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Optimism for next season

A POY that wasn't projected to go in the NBA first-round... which is the only reason he is back. A POY, with a team (as you say), that very easily could have been a 1 seed, but that lost to a 15 seed in the first round. Some years a returning POY would mean much, much more... next year, not nearly as much.
Before the bashing starts, I am a huge Oscar fan... I love the dude's work ethic... but also realize that he's not the type of player that gets his own buckets within the offense. Just like this year, the difference he brings isn't going to overcome Cal's inability to coach when it's tight.
The absolute best thing about Oscar coming back... will be his senior night!


Whole lot of unproven with no transcendent talent on the roster. Brooks/Grady won us the KU game.


It can be great... but I think most of us felt better going into last season than we do now.
Glad someone said it .. Oscar has been elevated to the point I'd expect a Bronze Jordan-esqe statue in front of Rupp arena . Yeah the dudes a great player and great human .. but his biggest skill is rebounding. Not exactly what next years roster screams for .
 
I have a different feeling about next season than a lot on this board. We have 2 of the 5 starters back from last season (Wheeler and Oscar), one of which was the National player of the year. Last year’s team was on the verge of a 1 seed and blew out the eventual winner. Injuries and Cal’s stubbornness caught up with us.

TyTy was injured and never really provided what I think he could have. A healthy Wallace should hopefully provide more. Grady had plantar fasciitis which limited him as the season went on. A healthy Frederick should replace him. We all wanted Toppin in over Brooks anyway. To me, that makes next year’s team better at all positions. You have Reaves replacing Mintz. Livingston joining in. Collins should be much better in year 2 and Ware is a 1 year older Ware.


I think next season can be great. The only thing that really concerns me is the cutting the playing time to 7 players philosophy. It doesn’t work and will Cal be so stubborn that he does it again and derail the chance of success come tourney time.
Duh, just what makes you think Cal will change???
 
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@rabbitTown I've been trying to figure out how to talk about Oscar over here for a while now and I think you nailed it. Its part of why I said him coming back is great but has drawbacks for UK. Yes...obviously having the POY back is amazing. But Oscar's game isn't as well rounded as your normal POY. Look at previous winners - Luka Garza, Obi Toppin, Zion, Jalen Brunson, Frank Mason, Buddy Hield.....All could shoot and all could score at various levels of the court. I thought Cal would totally retool the lineup and bring in a new PG and a true stretch 4 to build around Oscar but that didn't happen - so its going to be up to Cal to figure out what having a retuning POY means for UK next year.
At the very least we know what Oscar’s floor is which is probaly 15 points and 12-15 rebounds which is still really good, but i agree I thought he would bring in a good shooting pg and a stretch four, him not doing so is disappointing but Kentucky has some good pieces either way
 
At the very least we know what Oscar’s floor is which is probaly 15 points and 12-15 rebounds which is still really good, but i agree I thought he would bring in a good shooting pg and a stretch four, him not doing so is disappointing but Kentucky has some good pieces either way
I think he has a good shooting PG in Wallace. Problem is, he will still play Wheeler instead.

The optimal lineup to surround Tshiebwe with would include Wallace at the 1 and Livingston as a small ball/stretch 4 plus Fredrick and Reeves as the wing shooters.

Unfortunately, Cal will put Wheeler at PG and we will struggle to score in the halfcourt.
 
I think he has a good shooting PG in Wallace. Problem is, he will still play Wheeler instead.

The optimal lineup to surround Tshiebwe with would include Wallace at the 1 and Livingston as a small ball/stretch 4 plus Fredrick and Reeves as the wing shooters.

Unfortunately, Cal will put Wheeler at PG and we will struggle to score in the halfcourt.
Exactly to much has to go right to make wheeler work as the starter, to me get another scorer/shooter player Wallace at the one and bring wheeler off the bench in a Change of pace role and I could get behind that
 
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It was bad coaching that Toppin not play 2nd half!
I’m not defending the coach. I’m saying we look possibly as good as the team that looked like the best team in the country the middle 1/3 of the season, AND the offense is not the primary reason we lost, it was the defense.
2010, 2015 and 2019 had stretches where they were playing the best ball in the country, but injuries and Cal's poor game tactics cost us to lose to 3 underdogs.
 
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Yep, because of the stretch starting after the ND loss, when Cal backed off and let Wheeler run the show. We were running teams out of the gym during that time. Unfortunately, late in the season Cal retook the reigns and we reverted back to the same offense that ends our season every year.
This, this and this. Did I mention this? He did the same damn thing in both 17 and 19. His belief that tournament games are always halfcourt games has hurt is multiple times. Hey Cal, play fast and let OUR team set the effin tempo. Sick and tired of Cal letting other teams set the tempo!
 
Yep, because of the stretch starting after the ND loss, when Cal backed off and let Wheeler run the show. We were running teams out of the gym during that time. Unfortunately, late in the season Cal retook the reigns and we reverted back to the same offense that ends our season every year.


I thought Wheeler was an eccentric decision maker you didn't want running the show when it mattered. Now you do? Which is it?
 
2010, 2015 and 2019 had stretches where they were playing the best ball in the country, but injuries and Cal's poor game tactics cost us to lose to 3 underdogs.
While the better team usually wins a game, more often than not the best team does NOT win the title. Getting hot at the right time, and luck play a role too!

In 2015, we were beat by IMO the 2nd best team in the country. But we still win that game at least 60 out of 100 times.

2011, that team was not one of the best 4 teams, maybe not one of the top 8.
2014 that team was not one of the best 2 teams, probably not one of the
 
Exactly to much has to go right to make wheeler work as the starter, to me get another scorer/shooter player Wallace at the one and bring wheeler off the bench in a Change of pace role and I could get behind that
Another guard would be ideal, but Cal could manage by just using the guards he has the right way. The ball needs to be in Wallace’s hands. Wheeler needs to be a change of pace. Play two shooters (Fredrick and Reeves) on the wing. Play Livingston and Toppin at the 4. Play Tshiebwe at the 5 with a bulked up Collins backing him up.

Problem is, he will put Wheeler at the 1, Livingston at the 3 and Toppin at the 4, and we will be pulling our hair out as teams pack it in against us and dare us to shoot while our questionable shooters lay bricks.
 
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It is hard not to be a little optimistic when you have the NPOY returning . There are many questions to be answered by next year's team. Number 1, will the returning players play better defense than the pitiful effort (Oscar excluded) they gave last year. 2. Can the freshmen and transfer play defense. 3. Do we have a guard that doesn't constantly get beat on the dribble, something we HAVENT had in 2 years. Finally can CJ Frederick stay healthy. Next season willturn on the answers to those questions.
 
IDK, Cal doesn't seem to be preparing for injuries. We have very little depth at the 1, 2 and 3. If injuries derailed us last year, we better hope ine or 2 of our guards doesn’t get hurt… ..again
It would certainly be great to have players that are good enough to replace our starters if they get hurt. Had we had CJ last year it would have made a difference.

I doubt our entire back court will get injured again. Let's hope everyone stays healthy. As much bad luck as we've had we're bound to have streak of good luck.
 
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While the better team usually wins a game, more often than not the best team does NOT win the title. Getting hot at the right time, and luck play a role too!

In 2015, we were beat by IMO the 2nd best team in the country. But we still win that game at least 60 out of 100 times.

2011, that team was not one of the best 4 teams, maybe not one of the top 8.
2014 that team was not one of the best 2 teams, probably not one of the
Yeah, but I didn't list 2011, or 2014 and on your point about the best team not always winning, yeah sure, but when you have, by far, the most talent, you can't just lose to underdogs 8 out of 9 years. There's a common denominator in that equation.

Also, obviously Wisconsin wasn't the 2nd best team in 2015, duke beat them twice, once on Wisconsin's home floor and once when it mattered most.
 
It would certainly be great to have players that are good enough to replace our starters if they get hurt. Had we had CJ last year it would have made a difference.

I doubt our entire back court will get injured again. Let's hope everyone stays healthy. As much bad luck as we've had we're bound to have streak of good luck.
We just seem to always have a key player injured every year and it's never just one game when they get hurt.
 
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Frederick isn't the player Grady is, he could be a great shooter but he's not scorer like Grady.
If Grady was anything more than a statue that could hit wide open threes, I didn't see much of it. Sure, he seemed more lively when Wheeler & Ty were out, but 90% of the time, he stood out on the perimeter holding hands with whoever was defending him.

Fredrick should be able to match what Grady did, that’s if he doesn't end up in Cal's doghouse. There's at least one player every year that is Cal's whipping boy.
 
Frederick isn't the player Grady is, he could be a great shooter but he's not scorer like Grady.
I think you're right about that. Even fully healthy Fredrick was not the player, and certainly not the scorer, that Grady was (or could be and showed on occasion). But I think Fredrick has proven he's every bit the shooter that Grady was - and that's saying something. A healthy Fredrick is very valuable. He doesn't make many mistakes that hurt a team, and he gives you solid play and great spot up shooting. Probably best as first Guard off the bench on a really good team.

As far as being a scorer, I think Reeves is a better scorer than Grady (but certainly not as good a shooter). But I think this is due to Grady not being quite aggressive enough, because I think Grady had all the skills and tools needed to be a decent driver as well as a shooter.
 
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Every team deals with injuries. Don’t pretend it’s just us.
Oh, I didn't know.



Because I haven’t seen em. Eyeroll.

Yeah, other teams have injuries, but they don't have a team full of dudes that are more interested in not playing to protect their draft stock.
 
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I have a different feeling about next season than a lot on this board. We have 2 of the 5 starters back from last season (Wheeler and Oscar), one of which was the National player of the year. Last year’s team was on the verge of a 1 seed and blew out the eventual winner. Injuries and Cal’s stubbornness caught up with us.

TyTy was injured and never really provided what I think he could have. A healthy Wallace should hopefully provide more. Grady had plantar fasciitis which limited him as the season went on. A healthy Frederick should replace him. We all wanted Toppin in over Brooks anyway. To me, that makes next year’s team better at all positions. You have Reaves replacing Mintz. Livingston joining in. Collins should be much better in year 2 and Ware is a 1 year older Ware.


I think next season can be great. The only thing that really concerns me is the cutting the playing time to 7 players philosophy. It doesn’t work and will Cal be so stubborn that he does it again and derail the chance of success come tourney time.
As a KU fan, I agree with most of what you said. You guys will be really good.

My one disagreement is with your disapproval of the 7 players philosophy. In the final 4 last year, KU played 6.5 players/UNC 5.5/Duke 6.5/Nova 5.5. All 4 of them really maintained that throughout the postseason. Maybe for the regular season I could see expanding the bench and developing guys, but to say it doesn’t work is wrong.

my apologies if this was discussed somewhere in the thread, I didn’t take the time to scroll
 
I can say I’m a little more optimistic now after seeing how well Wallace has been doing. I think he could be the star we’ve been missing in the backcourt. The best lineup will probably be Wallace CJ Livingston Toppin Oscar. But I know Cal will stick with Wheeler.
I am surprised that no one mentioned Frederick. He should become the missing puzzle piece as the starting SG/SF. I hope he proves me right.
 
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As a KU fan, I agree with most of what you said. You guys will be really good.

My one disagreement is with your disapproval of the 7 players philosophy. In the final 4 last year, KU played 6.5 players/UNC 5.5/Duke 6.5/Nova 5.5. All 4 of them really maintained that throughout the postseason. Maybe for the regular season I could see expanding the bench and developing guys, but to say it doesn’t work is wrong.

my apologies if this was discussed somewhere in the thread, I didn’t take the time to scroll
I can agree with you in some cases like KU this past year. The problem I have with it is that we were playing like a National Champion with a 9-10 man rotation. Cal goes away from that, we look like a mediocre team and even lose to a 15 seed. If 9 or 10 is working that great, why change it.
 
7 players doesn’t work? Did you see Kansas, UNC, Duke, or Villanovas rotation last year? You know
And don’t pretend that last year our backcourt injuries weren’t as bad as any team has ever had )Fredrick, Tyty, Grady, Wheeler)
And don't pretend Cal started the season without a very deep squad and as usual played only a few guys the last several weeks causing players to play too many minutes and play banged up by tournament play.

I've been pro Cal most of his tenure here but never could stand his horrible substitution patterns and have always been critical of it.
 
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I can agree with you in some cases like KU this past year. The problem I have with it is that we were playing like a National Champion with a 9-10 man rotation. Cal goes away from that, we look like a mediocre team and even lose to a 15 seed. If 9 or 10 is working that great, why change it.
It depends on the team for sure, but a great coach imo doesn't field a deep team full of quality players only to feel obligated to cut the rotation later in the season.

I don't see how this philosophy could affect recruiting positively either.
 
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