I know some are a little concerned about the recent recruiting misses. However, with the returning players and committed recruits I believe Kentucky will be in the thick of things next season. This year was a perfect example, the best team rarely wins the whole thing. Once you reach the Sweet 16 it becomes about the matchups and whether a team can get hot at the right time. The 2016 version of the Cats should have no problem snagging a 3 seed or better. Any team that is a 3 seed or higher has a good shot at making a run to the Final 4 and beyond. I don't expect to be ranked number one every week or go undefeated, as a fan all I ask for is a competitive team with a shot at making a run. Next years team definitely fits that bill and I cannot wait!
Kentucky will be just fine next year!
- Thread starter TJ-Cat
- Start date
I think we have the chance to be a good team but fans shouldn't discount the questions either.
Will Poythress be able to recover from his injury and will he be available for the OOC portion of the schedule?
Will Skal be eligible?Trust me it's UK,the NCAA would love to screw us
Will Willis take advantage of this opportunity?
Will Hawkins take advantage of this opportunity?
Will foul trouble with our frontcourt at present cause us to lose a couple of games due to lack of depth?
Will Mulder,Matthews and Briscoe be the shooters we all hope they will be?
Will Marcus Lee take that leap forward with his overall game?
Will Poythress be able to recover from his injury and will he be available for the OOC portion of the schedule?
Will Skal be eligible?Trust me it's UK,the NCAA would love to screw us
Will Willis take advantage of this opportunity?
Will Hawkins take advantage of this opportunity?
Will foul trouble with our frontcourt at present cause us to lose a couple of games due to lack of depth?
Will Mulder,Matthews and Briscoe be the shooters we all hope they will be?
Will Marcus Lee take that leap forward with his overall game?
I'll admit their are lot of questions like
Which Poythress we'll see, 2015 Tourney or 2014 Bahamas?
Which Poythress we'll see, 2015 Tourney or 2014 Bahamas?
Poythress said on coach cal.com recently that he expects to be available well before the season starts. Skal is on the team and is available so there is nothing to clear. It's just a matter of the NCAA declaring ineligible. Does anyone now when to expect an official announcement from the NCAA? I know with kanter it was late into the offseason but this situation is different.
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Our level of success next season will hinge on three different points in my opinion:
We have the pieces to be a somewhat thin, but dynamic team next season. The backcourt of Ulis and Briscoe has the potential to be the most explosive duo in all of college basketball. Both are great scorers who have great court vision, amazing ball handling skills, and high basketball I.Q's. Our frontcourt will be strong despite fears to the contrary. Poythress, Lee, and Skal will create a great trio of bigs who will patrol the lane for us next season with Willis playing some at the 4 as well. None of them are particularly "big", but they are mobile and athletic and that's what Cal likes anyway. The wing spot is really the only dicey area. As of right now, 3 players will likely be sharing minutes at the 3 this season - Mulder, Matthews, and Willis. Willis, if he works on his game, will see a major increase in PT, especially at the 3 spot. He is definitely a player to watch in my opinion as he can have that amazing "jump" some players have between their sophomore and junior seasons. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see Cal name him a starter at the 3 if he develops his game enough. Matthews and Mulder will be relied upon to float between the 2/3 all season long.
If Cal can convince Jamal Murray to sign with UK and reclassify, that would be a dramatic turn of events for this team. In Murray you would have, not only another ball handler, but a scorer, and someone who can fill it up at that. He would likely float between the 1/2/3 spots as needed, but I'd imagine he'd start at the 3 to create a 1-2-3 combo of Ulis, Briscoe, and Murray - three guys who can handle the rock and shoot the three.
My guess is that if this team stays as it is, with mo more additions, that we're going to see somewhere in the neighborhood of 28-30 wins and an Elite Eight finish, which ain't bad at all really. If we add Murray, then this is a Final Four team capable of making a run at the national championship.
- Point one - does Cal sign another wing? (If it's Murray, expect a major jump in expectations for this team next season. If it's Vick or a similar player, expect those expectations to remain the same.)
- Point two - does Willis develop in the off-season and work on his weak points and comes back more aggressive and ready to play? (If Willis works on his game and comes in more aggressive and ready to fight for minutes, he could be the catalyst on this team. A lot of people are forgetting about him and that can make him a dangerous weapon to start the season because he is fully capable of being a 12-13 ppg kind of scorer).
- Point three - does Alex come back hungry and ready to take the reigns and be the leader of this team on and off the court?
We have the pieces to be a somewhat thin, but dynamic team next season. The backcourt of Ulis and Briscoe has the potential to be the most explosive duo in all of college basketball. Both are great scorers who have great court vision, amazing ball handling skills, and high basketball I.Q's. Our frontcourt will be strong despite fears to the contrary. Poythress, Lee, and Skal will create a great trio of bigs who will patrol the lane for us next season with Willis playing some at the 4 as well. None of them are particularly "big", but they are mobile and athletic and that's what Cal likes anyway. The wing spot is really the only dicey area. As of right now, 3 players will likely be sharing minutes at the 3 this season - Mulder, Matthews, and Willis. Willis, if he works on his game, will see a major increase in PT, especially at the 3 spot. He is definitely a player to watch in my opinion as he can have that amazing "jump" some players have between their sophomore and junior seasons. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see Cal name him a starter at the 3 if he develops his game enough. Matthews and Mulder will be relied upon to float between the 2/3 all season long.
If Cal can convince Jamal Murray to sign with UK and reclassify, that would be a dramatic turn of events for this team. In Murray you would have, not only another ball handler, but a scorer, and someone who can fill it up at that. He would likely float between the 1/2/3 spots as needed, but I'd imagine he'd start at the 3 to create a 1-2-3 combo of Ulis, Briscoe, and Murray - three guys who can handle the rock and shoot the three.
My guess is that if this team stays as it is, with mo more additions, that we're going to see somewhere in the neighborhood of 28-30 wins and an Elite Eight finish, which ain't bad at all really. If we add Murray, then this is a Final Four team capable of making a run at the national championship.
The situation with Kanter is far different than that with Skal. With Kanter, he hadn't actually been cleared to compete if i recall correctly. The NCAA was investigating impermissible benefits and amateurism vs. professionalism in Kanter's case, while if there is any investigation concerning Skal, it will be into whether his legal guardian was "shopping" him to schools and trying to profit from him. Funny enough, this story did not break until AFTER Skal had committed to UK and the source was someone in the Memphis area. Sounds like sour grapes to me for Skal not picking to play at Memphis. Besides, there is no way that Cal would have anything to do with this kid if that were even remotely true, so I'm not worried about this.
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