Give grade to our portal season

[FitchandMurray29]

He gets flying colors on the grade to me. A+ if JQ is ready to roll by SEC play. If he isn’t quite himself or really takes a long time to protect his draft stock it probably drops to an A.

There’s a lot of upside guys that could disappoint as well. Just the risk of free agency. That’s why you go crazy deep on the roster to protect yourself.

Whoever paid up also deserves plenty of this credit!

 

[d2atTech]

this. A+!

 

[flacat22]

Oh you can guarantee that someone will come along complaining that we don't have enough shooters, defensive stoppers and/or guys who can finish at the rim.

The usual band of idiots, several of whom have posted in this thread will save that dumb crap for the game thread the first time we are trailing in the first half.

 

[bucsrule8872]

I’m giving it a solid A.

 

[flacat22]

C-

Our projected starting PG has a career FG% of 38% and a career 3 PT% of 29 while our starting projected SG has a career 3 PT % of 33%. And this is in an offense that shoots a lot of threes. If Pope doesn't drastically change how to be offense runs this team has a decent chance(15-20%) to miss the NCAA Tourney.

🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

 

[Bluegrassking]

That idiot is still pissed over Flubby

While salt doesn't have an expiration date it is a little weird to keep the same supply of the stuff for twenty damn years.

Isn't it all caked up and has to be re-ground?

 

[Bluegrassking]

A

Just because even I have a Veruca Salt strain that feels there is a little room for improvement.

I'd have loved to see a more proven sniper added to what we have to develop.

It is cherry on top though, we good!

 

[kb22stang]

I give it a solid A. Reminds me a little of early UK Pitino teams. Not necessarily a lottery type star on the team, but waves of players who all contribute.

 

[Cat in ga]

Brea's D improved greatly over the season but for large chunks of it he gave up a lot of points that he gained.
This team will not hit as many 3s but will defend better, rebound better and get a ton more second chance points.
It will balance out in our favor I believe.

This team can play some bully ball

 

[SemperFiCat]

I don't want to give it an actual grade. I could, but I don't want to hurt other teams' feelings. They tried hard too.

I hear the "no Brea" argument, and I quickly brush that aside. We'll score. My absolute favorite thing on this roster is I think we gained the physicality and toughness to compete in the SEC. I think we got some athletic dogs. Very happy with this new squad!

 

[TFCats11]

A

 

[Cuello Azul]

We had the best three-point shooter in the country in Brea this past year. He was the main reason why our offense was a top ten team offensively last year. We have no one that's anywhere close to being as good of a shooter as Brea this year.

How can you bitchin bennies be so passionate and yet be so ignorant about the game of basketball?

 

[cat tat2]

I think Pope and the staff got what they were looking for… shooting, ball handling/passing, experience, defense and athleticism so I’m thinking A+… I can’t wait for the season to start!

 

[bbnkat02]

On paper? A+
Realistically? We're taking a couple of chances with JQ and even Lowe. So, for reality I have to give him a B+ or A-.

If it works out, we can make a title run. If those dudes aren't all that they seem to be, could get interesting.

 

[2Dope15]

Im happy we have a team already and not waiting till June to see who is staying or going. So glad he is getting it done early. A

 

[jbne222]

From a pure “talent” standpoint it’s a B+/A-, but from a fit standpoint it’s an A+, and he also deserves an A+ for player retention which is so rare in todays game.

So averages out to an A

 

[Coach Marrow]

No that is an asinine statement. Pope wiffed hard on Dent and Wilkerson. And the Wilkerson wiff is going to hurt as much as the SG Transfer wiff this past season who decided to go to Tennessee and whoop our asses in the NCAA Tourney.

What team do you cheer for?

 

[Lightbringer12]

A++ the main reasons we lost to teams like Bama and Tenn in the tournament was rebounding and athleticism. He addressed both those areas, we won’t just get pushed around next season. We just need to be a decent 3 point shooting team, our defense is going to be on another level next year along with rebounding.

 

[fredmanthecatfan]

I’ll give it an F for Frosted Flakes because they are not good, they’re GREEEAAAAT!

 

[crxohio]

A from Monday through Sunday. But if it translates to big time success on the court. The A rating is low. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA++++++++++++++. Or some rating like beyond on3's/rivals/trilly/247's and bluewood.

 

[CatsnRoses]

B+

Felt like missing out on both Yates and Wilkerson was really going to hurt. The Aberdeen pivot is nice but he's still not the lights out shooter we needed.

 

[treyville]

This isnt directed at anyone 😜, but imagine knowing so little about college basketball that you could objectively give this portal team a C-

 

[kywildcat41035]

I'm going with an F.........................................................

When I was in school I always got the F's thinking they meant FANTASTIC...... I'm kidding Pope gets an A+ 110% with extra credit added in.....

 

[Kyhoward]

A+.

Zero doubt.

And an A overall for the offseason thus far, the only thing not giving it an A+ is that I really liked Acaden Lewis, wish we hadn't lose him.

Losing Lewis is a gain. He was afraid of the competition. We need players who are hard nosed, will work hard to earn playing time, and most importantly, have an intense desire to win games and championships. Do these things and you will be remembered in UK history.

 

[Creed Bratton]

C-

Our projected starting PG has a career FG% of 38% and a career 3 PT% of 29 while our starting projected SG has a career 3 PT % of 33%. And this is in an offense that shoots a lot of threes. If Pope doesn't drastically change how to be offense runs this team has a decent chance(15-20%) to miss the NCAA Tourney.

 

[Stretch98]

B+

Felt like missing out on both Yates and Wilkerson was really going to hurt. The Aberdeen pivot is nice but he's still not the lights out shooter we needed.

Aberdeen is much tougher defensively than either Yates or Wilkerson and unlike those guys, he is very capable of playing the point if, heaven forbid, Lowe sustains an injury.

 

[Whoppercat]

Oh you can guarantee that someone will come along complaining that we don't have enough shooters, defensive stoppers and/or guys who can finish at the rim.

Is there a reason you were so specific on your examples?

 

[Whoppercat]

C-

… If Pope doesn't drastically change how to be offense runs this team has a decent chance(15-20%) to miss the NCAA Tourney.

I’ll bet that’s a better grade than you got on your writing skills.

 

[CrimsonCats]

B+/A-

I like the pieces! Don't get me wrong.
But they all have question-marks. And the biggest of all is that we've not added "that scorer", that guy who can go get us a bucket when we need one (besides Oweh, assuming he returns). Lowe was forced into that role at Pitt, and was very inefficient because of it. I think he can and will be more efficient for UK, but mainly because he won't be "that guy". Williams played a passive role at a C-USA school. Dioubate and Aberdeen were in complementary roles. And any Euro is going to be a big mystery until he starts playing with/against US players in a more physical style.
Also, I'm not sure Lowe can be that "dog" that we need on defense, guarding the PG.

This is pretty close to where I land. Individually, I can’t complain about any of the guys we brought in because all of them are at least solid with a few having the potential to be more. Taken as a whole, the possible drawback is that I don’t see a whole lot of star power with this group, and that includes Oweh, who I like, but struggled several times when he needed to carry the offense against good defensive teams. The “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” approach to teambuilding can definitely work, but basketball can still be a game that rewards simply having the best player on the floor at times as well.

I’ll probably get accused of being impossibly negative, but I think we’ll almost certainly be a good team. I’ll need to see us in action with our returnees looking drastically improved and our role player transfers thriving in expanded roles before assuming we’ve built a superteam like some apparently already feel confident in.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

C-

Our projected starting PG has a career FG% of 38% and a career 3 PT% of 29 while our starting projected SG has a career 3 PT % of 33%. And this is in an offense that shoots a lot of threes. If Pope doesn't drastically change how to be offense runs this team has a decent chance(15-20%) to miss the NCAA Tourney.

Man you need a Prozac air freshener at home!

 

[JPFisher]

This is pretty close to where I land. Individually, I can’t complain about any of the guys we brought in because all of them are at least solid with a few having the potential to be more. Taken as a whole, the possible drawback is that I don’t see a whole lot of star power with this group, and that includes Oweh, who I like, but struggled several times when he needed to carry the offense against good defensive teams. The “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” approach to teambuilding can definitely work, but basketball can still be a game that rewards simply having the best player on the floor at times as well.

I’ll probably get accused of being impossibly negative, but I think we’ll almost certainly be a good team. I’ll need to see us in action with our returnees looking drastically improved and our role player transfers thriving in expanded roles before assuming we’ve built a superteam like some apparently already feel confident in.

I prefer the versatile team approach much more than the star approach, personally.

1997, we win B2B if not for Derek Anderson's knee.

We have zero chance at an EE if Wall gets hurt, which he nearly did several times because of how fast and violent he was finishing at the rim.

Nerlens Noel gets hurt and we suddenly have the worst UK team in recent memory outside of the 2020 team.

We have absolutely no chance at a 'ship in 2012 if any of the star starters get injured – especially Davis.

2015 was full of stars, top to bottom, and couldn't win it. 2018 too.

I don't bring all that up to be contrary. I just really like the idea of having a ton of athletic redundancy on the roster so that we can fit guys into a lineup if there's an injury. I think we'll lean on JQ and Oweh quite a bit, and I even think Oweh will flourish since there'll be better talent around him. But, I don't see the season as being over if either of those guys are injured for a game or two or ten.

It'd be nice to have star power, I'll admit, but I'm definitely leery of it. Maybe I emphasize the drawbacks too much in my mind. Lol

 

[Creed Bratton]

Is there a reason you were so specific on your examples?

Yes because those were complaints we heard all season long this year. They typically regurgitate the same crap every season.

 

[NerlensCat]

Neither does any team in the country.

Brea was a historically good shooter. We won't need to make as many threes this year with the improved defense.

It is funny how people think you can just get a Brea shooter every year and should or you failed. I would suggest that we have 2 of the best shooters in the game on the bench who probably will not get many minutes because of their defense. If the stick to it and improve their D, I could see some opportunity in year 3. Before anyone says they didn’t shoot that well, I would counter with, they were freshman playing earlier in their career than expected against a historically great SEC. You give them looks in a normal SEC, I think both will average over 40% from 3. They just can’t do that and then allow the other team unfettered access to the rim. Don’t get me wrong, not saying either will ever be starters at UK. But, I do think they are both excellent shooters.

 

[SenseMaker]

It is funny how people think you can just get a Brea shooter every year and should or you failed.

Agree. There were less than 10 non senior players that shot at least 42% from three last season. FWIW - Brea shot 43.5%.

 

[Skyguyb27]

Actually Indiana has a shooter close to what Brea is because Mark Pope wiffed.

I’m starting to think you are a troll.

 

[Skyguyb27]

I think Pope excelled this offseason and exceeded my expectations. (However while I’m happy with Aberdeen I would have like to see Griffen brought on.) I’ll give him an A- or A but that’s with the assumptions JQ is healthy and Lowe is the player we all think he can be. And I think those are valid concerns. The shooting I think overall will be as good or good enough. Kam, I’m very excited to watch. I am ready for Big Blue Madness right now.

 

[MegaBlue05]

I’m starting to think you are a troll.

Or just a dumbasss.

This dude is always negative and must base his self worth on his perceived strength of the UK roster.

 

[MegaBlue05]

Solid A from me.

Could be higher or lower based on results on the court.

I don’t put as much emphasis on 3 point percentage as many of you because system is an important part of that numbet. Take Lowe, for example. His splits aren’t super impressive, but he was the only option on a bad team with a stagnant offense. A lot of his shots were desperation chucks as the shot clock was expiring.

I am excited about this roster and think we upgraded massively in defense, rebounding and athleticism.

 

[WildcatNC]

A for sure.

Only reason it's not an A+ is I would have liked to have more "proven" shooting and have a top 10 draft talent with no question marks (if JQ is truly healthy when the season starts then that is him though).

That is definitely nitpicking though, I'm pretty ecstatic about this class. Even the guys we have with lower shooting percentages I feel like they can raise them easily with more help and a better system here where they will get open looks easier.

 

[Cats192]

Reading the replies, some people act like we can't give out A's unless we go steal All-Americans from other schools.

Mark Sears wasn't a proven power 5 player when Alabama took him.
Tyler Kolek wasn't a proven power 5 player when Marquette took him.
Johni Broome wasn't a proven power 5 player when Auburn took him.

All those guys eventually became All-Americans despite no power 5 experience when they transferred. They had the "question marks" people keep talking about it.

Some people act like Pope was supposed to go out and get a portal class full of All-Americans. That's not a thing. You've got to identify guys that haven't blown up yet.

Aberdeen is power 5 proven. The criticism is he came off the bench. But Florida had 2 of the best guards in the nation. Florida didn't recruit over him. They wanted to start Lee and Aberdeen. Aberdeen was reportedly put off that Florida gave Lee so much NIL (I keep hearing 2.7 to 3 million), but they expected Aberdeen to keep taking the same. Aberdeen was going to start alongside Lee this year. Florida fans are upset.

Lowe is power 5 proven. A lot of talk about effiency. Poor efficiency is often a sign of trying to do too much on a bad team. Lowe can beat his man off the dribble. The efficiency will improve with more talent and the Mark Pope offense.

Oweh will be pre-season All-SEC, likely Pre-season All-American.

Dioubate is power 5 proven. He only played 16 minutes per game last year. He averaged 7 and 6. In 32 minutes per game, that would extrapolate to 14 and 12. Those of you that like the effieicny numbers--this guy has it.

JQ's knee is absolutely a question mark. I'm not concerned. I would be if we lost Garrison. Garrison can become a very solid starting center. JQ gives you the high upside. Garrison gives us a floor. Garrison gives JQ time to recover. Both guys have Power 5 experience.