Too many freshmen. If they come with no promise and pope makes them earn PT ok with it. That’s not the mindset of the top 150 players.
Nate Ament latest news "rumors are swirling he will be in lexington tuesday night for the Tennessee game " last visit
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But I think Pope will lay down the law and make them see the positivity in being brought along in systematic fashion rather than just being thrown out to the wolves to prove their rating.
I’m completely on board with the Todd Golden strategy. He said he’s not even recruiting freshmen unless he knows they specifically want to be at Florida. He might be creepy but that strategy seems to be working pretty well.
Wilson is the only player Pope didn't land that he actually invested a lot of time and resources in.
Jasper, Lewis, and Moreno were all primary targets or #1's on the staffs recruiting board.
When we got those commitments we're naturally going to get dropped by others like Mullins, Reibe etc.
There's a lot of conspiracy theories around Wilson's recruitment but IMO he's where he wants to be.
Idk how good Jasper and Moreno will end up being but no way any UK coach can pass on instate players ranked as high as they are.
Meanwhile UNC loses again (blown out by Clemson!!), their NCAA tournament chances look to be hanging by a thread, and the chorus of Tar Heels calling for Hubert to be fired is getting louder... any chance Caleb Wilson is back on the market in a couple months...?
whats crazy is that they might just end up with 20 wins anyways. Their remaining schedule is Syracuse (total record 11-13) , NC State (total record 9-14) , Miami (total record 5-18) , Virginia Tech (total record 11-13) , Virginia (total Record 12-12 and might finish below .500 when the ACC is over) and Florida State (total record 14-9) and finally Duke. thats only 1 NCAAT team in Duke and only 2 teams left to face thats over .500 on the year.
I fear the NCAA putting them in for 20 wins even if their metrics are god awful just for favoritism. So hopefully FSU or Virginia can beat them also and make sure they miss the tourney for sure
Some of you seriously need to watch tape before putting any five star HS kid on a throne. Ament is a skilled 6”9 PF…yet is allergic to the paint instead opting to float on perimeter where his shooting and handles and passing are very good…but in college for one year for this multi million dollar investment…how will that play out vs other PF
Just compare a 6”9 196 lb Ament vs just these sec PF
Broyles USC
Newell UGA
Chenyulu UF
Theiro Ark
All these guys will be in college next year and could be type of players available in portal and just from sec…and id easily argue better then Ament in 2026. They are all 20+ lbs bigger, play with better motor in college and can play
So while seeing hs rankings are great…to pay top dollar for one year…you better be Cooper Flagg ready….Ament is far from that good. He reminds me of a shorter Skal Labissiere…and you can’t forget how underwhelming that year was
Just compare a 6”9 196 lb Ament vs just these sec PF
Broyles USC
Newell UGA
Chenyulu UF
Theiro Ark
All these guys will be in college next year and could be type of players available in portal and just from sec…and id easily argue better then Ament in 2026. They are all 20+ lbs bigger, play with better motor in college and can play
So while seeing hs rankings are great…to pay top dollar for one year…you better be Cooper Flagg ready….Ament is far from that good. He reminds me of a shorter Skal Labissiere…and you can’t forget how underwhelming that year was
3 of the guys you listed will absolutely be gone to the NBA.
The guy from Fla plays center with Alex Condon as the 4.
Ament will fare far better next year than he would have this year.
If Ament comes to UK I look for him to play a lot like Almanor does just with more size and talent.
I’d feel more comfortable if he was built like Randle for sure.
Pope didn't try to land elite high schoolers when he was at BYU?
O for 1 is not accurate, given Pope's entire career.
I don't disagree with your premise (lack of physicality being a problem). However, I see Ament as a SF more than a PF. If I'm right, he's more of a replacement for Jax/Koby.
PG - Lewis, Perry, Kerr(?), Portal to compete for starting position
SG - Oweh, Jasper Johnson
SF - Chandler, Noah, Ament (?)
PF - Portal starter & portal backup
C - Garrison, Moreno
I think the SG/SF positions will be fairly interchangeable. Oweh starts at one position, and it would be up to Noah, Johnson, Ament, Chandler to compete for the other. If Jasper wins, Oweh starts at the 3 w/the others off the bench. If Ament were to win the starting spot, then Oweh starts at the 2.
If matchups call for the need of a physically stronger SF on defense, Noah/Chandler would maybe get more run with Oweh. I know Chandler has shown next to nothing offensively this year, but he had decent offensive skills coming out of high school, so I am hoping the offseason will help him make a big jump...especially his perimeter shooting.
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yep... total brain lapse. Even when I typed Wilson, it was one of those moments when you know something didn't seem quite right, but I couldn't see the error.
Unfortunately, UNC (NIL) didn’t leverage the $$$ to secure Wilson if firing Davis was an option for this upcoming offseason. He’ll get one more year to get things back on track, but it will most likely be to no avail!
With two top recruits that are projected to go 1st round this spring. That kind of makes the argument on the other side.
Big Nate has arrived. Is said to be a 3 man. So he would be taking Robinson's and Brea's spot. Does UL have more money than us? This is one guy I think is a good fit for Pope's offense. At the three he would make us another big team. We will need a big experienced true four from the portal that has great fundamentals to go with Garrison at the five. If no Ament then Pope should be able to get a really good three from the portal.
I agree. That didn't make any sense. Either way, Ament is probably a SF. Louisville has Pryor coming back next year so they wouldn't be recruiting him for the PF spot either.
PG [Portal] Lewis Perry (Krissa??)
SG Oweh Johnson
SF [Ament] Noah/Chandler
PF [Portal] [Portal] + some Ament
C Garrison Moreno
If Pope can land an elite portal shooter/rebounder at PF, Ament and Garrison's flaws would easily be covered up.
Returning SF in the SEC next year would be Mallette/Stevenson/Dioubate out of Bama, Howard - Auburn, Montgomery - UGA, Jones - MSU, Davis - USC, Nickel - Vandy ~ A pretty weak group for now, outside of Bama.
Returning PFs are deeper - Brazile - Ark (?), Stevenson/Reid - Bama, Condon - UF, Chest or Reed - LSU, Mitchell - Missouri, Phillips - UT, Washington - A&M, McGlockton - Vandy
Son_of_Saul love your posts but can you make your font a little bigger for us older folks ? thanks
Maybe you're right....but the moment we lost Caleb Wilson....Ament was prioritized....presumably at PF.
1. Ament could do some SF in college next year....but his foot quickness, lateral agility to guard and go by SF....i'd call that pretty low for 2026.
2. I'd argue the formation of next year's roster is
PG...Hopefully top notch portal kid and Acaden Lewis grabbing depth .....Travis Perry for very low minutes
SG...Jasper Johnson is more ready (to me)/Acaden Lewis grabs some of these depth minutes/Perry and some Oweh
SF...I see Oweh as SF and best player on team/Noah/Chandler/Jasper grabbing some time in 3 guard lineups
PF....I see top notch portal or high level recruit(which I'd argue is Ament)/a lower level portal /maybe Noah can beef up to grab PF
C....Garrison/Moreno
3. The thought Ament is going to command multi millions and be a SF...which then puts Oweh and Jasper to splitting up SG....doesn't pass the sniff test. I truly think Pope is imagining Ament as stretch PF (and not sure that is a good idea)
I could also see Chandler transferring out....I am struggling to see him grabbing minutes (he's by far the worst offensive player on roster) and guys like Perry/Noah are going to stick at UK just from being Ky boys. But that is very much a guess on Chandler
I think Perry & Noah are going to surprise a lot of fans next year. Put on some more muscle and already a year under Pope system are going to help them a lot.
So when danny hurley coached Rhode Island and did not land top recruits it was his fault and the school he coached made no difference?
I dont think ament is flagg good, but i think he can be 80%-90% flagg good, that is solid starter level.
No way he is skal, skal played in weak school in high school, played against no one and Ament already completed with a ton of top high school teams, and plays similar level against aj in their matchup game
I think pope will definitely play him way differently with carr or Almonor. So do not assume a traditional pf on him
Ament is not likely to be playing PF a great deal next year. He is way more likely to be playing SF/Wing most of the time next year. I don’t think Thiero or Broyles are a good fit for Popes play at least as starters.
I don't think K Time was implying that CMB or Theiro would be options for UK next year but potential competitors with whoever we have at the four.
Both will go to the draft IMO.
I'm sure Duke is selling Ament on sliding into Kon's spot and Boozer into Flagg's.
Be the next super tandem like,
RJ/Zion
Banchero/Keels
Cooper/Kon.
Make no mistake, that's a strong pitch but Nate might not want the "Robin" role.
Pope said with the way the SEC refs allow the physicality it changes the way he will recruit. Said it calls for more tall, big and athletic types that can bang and play rough. So look for that four position to be filled with that type of player that also can shoot and move his feet. With two freshmen guards coming in and the size of Perry I think Pope gets another big physical guard to go with Oweh so we have two strong physical guards on the roster. Sounds as if we will have a bigger and more physical team next season.
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