Portal Superstars
- Thread starter AzubuikeandFitch
- Start date
This was just weird because I thought this one we were HOT on and then it was like it was COLD and I honestly forgot about him until you mentioned his name. This guy is like a sniper from 3 point land.
Current Portal Picture ...
Not going to disagree with your points as I agree but the portal has been opened a week. Some of the better players who will enter haven't entered yet. I have faith Pope and the other coaches have a plan and they are working it. Patience is needed. With that said every portal person who has been linked to Kentucky and who has been posted on this board there have been numerous people with each of them say they are not SEC material. And I understand there are some who no matter who we sign will not be happy because they do not feel the program is heading in the right direction. Only thing I ask is for folks to let it play out. If we get down to the final days of the portal and we still have gaps, then that is a time to worry and complain and trust me I will be complaining too if that is the scenario, but I also understand that the portal isn't the end all be all when it comes to recruits for next year. There are really good players overseas too.
No, no, “superstar” is not subjective, it has a clear, distinctive, and precise definition!
Let’s all stop moving the goalposts, so it fits the current narrative! Pope has yet to close on a single “superstar”, by definition, in his entire career.
I love Pope as UK’s HC as much, or more than any of you, but I also live in a reality dictated by observable results and outcomes, and UK has whiffed on ever single “superstar” that the staff has recruited since Pope arrived, while the likes of Duke, UNC, Kansas, UCLA, and soon to be U6, have not!
For “optics” alone, that’s a bit concerning.
I don't see Gillespie listed yet, but I think he's a really good PG option.
AND… BYU got in late on Dybansta, with a brand new coach, and we observed how that turned out!
Bottom line, twist it any way you want, UK has taken a backseat to NIL, as compared to their counterparts! That simple solitary fact is not up for debate!
It's an objective reality but most fans allow themselves to be misled about how much Kentucky has to spend by people who are self-interested in them not tuning out and finding new hobbies. It's a classic case of, "News I like is true. News I don't like is false." So, you won't get anywhere on this board with this logical self-evident take. I have been saying exactly what you're saying here for over a year.
It’s the NIL era D23! Kevin Young, Pope’s successor, already landed the consensus #1 dude in the sport! Spare me the 3-4 years BS!
Either UK has the bank, or they don’t! It’s not going to remain a mystery for very much longer!
So, what is the "objective" definition of "superstar?" The one that is clear, distinctive, precise and not at all influenced by your subjective idea/desire.
That wasn’t your initial argument! However, you just confirmed mine!
We better pony up or we will be sitting with next tier portal recruits and looking at a Sweet 16 or worse exit again. The assignment = hanging banners!
I don’t confirm anything for you. You’re upset that Kentucky hasn’t gotten players that don’t fit your definition of what a superstar is. Anybody using last years cycle against him is utterly ridiculous. And this year the portal has been open a week, 1 week, and it’s” oh pope can’t get supserstars”. A couple of you have no clue how roster management works.
Do the math. If Kentucky has 8-10 million and only 6 million of that is NIL... https://www.aseaofblue.com/2025/3/30/24396904/kentucky-basketball-nil-budget-2025-26-roster Just use your brains, people.
So this is a "fact, not up for debate" eh. Where's your numbers and data to back up these "facts" You know no more than the rest of us how much NIL money is being spent or available. I guess we should just drop to D3 like St. Joseph if we can't compete anymore.
So 24/7 has BYU with the 11th ranked recruiting class for 2025 even with Dybansta, while we are at #6. ESPN says we have three top 25 players, BYU has one. Rivals has us #4 while BYU is #5. So yeah they got the golden goose of the class, but as a whole are still behind us in most metrics. Also, things like Dybansta living in UTAH kinda gives them a bit of an advantage in that regard, just like it gave us an advantage with Johnson and Moreno. Really doubt they will be able to pull guys like him consistently from outside the state.
Superstars are Dybansta, Boozer, Cenac, Ament, Wilson, Peterson, on the freshman side, all of which Pope and UK got out worked/ out bid for, and on the portal side, you are familiar with the ones from last offseason, which Pope gets a 100% pass on, which brings us to the current one, which so far, and it’s kinda/ kinda not early, he’s landed one backup wing player.
Listen, I’m all in on Pope, and it’s not really on him, but the 600# gorilla that some want to ignore is, he has yet to close on a Top 5 player, while alll the other major players are plucking them left and right.
That’s a NIL thing, not a Pope thing.
I’m not upset about any of this! It’s a casual sport I choose to follow, and as I was following it, I noticed that all of UK’s rivals were going about business as usual, while UK was treading water.
Pope brought up the “understanding the assignment” bit, and, “getting a couple of superstars” from the portal, not me!
I’m just here discussing how those two statements he made UNSOLICITED, was coming along!
I’ll happily eat some raw, undressed crow when the situation comes!
So, the high school kids ranked in the top 5-6 spots in the recruiting service rankings are the objectively defined superstars? Do you know the basis on which those services rank those kids? Does impact on winning games in college matter? If so, do you believe that it's likely that Caleb Wilson would have a bigger impact on winning at UK next season than say Yaxel Lendeborg (or 4-5 others I would name off the top of my head)?
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Not a superstar but Maryland's Ja'Kobi Gillespie is in the portal. He is said to be the reason that Maryland done well down the stretch this season. Averaged about 15 pts, about 5 assists and hit about 41% from 3. Wonder how he compares to Dedan Thomas?
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Gillespie and Rice would be a nice tandem to have to go with Oweh. That trio would be top notch.
They said that Gillespie played well beyond his years as a point guard. So a super mature point guard that can score, pass and shoot. Sounds like what we are looking for to run our team next season. From Greenville, TN, could Pope beat Barnes for him?
#24 on 247s rankings ahead of Eaglestaff and Wilkerson
So? Who on this team is going to be a superstar in year 2? I don't see anyone. OO is solid but he's limited by his jumpshot. Maybe JRob but he seems fragile. Butler's gone. Pope has no real choice at this point but to sign two superstars or we're looking at another S16 flameout next year.
Coach Pope and staff have game film on all of these guys in the portal, both D1 and D2 players. Our (posters on this forum) idea of superstar is probably different than the staff version of what skill sets are needed to assemble talented players that fit the team’s offensive and defensive schemes.
Talent is undeniably important, but the most talented rosters don’t always make the best teams.
The non-skill intangibles are equally important:
Is he a leader?
Does he quit when the team is hopelessly behind?
Does he sulk or recover quickly after a bad shot or mistake?
Does his team play better when he is on the floor?
What motivates him the most? Winning or the NBA
Is he coachable?
Some of these attributes are noticed by watching film. Others can be ascertained with Zoom and face-to-face interviews. CMP and staff will be selecting players that fit their criteria. They won’t be desperately searching for players.
Pope wasn’t hired until after the NCAAT was over last season. He then needed to go through all the pomp and hire a staff before he got to work.
Pretty sure the basketball staff aren’t idiots. They don’t need to replace an entire roster this year either. Some people on here are absolutely insufferable. “Oh no we don’t have all seven of the top portal recruits and it’s still March what will we do”. Get the hell over yourselves.
Pretty sure the basketball staff aren’t idiots. They don’t need to replace an entire roster this year either. Some people on here are absolutely insufferable. “Oh no we don’t have all seven of the top portal recruits and it’s still March what will we do”. Get the hell over yourselves.
According to sources, only contact has been made. At the moment there's nothing setup for a zoom or visit.
How is being a "west coast kid" a given that someone will stay out west.
Butler is from California. He had not issue coming to Lexington.
Bottom line: for the right price, Dent would have come to Kentucky. UK just wasn't willing to spend on him. Maybe it's because they know they will get someone else.
Nah. BBN understands that when Pope said "superstars", he's referring to tier one portal players.
No one is expecting him to land a future NBA level superstar in the portal. They are, however, expecting UK to not get punked for the Chaz Laniers of the world this time around.
I haven't heard his name but has UK shown interest in Quimari Peterson from ETSU? He is the SoCon POY and averaged 19.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 3.7 APG while having shooting splits of 47, 42 & 73?
