My original comment on our Freshmen was wrong, I stand corrected

[JonathanW]

So many of you are thinking Cal’s methods are the best and only methods for building teams.
Players improve a lot in 4 years. Other players that could have been (or were) said were”not SEC quality” their first year at UK: Feldhaus, Pelphrey, Ford, Epps, Padgett, Mohammad, Mills, Edwards, C.Hawkins, Daniels, Estill, Moss, Harrellson, D.Hawkins, Willis.
And many thought certain recruits wouldn’t be good enough to make a big impact at UK, like Ulis, SGA, R.Sheppard.
And several thought transfers from mid-majors couldn’t ever become good enough because they weren’t high enough prospects, proven wrong by UK and other-SEC players like: Grady, Reeves, Williams, Knenecht, Broome.

I like a lot of what I’ve seen from Noah. Is he ready yet? Not quite, but you can see it’s there. I think if he stays all 4 years, by SR year he could be 2nd team all SEC.
Chandler had 2 years of rust to knock off. That’s a lot! You can see the athleticism is there, and some skills, but he needs consistency which would be most affected by not playing for 2 years. So he might be a year ahead of Noah in that eventual progression.
Perry though can’t get taller, and it’s tough to get quicker. Sure there have been good players with his limitations, but it’s tough. So I could see him having a career more like Farmer. Sparks would be optimistic. And while a Lofton can happen, those are rare.

 

[redbird51]

Those freshmen are going to help Kentucky win many big games in the future. The experience they are getting now will have great value going forward. They all can shoot and will improve defensively. They will get stronger and will develop into important pieces for this program.

 

[FltDoc]

They'll be fine. Chill. As have been said they are Freshman playing in the most Pro-Like college conference.

 

[UKAlum84]

If we got to play with helmets on and shoulder pads, we might see a fair ball game.

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

I hope he proves me wrong but this season has not given me much hope. He can shoot good when left open but he doesn’t have good handles or athleticism. Maybe he drastically improves and I hope he does. I like him especially because he is home grown but there are thousands of players in Ky like that. I realize that he was Mr Basketball but that doesn’t always equate to UK caliber or SEC caliber players.

There are thousands of players, pg's, who are rated in the top 90 of the country? Thats pretty impressive.

 

[Cats192]

Don’t give up on those guys. They are going to be good players for us eventually. They’re typical freshman. Philon and fears are at another level right now and they will be pros soon.

This.

People expect everyone to be a top 5 pick year one.

 

[jace2012]

None of our players are SEC quality outside of a few. Pope did a good job with what he had, but high school recruiting a full year in hasn't been outstanding. Got fortunate with a few decent rated in state kids, but not leading for any of the stud players even though we have top 5 NIL and name recognition. We will have to tear it up in the portal to get good. Somehow Louisville went from terrible to good with a coach and the portal.

That’s the thing, UK isn’t listed with very many high school recruits next years class or after. All the familiar schools are there except UK and that is a concern. I’m not so sure Kentucky can compete with Alabama Arkansas, UL and others in the NIL world, there isn’t enough to go around for basketball and football. The schools mentioned have more donors that can contribute than UK. I’m rambling the storms had me up all night sorry

 

[maysvilleky]

Perry and Chandler aren’t PGs but they’re forced into that role. Don’t know if Perry will ever be able to defend.

 

[Kyhoward]

They can fit in as 5th options or tertiary ball handlers. When they get stuck having to handle and make a bunch of decisions, we stall.

They are freshman and we all pretty much expected them to be bad this year. Who actually thought at the beginning of the year that any of our freshman trio would be playing 15+ minutes against a title contender? All 3 of them did tonight.

Who are our ballhandlers on this team? Lamont and Amari! OO is a good physical player but cannot be trusted with handling the ball full court and neither can anyone else. Yet, many on this forum, bash the freshmen for making the same mistakes as 4-5 year college players! Each has improved tremendously since the beginning of the season. Are they going to be superstars - I don't think so, but they are 4-year players that will be valuable bench players on future teams. I think that Travis, Trent, and Collin will be unrecognizable in their growth next season. Each have skills to be contributors on very successful teams. Plus having them in CMP's system will help the incoming freshmen and portal players the next 3 years. Getting them along with Brandon and Otega are keys to next season being a success.

If you go back 30+ years, who would have believed that Woods, Pelphrey, Feldhaus, and Farmer would ever contribute to the UK teams during their 4 years. But they did and their names hang from the rafters at Rupp. I don't agree they are bad, they are freshmen. Yes compared to Flagg, Fears, and Philon they don't measure up but these 3 will be in the NBA next year. No team is going to have a full roster of all conference type players at their disposal. The top 4 teams in the SEC have 3-4 tremendous college players each but would not be some of the best teams in the country without a complement of good players contributing. Cameron Mills was another player that was mostly a 1-dimensional player that could shoot but not guard. Do we win the National Championship in 1998 without him?

I love this team! What a great group to have put their talents together to become a team! IMO, this has been a successful season. We go into the NCAA tourney and no matter who we face in the 1st 2 rounds, they will be no better than the 13 other SEC teams that will be in the tournament.

 

[Kyhoward]

So many of you are thinking Cal’s methods are the best and only methods for building teams.
Players improve a lot in 4 years. Other players that could have been (or were) said were”not SEC quality” their first year at UK: Feldhaus, Pelphrey, Ford, Epps, Padgett, Mohammad, Mills, Edwards, C.Hawkins, Daniels, Estill, Moss, Harrellson, D.Hawkins, Willis.
And many thought certain recruits wouldn’t be good enough to make a big impact at UK, like Ulis, SGA, R.Sheppard.
And several thought transfers from mid-majors couldn’t ever become good enough because they weren’t high enough prospects, proven wrong by UK and other-SEC players like: Grady, Reeves, Williams, Knenecht, Broome.

I like a lot of what I’ve seen from Noah. Is he ready yet? Not quite, but you can see it’s there. I think if he stays all 4 years, by SR year he could be 2nd team all SEC.
Chandler had 2 years of rust to knock off. That’s a lot! You can see the athleticism is there, and some skills, but he needs consistency which would be most affected by not playing for 2 years. So he might be a year ahead of Noah in that eventual progression.
Perry though can’t get taller, and it’s tough to get quicker. Sure there have been good players with his limitations, but it’s tough. So I could see him having a career more like Farmer. Sparks would be optimistic. And while a Lofton can happen, those are rare.

100% agree JonathanW!!

 

[fredmanthecatfan]

What a crappy post.

 

[Mulder14]

None of our players are SEC quality outside of a few. Pope did a good job with what he had, but high school recruiting a full year in hasn't been outstanding. Got fortunate with a few decent rated in state kids, but not leading for any of the stud players even though we have top 5 NIL and name recognition. We will have to tear it up in the portal to get good. Somehow Louisville went from terrible to good with a coach and the portal.

Probably has something to do with their conference

 

[Woodrow_Call_1998]

So many of you are thinking Cal’s methods are the best and only methods for building teams.
Players improve a lot in 4 years. Other players that could have been (or were) said were”not SEC quality” their first year at UK: Feldhaus, Pelphrey, Ford, Epps, Padgett, Mohammad, Mills, Edwards, C.Hawkins, Daniels, Estill, Moss, Harrellson, D.Hawkins, Willis.
And many thought certain recruits wouldn’t be good enough to make a big impact at UK, like Ulis, SGA, R.Sheppard.
And several thought transfers from mid-majors couldn’t ever become good enough because they weren’t high enough prospects, proven wrong by UK and other-SEC players like: Grady, Reeves, Williams, Knenecht, Broome.

I like a lot of what I’ve seen from Noah. Is he ready yet? Not quite, but you can see it’s there. I think if he stays all 4 years, by SR year he could be 2nd team all SEC.
Chandler had 2 years of rust to knock off. That’s a lot! You can see the athleticism is there, and some skills, but he needs consistency which would be most affected by not playing for 2 years. So he might be a year ahead of Noah in that eventual progression.
Perry though can’t get taller, and it’s tough to get quicker. Sure there have been good players with his limitations, but it’s tough. So I could see him having a career more like Farmer. Sparks would be optimistic. And while a Lofton can happen, those are rare.

Good post

 

[sambowieshin]

Teach defense and our team can reach another level. If we don't defend we will always be trying to just out score everyone in a shootout. That is a tough position on nights our threes are not falling.

You could teach Perry and Noah defense 24/7 and they will never be able to stay in front of elite SEC players.

 

[Cuello Azul]

Perry looks like a celebrity that snuck in the real all star game.

 

[mdlUK.1]

They can shoot threes ( not tonight) when wide open but they play zero defense and turn the ball over when under pressure. I hate to see it and say it. They will or should be at the end of the bench with future recruits coach Pope brings in.

I seem to recall UK and Rick Pitino losing to ku by 50+ in his first season. How did that turn out?

 

[ukcatz12]

Had hopes for Perry and Noah but was always skeptical about Chandler. But when you look at other Freshmen like Philon and Fears there is really no comparison.

Philon and Fears are the exact type of guys everyone complained about for the last decade and then wished for Perry/Noah/Chandler type longer term projects.

So what do people really want?

 

[ChicagoCat1990]

Either through the portal or recruiting we are going to have to get more athletic. Perry, Noah, Brea, Almonor, Carr, Robinson, Kerr all struggled this year getting beat off the dribble.

 

[Cobb4uk]

They can shoot threes ( not tonight) when wide open but they play zero defense and turn the ball over when under pressure. I hate to see it and say it. They will or should be at the end of the bench with future recruits coach Pope brings in.

Might want to look at stats before you speak. Freshman, T. Perry played 28 minutes the 1st Bama game with 0(zero) TO's and 30 minutes last night with 2 TO's. Are the Freshmen lacking, yes, 19 year Olds playing against mostly grown men, 23-25 years old. Yes there are a handful of Freshmen that play way over their age but probably not over 10-15% at the most.

 

[Lempface]

Just can't help but laugh at threads like this.

 

[coachcombs57]

I wasn't expecting much at all from any of them. They've played as much as they had out of necessity.

My hope then and even now is that Perry, Noah, and Chandler will be productive in subsequent seasons.

It's so frustrating to watch people dog on the type of players they're clamored to be recruited for years while Cal was here. These guys have been forced into way more minutes than expected this season. They'll improve in future seasons (and have this season). Not all freshmen are created equal, some take time. Which was want a lot of people griped about not having in the past.

 

[aikenite4uk]

Just can't help but laugh at threads like this.

Just trolls...mock them incessantly

 

[Emarc]

They can shoot threes ( not tonight) when wide open but they play zero defense and turn the ball over when under pressure. I hate to see it and say it. They will or should be at the end of the bench with future recruits coach Pope brings in

Neither were Farmer, Pelphrey or Feldhouse

 

[JonathanW]

49 minutes between Perry & Noah...UK will NEVER win games with them playing that much...now or when they are seniors...it just won't happen

Every player is not meant to play 25 minutes to contribute. Although I do think by SR year Noah could be 2nd team all-SEC.

 

[BigSexyCat]

Our freshmen are freshmen. They will develop over time. They may or may not be good enough to be significant contributors but like another poster said we need continuity and not a full roster turn over ever year.

 

[Zissou87]

This.

People expect everyone to be a top 5 pick year one

But they also want continuity. Lottery picks are not returning for NIL money.

 

[TNCatfanforever]

They can shoot threes ( not tonight) when wide open but they play zero defense and turn the ball over when under pressure. I hate to see it and say it. They will or should be at the end of the bench with future recruits coach Pope brings in.

Please remember the freshman recruited here with thousands of UK dollars were taken by the former coach like he did to Memphis when he came here He was never about Memphis or UK or Arkansas. He is about himself. Let’s give Pope 2-3 years before we jump ship

 

[bnewt]

Don’t give up on those guys. They are going to be good players for us eventually. They’re typical freshman. Philon and fears are at another level right now and they will be pros soon.

Hope you are right, but they might be able to improve some areas, but they lack speed and quickness. That can not be improved much, if any at all

 

[bnewt]

If Krissa Robinson & Butler are playing those 3 don’t
Simple as that
But let’s not act like Oweh was not absolutely terrible tonight missing layups again at record clips

Don't mind the missed shots as much as the unforced errors

 

[bigbluemist]

Don’t give up on those guys. They are going to be good players for us eventually. They’re typical freshman. Philon and fears are at another level right now and they will be pros soon.

Noah and Perry never will be and that’s the difference

 

[wildcat_nation28]

They can shoot threes ( not tonight) when wide open but they play zero defense and turn the ball over when under pressure. I hate to see it and say it. They will or should be at the end of the bench with future recruits coach Pope brings in.

yeah cause if Pope tries to build around them he won't have a job

 

[wildcat_nation28]

Our freshmen are freshmen and play like it. Were you expecting AD or something?

no but these freshman are not the ones you build your team around

 

[ukcatz12]

None of our players are SEC quality outside of a few.

Agree. Imagine if we had SEC quality players? We might have been able to beat Florida and Tennessee twice or something.

 

[ukfan1622]

They can shoot threes ( not tonight) when wide open but they play zero defense and turn the ball over when under pressure. I hate to see it and say it. They will or should be at the end of the bench with future recruits coach Pope brings in.

If none of them develop after their freshmen year then you'll be right; until that happens it's just a bad take.

 

[mdlUK.1]

Agree. Imagine if we had SEC quality players? We might have been able to beat Florida and Tennessee twice or something.

And dUKe, Gonzaga and u6.

 

[Jeff Hoyt]

49 minutes between Perry & Noah...UK will NEVER win games with them playing that much...now or when they are seniors...it just won't happen

Because, of course, you are omnipotent and have observed that players do not develop between freshmen and senior seasons.

 

[Emarc]

49 minutes between Perry & Noah...UK will NEVER win games with them playing that much...now or when they are seniors...it just won't happen

Must be Nostradamas.

 

[sam_o]

Perry Noah and Chandler have been fine. The notion that you should be judged based on your freshman season is nonsense. Let these guys get some more time, more conditioning and more experience. Let’s watch them grow and develop over the next couple years. We have to stop throwing players away

 

[Emarc]

Just can't help but laugh at threads like this

i liked the post that said Pearl would have had us #1. Lost 3 of last 4 with a loaded squad. 🤣

 

[Emarc]

yeah cause if Pope tries to build around them he won't have a Job

O