As good as Williams is, I'd take Cenac in a heartbeat. Stud.
PF Chris Cenac and PG Mikel Brown coming in for OVs
- Thread starter Smashcat
- Start date
Very good news after hearing Mullins dropped us. Getting these guys would be an incredible 1st true recruiting class for Pope. I know it's probably a long shot but hope all goes great during the visits.
You said Williams, but I assume you mean you like Cenac over Wilson as a freshman PF recruit, right? If so, what are a few of the things about Cenac you like better than Wilson?
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I would take Cenac and Brown over Wilson and Lewis but would be extremely happy to get either.
Cenac plays hard. Very powerful and tries to dunk everything around the rim. Brown is a great mix of shooting and athletic ability also finishes strong around the rim. All are great players.
Cenac plays hard. Very powerful and tries to dunk everything around the rim. Brown is a great mix of shooting and athletic ability also finishes strong around the rim. All are great players.
I asked Smashcat a similar type of question, but if you have seen some of both how would you compare a few of the strengths or weaknesses of Cenac vs Wilson?
If it is true we have a great chance at getting Wilson, could Pope and company be looking to play Cenac at the 5.
Good point, but just a guess and nothing more I think the staff would take a commitment from either Wilson or Cenac and be greatful. Imo, no way they can get both
Cenac is consistently good at a lot of things. Seems he would be good from the get go. Brown a good team player that can score and distribute and doesn't worry about what he gets but makes the right plays. JMO
Brown going to visit UL. Brown is a true 1. He is great at distributing the ball and also rebounds. A true team player, type of player that Pope likes. Played real well against good competition this summer. And to me, Cenac may be the best overall 4. Not sure how he compares to Bungalo, but those two would be my preference at the four since we lost out on two other bigs that I would love to have had.
So a guy can dream right.
PG- Brown/Lewis/Perry/Darbyshire
SG- Chandler/Johnson/Perry/Horn
W- Oweh/Noah/Development piece
F- Cenac/Wilson/Development piece
C- Garrison/Moreno
PG- Brown/Lewis/Perry/Darbyshire
SG- Chandler/Johnson/Perry/Horn
W- Oweh/Noah/Development piece
F- Cenac/Wilson/Development piece
C- Garrison/Moreno
Appreciate hearing your take on these recruits. It provides information and adds to good discussion in my opinion. Whether or not others agree completely with your take is not the point. They can say on what points they disagree and that adds positively as well.
Is it just me or is Pope kicking serious ass on the recruiting front?
The bottom line is. That Mark Pope is recruiting at an extremely high level. As good as this recruiting class is going to be. Look for recruiting in the future under Pope to get even better after recruits in the 2026, 2027 classes ect... ect... gets to see his wide open free wheeling exciting offense that he coaches. Recruits will be begging to come here. And with Pope we will have a coach that will be able to take advantage of the overwhelming talent that he will have.
The staff is making a priority some of the great players in the class, and getting them to seriously consider us. I’m loving what I’m seeing so far.
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I'm glad Pope isn't listening to some fragments of our fan base, the ones that are making the case that OAD is a bad thing (there's a few on this message board, and their logic is awful).
OAD is only bad when you depend on it as your main paradigm.
Pope played with guys like Mercer and Walker, guys who stayed two years but who would have been OAD in the modern era. He also knows how important Antoine Walker was as a frosh when he won MVP of the SEC tournament, and how important Mercer was as a first-year player when he went for 20 points in the national title game.
You don't cut off your nose to spite your face. UK leads the nation in all-time 1st round picks and presently leads the NBA in most All-Stars. A ton of those guys were All-SEC level players when they were at Kentucky.
Why jettison that pipeline if you don't have to?
OAD is only bad when you depend on it as your main paradigm.
Pope played with guys like Mercer and Walker, guys who stayed two years but who would have been OAD in the modern era. He also knows how important Antoine Walker was as a frosh when he won MVP of the SEC tournament, and how important Mercer was as a first-year player when he went for 20 points in the national title game.
You don't cut off your nose to spite your face. UK leads the nation in all-time 1st round picks and presently leads the NBA in most All-Stars. A ton of those guys were All-SEC level players when they were at Kentucky.
Why jettison that pipeline if you don't have to?
True.
I don't know why Coach Mark Pope would not want to recruit teams like he played with when he was at UK with top 5 players in their classes like Rod Rhodes, Tony Delk, Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer, and Wayne Turner. Sure, he and Derek Anderson were transfers, but you have to look at how talented some of the upcoming recruiting classes are this year and next year and they are way more talented than the transfer classes. He is going to want to get the best players out of the best classes.
I’m pleasantly surprised that we are still bringing in the Top recruits this early. Kentucky is still a popular team and kids are intrigued and Pope comes in and brings the excitement.
I believe HS recruiting along with a moderate to high level of retention and a few high level portal stars has to be the model. That means 2-3 very high level recruits and 2- 3 - 35-80 level recruits. We need to retain 2-3 each year from the HS class and it can’t always be mostly PG and SG’s like it will likely be after this year. I wish we could get to the point where we are only turning over 5-6 players a year(4 HS, 1-2 Portal). You have to have High level talent to when it all. It just can’t all or most Freshmen.
Exactly, even guys who needed 2 years like Washington and Quickley were big time contributors and then All SEC/ POY caliber players here.
Exactly, that’s why I love the signing of Chandler, Perry, Noah. Guys who you can build a team around that have talent, and could be major pieces their 2nd and 3rd years here. Retention of those guys, maybe some junior portal guys from the previous year. Then recruit 3-4 high quality Freshman, along with 2-3 portal studs each year. You have guys who know and fit the system, a great coaching staff, veteran college players who have strength and D1 experience, impact college players, and NBA talent of the young guys. That adds up to a winning formula now.
Cal never understood that we needed a balance. We was terrible at roster construction. He had no retention. The only players that made it to graduation under him were in-state guys like Hawkins and Willis, who were willing to sit the bench most of their careers.
And even when he had a bit of retention, he was such a terrible X and O’s coach that it didn’t matter. His schemes were thoroughly predictable and when he didn’t have guys that were just overwhelmingly athletic, he struggled.
Pope seems to be an improvement as far as X’s and O’s are concerned, but the jury is out on roster construction. We will see over the next few years if he can build a program.
And even when he had a bit of retention, he was such a terrible X and O’s coach that it didn’t matter. His schemes were thoroughly predictable and when he didn’t have guys that were just overwhelmingly athletic, he struggled.
Pope seems to be an improvement as far as X’s and O’s are concerned, but the jury is out on roster construction. We will see over the next few years if he can build a program.
Yes he is and I’m not going to discredit him at all because I love me some Pope and he has been working 24/7 it seems. If you get a coach that can coach and a coach that will get out and recruit the UK name will carry a lot of weight just like it always has. Tubby just didn’t want to do it and Billy G was a head case. UK will always be UK I don’t give a shit what people say!
I’m with you. Pope’s been all gas, no brake since day one. In my book that’s the way you earn it. Love the approach and feel confident it will pay huge dividends sooner than later.
Typo. I meant Wilson. Cenac imo is good enough to be a SEC POY imo. Certainly not going to be disappointed though if we get Wilson.
If you can get either pair, take it. I personally prefer the pair on campus this weekend, but it is just because I prefer a true point guard(Brown) to a lead guard at point(Lewis), especially when we already have a lead guard in Jasper.
I like the fact that all four seem to possess that winners mentality over stats. The one thing I will say is that Lewis is probably the only one of those four who may be going into a commitment with the thought of possibly 2 years.
After watching highlights again. Both are very similar. Cenac looks to be a PF that could
Play center. Very skilled. Wilson is an athletic 4 man that could get away playing the 3 in popes offense considering I can see him easily guarding a 3. Lewis
Is by far the better guard out of him and Mikel Brown.
Play center. Very skilled. Wilson is an athletic 4 man that could get away playing the 3 in popes offense considering I can see him easily guarding a 3. Lewis
Is by far the better guard out of him and Mikel Brown.
I thought it was Wilson or cenac at the 4. If a Wilson-Cenac-Garrison front court happens Jiminy crickets, that would be incredible. By himself, Cenak is a great talent.
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