Mark Pope says he still wants more player in the roster

[UKSanders]

Just don’t see any of this working out, the kind of kids that are content playing 5mpg or less we don’t have. The transfers left previous schools playing 15mpg+ so they won’t stick around playing way less. Top freshmen like Jasper and Moreno you have to play them or lose them they aren’t waiting their turn. So if you do even all the minutes out then our best 5 aren’t on the floor nearly enough and it hurts our chances. To have any continuity when you get from like 11-15 only Noah/Max Green types even have a chance to stick around and that’s not even guaranteed anymore. Kids today don’t have to sit and rot on a bench, can get paid and get more minutes somewhere else. Was my concern with recruiting over Lewis and Moreno before they ever got here Jasper we will see. You don’t have to start them and rely on them like Cal did but you have to give them 15mpg or so if you can’t give them that then seems easier to grab a portal guy in less than a week rather than spending a year or more recruiting high school. I hope coach has a formula that will work but I feel we will lose 5 or so after this season. Most top freshmen from last year are either going pro or transferring even from top schools.

That is pretty much spot on if I'm not playing I'm leaving.
For JQ don't count on him playing till you see him on the floor. He's not going to play 80/90% healthy, not worth the risk for him.

Oweh should be back from all the mock drafts, but all it takes is one person from one team to really like him.

I think Pope's coaching staff AND most fans agree. Even at the 13-14 spots on roster, the guys will still get paid, and depending on the school they transfer from, it may STILL be more at UK than other places (even it's like 100-300k).

That's why Pope was specific that there are a couple of unique circumstances/criteria of who they would looking to add to that spot:

1. A player from a low level program who maybe has a year left and just wants the chance to wear the blueblood jersey (like UK)/be on a team chasing a championship.
2. A player with the same mindset as #1, but is younger and needs more development of his physical body, his game, or both and is willing to redshirt b/c just practicing against more elite talent could he develop him more than playing or even starting against lesser talent. That player sees that his potential playing time and earnings as a 4th year JR / 5th year SR is higher than it is today as a younger player. That's why I could see someone like Noah buying into a long-term vision/plan like that.


Again, it will not be a HUGE number of guys like this, but they ARE out there. Ansley Almonor was an example this year of a player who no one ever expected to wear a UK jersey, and he saw it as a once in a lifetime opportunity. I understand it isn't exactly the same as he played more than a 13th guy would, but the mindset is the similarity.

 

[bucsrule8872]

We wants 12 players in the rotation, genius. Noah and Moreno are not rotation players. You were up in people’s faces yesterday claiming exactly the opposite of what Pope just said and now you’re here talking trash about it because you’re that way.

He said he had his 12. Those 12 on the roster right now are our rotation players.

Now if a potential superstar drops in our laps, Pope ain’t telling them “no thanks,” but he isn’t actively recruiting anyone that’s going to be in the rotation.

In other words, he is content with the 12 he has, but he is always open to adding another player if they fit.

There’s a subtle difference between trying to add another player and being open to adding another player.

 

[bucsrule8872]

I could see Pope going with something like this:

G Lowe(25)/Johnson(15)
G Oweh(25)/Chandler(15)
G Aberdeen(20)/Williams(15)/Noah(5)
F Dioubate(20)/Jelavic(15)/Garrison(5)
F Garrison(15)/Quaintance(15)/Moreno(10)

+/- 2-3 minutes each. Oweh probably play a little more and some of the younger guys might play a little less.

And as we get deeper into the season, the rotation will tighten and you’ll see the starters play a little more.

Garrison and Moreno probably plays a lot more until Quaintance is back. Then by the end of the year, Moreno is probably looking at spot duty, if Quaintance is 100%.

Noah probably eventually falls out of the rotation as well, giving the other wings a little
more time on the floor.

By postseason, I think we will be down to our top 10 guys playing and 1-5 getting close to 30 minutes and 6-7 getting 20+ minutes.

That is with the hope that there are no significant injuries.

 

[AJG-15]

This is great news that Pope is wanting use more spots on the roster. If the plan is to redshirt players, I would most talented Kentucky boys route or international ( there are kids like Canadian Olivier Rioux that redshirt at Florida or other European prospects that could get use a year to adjust to American food and get stronger).

 

[AshWilliams]

12 man rotation is crazy. I don’t see it being a thing for long. We have some guys who need to be on the floor the majority of the time like Oweh. Maybe others this season. I think he should be looking at redshirt for noah but if feel that could have run off Perry. So idk how you handle that.

Oweh only needs to play the second half of games

 

[AshWilliams]

I think Pope is gonna TRY to do this as long as everyone stays healthy.

Start/backup
PG- Lowe/Jasper
SG- Aberdeen/Chandler
SF- Oweh/Kam
PF- Mo/Jelavic
C- Garrison/Jayden

Noah will come in based on situations and matchups at the SG/SF.
Moreno will come in based on situations and matchups at the PF/C.
Probably see Jasper, Aberdeen and Chandler as backup PG early with coach experiment different lineups.
Probably see Mo, Jelavic, Garrison and Jayden switch the PF/C spots to see who play better with who etc.

Either way we should never be in foul trouble or have depth issues with this many good players on the team. Anything we add from here on out is like icing on the cake imo. The teams that aren’t very deep are really going to struggle against us the last 10 minutes of the game.

Wish the season started today. This lineup, bruh...exciting. I don't really see any weaknesses.

 

[BlueSince92]

He said he had his 12. Those 12 on the roster right now are our rotation players.

Now if a potential superstar drops in our laps, Pope ain’t telling them “no thanks,” but he isn’t actively recruiting anyone that’s going to be in the rotation.

In other words, he is content with the 12 he has, but he is always open to adding another player if they fit.

There’s a subtle difference between trying to add another player and being open to adding another player.

“I have twelve now, so I have twelve guys WHO CAN COME HELP US”

“We’re actually trying to round out this roster”

“I’m actually scouring the planet right now for guys that would fit in as maybe a redshirt guy that would kill it in practice OR MAYBE A LAST YEAR OF YOUR CAREER GUY THAT WANTS TO COME HERE AND PUT ON THIS ONE OF ONE JERSEY AND BE A PART OF THIS” (who is not coming here for the bench)

I don’t have any problem with the way you’re handling this. You’re looking at this through your own lens and trying to make your own conglomerate sense out of a lot of disparate quotes and data points that all have to fit together somehow and it’s hard for us fans to know exactly how—and frankly hard for anyone even the coaching staff to know exactly how it all can and should come together in the future as far as the ultimate details. We are making some of our assumptions differently and that’s cool: we ought to be or this place would be boring.

But when someone like @JwUKFan11 swoops in quoting people directly who weren’t talking directly to anyone themselves and telling them they’re wrong like he’s the Wildcats police, literally telling them they’re dumb to be thinking what they’re thinking, and then he’s blatantly wrong on top of that——-for the good of the community I just like to push back on crap like that so more people feel comfortable just sharing their own ideas which is what we’re all here for.

 

[ukfan1622]

I agree. He stands to gain the most financially from a redshirt as well. The guy has everything you need to be successful other than explosion. If he had a slightly quicker first step or vertical, it would be huge for his success.

I said weeks ago that Perry and Noah should redshirt and most people just said "nah, nobody redshirts anymore", but NIL changes things. From the standpoint of a player with little NBA future his best earnings potential of his life might be his junior and senior years of college and you won't make much money as a junior if you aren't a rotation player as a sophomore. I'm glad to hear that Pope also sees the value of redshirting.

 

[ukfan1622]

That is pretty much spot on if I'm not playing I'm leaving.
For JQ don't count on him playing till you see him on the floor. He's not going to play 80/90% healthy, not worth the risk for him.

Oweh should be back from all the mock drafts, but all it takes is one person from one team to really like him.

There won't be many guys with eligibility left in the 2nd round from now on; if you're good enough to go in the second round in the draft you can make a lot more money for another year in college and then have the same chances.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

UK played 12 guys last season, with Travis Perry getting the least minutes at 10min/gm. At a minimum, Pope is going to play 10 guys a lot of minutes - near platoon like, I think. For players, agents, etc. smart enough to understand, it's a way to play that can make players' efficiency numbers look really good.

We played that many last season because of injuries. Nothing more. Nothing less. It was out of need, not want.

Some of you have to get on board with this. Pope is a coach. And ALL coaches are salesmen. There are currently 12 guys on the roster. Do you REALLY think a guy as smart as Pope is going to say he only wants to play 8 guys?

 

[NerlensCat]

I said weeks ago that Perry and Noah should redshirt and most people just said "nah, nobody redshirts anymore", but NIL changes things. From the standpoint of a player with little NBA future his best earnings potential of his life might be his junior and senior years of college and you won't make much money as a junior if you aren't a rotation player as a sophomore. I'm glad to hear that Pope also sees the value of redshirting.

I would think it is especially beneficial for home state kids who can leverage hometown/home state love and are not short term NBA kids.

I think Noah has the intangibles that make him a good long term bet to be a really good player in a couple of years. If I were him, I would pray at the alter of the “knees over toes” strength training program if I were him.

 

[catsfanbgky]

UK played 12 guys last season, with Travis Perry getting the least minutes at 10min/gm. At a minimum, Pope is going to play 10 guys a lot of minutes - near platoon like, I think. For players, agents, etc. smart enough to understand, it's a way to play that can make players' efficiency numbers look really good.

Nope. Until the injuries, 9 played. Perry, Noah, and Chandler was getting 5/6 minutes per game. Even after the injuries, all 3 BARELY averaged over 10 mpg. It was NOT a 12 man roster. It was 9, with 3 freshmen getting mop up minutes.

 

[catsfanbgky]

Early / middle of the season minutes played :

Chandler
Duke 2 / WKU 4 / Georgia St. 5 / Gonzaga 5 / Colgate 3 / Ohio St. 6 / Georgia 2 / Vandy 3

Noah
Wright St. 4 / Bucknell 4 / Lipscomb 7 / Jackson St. 3 / Georgia St. 2 / Brown 4 / Colgate 11

Perry
Wright St. 4 / Bucknell 3 / Lipscomb 7 / Jackson St. 6 / Georgia St. 2 / Gonzaga 3 / Colgate 9 / UL 7 / Ohio St. 3 / Florida 7 / Georgia 6 /

Miss. St. 6 / Bama 7 / Vandy 7 / UT 5 / Arkansas 8

Remember a bunch of the early games was blow outs and they still didn't get meaningful minutes. When Robinson and Butler went down, all 3 increased greatly. But they was NOT part of a 12 player rotation during normal circumstances.

 

[G-PIP]

We played that many last season because of injuries. Nothing more. Nothing less. It was out of need, not want.

Some of you have to get on board with this. Pope is a coach. And ALL coaches are salesmen. There are currently 12 guys on the roster. Do you REALLY think a guy as smart as Pope is going to say he only wants to play 8 guys?

There are always injuries. Some cause absence for a game or two, some are season ending. Regardless, Pope has a history of how he plays – and he plays a lot of guys a lot of minutes. Now his last year at BYU the 12th man did only play 8 min./gm., so there is that difference. But then again, he played the 13th, 14th & 15th guys on that BYU squad a lot more than those positions played at UK last season.

So, maybe “some of you” need to look into what Pope has said and how he has played recently at BYU & UK to understand the coaching philosophy Pope has developed based on efficiency numbers. Or you can continue the transference of how you think the game should be played onto how Pope will play. I’m good either way.

 

[G-PIP]

Nope. Until the injuries, 9 played. Perry, Noah, and Chandler was getting 5/6 minutes per game. Even after the injuries, all 3 BARELY averaged over 10 mpg. It was NOT a 12 man roster. It was 9, with 3 freshmen getting mop up minutes.

All I can say is that I believe Pope has both demonstrated and talked about why from an analytical standpoint he wants to play a lot of guys - guys maybe intentionally recruited due to differing strengths, So, if Pope has enough guys that play well and bring different things, I think we’ll continue to see him play a lot of guys a lot of minutes – with a short roster maybe it is 9 guys, but if he has the horses (Derby reference) then I think he’s clearly indicated he’ll play 10 or more.

 

[JwUKFan11]

“I have twelve now, so I have twelve guys WHO CAN COME HELP US”

“We’re actually trying to round out this roster”

“I’m actually scouring the planet right now for guys that would fit in as maybe a redshirt guy that would kill it in practice OR MAYBE A LAST YEAR OF YOUR CAREER GUY THAT WANTS TO COME HERE AND PUT ON THIS ONE OF ONE JERSEY AND BE A PART OF THIS” (who is not coming here for the bench)

I don’t have any problem with the way you’re handling this. You’re looking at this through your own lens and trying to make your own conglomerate sense out of a lot of disparate quotes and data points that all have to fit together somehow and it’s hard for us fans to know exactly how—and frankly hard for anyone even the coaching staff to know exactly how it all can and should come together in the future as far as the ultimate details. We are making some of our assumptions differently and that’s cool: we ought to be or this place would be boring.

But when someone like @JwUKFan11 swoops in quoting people directly who weren’t talking directly to anyone themselves and telling them they’re wrong like he’s the Wildcats police, literally telling them they’re dumb to be thinking what they’re thinking, and then he’s blatantly wrong on top of that——-for the good of the community I just like to push back on crap like that so more people feel comfortable just sharing their own ideas which is what we’re all here for.

There is actually something wrong with you mentally if you can't understand that the 12 players we have now are the core after he said he's looking for redshirt players to round out the rosters. That isn't a difference of opinion, it's just you not having the skills needed to comprehend.

 

[rivercatinfl]

That is pretty much spot on if I'm not playing I'm leaving.
For JQ don't count on him playing till you see him on the floor. He's not going to play 80/90% healthy, not worth the risk for him.

Oweh should be back from all the mock drafts, but all it takes is one person from one team to really like him.

I agree with that comment about JQ. My gut says he may not play a minute for us for that very reason.
Plus I'm jaded from previous guys like Vanderbilt and Shady Sharpe.
I hope I'm wrong but I won't believe it until I see it.

 

[jeffky]

Maybe he’s doubtful on Oweh returning.

 

[G-PIP]

I agree with that comment about JQ. My gut says he may not play a minute for us for that very reason.
Plus I'm jaded from previous guys like Vanderbilt and Shady Sharpe.
I hope I'm wrong but I won't believe it until I see it.

I don't want to get a "Debbie Downer" Gif from Jeff. Lol. But I'm kind of in a wait and see mode myself with Quaintance. And it's not because of the type of nonsense that occurred with Sharpe. To the contrary, I'm pretty impressed with young Mr. Quaintance after hearing him being interviewed a couple of times now. Smart kid who, along with parents, seems to value the education part of his college time (I'll bet right now that he eventually gets his college degree, maybe even before his professional basketball career is over). For instance, Jeff Goodman was interviewing him a month or so ago and was trying to be all cool and sidle up to Quaintance with a joke about him going to classes - suggesting Quaintance obviously wasn't worried about doing that. Well, Quaintance put him in his place quick, saying not only did go to class, he also doesn't miss any classes - because he wants to go, not because anybody is making him. And he was clear that he wants and intends to play this season at UK.

Now, the nagging worrisome part for me, however, is the history some others have had with Quaintance's injury. Jamal Murray took what - a year and half to get back playing? But I'm sure there are other examples where guys recovered much quicker - maybe Dereck Anderson? Anyway, I'm hopeful, but not counting my chickens yet.

 

[HogFan2012]

I agree with that comment about JQ. My gut says he may not play a minute for us for that very reason.
Plus I'm jaded from previous guys like Vanderbilt and Shady Sharpe.
I hope I'm wrong but I won't believe it until I see it.

That was my first thought when he signed.
Thank you for the Mil or so and a place to rehab.
He will need to be 100%, get in game shape, then trust his leg that is usually a mind thing to 100% trust it again.

 

[L.O.D.]

I mean honestly we could use another pg. I'm sure a few of our combos can handle it for 1/3 the game but we got no back up to lowe for a true point. Kind of weird with the issues this year this wasn't addressed better. We added 1 and lost 2 1/2. I hope Jasper, Aberdeen, or Chsndler can handle it if needed.

 

[pastorbob]

We were at our best last year when we ran, As teams began (SEC) to get physical with us we wore down and did not have the efficiency to run with substitutes or worn-down players. Pope will run 10 to 12 men this year as they are 1) more Physical 2) close in efficiency threw out, with different skills. This is his close to his dream team. This is the way you win the NCAA !!

 

[tapemaster8]

If Pope does play 12 rotational players, he'll have trouble recruiting the following year. Players aren't going to want to come to play 15 minutes/game even if they are making a mil/year. They can get that elsewhere and not have to wait in line for playing time.

That was Cal’s thinking and we haven’t been to a final four since.

 

[bucsrule8872]

I mean honestly we could use another pg. I'm sure a few of our combos can handle it for 1/3 the game but we got no back up to lowe for a true point. Kind of weird with the issues this year this wasn't addressed better. We added 1 and lost 2 1/2. I hope Jasper, Aberdeen, or Chsndler can handle it if needed.

Lowe, Johnson, and Aberdeen will handle the 1 spot. Chandler will slide over to the 1, in case of emergency.

Lowe replaces Butler. Johnson replaces Kriisa. Aberdeen replaces Robinson.

If we have another injury outbreak at PG like last year, I’m seriously thinking Bruce Pearl or Rick Barnes has a voodoo doll or something.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

There are always injuries. Some cause absence for a game or two, some are season ending. Regardless, Pope has a history of how he plays – and he plays a lot of guys a lot of minutes. Now his last year at BYU the 12th man did only play 8 min./gm., so there is that difference. But then again, he played the 13th, 14th & 15th guys on that BYU squad a lot more than those positions played at UK last season.

So, maybe “some of you” need to look into what Pope has said and how he has played recently at BYU & UK to understand the coaching philosophy Pope has developed based on efficiency numbers. Or you can continue the transference of how you think the game should be played onto how Pope will play. I’m good either way.

Correct, there are always injuries. Which is why those guys get mins. You can use subtle passive-aggressive shots to prove your point at an attempt to be the smartest guy in the room. Or, and hang with me here, you can look and see those guys from about 10-whatever play much bigger minutes in games they're not going to struggle with. You can also see they seriously shorten the rotation against teams they know it's going to be a game. Now I know operating in the macro and just looking up season averages helps "prove" your point, but you might try the micro approach. Go look up BYU's season in the Big XII with Pope. Let me know how many guys were playing more than 20 mins/game against the better Big XII teams. What's all this mean? If playing increased mins versus the directional schools to increase mins/game averages makes you think 12 guys are "in the rotation", cool. It's just weird to me how those guys won't be "in the rotation" versus good teams. For that, I'm good either way.

 

[G-PIP]

Correct, there are always injuries. Which is why those guys get mins. You can use subtle passive-aggressive shots to prove your point at an attempt to be the smartest guy in the room. Or, and hang with me here, you can look and see those guys from about 10-whatever play much bigger minutes in games they're not going to struggle with. You can also see they seriously shorten the rotation against teams they know it's going to be a game. Now I know operating in the macro and just looking up season averages helps "prove" your point, but you might try the micro approach. Go look up BYU's season in the Big XII with Pope. Let me know how many guys were playing more than 20 mins/game against the better Big XII teams. What's all this mean? If playing increased mins versus the directional schools to increase mins/game averages makes you think 12 guys are "in the rotation", cool. It's just weird to me how those guys won't be "in the rotation" versus good teams. For that, I'm good either way.

I don’t think I’m the one that tries to play the smartest guy in the room role here. Honestly, that seems to be your thing. Here are some quotes from a couple of articles about Pope’s philosophy to play a lot of guys a lot of minutes:

“Mark Pope is known for not playing any of his players too much, as he spreads out the minutes more than most coaches.”

On his radio show on Monday, Pope was asked about how he rotates players and what this is going to look like in March once the postseason rolls around. Here was Coach Pope's response, "It'll be a little bit of a balance. “We work really hard to keep bodies on the floor as fresh as we can. We rely very much on energy."

“It is clear, based on [the] statements from Coach Pope, that the Wildcats are going to run a lot of players out on the floor in the Big Dance.”

[Sports Illustrated article by Andrew Stefaniak]

AND

The Kentucky coach goes in-depth on why Kentucky's starters don't play more minutes.

“Despite Kentucky coach Mark Pope winning seven games vs. top-15 opponents in his first season, one of the major complaints among fans, even with the Wildcats down two starters and one reserve due to injury, has been the substitution pattern. . . . When asked why he doesn't play his best players more minutes, Pope said it all comes down to energy.”

"We're very much an attacking team and very much an energy team so we work really hard to keep bodies on the floor as fresh as we can," Pope said. "It's a key to how we play offensively and a key to how we function defensively is having fresh bodies."

"What we noticed is . . . we were having a letdown in the second 10 minutes of the first half and what you saw was when guys were getting to extended minutes. And it wasn't our reserves. It was the second long rotation of our starters when we began to struggle a little bit,"

[By Chris Fischer, Feb. 25, 2025].

 

[Eagles_Ball]

I don’t think I’m the one that tries to play the smartest guy in the room role here. Honestly, that seems to be your thing. Here are some quotes from a couple of articles about Pope’s philosophy to play a lot of guys a lot of minutes:

“Mark Pope is known for not playing any of his players too much, as he spreads out the minutes more than most coaches.”

On his radio show on Monday, Pope was asked about how he rotates players and what this is going to look like in March once the postseason rolls around. Here was Coach Pope's response, "It'll be a little bit of a balance. “We work really hard to keep bodies on the floor as fresh as we can. We rely very much on energy."

“It is clear, based on [the] statements from Coach Pope, that the Wildcats are going to run a lot of players out on the floor in the Big Dance.”

[Sports Illustrated article by Andrew Stefaniak]

AND

The Kentucky coach goes in-depth on why Kentucky's starters don't play more minutes.

“Despite Kentucky coach Mark Pope winning seven games vs. top-15 opponents in his first season, one of the major complaints among fans, even with the Wildcats down two starters and one reserve due to injury, has been the substitution pattern. . . . When asked why he doesn't play his best players more minutes, Pope said it all comes down to energy.”

"We're very much an attacking team and very much an energy team so we work really hard to keep bodies on the floor as fresh as we can," Pope said. "It's a key to how we play offensively and a key to how we function defensively is having fresh bodies."

"What we noticed is . . . we were having a letdown in the second 10 minutes of the first half and what you saw was when guys were getting to extended minutes. And it wasn't our reserves. It was the second long rotation of our starters when we began to struggle a little bit,"

[By Chris Fischer, Feb. 25, 2025].

Words over box scores? Okay. If that’s what you prefer, go ahead. All coaches sell. Even Pope. Which is exactly what he’s doing when he says he’s going to play 12 guys. In the actual 20 or so games of the season that are competitive, go look and see how many guys are getting more than 12 mins. It ain’t gonna be, and never has been, 12 guys. If you still think the guys not getting those mins in those games are still in the rotation, I suppose we just chalk it up to semantics.

 

[BlueSince92]

There is actually something wrong with you mentally if you can't understand that the 12 players we have now are the core after he said he's looking for redshirt players to round out the rosters. That isn't a difference of opinion, it's just you not having the skills needed to comprehend.

Forget the fact that’s only half what he said and he also said he’s looking for fifth-year seniors, there’s something wrong with you spiritually that you would find it okay, much less find it necessary, to talk about another person like that. Whatever it is, I pray you overcome it, brother man.

 

[maysvilleky]

UT women basically played Hockey line shifts rotating players every 3 minutes. I hope he doesn’t go to that. No one can develop a rhythm or flow in the game.

 

[screwduke1]

12 man rotation is crazy. I don’t see it being a thing for long. We have some guys who need to be on the floor the majority of the time like Oweh. Maybe others this season. I think he should be looking at redshirt for noah but if feel that could have run off Perry. So idk how you handle that.

Eh, not really that crazy. We had a 12 man rotation going on literally last year before injuries cut it down some.

 

[westerncat]

UK is going to be fine this coming season. I trust Pope and his staff. Most players are just playing for the money these days. I hope we do get another player or two and Pope use's them all and run the opponents ragged .

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Eh, not really that crazy. We had a 12 man rotation going on literally last year before injuries cut it down some.

I dont really remember a true 12 man rotation.

 

[G-PIP]

I dont really remember a true 12 man rotation.

To me – and this is just my opinion based on what I’ve read and seen – I think Pope’s intent is pretty clearly to play 10 guys a whole lot, with the “2nd unit” guys playing something like 15-17 min/gm averages. I’m guessing that if there are injuries to those top 10 guys Pope may not play the 11th & 12th guys as much as he would have the guys they replaced, but I think we’ve seen evidence that he is still going to try to adhere pretty closely to a 10 man rotation if possible. Even if they’re all healthy Pope may still play his 11th & 12th guys more than most, but I think his system is to play 10 guys as a matter of course. On paper, as they say, I think the roster he’s put together can pull that style off well.

 

[zoid1]

Look at it this way

We replaced
Butler with Lowe/lowe better offense butler better defense
Krissa with jasper/im sure jasper will have great impact in every game
Oweh jr with Oweh sr
Robinson with Aberdeen/aberdeen plays all year it’s a win
Carr with Jelavic/id says it’s a win with a healthy Jelavic and hurt carr
Amari with Jayden/id says it’s a push if Jayden comes back 100%
Brea with kam/brea obviously a better shooter but kam can excel is several other areas
Almoror with diabate/id say other then shooting mo is a big upgrade
garrison so with garrison jr
Chandler fr with chandler so
Noah fr with Noah so
Moreno X factor this year

 

[bucsrule8872]

Look at it this way

We replaced
Butler with Lowe/lowe better offense butler better defense
Krissa with jasper/im sure jasper will have great impact in every game
Oweh jr with Oweh sr
Robinson with Aberdeen/aberdeen plays all year it’s a win
Carr with Jelavic/id says it’s a win with a healthy Jelavic and hurt carr
Amari with Jayden/id says it’s a push if Jayden comes back 100%
Brea with kam/brea obviously a better shooter but kam can excel is several other areas
Almoror with diabate/id say other then shooting mo is a big upgrade
garrison so with garrison jr
Chandler fr with chandler so
Noah fr with Noah so
Moreno X factor this year

I’ve posted basically the same thing except I expect Dioubate to replace Carr minute wise.
I expect Dioubate to start at the 4 over Jelavic. Dioubate will be an upgrade defensively over Carr, but probably a downgrade offensively.

I think Jelavic replaces Almonor as the back up. I have no idea what Jelavic can give us, so I am expecting he has a back up role.

If Jelavic is good enough to start, we are going to be very, very good this season.

 

[KampusKat]

Love to see a couple of state kids -- let's get another D. Hawkins or D. Willis who wants to play in Blue and can develop for JR/SR year

 

[zoid1]

Look at size comparison
Butler 6-2 208/Lowe 6-3 180
Robinson 6-6 192/Aberdeen 6-5 189
Brea 6-7 215/Kam 6-8 190
Carr 6-11 235/Jelavic 6-11 220
Amari 7-0 262/Jayden 6-9 230
Krissa 6-3 185/Jasper 6-4 185
Armorer 6-7 244/Mo 6-7 215
Get our leading scorer back Oweh 6-5 215
3 other players who contributed
BG 6-10 250
Chandler 6-5 202
Noah 6-5 220
Other talented fresh
Moreno 7-0 235

We have a legitimate deep talented athletic and experienced roster that goes 12 deep. Coach certainly upgraded our defense athleticism rebounding and pure talent with this roster. Not to mention 5 players back that played in his system if you include Tow. If Jayden gets back to 100% look out we should be top 5 all year with a serious chance to win #9 barring any major injuries again with the core 8 or 9 players.