On3 updated basketball rankings: UK#5

[Smashcat]

5. Kentucky​

Key returns: Brandon Garrison, Otega Oweh
Key additions: Denzel Aberdeen*, Mo Dioubate*, Braydon Hawthorne, Andrija Jelavic, Jasper Johnson, Jaland Lowe*, Malachi Moreno, Jayden Quaintance*, Kam Williams*
Key departures: Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jaxson Robinson, Amari Williams
Projected lineup:

G: Jaland Lowe
G: Otega Oweh
F: Kam Williams
F: Mo Dioubate
C: Jayden Quaintance

 

[JPFisher]

5. Kentucky​

Key returns: Brandon Garrison, Otega Oweh
Key additions: Denzel Aberdeen*, Mo Dioubate*, Braydon Hawthorne, Andrija Jelavic, Jasper Johnson, Jaland Lowe*, Malachi Moreno, Jayden Quaintance*, Kam Williams*
Key departures: Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jaxson Robinson, Amari Williams
Projected lineup:

G: Jaland Lowe
G: Otega Oweh
F: Kam Williams
F: Mo Dioubate
C: Jayden Quaintance

I still think that's a little low given Pope's track record as a tactician and with the talent we brought in, but top five is okay for now.

Man, I cannot wait for this season.

 

[kywildcat41035]

I still think that's a little low given Pope's track record as a tactician and with the talent we brought in, but top five is okay for now.

Man, I cannot wait for this season.

Gives the team more motivation. BTW I’m with you can’t wait for the season!

 

[jmw23712]

I’m really excited about all the Kam Williams hype. When Pope signed him, I thought he was going to play an Almonor role. 5-10 mins per game average type of guy.

To see him consistently be projected as a starter and a 2026 draft pick proves he’s expected to be WAY better than I thought. Having him starting over Aberdeen, Chandler, and JJ means he can ball. What a loaded roster.

 

[zoid1]

5. Kentucky​

Key returns: Brandon Garrison, Otega Oweh
Key additions: Denzel Aberdeen*, Mo Dioubate*, Braydon Hawthorne, Andrija Jelavic, Jasper Johnson, Jaland Lowe*, Malachi Moreno, Jayden Quaintance*, Kam Williams*
Key departures: Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jaxson Robinson, Amari Williams
Projected lineup:

G: Jaland Lowe
G: Otega Oweh
F: Kam Williams
F: Mo Dioubate
C: Jayden Quaintance

If that’s our starters look at the bench
G: Aberdeen
G: Johnson/Noah
F: Chandler/Hawthorne
F: Jelavic/Moreno
C: Garrison/Potter

 

[BlueBomb]

They have Duke at #3. I just don't see it.

I removed my Kentucky-blue-tinted glasses...and I still don't see it. Took out my blue-tinted contacts...and I still don't see it.

Am I blind? Nope.

 

[BBNinSC]

If that’s our starters look at the bench
G: Aberdeen
G: Johnson/Noah
F: Chandler/Hawthorne
F: Jelavic/Moreno
C: Garrison/Potter

That is the deepest, most talented bench in the country

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I'm fine with 5, but I just don't see Duke at 3. They couldn't win a title with Flagg and two other lottery picks, what makes anyone think that this team is going to be just as good?

It's a simplistic view. But Kentucky add/returned 11 and lost 6 (two of which were J-Rob and Butler, who, by seasons end, were either not playing or were severely injured). One could argue that all Kentucky lost was Carr, Almonor, Williams, Brea.. Only one guy in there has NBA talent.

On the other hand, Duke added/returned 9 and lost 5. Granted their talent in that 9 is a little higher. But they lost so much talent, that their departures alone could form a final4 starting 5.

Just feels like Duke has an awful lot of production and talent to replace.. where Kentucky, really doen't (factoring in Jrob and Butler's health to end the season).

 

[Tampa_cat54]

I still think that's a little low given Pope's track record as a tactician and with the talent we brought in, but top five is okay for now.

Man, I cannot wait for this season.

It's actually complete Bull**** that we have to wait nearly 4 more months to see this team play 😭 This has felt like the longest offseason of all-time.

Even football still feels far away.

 

[MdWIldcat55]

Even football still feels far away.

But not far enough...

 

[Skyguyb27]

I’m really excited about all the Kam Williams hype. When Pope signed him, I thought he was going to play an Almonor role. 5-10 mins per game average type of guy.

To see him consistently be projected as a starter and a 2026 draft pick proves he’s expected to be WAY better than I thought. Having him starting over Aberdeen, Chandler, and JJ means he can ball. What a loaded roster.

I’m right there with you. I’m excited for the whole team but Kam is the most exciting for me. I think he has the potential to steal the show.

I said last year before the season started they were FF material and I still think without injuries that may have been the case. I think this team will be a juggernaut for anyone wanting a shot at the title. It’s gonna be a hell of a season to watch.

 

[nickhorvathsuxazz]

But not far enough...

No joke...I feel as if football's barreling at us like a run-away train, and I'm tied to the tracks

 

[ORCAT]

I still think that's a little low given Pope's track record as a tactician and with the talent we brought in, but top five is okay for now.

Man, I cannot wait for this season.

Hoping 5 is very low come the end of the season but I understand outsiders listing us lower than we feel they should be. We have a lot of guys who need to learn to play together, and I think they will, but it could be a little bumpy at the start. It's where we are in March/April that really matters so I'm very happy with #5 before the season starts. The potential is definitely there for #9.

Like you, I'm very anxious to see these guys play soon as possible, should be a very exciting team.

 

[zoid1]

I think there is NO doubt in our minds, media, and other fan bases we have the talent, athleticism, depth and coaching to win the title next year. The biggest issue is going to be injuries(knock on wood we don’t have any) and chemistry.

If this team stays healthy(again knocking on wood) and they gel as a team I’d say we’re easily on the short list of teams that can cut the nets down in April along with another SEC reg season title and SEC t title.

We were right there last year we beat the vaunted Flagg I mean Duke team and eventual NC undefeated Florida when we had a FULL healthy team. Carr bad back, Butler bad shoulder, Jaxson out, Kerr out.

 

[bucsrule8872]

I’m good at 5.

Purdue and Hoiston are pretty much the consensus top two. No one is going above them. Purdue has just about everyone back from a Sweet Sixteen team including the top NPOY candidate and another potential AA. Houston has three starters back and a really good recruiting class.

Duke at 3, after losing their entire starting five, is ridiculous. The media is counting on Boozer being Flagg 2.0. That’s a big ask. They should be in the 10-15 range.

Florida at 4 is fine, though I think replacing Clayton, Richard, Martin, and Aberdeen will not be that easy. Doing it with three brand new players? They should be in the 6-10 range, IMHO. That frontcourt is potentially the best in the country, but the backcourt will need time to jell with them.

Auburn is way too high, based on what I see on paper. Pettiford is the only guy back who even played significant minutes for Pearl last season. They are going from a Senior led team (with Seniors that had been in the program for 3-5 years) to a transfer led team. Pearl is a great coach, but he has his work cut out for him. They should be way lower on the list and probably barely top 25, on paper.

On the other hand, BYU and UConn are way too low. I would put them both in the top 10 for sure,

Arkansas should be slightly higher, despite having a terrible coaching staff.

Might push St. John’s up a spot of two.

My top 5:

1 Purdue
2 Houston
3 UK
4 St. John’s
5 BYU

 

[JPFisher]

Hoping 5 is very low come the end of the season but I understand outsiders listing us lower than we feel they should be. We have a lot of guys who need to learn to play together, and I think they will, but it could be a little bumpy at the start. It's where we are in March/April that really matters so I'm very happy with #5 before the season starts. The potential is definitely there for #9.

Like you, I'm very anxious to see these guys play soon as possible, should be a very exciting team.

It's an absolute tragedy that we don't have an international series this summer. Fans NEED that right now.

 

[BlueSince92]

Duke at 3 is literally gay.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I’m good at 5.

Purdue and Hoiston are pretty much the consensus top two. No one is going above them. Purdue has just about everyone back from a Sweet Sixteen team including the top NPOY candidate and another potential AA. Houston has three starters back and a really good recruiting class.

Duke at 3, after losing their entire starting five, is ridiculous. The media is counting on Boozer being Flagg 2.0. That’s a big ask. They should be in the 10-15 range.

Florida at 4 is fine, though I think replacing Clayton, Richard, Martin, and Aberdeen will not be that easy. Doing it with three brand new players? They should be in the 6-10 range, IMHO. That frontcourt is potentially the best in the country, but the backcourt will need time to jell with them.

Auburn is way too high, based on what I see on paper. Pettiford is the only guy back who even played significant minutes for Pearl last season. They are going from a Senior led team (with Seniors that had been in the program for 3-5 years) to a transfer led team. Pearl is a great coach, but he has his work cut out for him. They should be way lower on the list and probably barely top 25, on paper.

On the other hand, BYU and UConn are way too low. I would put them both in the top 10 for sure,

Arkansas should be slightly higher, despite having a terrible coaching staff.

Might push St. John’s up a spot of two.

My top 5:

1 Purdue
2 Houston
3 UK
4 St. John’s
5 BYU

That's another way to look at it. Duke went from having elite talent to "potentially" elite talent. But you'd be hard pressed to say their roster next year will be stronger. Losing Flagg alone likely means a small step back. Meanwhile, Kentucky's roster only added more talent, along with height, length athleticism and depth. We didn't have to wait until late April to fill out the roster, we attracted guys with much more ease this year. We might take a step back in 3pt shooting, but that's not really relevant to this discussion.

Duke's roster went from a 9.5 to a 9.
Kentucky's roster went from a 6 to an 8.5. And we're deeper.

I guess pundits can only go by the roster at hand, but a betting man has to love the chances for Kentucky to drastically improve now that Mark Pope was able to reel in some talent while also getting his first year at UK under his belt.

 

[yoshukai]

5. Kentucky​

Key returns: Brandon Garrison, Otega Oweh
Key additions: Denzel Aberdeen*, Mo Dioubate*, Braydon Hawthorne, Andrija Jelavic, Jasper Johnson, Jaland Lowe*, Malachi Moreno, Jayden Quaintance*, Kam Williams*
Key departures: Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jaxson Robinson, Amari Williams
Projected lineup:

G: Jaland Lowe
G: Otega Oweh
F: Kam Williams
F: Mo Dioubate
C: Jayden Quaintance

Hard for me to imagine that Aberdeen won’t be in the starting lineup.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Hard for me to imagine that Aberdeen won’t be in the starting lineup.

Agreed.

Switch Aberdeen and Williams and I think it’s about right.

Garrison might also start because of his experience. Either way, BG and JQ are both getting minutes.

 

[Fox2monk]

I still think that's a little low given Pope's track record as a tactician and with the talent we brought in, but top five is okay for now.

Man, I cannot wait for this season.

I think it’s totally fair. We don’t for sure know how they will play together and on paper top 5 sounds right,

 

[bbnkat02]

It's fair. Basically a brand new team with a few returning pieces. Could be phenomenal. Could be average (doubtful).

Also, we once again have one of the hardest schedules in the country. So, that will also factor into rankings.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Any ranking with us in the top 5, seems pretty fair.

We have the deepest team in the country, at least on paper.

We have an All-SEC 2nd teamer and preseason SEC First team and SEC POTY candidate, All-American candidate, and Wooden Award candidate (saw somewhere he has the 8th best odds to win, according to Vegas) in Oweh.

We have a former All-ACC PG in Lowe

We have five other players with SEC experience (Aberdeen, Dioubate, Garrison, and Noah), two of which have played in the Final Four (Aberdeen and Dioubate). One has a ring (Aberdeen).

We have a Sophomore that is considered a likely lottery pick, if he successfully returns from surgery (Quaintance).

We have two 5-star Freshmen coming in. One is a Burger Boy.

And our 14th man is a 7 footer that has D1 experience.

On paper, there’s really only a couple of teams that look better or just as good.

Purdue and Houston clearly have great rosters. Other than that, it’s hard to find a more complete team on paper.

But that’s just on paper.

 

[CRZ4UK]

I’m right there with you. I’m excited for the whole team but Kam is the most exciting for me. I think he has the potential to steal the show.

I said last year before the season started they were FF material and I still think without injuries that may have been the case. I think this team will be a juggernaut for anyone wanting a shot at the title. It’s gonna be a hell of a season to watch.

Jack Pilgram just had an article about the summer standouts so far and Cam was not mentioned. Hawthorn was mentioned as a surprise guy. I think I will pump the brakes on this hype as we all know our local media can be out of touch.

 

[Skyguyb27]

Jack Pilgram just had an article about the summer standouts so far and Cam was not mentioned. Hawthorn was mentioned as a surprise guy. I think I will pump the brakes on this hype as we all know our local media can be out of touch.

Yeah, I don’t read Jack’s articles because he isn’t nothing more than an incorrect repeater. I am not going off any hype since he signed with UK, just from what I have read previously and watched. What hype am I producing exactly anyways? I said he has the potential to steal the show. You don’t think he has potential or are you taking Pilgrim’s word as definitive info? That’s fine if you do I guess but I prefer accurate information, we will see but I wouldn’t go around acting like Jack is some high level guru by any means. Personally most of these guys that act like they are in the know proved this off season they don’t know sh$t.

 

[CRZ4UK]

Yeah, I don’t read Jack’s articles because he isn’t nothing more than an incorrect repeater. I am not going off any hype since he signed with UK, just from what I have read previously and watched. What hype am I producing exactly anyways? I said he has the potential to steal the show. You don’t think he has potential or are you taking Pilgrim’s word as definitive info? That’s fine if you do I guess but I prefer accurate information, we will see but I wouldn’t go around acting like Jack is some high level guru by any means. Personally most of these guys that act like they are in the know proved this off season they don’t know sh$t.

I was just passing on what I read on here. I hope you are correct. It’s usually football with the hype machine running full blast. I’ve learned not to believe a word about football practices.
Mo in an interview mentioned Jasper as his surprise talent. I would put more stock in a players opinion than a reporter.
Pope is a walking positive support group as well. I realize he is trying to build confidence in his guys but he never even has a word below amazing to describe anything. lol.

 

[Skyguyb27]

I was just passing on what I read on here. I hope you are correct. It’s usually football with the hype machine running full blast. I’ve learned not to believe a word about football practices.
Mo in an interview mentioned Jasper as his surprise talent. I would put more stock in a players opinion than a reporter.
Pope is a walking positive support group as well. I realize he is trying to build confidence in his guys but he never even has a word below amazing to describe anything. lol.

I hope I am right to, it’ll be the first time according to what my wife says. 😂 maybe I’ll be wrong, but man the dude has so much upside. Playing against the talent this year is gonna make him a grown man fast and his potential, imo, is through the roof.

 

[zoid1]

Duke went from having a generational talent in Flagg who they touted as the best hs prospect since LeBron and 2 other players who were 1st round picks to a bunch of frosh and sophs with no generational talent and rank them ahead of us at #3. Don’t forget with both our teams at full strength last year and we beat them on a neutral court.

UK upgraded its roster tremendously and Duke did not in fact o think they downgraded imo.

 

[bucsrule8872]

The only thing that helps Duke is playing in the ACC. They will probably have an inflated record.

The only other really good team is UofL.

UNC might be better than last year, and NC State could be decent.

Other than that, the rest of the ACC looks like hot garbage.

 

[dlh331]

I’m good at 5.

Purdue and Hoiston are pretty much the consensus top two. No one is going above them. Purdue has just about everyone back from a Sweet Sixteen team including the top NPOY candidate and another potential AA. Houston has three starters back and a really good recruiting class.

Duke at 3, after losing their entire starting five, is ridiculous. The media is counting on Boozer being Flagg 2.0. That’s a big ask. They should be in the 10-15 range.

Florida at 4 is fine, though I think replacing Clayton, Richard, Martin, and Aberdeen will not be that easy. Doing it with three brand new players? They should be in the 6-10 range, IMHO. That frontcourt is potentially the best in the country, but the backcourt will need time to jell with them.

Auburn is way too high, based on what I see on paper. Pettiford is the only guy back who even played significant minutes for Pearl last season. They are going from a Senior led team (with Seniors that had been in the program for 3-5 years) to a transfer led team. Pearl is a great coach, but he has his work cut out for him. They should be way lower on the list and probably barely top 25, on paper.

On the other hand, BYU and UConn are way too low. I would put them both in the top 10 for sure,

Arkansas should be slightly higher, despite having a terrible coaching staff.

Might push St. John’s up a spot of two.

My top 5:

1 Purdue
2 Houston
3 UK
4 St. John’s
5 BYU

That matches my top 5 teams, but I have this:

1. UK
2. St. John’s
3. Houston
4. BYU
5. Purdue