Next year's group will be special.
- Thread starter 23jumpboy
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I'm going to try very hard not to expect a win every time out and look more at the big picture. I'm looking for improvement from the players as the season goes on. Last year we saw two players get better and everyone else kind of tread water or regress. Would love to see the freshmen all develop as well as Derek, Alex and Marcus.
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Andrew and Towns were the two I was thinking of. How can you say Booker and Lyles improved? Ulis, I'll give you that one.
Um booker went from being not in draft to lotto pick, developed into a nice defender. Lyle's improved defensively and became x factor.
It's definitely going to be a fun year know doubt. I feel as if this team is kind of the most mysterious group we've had since Cal has arrived. I believe we all know were going to be good, but just how good is going to be a mystery. That's what I love about sports!
We'll fly under the radar and we will all have our expectations lowered. Unless we find our selves at 18-0 or 20+ and 0. And then we will all be on the edge of our seats beig the crazy UK fans we are and hoping to find some sort of redemption for last season. It's what this fan base does. In reality, I'll take 5 loses total as long as we get 6 straight wins to finish the season.
With Murray, I really think we end up in the Final Four with a shot to win it all.
We will have all the ingredients to win the title:
Shooters (Ulis, Murray, Mulder).
Scorers (Labissiere, Murray, Briscoe).
Rebounders (Labissiere, Poythress, Lee).
Ballhandlers and passers (Ulis, Murray, Briscoe).
Good defenders (Labissiere, Poythress, Ulis, Briscoe, Matthews, Lee).
Size (Labissiere, Lee, Poythress, Wynyard).
Experience (Poythress, Ulis, Lee).
5-star talent (Ulis, Murray, Briscoe, Poythress, Labissiere, Lee).
Depth (Ulis, Murray, Briscoe, Poythress, Labissiere, Lee, Mulder, Matthews).
Without Murray, I don't like our chances near as well. We need an elite shooter/scorer and Murray is the best available.
We will have all the ingredients to win the title:
Shooters (Ulis, Murray, Mulder).
Scorers (Labissiere, Murray, Briscoe).
Rebounders (Labissiere, Poythress, Lee).
Ballhandlers and passers (Ulis, Murray, Briscoe).
Good defenders (Labissiere, Poythress, Ulis, Briscoe, Matthews, Lee).
Size (Labissiere, Lee, Poythress, Wynyard).
Experience (Poythress, Ulis, Lee).
5-star talent (Ulis, Murray, Briscoe, Poythress, Labissiere, Lee).
Depth (Ulis, Murray, Briscoe, Poythress, Labissiere, Lee, Mulder, Matthews).
Without Murray, I don't like our chances near as well. We need an elite shooter/scorer and Murray is the best available.
I just hope these guys really click chemistry wise. Talent doesnt mean much if they don't get a long
I have to disagree with the guys that said UK needs Murray or Maker to make a run. As long as UK has no injuries then this team is better than previous final four teams in recent history such as both butler teams, vcu, last year Michigan state, and both UConn national title teams. I also think this team is better than the Knight final four team and the national runner up team a couple years ago.
Booker developed into a nice defender???????? Hahahahahaha. Booker was awful defending and was raped by every Wiscy guy he guarded. Sorry but I agree with the other gentleman, Andrew and Towns improved everyone else either regressed or remained stagnant. Poor Dakari totally forgot how to play ball. Willie was better in December. Aaron couldn't hit anything. Ulis remained solid throughout. Lyles stayed pretty much the same once he came back from injury.
First, we are not going to be flying under anybody's radar!! We will have a target on our backs every game, and every important game will be nationally televised. I also would not be surprised if we are FAVORED to win in every game we play. That being said, I don't think this team will go undefeated or even contemplate such a feat. Last year's team was the perfect storm to pull that off. This one, not so much. They will be fun to watch and will NOT be burdened by very high expectations, so they can relax. This year's team might even be called, by some folks, a rebuilding year! THAT might be an exaggeration though.......
We have a shot without Murray, but with him we are at a different level.
We've got a killer 6-man rotation of starter level guys with Murray:
G Ulis
G Briscoe
G Murray
F Poythress
F Labissiere
6 Lee
All six are 5-stars.
That means Matthews and Mulder compete for backup minutes on the perimeter.
Maker to me is just bonus. If he comes in at Christmas, he will be behind and our main rotation will already be established. I won't expect Maker to come in and play starter minutes in just half a season. So if he does come in and is a superstar, then that is great, but if not, then that's okay as well.
We dont NEED Murray to make a run. He would make our team better, but worse teams have won the title.
I agree somewhat but you really have to get the breaks on who you play to do what those teams accomplished.
This is totally based on workouts and his impact as a pure shooter. It's all about potential with Booker. You have to be some kind of homer to think Booker actually improved from November all the way to March. It didn't happen. Him being a nice defender is also not true. He broke down many times last year but the team was such a defensive unit it didn't matter.
Lyles is also based on potential, not the UK season. Lyles has a long way to go.
Potentially. We're throwing an awful lot of ingredients into the mix and assuming the end product will be good. Ulis gives me hope. He's much better than Harrow ever was and more consistent than Knight.
Relative to the rest of college basketball, I think it's a final four team right now. I cannot name 4 teams better than UK on paper right now.
Cal has gotten UK to the final four with less talent.
Ulis is FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR better than Harrow, lol.
Harrow wasn't THAT bad as a player. He was just a head case. Look at his stats for the Louisville game. Zero turnovers. Cal was expecting more (read: any) leadership from a player who had been in the system for a year. And toughness. Harrow was in short supply of both those qualities.
I'm not saying we don't have the talent. Just that we had talent in 2013, too. Remember "I like my team"? Noel, Goodwin, and Cauley-Stein are all in the NBA or soon to be. Poythress will, too, hopefully, and maybe even Wiltjer. Who's to say Mulder will be any better than that fifth year kid from 2013...someone who looks great one game and nonexistent the next.
Keeping my fingers crossed that this mix plays well off of each other. I think they will because of Ulis, but if we expect Final Four we're setting ourselves up for disappointment. What Cal has done is not normal. In the six years he has been here, no other coaches have been to the Final Four more than twice.
Harrow wasn't fit for UK, and he was bad for us. He had some nice games, but running point here is way more than that.
Mulder is known as a much better prospect than Julius Mayes. I am actually glad we have a veteran sharp shooter with Mulder. Mayes was desperation, and Mulder is better than desperation.
2013 was an outlier as far as it stands right now, so I wouldn't hold tons of stock into it at all.
Goodwin couldn't shoot at all. Cauley-Stein was completely one dimensional his freshman season, and we were ranked when Noel went down. so....
i agree if they don't mesh together they won't succeed, but thats any squad. I think some are underestimating how great Ulis is, and how important a senior like Poythress is. Cal will have some tools next season he's never had here before. He really has performed to a high level with less.
Got to have some luck along the way to get to the Final Four.
Still, talent is the main ingredient.
Look at this last Final Four, the top three teams made it. The fourth, Michigan St., got lucky.
With more talent, you don't have to have as much luck (things going your way) to get there.
Adding Murray ups our talent level for sure.
Still, talent is the main ingredient.
Look at this last Final Four, the top three teams made it. The fourth, Michigan St., got lucky.
With more talent, you don't have to have as much luck (things going your way) to get there.
Adding Murray ups our talent level for sure.
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