round. There's a lot of ways to go before he's a top5 pick like some of you think.

And the end is ultimately my point, For whatever you think Roach is as a PG, this list was for SHOOTING GUARD, not GUARD. In no world is Roach a better SG, when that's not even the position he should be playing.. than Antonio Reeves, Kentucky's BEST player last year.

Edit: Roach being a 5* recruit kind of doesn't matter at this point. If you're a 5* recruit and still need 4 years of college ball, then you clearly were over ranked to some degree. Im not convinced that Roach is any better of a basketball player, or pro-prospect, than Reeves is, simply because of his ranking from 5 years ago. This isn't like comparing Reeves to a talent like Jayson Tatum.

 

[BlueBlackNWhite]

The big difference is this is just Reeves 2nd year at Kentucky, with Cal, and with Cal's staff and some of the same teammates.. but, this is Roaches 4th year. If you ask me, there's a lot more room for growth for Reeves in COLLEGE than there is for Roach. Reevs has had his 20+ point games, he's also had his near FORTY pt games, hes been a leader, he has experience, and again, this is only his 2nd season at an elite program.

We've been over this, Proctor is in no way a sure fire future lottery pick. I explained to you that some mock drafts have him barely in the 1st round. There's a lot of ways to go before he's a top5 pick like some of you think.

And the end is ultimately my point, For whatever you think Roach is as a PG, this list was for SHOOTING GUARD, not GUARD. In no world is Roach a better SG, when that's not even the position he should be playing.. than Antonio Reeves, Kentucky's BEST player last year.

Agree to disagree. Reeves is older than Roach, regardless of how many years he has played at a big program or not, generally the younger guy has more room for growth IMO.
We will just have to wait and see with Proctor, but I'd be shocked if he isn't All-ACC and a lottery pick, possibly an All-American.
Reeves may have been Kentucky's best player last year, but lets face it, since 2015 Kentucky's best player would generally be Duke's 3rd or 4th best player so that seems a bit irrelevant to me. And Oscar was Kentuckys best player IMO, regardless of how bad he was on defense or how much he clogged the lane on offense.

 

[Creed Bratton]

I think it's the burn me once shame on you, burn me twice shame on me mentality. We have been preseason top 3-5 several times recently only to flame out and I think they are just gun shy now. I can't really blame them because part of me is optimistic and part of me thinks it may be a wash, rinse and repeat from the last few seasons.

 

[kybassfan]

The ones that are probably most wrong about these predictions are the same ones that think a prediction can be made. It comes down to how well the group accepts the work involved, how well they buy into the extreme importance of team skills and whether they shoulder the responsibilities for defense.

I will say this, I saw a group of kids playing in Canada that seemed willing to pass and seemed willingly to play defense. The competition in Canada was pathetic in that none of the opposing teams really seemed to care. So we don’t know how they will react to a team that views each game as a holy war. The bottom line is predictions at this point are merely distractions and flights of fantasy. 5 to 10 games into the season, the discussion becomes more relevant.

My prediction? I wouldn’t cancel the season just yet. I suspect KY fans and bashers will both have their ups and downs this season. My greatest hope is that we avoid significant injury. I’d really like to say about this team that they got and took their best shot.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Agree to disagree. Reeves is older than Roach, regardless of how many years he has played at a big program or not, generally the younger guy has more room for growth IMO.
We will just have to wait and see with Proctor, but I'd be shocked if he isn't All-ACC and a lottery pick, possibly an All-American.
Reeves may have been Kentucky's best player last year, but lets face it, since 2015 Kentucky's best player would generally be Duke's 3rd or 4th best player so that seems a bit irrelevant to me. And Oscar was Kentuckys best player IMO, regardless of how bad he was on defense or how much he clogged the lane on offense.

There's no "agree to disagree" when you're on our forum. Which.. are you literally just scanning our forums for anytime someone mentions Duke? lol.

Lol what, is one like 23 and the other is 22? When both of them are seniors, their ages really don't matter at this point. It's not like Roach is some underclassmen who never got his chance. He had his chance numerous years and it never quite worked out. And he's now replaced by Proctor. Was Reeves replaced at his position?

Here's some other stats you left out:
Roach played 6 more MPG last season to help that stat line
Reeves shot just shy of 40% from the 3, Roach 34% (I could be wrong here, but I think 3pt shooting is important for SG, but you know, agree to disagree, as they say).
Reeves is actually the height for the SG position at 6-4, where as Roach is undersized at 6-1. Which, may not be a big deal in the end, but it's proof point as to why Roach was never a SG until he lost his job as a PG.

I actually wouldn't be shocked if Roach winds up on the bench in favor of someone like McCain.. thats how much of a difference I think there is between a natural SG in Reeves and a fill in SG in Roach. Pure basketball players? fine you can give that trophy to Roach. But for ranking actual SHOOTING GUARDS it's Reeves all day. And I think you'll see that play out in our favor very quickly.

 

[Creed Bratton]

Agree to disagree. Reeves is older than Roach, regardless of how many years he has played at a big program or not, generally the younger guy has more room for growth IMO.
We will just have to wait and see with Proctor, but I'd be shocked if he isn't All-ACC and a lottery pick, possibly an All-American.
Reeves may have been Kentucky's best player last year, but lets face it, since 2015 Kentucky's best player would generally be Duke's 3rd or 4th best player so that seems a bit irrelevant to me. And Oscar was Kentuckys best player IMO, regardless of how bad he was on defense or how much he clogged the lane on offense.

Tyler Ulis, Jamal Murray, Bam Adebayo, DeAaron Fox, Malik Monk, Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Keldon Johnson, Tyrese Maxey, Immanual Quickley, PJ Washington and Cason Wallace all would have arguably been the top 3 best player on Dukes teams. That doesn't even include Kevin Knox, Hami Diallo, TyTy Washington, Shaedon Sharpe, Isaiah Jackson or Tyler Hero.

*******PSA: This is why you should teach your kids to not do drugs. ********

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I wasn't even going to get into that part lol. It also was more of a troll attempt from a typical "let me play nice for a bit before I show my real intentions" Duke poster. We've seen dozens of his type come through here over the last 10-15 years.

He can poke holes at Reeves being UK's best player last year all he wants.. but it's not like the Duke team went any further in the tournament, or had any better of a season. Roach wouldn't have been a top5 players on UK last year. Just like he was barely a top player on Duke last year.

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

Is the pump primed now?

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

Agree to disagree. Reeves is older than Roach, regardless of how many years he has played at a big program or not, generally the younger guy has more room for growth IMO.
We will just have to wait and see with Proctor, but I'd be shocked if he isn't All-ACC and a lottery pick, possibly an All-American.
Reeves may have been Kentucky's best player last year, but lets face it, since 2015 Kentucky's best player would generally be Duke's 3rd or 4th best player so that seems a bit irrelevant to me. And Oscar was Kentuckys best player IMO, regardless of how bad he was on defense or how much he clogged the lane on offense.

Are you really that ignorant?

 

[SemperFiCat]

Do I like this team? Yes!
Am I excited about this year? Absolutely!

And then I remember who's making in game decisions, and reminded that weird drama is becoming too common. Maybe the experts simply aren't drinking the kool-aid anymore. Isn't all that unreasonable.

 

[BurtAgain]

na

 

[BlueBlackNWhite]

Tyler Ulis, Jamal Murray, Bam Adebayo, DeAaron Fox, Malik Monk, Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Keldon Johnson, Tyrese Maxey, Immanual Quickley, PJ Washington and Cason Wallace all would have arguably been the top 3 best player on Dukes teams. That doesn't even include Kevin Knox, Hami Diallo, TyTy Washington, Shaedon Sharpe, Isaiah Jackson or Tyler Hero.

*******PSA: This is why you should teach your kids to not do drugs. ********

SGA (in college) wasn't better than Marvin Bagley, Wendell Carter, or Grayson Allen. 2018 team. Goes for Kevin Knox & Hami Diallo as well.
Keldon & Maxey were not better than Zion, RJ, or Tre Jones. Again, in college. 2019 team. Goes for Tyler Herro & PJ Washington as well. That was the 118-84 year.
TyTy Washington was nowhere close to Banchero, AJ Griffin, Keels, or Wendell Moore. 2022 team. I'm not sure TyTy Washington plays much had he gone to Duke.

Regardless, and it may have been exaggerated a bit, Duke has had more elite players over the years than UK has.

 

[Titpwhami2014]

If we beat Kansas they’ll change their opinions faster than a John Wall fast break.

 

[BasketBallJunkie-UK]

A lot of the so called analysts have bought into the weak class for freshman. Lumping the guys we have in the weak class is a mistake. We got some dang good players out of that overall weak class. The biggest question I have, how is the defense going to be. Offensively, we're going to be hard to guard. Lots of weapons and lots of assists. Physicality and defense are my 2 concerns from the freshman as well as Reeves. They hit top 20-30 defensively, its wide open for the Cats. I have no doubt we'll have a highly ranked offense.

 

[true blue1]

Well one way to look at it we can only go up.

 

[bbncal02]

I saw a team in Canda that looked like it knew how to play. I'm going with Critics have it wrong.

Problem is we saw that in the Bahamas too. And we all know how that ended.

Not saying we aren't but, we've got a lot to prove.

 

[Skyguyb27]

There's no question Cal will run whatever offense needs to be run by the personnel. And no reason to not. As for the last 4/5 years, why would that make it negative? '19 was a very good team, 2 seed I think?, lost in the e* game in overtime. '20 turned into a great team. Won the SEC by 3 games Probably would have been a 2 seed. '21 was just awful. '22 turned into a really good team. Blew out UNC, Kansas and UT. Earned a 2 seed. Had a terrible loss in the tourney. '23 was a decent team even with no chemistry. Injuries to key players. Really over achieved with the available talent.

1 terrible bad season in the "last 4/5 years".

What's let UK down in the last 3 seasons has been defense. We have not been a good defensive team since the "20 season. This season changes that. Cal went back to his roots of getting the best players instead of taking other's leftovers. He's going to teach young players to play defense vs having to retain the leftovers.

^Now that we got the troll post out of the way^



I don’t care for Cal, I have made that known. Having stated the obvious, the media has loved to build Cal’s teams up when the teams are broken to possibly embarrass him when he fails? (I don’t know.) If that were the case, when he finally has a good team maybe they are burying him to hide what he is doing good. (I’m willing to give credit where credit is due.) Seems like a conspiracy but no one can convince me, Cal hater or not, that the ESPN isnt biased against UK.

Of course it could be much simpler and the media is just generating clicks in the off season and your guaranteed clicks either way you go involving UK.

 

[Mike-D]

Lmao at 6-11 seed. I have a feeling this team is gonna be damn good. Very good guards and some legit big men that can play, all of which bring different aspects to our roster. I know nobody really knows how good or bad we will be. I just think we have a good group this season.

Who has us as a 6-11? I have not seen it.

 

[Mike-D]

^Now that we got the troll post out of the way^



I don’t care for Cal, I have made that known. Having stated the obvious, the media has loved to build Cal’s teams up when the teams are broken to possibly embarrass him when he fails? (I don’t know.) If that were the case, when he finally has a good team maybe they are burying him to hide what he is doing good. (I’m willing to give credit where credit is due.) Seems like a conspiracy but no one can convince me, Cal hater or not, that the ESPN isnt biased against UK.

Of course it could be much simpler and the media is just generating clicks in the off season and your guaranteed clicks either way you go involving UK.

That dude is a big booster, and went to Drakes house with the team.

















🤣

 

[DreadLox]

Grim but vaguely interesting factoid: the Jonestown suicides/murder victims actually drank Flavor Aid.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

SGA (in college) wasn't better than Marvin Bagley, Wendell Carter, or Grayson Allen. 2018 team. Goes for Kevin Knox & Hami Diallo as well.
Keldon & Maxey were not better than Zion, RJ, or Tre Jones. Again, in college. 2019 team. Goes for Tyler Herro & PJ Washington as well. That was the 118-84 year.
TyTy Washington was nowhere close to Banchero, AJ Griffin, Keels, or Wendell Moore. 2022 team. I'm not sure TyTy Washington plays much had he gone to Duke.

Regardless, and it may have been exaggerated a bit, Duke has had more elite players over the years than UK has.

Which is it.. are we talking college or are we talking pros? Keep in mind, since this 2015 point, Duke was largely no better than Kentucky during this time. I think they got a Final 4 and.. not a whole lot more.

SGA proved to be a better talent than anyone on that Duke Team, point blank. Doesn't matter if we didnt see the full extent of it in college.

I'm close to saying Maxey is on par with RJ, and is past Zion until Zion proves he can stay on the floor. Herro has also carved out quite the career.

The Ty Ty year goes to Duke, of course.

How come you didn't mention Fox/Bam/Monk? Or Jamal Murray?

The only thing Duke had more of during this time, was better recruiting classes that were largely overrated. I mean look at the names you mentioned above for Duke. All that talent, to see a guy like Herro being better than all but like 3 of them lol. At the end of the day, the only thing Duke really achieved was some recruiting wins. They won just a smidge more with all that recruiting talent.

 

[OmahaCats]

There's no question Cal will run whatever offense needs to be run by the personnel. And no reason to not. As for the last 4/5 years, why would that make it negative? '19 was a very good team, 2 seed I think?, lost in the e* game in overtime. '20 turned into a great team. Won the SEC by 3 games Probably would have been a 2 seed. '21 was just awful. '22 turned into a really good team. Blew out UNC, Kansas and UT. Earned a 2 seed. Had a terrible loss in the tourney. '23 was a decent team even with no chemistry. Injuries to key players. Really over achieved with the available talent.

1 terrible bad season in the "last 4/5 years".

What's let UK down in the last 3 seasons has been defense. We have not been a good defensive team since the "20 season. This season changes that. Cal went back to his roots of getting the best players instead of taking other's leftovers. He's going to teach young players to play defense vs having to retain the leftovers.

I’d agree with a lot of that. We actually were really good in 22. Offensively especially. We did still lack the shot blocking we needed. But we were as good as anyone in the country. But The first round loss overshadows that. And deservingly so. But we crushed both the team that played In the title game. Last year we started pretty crappy. We definitely got better once Cason ran the point and Reeves took the starting spot (basically once Sahvir got injured). But we didn’t have the shot blocking/defense that Kentucky was use to having in years past. So we were good, but not great.

I have no idea how good this team will be. But we are as talented as we’ve been in a long time. Since at least the 17 team or even the 15 team. We have a really good backcourt. Maybe our best small forward we’ve had under Cal (Arguably), 3 7 footers. Which the only time we had that, Kentucky had its best defense ever under Cal. And we can go 10 deep with pretty solid players. I think we can withstand minor injuries. Yes, we are still young. So we’ll see. But having two seniors probably both starting helps. Not to Mention that Reeves in my opinion is one of the better 3 point shooters in the Cal era (at least top 10 in 15 seasons ). So overall I think we have as good of a shot as anyone. It could take some time to gel. We’ll definitely lose games. But I think we’ll really like this team

 

[BlueBlackNWhite]

Which is it.. are we talking college or are we talking pros? Keep in mind, since this 2015 point, Duke was largely no better than Kentucky during this time. I think they got a Final 4 and.. not a whole lot more.

SGA proved to be a better talent than anyone on that Duke Team, point blank. Doesn't matter if we didnt see the full extent of it in college.

I'm close to saying Maxey is on par with RJ, and is past Zion until Zion proves he can stay on the floor. Herro has also carved out quite the career.

The Ty Ty year goes to Duke, of course.

How come you didn't mention Fox/Bam/Monk? Or Jamal Murray?

The only thing Duke had more of during this time, was better recruiting classes that were largely overrated. I mean look at the names you mentioned above for Duke. All that talent, to see a guy like Herro being better than all but like 3 of them lol. At the end of the day, the only thing Duke really achieved was some recruiting wins. They won just a smidge more with all that recruiting talent.

Since 2015 Duke has a Final Four, 2 Elite 8's, 1 Sweet16, 2 2ndround losses.
Since 2015 UK has 2 Elite 8's, 1 Sweet16, 2 2ndround losses, and a 1st round loss.
Same except Duke has a Final Four compared to Uk's 1st round loss. A final four is a massive accomplishment given the randomness of the tournament, so that certainly isn't nothing. I wouldn't call a Final Four versus a 1st round exit a "smidge" more, but to each his own.

I am referring to players strictly about college production. SGA was good in college, but he wasn't an All-American, and is now an NBA All-Star. Marvin Bagley was an All-American in college, averaged 20 &10, obviously has been a bust in the NBA, but Bagley was far superior in college. Same for Carter & Grayson Allen, thats the point I was making.

The Fox/Bam/Monk was a great team. I wish Uk would have taken out UNC that year. Duke had Tatum and many others that year, but it was a weird year with injuries and chemistry issues. Tatum is the best of all of those guys in that class. Harry Giles was the biggest prize of anyone that year but he had knee issues before even entering college, in High School he was seen as the next Chris Webber.

I don't have much for Jamal Murray. Great player, and was underrated in college, he beat Duke that year which featured Grayson and Brandon Ingram, that was the last time UK beat Duke. Didn't Jamal Murray shoot like 40% from 3 in college, which is unbelievable, why didn't he shoot more?

 

[Creed Bratton]

How come you didn't mention Fox/Bam/Monk? Or Jamal Murray?

He is a homer and only mentions what he thinks may help his case. In his mind he just owned this thread.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Since 2015 Duke has a Final Four, 2 Elite 8's, 1 Sweet16, 2 2ndround losses.
Since 2015 UK has 2 Elite 8's, 1 Sweet16, 2 2ndround losses, and a 1st round loss.
Same except Duke has a Final Four compared to Uk's 1st round loss. A final four is a massive accomplishment given the randomness of the tournament, so that certainly isn't nothing. I wouldn't call a Final Four versus a 1st round exit a "smidge" more, but to each his own.

I am referring to players strictly about college production. SGA was good in college, but he wasn't an All-American, and is now an NBA All-Star. Marvin Bagley was an All-American in college, averaged 20 &10, obviously has been a bust in the NBA, but Bagley was far superior in college. Same for Carter & Grayson Allen, thats the point I was making.

The Fox/Bam/Monk was a great team. I wish Uk would have taken out UNC that year. Duke had Tatum and many others that year, but it was a weird year with injuries and chemistry issues. Tatum is the best of all of those guys in that class. Harry Giles was the biggest prize of anyone that year but he had knee issues before even entering college, in High School he was seen as the next Chris Webber.

I don't have much for Jamal Murray. Great player, and was underrated in college, he beat Duke that year which featured Grayson and Brandon Ingram, that was the last time UK beat Duke. Didn't Jamal Murray shoot like 40% from 3 in college, which is unbelievable, why didn't he shoot more?

Yeah, I said all of that. The Final Four certainly makes your time line better... but in those 7 or 8 years.. not a WHOLE lot better. And it's even less impressive with all this supposed talent you had.

The "last time UK beat Duke".. lol, we've played like what.. twice since?

You're starting to turn into all the past Duke fans that try and set up shop here.

 

[yoshukai]

Why are so many ranking us so low?
Why do the dudes on Field of 68 so adamantly say "No way man" at the proposal that UK could win it all?
Why do those same guys project us to be anywhere between a six to an eleven seed?

Are we missing something here? Are we just too young? Is our bevy of five star players just not that good?

And, if they are right, is this the final curtain for Calipari?

They make me nervous, these naysayers.

I have zero confidence in John Calipari (post www). Hope he proves me wrong .

 

[NociHTTP]

No one I personally know is drinking the Kool aid? Cal is considered by a large portion of the fanbase to be a washed up coach with a political agenda.

 

[blue cincy]

Taking a different approach this year. No expectations at all on my end. I have decided to take each time we play on TV one at a time. I am not listening to preseason junk. I am immersed in UK football. I stop in here to have a little fun and then head back to SEC football stuff. We have no idea how each guy is doing right now (especially our 2 bigs) and we do not know when big z will be here. So right now we can only go off of the Canada trip. We played well. Top 20 well (like 15 to 18) without seeing others. I will watch madness on Tv probably or take my brother to go see in person. Then watch the 2 exhibition games to get ready for the season. Am not excited at all this year. I an not not excited either. Just patient. Not sure how long that lasts but heck at least for now it is working. GO BIG BLUE beat Georgia tomorrow.

 

[Woodsmoke]

I'm with all the national analysts.

In that Missouri show me state state of mind.

I’m in that Ray Charles/Eastern Kentucky state-of-mind. Hit the road jack and don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya!

 

[$Z71$]

Why are so many ranking us so low?
Why do the dudes on Field of 68 so adamantly say "No way man" at the proposal that UK could win it all?
Why do those same guys project us to be anywhere between a six to an eleven seed?

Are we missing something here? Are we just too young? Is our bevy of five star players just not that good?

And, if they are right, is this the final curtain for Calipari?

They make me nervous, these naysayers.

This is the first year in the Calipari era where we are being under ranked entering the season and I like it. We have been over hyped far too many times. That being said we have the elite level talent, as well as a few veteran pieces and a deep bench. We haven’t had that since 2015.

Obviously we aren’t as good as 2015 but I do believe this team will surprise everyone. It’s a down year overall for college basketball and we are as talented and as deep as anyone. I don’t see a double digit loss season. Ceiling 3-4 losses, floor 8-9 IMO. If the majority of our players buy in and play to potential we could be dangerous in March.

 

[swflakat]

Yes, too young and inexperienced, and there isn't an Anthony Davis or Carmelo Anthony in this freshman class.

Not sure about that. Justin Edwards is geting #1 NBA draft prognostications recently. Is he as good as Davis - no. Davis was a unicorn. As good as Carmelo - maybe, but won't have to be for this team to be good.

 

[Skyguyb27]

I’d agree with a lot of that. We actually were really good in 22. Offensively especially. We did still lack the shot blocking we needed. But we were as good as anyone in the country. But The first round loss overshadows that. And deservingly so. But we crushed both the team that played In the title game. Last year we started pretty crappy. We definitely got better once Cason ran the point and Reeves took the starting spot (basically once Sahvir got injured). But we didn’t have the shot blocking/defense that Kentucky was use to having in years past. So we were good, but not great.

I have no idea how good this team will be. But we are as talented as we’ve been in a long time. Since at least the 17 team or even the 15 team. We have a really good backcourt. Maybe our best small forward we’ve had under Cal (Arguably), 3 7 footers. Which the only time we had that, Kentucky had its best defense ever under Cal. And we can go 10 deep with pretty solid players. I think we can withstand minor injuries. Yes, we are still young. So we’ll see. But having two seniors probably both starting helps. Not to Mention that Reeves in my opinion is one of the better 3 point shooters in the Cal era (at least top 10 in 15 seasons ). So overall I think we have as good of a shot as anyone. It could take some time to gel. We’ll definitely lose games. But I think we’ll really like this team

I’m hoping the Cats demoralize everyone this year, consistently.

 

[Big Cat fan]

Bradshaw gonna make or break this season. The guards are there, we need a big to play well and some back to the basket or we will struggle. It's Bradshaws Waggy and Edward's team

 

[-BBH-]

Lindy’s just came out and has us at 18. I felt slighted at first but then I read what they said. If this team gels they could be ranked 16 spots too low. I think a lot of people are going into the season that way.

As for the field of 68, they’re going on more of recent history and all the unknowns on our team. Also Goodman has always hated Cal.

I love this team and its potential. It’s also the kind of roster that cal excels with.

 

[-BBH-]

Bradshaw gonna make or break this season. The guards are there, we need a big to play well and some back to the basket or we will struggle. It's Bradshaws Waggy and Edward's team

Modern basketball doesn’t require and certainly doesn’t thrive on having a back to the basket big. That’s why we looked so loose and free in Toronto.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

Who has us as a 6-11? I have not seen it.

Lunardi did like a month ago I don’t know if he changed it or not

 

[Big Cat fan]

Modern basketball doesn’t require and certainly doesn’t thrive on having a back to the basket big. That’s we looked so loose and free in Toronto.

You going to have to get a few baskets that way. If we are to win these sec games close on the road we will need it.

 

[mebeblue2]

some drink the koolaid
some drink the hateraid
soon we will find out which was the best drink of choice

my money is on the koolaid

 

[JimmyBlue1972]

Yup, according to the real Kool Aid drinkers, this is a weak class and our facilities suck. We return just 1 player who saw real minutes. How could we be anything but awful?

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Lindy’s just came out and has us at 18. I felt slighted at first but then I read what they said. If this team gels they could be ranked 16 spots too low. I think a lot of people are going into the season that way.

As for the field of 68, they’re going on more of recent history and all the unknowns on our team. Also Goodman has always hated Cal.

I love this team and its potential. It’s also the kind of roster that cal excels with.

But my problem with this is..

Doesn't Duke and their incoming freshman have to gel? Doesn't Kansas and their transfers plus outgoing jailhouse players have to learn to play together?

Unless a team is returning, and playing, 70% of their starting minutes, there should be some questions. Kansas lost nearly 50% of its starting minutes just from players I know left off the top of my head. Even duke lost what appears to be 60 of their 200 mpg (and will be further eaten up by unknown freshman).

Why is it than when Kentucky has incoming players, it's ALWAYS been "we have to wait and see" yet for the other big ESPN programs, every player is going to be a factor. Kentucky, Kansas and Duke are likely going to have 50% of their minutes come from new players.. so why is it Kentucky/Cal, the proven 1AD program, that is the one who has to prove their young rosters?