Find Defense in the portal

[SemperFiCat]

Obviously, when talking about these portal guys, Offensive numbers are typically highlighted. But, personally, I hope Pope is making Defense a bit of a priority with this next squad. Defense travels, and is typically more reliable. So, find me some sticky, pestering, physical dogs that love to get after it. I watched the second half of that Tenn game (and other games) thinking that if we could just get a couple stops, we could get back into it. It may not be sexy, but I'd love to see an absolute elite defensive Kentucky team. Heck, maybe even some effective press.

 

[Cats192]

Obviously, when talking about these portal guys, Offensive numbers are typically highlighted. But, personally, I hope Pope is making Defense a bit of a priority with this next squad. Defense travels, and is typically more reliable. So, find me some sticky, pestering, physical dogs that love to get after it. I watched the second half of that Tenn game (and other games) thinking that if we could just get a couple stops, we could get back into it. It may not be sexy, but I'd love to see an absolute elite defensive Kentucky team. Heck, maybe even some effective press.

It seems like most of our targets are longer, taller, and more athletic. I think we’re definitely making that a priority.

 

[CastleRubric]

Obviously, when talking about these portal guys, Offensive numbers are typically highlighted. But, personally, I hope Pope is making Defense a bit of a priority with this next squad. Defense travels, and is typically more reliable. So, find me some sticky, pestering, physical dogs that love to get after it. I watched the second half of that Tenn game (and other games) thinking that if we could just get a couple stops, we could get back into it. It may not be sexy, but I'd love to see an absolute elite defensive Kentucky team. Heck, maybe even some effective press.

Agree especially witH more physical maturity generally available in the portal with the older players

 

[SemperFiCat]

It seems like most of our targets are longer, taller, and more athletic. I think we’re definitely making that a priority.

You aren't wrong, but playing good Defense is every bit as mental as it is your physical size. I want defensive minded dogs.

 

[Cats192]

You aren't wrong, but playing good Defense is every bit as mental as it is your physical size. I want defensive minded dogs.

Sure.

I just think lacking the size/athleticism can put you at a disadvantage.

 

[SemperFiCat]

Sure.

I just think lacking the size/athleticism can put you at a disadvantage.

But, give me all that length and athleticism if Pope is wanting a Pitino or Nolan style press. I'll take that style all day!

 

[UKSanders]

Obviously, when talking about these portal guys, Offensive numbers are typically highlighted. But, personally, I hope Pope is making Defense a bit of a priority with this next squad. Defense travels, and is typically more reliable. So, find me some sticky, pestering, physical dogs that love to get after it. I watched the second half of that Tenn game (and other games) thinking that if we could just get a couple stops, we could get back into it. It may not be sexy, but I'd love to see an absolute elite defensive Kentucky team. Heck, maybe even some effective press.

It seems like most of our targets are longer, taller, and more athletic. I think we’re definitely making that a priority.

You aren't wrong, but playing good Defense is every bit as mental as it is your physical size. I want defensive minded dogs.

Agreed 100%. Of the portal names mentioned on this board, the one concerning theme (sort of) that I've seen is with the PF prospects.

Bailey from Davidson, Alvaro from Robert Morris, are not athletic defenders. That's why I've commented on a few threads that I wouldn't mind seeing Magoon Gwath as the PF transfer, and then get a thicker stronger DUDE at the 5.

Gwath gives you weakside shot blocking at 7 foot, and he shoots from the perimeter about as well as those other guys.

 

[rick64]

AND REBOUNDING!!!!!

 

[SemperFiCat]

AND REBOUNDING!!!!!

NIL deal- $1K per rebound.

 

[Cuello Azul]

Im confused. I thought shooters all over the floor is all you need.

 

[JonathanW]

You aren't wrong, but playing good Defense is every bit as mental as it is your physical size. I want defensive minded dogs.

I say it is MORE your mental & attitude and desire, than it is your physical traits (although those can help).

 

[The_Answer1313]

People talk rebounding but on defense that actually wasn’t the issue most of the year. We were top 25 in def rebounding %. It was offensive we were getting nothing.

The problem on def was two fold. Gave up an insane % from 2 and didn’t create any turnovers.

 

[jmw23712]

Agree on defense. I basically just want 5 different height versions of Lamont

 

[Cobb4uk]

Obviously, when talking about these portal guys, Offensive numbers are typically highlighted. But, personally, I hope Pope is making Defense a bit of a priority with this next squad. Defense travels, and is typically more reliable. So, find me some sticky, pestering, physical dogs that love to get after it. I watched the second half of that Tenn game (and other games) thinking that if we could just get a couple stops, we could get back into it. It may not be sexy, but I'd love to see an absolute elite defensive Kentucky team. Heck, maybe even some effective press.

Really like your thinking, defense isn't as pretty as offense, by a large margin. Ever notice nearly everyone wants to know how many point so in so got. Loved the players we had this year in such a limit time to react, but the two major weaknesses that haunted us was lack of speed and quickness. Against quicker teams we really suffered in our defense and rebounding, especially on the offensive end. If we hadn't had Butler this year we would have been in deep do do. I truly believe these problems will be solved sooner than latter, but that won't be quick enough for many, especially on this site.

 

[SemperFiCat]

Im confused. I thought shooters all over the floor is all you need.

Right. I was told that too.

Shooting wins you a big game in November. Def wins your conference and tournaments.

 

[JonathanW]

Agreed 100%. Of the portal names mentioned on this board, the one concerning theme (sort of) that I've seen is with the PF prospects.

Bailey from Davidson, Alvaro from Robert Morris, are not athletic defenders. That's why I've commented on a few threads that I wouldn't mind seeing Magoon Gwath as the PF transfer, and then get a thicker stronger DUDE at the 5.

Gwath gives you weakside shot blocking at 7 foot, and he shoots from the perimeter about as well as those other guys.

I want Gwath. But at C, not at PF.
One, you don't have to be "beefy" to play physical. Look at Condon and Haugh. Davis wasn't, nor was Richards, nor Willie.
Two, there's no reason Gwath couldn't add 15-20lbs of muscle this summer.

Also, for Alvaro Fulgueiras, I don't know about his on-the-ball DEF, but his Stl & Blk #'s are pretty good (1.4 & 1.2), so 2.6 Stocks/gm. But those can be misleading, Reed Sheppard averaged 3.3 Stocks.

 

[EliteBlue]

It seems like most of our targets are longer, taller, and more athletic. I think we’re definitely making that a priority.

Yeah. It seems as though we are targeting tall, lengthy guards. A lot of the guys we’ve reached out to are all 6’5+ and I really like that strategy.

I personally believe a higher end offensive coach can use his system to make a collection of average offensive players a good offensive team….but that same offense minded coach may struggle to build a cohesive defensive team with guys who lack the natural defensive tools (height, length, size, speed, quickness)…the know how fundamentals only go so far on defense.

Go get the guys with the physical tools to be good defenders and are good enough shooters…you can scheme to get guys open offensively easier than you can scheme to hide the ability to defend 1v1

 

[jeffky]

AND REBOUNDING!!!!!

 

[chasingwildcat]

People talk rebounding but on defense that actually wasn’t the issue most of the year. We were top 25 in def rebounding %. It was offensive we were getting nothing.

The problem on def was two fold. Gave up an insane % from 2 and didn’t create any turnovers.

We can not get amy defensive rebound against TN

 

[megablue]

Sure.

I just think lacking the size/athleticism can put you at a disadvantage.

You need both WANT TO and CAN DO !!

 

[JonathanW]

People talk rebounding but on defense that actually wasn’t the issue most of the year. We were top 25 in def rebounding %. It was offensive we were getting nothing.

The problem on def was two fold. Gave up an insane % from 2 and didn’t create any turnovers.

You bring up a good point. People too often look at rebounding totals (& difference between 2 teams). But those can be skewed due to a difference is shooting %, or TOs, or fouls. The BETTER way to look at rebounding is rebounding % at each end (% of your misses you get, OReb%; and % of your Opp misses you get, DReb%).

 

[UKSanders]

I want Gwath. But at C, not at PF.
One, you don't have to be "beefy" to play physical. Look at Condon and Haugh. Davis wasn't, nor was Richards, nor Willie.
Two, there's no reason Gwath couldn't add 15-20lbs of muscle this summer.

That's fair, and could work as well...I think I just imagining his skillset translating pretty well as a stretch 4.

Then, if you pair him with someone like Lendeborg (who just entered the portal), you have a more physical strong presence as well. Honestly, with those two guys, they could be fairly interchangeable on offense at the top of the key b/c either could pick and pop or pick and roll to the the basket.

 

[The_Answer1313]

We can not get amy defensive rebound against TN

Good point but 1) you have to give some credit to UT who happens to be a very good offensive rebounding team and 2) that was an outlier and not the norm for the season.

They rebounded 45% of their misses that game. Your right. That was massive. Especially given the fact they also made 63% of their twos.

But the other two games we played vs that same exact team, they didn't fair so well on the boards at all.

Here was the problem with us tho:
We allowed teams to rebound just 26% of their misses. That's verry good on the season. HOWEVER we ourselves only rebounded 28% of our misses. There was no differential. We gained nothing in that stat.

Same thing with turnovers. We only turned it over 15% of the time on offense. Obviously a very good number. HOWEVER we only forced turnovers 14% of the time. Again no differential.

The success of our season is 100% tied to whether or not we shot it better than our opponent did. Sometimes that happened and sometimes that did not.

 

[Runnin'Ramel]

Obviously, when talking about these portal guys, Offensive numbers are typically highlighted. But, personally, I hope Pope is making Defense a bit of a priority with this next squad. Defense travels, and is typically more reliable. So, find me some sticky, pestering, physical dogs that love to get after it. I watched the second half of that Tenn game (and other games) thinking that if we could just get a couple stops, we could get back into it. It may not be sexy, but I'd love to see an absolute elite defensive Kentucky team. Heck, maybe even some effective press.

Williams was supposed to be a defensive anchor, but I can't recall someone with such a size advantage keeping his arms at his sides when a guard drives to the rim.

I have always wanted UK to have a guy like Tariq Owens - the human pogo stick who went from St. John's to Texas Tech and was a spark plug in their NCAAT runner-up finish the year Virginia won it. He averaged 2.5 blocks/game and was a capable scorer (lots of lobs, dunks, etc.) and rebounder.

 

[The_Answer1313]

This also illustrates the massive importance of doing multiple things well. In a one and done tournament, things happen. You might have an off shooting night. You might not force as many turnovers as you did in the regular season (or rebound as well).

To circumvent the randomness a bit, you better do many many things well and you need to do them on both sides of the ball.

 

[The_Answer1313]

Honestly, with our defense........I'd like to see us at least TRY to force turnovers.

We didn't do that under Cal and we didn't do that under Pope's first year either.

But any way we do it, the defense has to get better. We can't be as one sided as we were the last two seasons. That won't work.

UK was every bit as good as the teams remaining on offense. We just weren't on the other side of the ball.

 

[CrimsonCats]

We definitely need to get better on defense next year. I’m not entirely sure at this point if it’s a change in recruiting or a change in coaching philosophy that we need to get us there, because it wasn’t obvious that defense would be such a glaring weakness when we were putting the roster together last year.

Butler, Oweh, and Williams were considered possibly the three premier defensive talents in the entire portal, and Garrison was at least an active shot blocker. Of those, only Butler was a complete success as he was a total stud who only got slowed by injuries. Williams progressed into an excellent one on one post defender, but any kind of overall intimidation factor at the rim never really happened with him as evidenced by the insane percentage our opponents usually shot on 2s. Oweh had a knack for jumping passes for steals, but seemed fairly average in his on-ball defense. Garrison dropped a full block per game from his Oklahoma St numbers despite only a 5 minute difference in playing time and wasn’t much of a defensive factor in any other way to make up for it. I’m still optimistic about Pope in the long-term, but I think his defensive scheme may be something that he needs to work on improving in addition to bringing in more high end athletes.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I'm sort of wondering the same. Because it's not as if Pope's numbers on defense was all that great when he was at BYU either.

I watch Houston and I think .........oh those dudes challenge EVERY SINGLE SHOT put up. What are they doing that isn't able to be replicated here. Because year in and year out the players have changed but every year under Sampson they have had an incredible defense.

The philosophy has to change.

 

[BlueBloodKyFan]

Agreed 100%. Of the portal names mentioned on this board, the one concerning theme (sort of) that I've seen is with the PF prospects.

Bailey from Davidson, Alvaro from Robert Morris, are not athletic defenders. That's why I've commented on a few threads that I wouldn't mind seeing Magoon Gwath as the PF transfer, and then get a thicker stronger DUDE at the 5.

Gwath gives you weakside shot blocking at 7 foot, and he shoots from the perimeter about as well as those other guys.

Don't disagree but right now the center position is fairly weak player wise.

 

[W1LDCAT22]

Obviously, when talking about these portal guys, Offensive numbers are typically highlighted. But, personally, I hope Pope is making Defense a bit of a priority with this next squad. Defense travels, and is typically more reliable. So, find me some sticky, pestering, physical dogs that love to get after it. I watched the second half of that Tenn game (and other games) thinking that if we could just get a couple stops, we could get back into it. It may not be sexy, but I'd love to see an absolute elite defensive Kentucky team. Heck, maybe even some effective press.

That didn't work out very well last year.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I have to wonder if it's the "type" of players we are getting.

Guys like Robinson and Brea who were incredible shooters and offensive guys that just could not keep their man in front of them on defense.

Year before that Reed was a great shooter but again we seemed to give up something on defense with these guys.

 

[ukfan1622]

But, give me all that length and athleticism if Pope is wanting a Pitino or Nolan style press. I'll take that style all day!

I don't think we'll ever again see that style much except for desperation time. Modern bigs handle and pass too well. A well coached team with bigs that can handle the ball will slice and dice a press. Billy D showed everyone how to do it with Noah and Horford.

 

[michaeluk26]

AND REBOUNDING!!!!!

This can't emphasized enough. Tennessee was bricking shots right and left to start the game but kept grabbing offensive rebounds. It killed us multiple times this year.

 

[Smashcat]

Swain fits. Plays D and makes 2s. I'd take him in a heartbeat.