Maybe we already have a great scorer

[52T]

I see some great shoters. Several. We have three very good freshman. Most people don't think will contribute. Maybe the ones that thought Dilly and Shep were two or three year players. Lot of times you got one dominate scorer. He goes cold you lose. I love the balance and defensive ability. I love this team our coach and he's system. The staff and their attitude. We will have a much better team than we woukd have had next year. I'm not saying I dont want a couple of the players we are talking to. I do. I'm saying. Dont underestimate what we already have. We have a team. Not a bunch of individuals trying to move to the NBA. Wish we could go back to the days when yiu had to play four years. At least like football. This is not rebuilding. It's already better

 

[Zissou87]

-Every great team has at least one superstar. UK doesn't have that right now.
-Two of those freshmen that you speak of aren't even top 50 in a very weak class. The other freshman has been away from competition for two years.
-The current coach only has two tournament appearances.

This team needs "a dude", as Jeff Goodman would say(with a mouth full of marbles).

 

[LXA_chop]

-Every great team has at least one superstar. UK doesn't have that right now.
-Two of those freshmen that you speak of aren't even top 50 in a very weak class. The other freshman has been away from competition for two years.
-The current coach only has two tournament appearances.

This team needs "a dude", as Jeff Goodman would say(with a mouth full of marbles).

UK has had plenty of "dudes" the last 5 years. What did it get us? If you don't like what we are, I'm sure Louisville is looking for more support.

 

[Mr. Stratford]

I see some great shoters. Several. We have three very good freshman. Most people don't think will contribute. Maybe the ones that thought Dilly and Shep were two or three year players. Lot of times you got one dominate scorer. He goes cold you lose. I love the balance and defensive ability. I love this team our coach and he's system. The staff and their attitude. We will have a much better team than we woukd have had next year. I'm not saying I dont want a couple of the players we are talking to. I do. I'm saying. Dont underestimate what we already have. We have a team. Not a bunch of individuals trying to move to the NBA. Wish we could go back to the days when yiu had to play four years. At least like football. This is not rebuilding. It's already better

You also can't overestimate what we have right now, and that's a lot of good role players. However, you need someone (an alpha) who can takeover the game in stretches. We do not have anyone like that right now.

Sheppard and Dilly came in expected to be true impact players as freshman. They weren't ranked where the freshman coming in this year are. It's apples to oranges as far as those comparisons go.

 

[Mr. Stratford]

UK has had plenty of "dudes" the last 5 years. What did it get us? If you don't like what we are, I'm sure Louisville is looking for more support.

We haven't really had dudes since 2019. We had good role players but seemed to always lack a start player. Oscar was a star rebounder, but definitely not an all-around star player.

This past year, Sheppard, Dillingham and Reeves were all close, which is why we had a relatively strong season until we cracked at the end.

It seems pretty ignorant to tell people they either have to like what we have now or go cheer on some other team. Seems to be a lot of area between the 2.

 

[littlecreek]

You also can't overestimate what we have right now, and that's a lot of good role players. However, you need someone (an alpha) who can takeover the game in stretches. We do not have anyone like that right now.

Sheppard and Dilly came in expected to be true impact players as freshman. They weren't ranked where the freshman coming in this year are. It's apples to oranges as far as those comparisons go.

Nobody expected Dilly, and especially Sheppard, to have the kind of impact they did this past year. Sheppard had one of the most surprising years of a freshman. Nearly all of us thought that he was going to be a 3-4 year player.

 

[Zissou87]

UK has had plenty of "dudes" the last 5 years. What did it get us? If you don't like what we are, I'm sure Louisville is looking for more support.

What successful programs DON’T have studs? You can be a fan and not be blind at the same time.

 

[BlueRunner11]

-Every great team has at least one superstar. UK doesn't have that right now.
-Two of those freshmen that you speak of aren't even top 50 in a very weak class. The other freshman has been away from competition for two years.
-The current coach only has two tournament appearances.

This team needs "a dude", as Jeff Goodman would say(with a mouth full of marbles).

I wouldn’t call Robinson or Lanier a superstar. Great pickups? Absolutely.

A go to guy or as the board likes to call it “a dude to get buckets” lol will likely evolve from the roster and it may not even be JR or CL.

I think the fans desire for this unicorn type of a player to fill the roster is a bit overrated. This isn’t going to be a Cal offense.

 

[WildcatNC]

-Every great team has at least one superstar. UK doesn't have that right now.

Honestly, none of us know that yet. Could be a guy already on board. Nor do we even know if we need that. Cal needed that. Pope's teams stats are pretty spread around. They don't seem to require "dudes" to make 1v1 plays in space.

I'll take all the "dudes" we can get. Just stacks the odds more in our favor that enough will perform to be an elite team. We could already have 1 or a few "dudes" though.

 

[MrHotDice]

I see some great shoters. Several. We have three very good freshman. Most people don't think will contribute. Maybe the ones that thought Dilly and Shep were two or three year players. Lot of times you got one dominate scorer. He goes cold you lose. I love the balance and defensive ability. I love this team our coach and he's system. The staff and their attitude. We will have a much better team than we woukd have had next year. I'm not saying I dont want a couple of the players we are talking to. I do. I'm saying. Dont underestimate what we already have. We have a team. Not a bunch of individuals trying to move to the NBA. Wish we could go back to the days when yiu had to play four years. At least like football. This is not rebuilding. It's already better

It’s a test of intelligence to make general statements about who will be a star. Stars are usually made from hard work and usually have been stars since grade school. Perry fits the mold and so does Noah. I suggest they play early, make mistakes but keep shooting with confidence. We have a lot of stars. Some know it some will discover it, and no one can say who that will be game in or game out. Just keep shooting and it will all work out.

 

[shaudyshaud]

UK has had plenty of "dudes" the last 5 years. What did it get us? If you don't like what we are, I'm sure Louisville is looking for more support.

Well it didn’t get us anywhere because of who was coaching .

That doesn’t mean they aren’t needed .

 

[Elliott Tim]

Well it didn’t get us anywhere because of who was coaching .

That doesn’t mean they aren’t needed .

You rebutted this in a most tactful manner.

 

[MdWIldcat55]

UK has had plenty of "dudes" the last 5 years. What did it get us?

There’s a basic lack in logic to say, “Kentucky didn’t win with “dudes” the last five years so the answer is to play without “dudes’”

That’s like failing to win the Kentucky Derby five straight years with elite thoroughbreds, so deciding to try it with a plow horse. Try something else, yes, which Kentucky is, but try it with dudes.

 

[ACT ONE]

Honestly, none of us know that yet. Could be a guy already on board. Nor do we even know if we need that. Cal needed that. Pope's teams stats are pretty spread around. They don't seem to require "dudes" to make 1v1 plays in space.

I'll take all the "dudes" we can get. Just stacks the odds more in our favor that enough will perform to be an elite team. We could already have 1 or a few "dudes" though.

Agreed. Let's let it play out. Who knows what we have until the season kicks off. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know any better than the rest of us. It's all speculation at this point. That is also part of the fun in looking forward to the season. Hopefully we are all pleasantly surprised.

 

[Zissou87]

I wouldn’t call Robinson or Lanier a superstar. Great pickups? Absolutely.

A go to guy or as the board likes to call it “a dude to get buckets” lol will likely evolve from the roster and it may not even be JR or CL.

I think the fans desire for this unicorn type of a player to fill the roster is a bit overrated. This isn’t going to be a Cal offense.

It's not going to be a Cal offense, but even coaches with systems need All-SEC level players. Right now, there's not a player on this roster that averaged over 15 points a game last year, and most of them are from mid-majors. The mid-major transfers that end up being all-conference/All-American are the go-to players from their previous teams and average around 20 a game.

 

[The_Answer1313]

UK has had plenty of "dudes" the last 5 years. What did it get us? If you don't like what we are, I'm sure Louisville is looking for more support.

I never understood this logic.

Yes we had dudes.
No we didn't win with them.

But you STILL NEED DUDES to win. Ask Uconn.

This reminds me of my favorite baseball team and people trying to use the logic that we should trade away our best players because we "didn't win anything with them".

You don't win by getting rid of the best guys, you get worse lol.

You need talent to win titles. Period.

 

[podgejeff_]

Nobody expected Reed Sheppard and Antonio Reeves to be what they became here. SGA, WCS, Ulis, Booker all wildly exceeded expectations.

My point is we won't know who the dudes are until they start playing.

 

[Mr. Stratford]

Nobody expected Dilly, and especially Sheppard, to have the kind of impact they did this past year. Sheppard had one of the most surprising years of a freshman. Nearly all of us thought that he was going to be a 3-4 year player.

Sure they did, particularly Dilly. He was viewed as an electric player with the potential for a major impact if he controlled his shot selection and didn't try to force things. Sheppard was considered ar a great all-around player that would be hard to keep off the floor. Both proved true. They were both Mc AA and ranked high for a reason. Neither is true of the guys we have coming in.

Now, most people didn't expect Reed to become a top 10 pick in yr one, but he earned his way up a pretty weak draft.

 

[Elliott Tim]

There’s a basic lack in logic to say, “Kentucky didn’t win with “dudes” the last five years so the answer is to play without “dudes’”

That’s like failing to win the Kentucky Derby five straight years with elite thoroughbreds, so deciding to try it with a plow horse. Try something else, yes, which Kentucky is, but try it with dudes.

Good.

 

[BlueRunner11]

It's not going to be a Cal offense, but even coaches with systems need All-SEC level players. Right now, there's not a player on this roster that averaged over 15 points a game last year, and most of them are from mid-majors. The mid-major transfers that end up being all-conference/All-American are the go-to players from their previous teams and average around 20 a game.

Welp… better hope for the best then. Not sure if you’re trying to take a shot at Pope or yearning for Cal to be back.

What if you have 7-8 guys averaging 9-13ppg? You don’t need a single guy carrrying the weight of the scoring.

Look, If they can win a single game in the SEC tourney and/or a single game in the NCAA tourney they’ll be an improvement on all those ALL SEC type players we’ve had the last few years.

I’m welcoming the change from being the underachieving laughingstock.

 

[Zissou87]

Nobody expected Reed Sheppard and Antonio Reeves to be what they became here. SGA, WCS, Ulis, Booker all wildly exceeded expectations.

My point is we won't know who the dudes are until they start playing.

Stop it.
-Ulis, Reed, and Booker were all burger boys. Plus, they had All-Americans on their teams as freshmen.
-SGA was a consensus top 50 recruit and played in the Nike Hoop Summit
-WCS was a top 50 recruit and his freshman year UK went to the NIT.
-Reeves averaged 20ppg at Illinois State

I'm just trying to put everything into perspective for year-one of the Pope era.

 

[fredmanthecatfan]

I think every guy on our team, by definition is a dude. I would be shocked to learn otherwise.

 

[In2theWild4ever]

Nobody expected Dilly, and especially Sheppard, to have the kind of impact they did this past year. Sheppard had one of the most surprising years of a freshman. Nearly all of us thought that he was going to be a 3-4 year player.

Exactly man, like several of these guys on the team who aren’t “dude” haha could become the “dude” this year.

 

[track42]

Since Cal couldn't win with studs it's obvious it was the player's fault and we should quit going after studs. That's actually what some idiots are saying.

 

[Wildcats1st]

I see some great shoters. Several. We have three very good freshman. Most people don't think will contribute. Maybe the ones that thought Dilly and Shep were two or three year players. Lot of times you got one dominate scorer. He goes cold you lose. I love the balance and defensive ability. I love this team our coach and he's system. The staff and their attitude. We will have a much better team than we woukd have had next year. I'm not saying I dont want a couple of the players we are talking to. I do. I'm saying. Dont underestimate what we already have. We have a team. Not a bunch of individuals trying to move to the NBA. Wish we could go back to the days when yiu had to play four years. At least like football. This is not rebuilding. It's already better

We have no one to take his man off the dribble and create his own shot. This is what people mean by scorers. If you want to open up the ability to hit threes you gotta have a guy who can draw attention by getting to the rim. Hey mark pope knows we need two players like that so that’s good enough for me.

 

[Zissou87]

Welp… better hope for the best then. Not sure if you’re trying to take a shot at Pope or yearning for Cal to be back.

What if you have 7-8 guys averaging 9-13ppg? You don’t need a single guy carrrying the weight of the scoring.

Look, If they can win a single game in the SEC tourney and/or a single game in the NCAA tourney they’ll be an improvement on all those ALL SEC type players we’ve had the last few years.

I’m welcoming the change from being the underachieving laughingstock.

Zero interest in Cal to be back, nor was it a shot at Pope. However, what successful balanced team doesn't have a star player? This isn’t just a UK question. Alabama runs a system, but Mark Sears isn't just a role player. The guy nearly led the league in scoring.

 

[BlueRunner11]

Since Cal couldn't win with studs it's obvious it was the player's fault and we should quit going after studs. That's actually what some idiots are saying.

I don’t think Pope is avoiding “studs” or can’t get “studs.”

I think he’s brought in the best available he could possibly get in year one. There’s been too many teams make NCAA tourney runs the last few years that consisted of players this board would’ve been critical about if they’d been recruited at UK. On the other hand, lots of these studs we’ve got excited about, don’t always pan out.

 

[FilsonCat]

Chandler may be a surprise. He's close to 6'6" now and was a top 25 recruit before his mission. I'd bet on him, Brea, Carr, and Kriisa being able to take big shots. If you add a Robinson and maybe one more forward to the mix, it is a deep roster with some guys who can shoot.

 

[The_Answer1313]

Nobody expected Reed Sheppard and Antonio Reeves to be what they became here. SGA, WCS, Ulis, Booker all wildly exceeded expectations.

My point is we won't know who the dudes are until they start playing.

The only thing I would say about this is most of those guys listed were coming in as Freshman. I think it was a bit tougher to predict what each would become. Most were highly rated so it seemed logical they would pan out.

This is a bit different. All these guys have had track records to some degree It's IMO less likely for those guys to become DUDES. Good players don't get me wrong. We could have a really good team. I just have a hard time thinking anyone on the current roster is that guy we are talking about here in this thread.

 

[BlueRunner11]

Zero interest in Cal to be back, nor was it a shot at Pope. However, what successful balanced team doesn't have a star player? This isn’t just a UK question. Alabama runs a system, but Mark Sears isn't just a role player. The guy nearly led the league in scoring.

Again, I think roles will evolve as the season progresses and I’d like to see that happen organically which I believe it will.

The Cal method of saying “this is so and so’s team” or this guy is going to be our leader during the preseason leads to DJ starting all season, Briscoe launching bricks all season, and K. Brooks having the longest leash ever type scenarios.

 

[podgejeff_]

Stop it.
-Ulis, Reed, and Booker were all burger boys. Plus, they had All-Americans on their teams as freshmen.
-SGA was a consensus top 50 recruit and played in the Nike Hoop Summit
-WCS was a top 50 recruit and his freshman year UK went to the NIT.
-Reeves averaged 20ppg at Illinois State

I'm just trying to put everything into perspective for year-one of the Pope era.

You're using hindsight. The expectations around here were not what you're suggesting they were at the time.

People expected far more out of Justin Edwards, DJ Wagner, Wenyon Gabriel, EJ Montgomery, Aaron Bradshaw, and Brandon Boston.

Nobody expected any of those guys to be what they were year 1, top 50 status or not. If that were the case, we've got Colin Chandler. And we've got 7 guys rated as higher impact transfers coming in than Antonio Reeves was, according to 247. So problem solved, I guess.

And Pope gets a mulligan from me for this season regardless of what we do, so I'm not arguing for some expectation of greatness for this year.

 

[ThrowBackCat9]

You're using hindsight. The expectations around here were not what you're suggesting they were at the time.

People expected far more out of Justin Edwards, DJ Wagner, Wenyon Gabriel, EJ Montgomery, Aaron Bradshaw, and Brandon Boston.

Nobody expected any of those guys to be what they were year 1, top 50 status or not. If that were the case, we've got Colin Chandler. And we've got 7 guys rated as higher impact transfers coming in than Antonio Reeves was, according to 247. So problem solved, I guess.

And Pope gets a mulligan from me for this season regardless of what we do, so I'm not arguing for some expectation of greatness for this year.

Some of these fans are relearning how to walk again after Cal left. They form all their basketball related opinions around his style and system, not a real system with real roles like we will have with Pope.

 

[podgejeff_]

The only thing I would say about this is most of those guys listed were coming in as Freshman. I think it was a bit tougher to predict what each would become. Most were highly rated so it seemed logical they would pan out.

This is a bit different. All these guys have had track records to some degree It's IMO less likely for those guys to become DUDES. Good players don't get me wrong. We could have a really good team. I just have a hard time thinking anyone on the current roster is that guy we are talking about here in this thread.

Antonio Reeves actually performed better at Kentucky against better competition than at Illinois State. As I stated above, we have 7 guys who 247 has rated higher than Reeves was coming into UK.

Being coached by a far better game coach than Cal.

Somebody will step up. We have the most efficient three point shooter in the country coming into a system where Pope says that we want to take 35 threes a game. My bet is on him.

 

[podgejeff_]

Some of these fans are relearning how to walk again after Cal left. They form all their basketball related opinions around his style and system, not a real system with real roles like we will have with Pope.

And that's the thing, absolutely nobody knows what we're gonna see next season. I'm banking on Pope being the coach that took a bunch of nobodies and made them relevant at schools that were impossible to recruit to. And even with this mad dash to fill out a roster at the last minute, he has more talent to work with than he's ever had.

And my expectations for next season are arguably pretty low.

 

[deep3]

It's not going to be a Cal offense, but even coaches with systems need All-SEC level players. Right now, there's not a player on this roster that averaged over 15 points a game last year, and most of them are from mid-majors. The mid-major transfers that end up being all-conference/All-American are the go-to players from their previous teams and average around 20 a game.was Dalton knecth, spelling, expected to be that guy, where did he play?

 

[blue cincy]

Before Florida Atlantic or San Diego State University made their run to the final four who knew any of the names on either team? Auburn Final Four run no super stars, NC State final four run and championship run no super stars. That is off the top of my head. If I go back and actually look at final fours I am sure I can come up with tons.

 

[cats2010]

Who did UConn have last year that would be the “dude” so to speak. They just had a very balanced roster who played great team ball. All 5 starters averaged double figures with the low man averaging 11.7 and the high man 15. That’s the kind of roster you want and the type of roster we have. Adding 1 more would be great and 2 even better for depth but mark pope is going to put a competitive team on the court regardless if anyone else is added or not.

 

[westerncat]

I see some great shoters. Several. We have three very good freshman. Most people don't think will contribute. Maybe the ones that thought Dilly and Shep were two or three year players. Lot of times you got one dominate scorer. He goes cold you lose. I love the balance and defensive ability. I love this team our coach and he's system. The staff and their attitude. We will have a much better team than we woukd have had next year. I'm not saying I dont want a couple of the players we are talking to. I do. I'm saying. Dont underestimate what we already have. We have a team. Not a bunch of individuals trying to move to the NBA. Wish we could go back to the days when yiu had to play four years. At least like football. This is not rebuilding. It's already better

I can agree with this in some way we just don't know who will have an outstanding year. Someone already on the team COULD just have a great year and surprise a lot of us.

 

[Ripcord65]

UK has had plenty of "dudes" the last 5 years. What did it get us? . . . .

An excellent point !

 

[catfan220]

I see some great shoters. Several. We have three very good freshman. Most people don't think will contribute. Maybe the ones that thought Dilly and Shep were two or three year players. Lot of times you got one dominate scorer. He goes cold you lose. I love the balance and defensive ability. I love this team our coach and he's system. The staff and their attitude. We will have a much better team than we woukd have had next year. I'm not saying I dont want a couple of the players we are talking to. I do. I'm saying. Dont underestimate what we already have. We have a team. Not a bunch of individuals trying to move to the NBA. Wish we could go back to the days when yiu had to play four years. At least like football. This is not rebuilding. It's already better

I think Otega Oweh could prove to be an NBA quality player, possibly even this year. That’s less likely if he’s behind Robinson, but of course I’d like to have both.