Damn, now I have "Mack the Knife" running in my head. Thanks.
First game hot takes
- Thread starter BBNinSC
- Start date
I’ll wait until after the Kansas game to say that. However we did handle him last year, but had Oscar too. I like the construction of this roster though. Especially when Bradshaw and UGO return.
Finally someone seeing what I know. He’s the best guard. He stands out and plays hard and to win EVERY play because it’s who he is.
You misspelled Sheppard doing the things that don’t show up in the box score.
Dilly is better than Wagner at this point
Edwards is talented but out of control at times. He needs to play a lot.
Wagner threw up bricks his shit is suspect but we have others that can shoot.
1-5 from 3 and 0-1 FT
He will still start …
Biggest thing this team needs is at least 1 of the three headed monster.
He's not being matched up on players whom he can bully, at the moment. He's being asked (as someone pointed out earlier) to play more minutes at the 4 than he's comfortable with. When we get our bigs back and can move him exclusively to the wing, we may see more of him just taking his man to the rack and finishing over/through them
Nope. Pay attention to teams that win a national championship… they can all shoot the 3. As a team almost every single one of them shoots at least 37% or better from 3. Reeves has to play a lot. He is and will be Kentucky’s best 3 point shooter
They are both extremely solid freshmen players. If they both learn to play within themselves and not force the action then we will be a much better team as a result. At times both of them last night tried to make a play that wasn’t there or just forced up an unnecessary shot. Hopefully their learning curve will be quick as the potential is certainly there for both. They will both be good but we need them to be better than good to accomplish a special season.
Your hot take actually makes sense and is based on astute observation. Kinda confused on why you posted it here though. Seems to be a bit too thoughtful for RR. Btw, Wagner was pretty bad in the first half.
Cason was special, man. A different type of special, but Cason on the really good teams would've been unreal. He was just surrounded by subpar talent and no depth. And played about half the season banged up.
Dillingham reminds me a lot of BK. Their games are so similar. Both lightening quick, capable handlers, and have the ability to score in bunches. Cal figuring out how to incorporate both Wagner and Dillingham in the lineup together will be tricky. Idk what it is, but Wagner's game just bothers me. From what I've seen so far, he takes a ton of "my turn" shots. Just bugs the hell out of me.
Collectively the three freshmen guards are the smartest set of point guards Cal has had on the team at one time. By January with the usual freshman jitters and poor decision makings ironed out we will have three Ullis level basketball IQ guards with a Lamb like sniper in Reeves in the back court.
Maybe so, but he wasn't on the really good teams at the end of the day. And, I'd say he never struck me as a real alpha-type guard that we have had in the past. Some of our best guards helped make our teams great, not just that they were on great teams.
No matter what we think of Cason and his talents, he's undoubtedly behind a plethora of UK guards in terms of sheer production and results. Wall, Knight, Teague, Twins, Ulis, Murray, Fox, SGA..
Dilly has a chance to be the type of guard we've been lacking since 2018ish.
I'm not sure he's behind Teague or the Twins. Those guys were surrounded by some great players. And deep teams.
But that's my point, in the end, the team around you, is the team around you. Was Cason given the same talent to win? Maybe, but I'm also not convinced the twins had a better situation in 2013/14. And if we want to go down this road, Ulis might have had the worst team to work with, which was basically just Jamal Murray and a bunch of bums (more or less, no offense).
Regardless, those guys were available, played well most nights, and helped the team to big wins and success. I can't in good faith put Cason above them.
This! I could not agree more! I was hoping all off-season that we somehow wouldn’t land that guy. He’s just not a winning player and he’s an absolute douche to boot.
Dillingham hunches forward on his shot, don’t like it. But get used to saying DILLY over and over. I hate it, but it’s way more convenient to say.
My hot take is that we will have the best backcourt in the country by February/March. Those three freshmen guards play some hellacious defense! The team as a whole seems to play real hard on every possession. Can’t teach that. GBB!
I disagree. Reeves will get plenty of PT. At least we have some options now to sub in to give him a breather. Reeves will be more effective on offense because he will still have his legs at the end of games.
Cal likely had to make promises to Reeves. Reeves will play the most minutes on the team this year. Will that reduce…possible but he will still play the most.
Funny how during the Canada games some of the fans were making Dillingham the whipping boy. Now he's the starting pg? Lol make up your mind people. I love Robs game btw.
It was fun not seeing them all just pound the ball inside. Was a lot more movement and easier for the guards to get to the rim. But we will need one of the 7footers for rebs and blocks as a long as Cal doesn't try to post up on every play.
It’s because all the people that talked 💩 about Reeves not being very good and saying we didn’t need him….they feel they have to double down on that. They are like flat-earthers.
And every time Reeves has an off game they will crucify him, even though he will be our only deep threat most games. Shepard, Mitchell, and Edwards occasionally will have a good game from deep.
Wagner shooting too many 3s instead of taking the ball to the rack, will be annoying.
Dillingham is FAST. But playing much more under control since Canada.
Edwards seems to lack a bit of a killer instinct (right now, could change) reminds me of Knox as far as demeanor.
Wagner and Edwards will be in foul trouble a lot if Cal can’t get them to move their feet on D, they reach and handcheck about like Peyton Siva.
Shepard is already the smartest, most well rounded player on the team. I hope we get him multiple years.
Dillingham is FAST. But playing much more under control since Canada.
Edwards seems to lack a bit of a killer instinct (right now, could change) reminds me of Knox as far as demeanor.
Wagner and Edwards will be in foul trouble a lot if Cal can’t get them to move their feet on D, they reach and handcheck about like Peyton Siva.
Shepard is already the smartest, most well rounded player on the team. I hope we get him multiple years.
My two cents....
1. Sheppard is terrific and may turn out to be our best guard. No weaknesses.
2. Wagner appears to be rock solid with the possible exception of the 3 ball. A few clangers last night. He might lose some PT if we see a lot of zone.
3. Dilly is a taller, better shooting version of Sahvir Wheeler. Instant offense kind of guy. What I like about all three frosh guards is they pretty much have complete games.
4. I'm not as high on Thiero as others on the board. I haven't seen him finish very many plays...not convinced he's that good of an outside shooter. Did some great work on the boards though.
5. Edwards is another versatile guy who can do a little bit of everything.
6. Mitchell was OK but didn't impress me with his athleticism.
1. Sheppard is terrific and may turn out to be our best guard. No weaknesses.
2. Wagner appears to be rock solid with the possible exception of the 3 ball. A few clangers last night. He might lose some PT if we see a lot of zone.
3. Dilly is a taller, better shooting version of Sahvir Wheeler. Instant offense kind of guy. What I like about all three frosh guards is they pretty much have complete games.
4. I'm not as high on Thiero as others on the board. I haven't seen him finish very many plays...not convinced he's that good of an outside shooter. Did some great work on the boards though.
5. Edwards is another versatile guy who can do a little bit of everything.
6. Mitchell was OK but didn't impress me with his athleticism.
Please don't mention Dillingham and Wheeler in the same sentence again. 1 game into his college career, and already 20x the player wheeler ever was, is, or will ever be.
Yes many were overreacting because they likely never watched much tape on him and or aren’t great evaluators. He’s special imo. Best talent on this team.
It’s early, but I feel he may be in the Fox/Maxey category.
Wagner and Sheppard are no slouches either. Better than we’ve had since Maxey.
Cal will leave him on the bench if he goes 0/3 from deep to start a game and other guards are playing well. He just doesn’t do much else on the court. If he’s not scoring, particularly from outside, his defense and gunner mentality make him a liability.
Both he and Tre (0/3 this far) aren’t going to help much if they’re not hitting from deep.
Lack of big man presence is one of our ley weaknesses. The other one is we can't shoot from deep. If Calipari ends up not playing Bradshaw and Z then he needs to be shown the door.
I guess the bright side of one of those weaknesses is eventually we should have not one, not two but three big men. Hopefully anyways lol.
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