If Perry starts, we will have a terrible season. That’s when you’ll see real discontent.
Starting lineup next season
- Thread starter cornbreadnmilk
- Start date
Once Pope decides on his top 11 guys, you will see that 10 will play close to the same minutes (within 4 or so minutes) and the 11th will float between positions of need for that game and will get up to 7 minutes in that game.
Butler and Kriisa will even out. Perry if foul trouble or if he is on that game.
Brea and Oweh will even out. Noah / Chandler / Perry if foul trouble
Oweh and Chandler will even out Noah if foul trouble
Carr and Almonor will even out. Oweh / Noah if Foul trouble
Williams and Garrison will even out. Almonor if foul trouble
If Robinson comes then you just have to move Noah down one and change around the order. I think Robinson starts at the 3.
Butler Pope did say on one show Butler is his starting PG. Defense
Brea at the 2 or Oweh if he makes the jump some think he might make. Oweh Defense
Robinson
Carr
Williams (Maybe by SEC play Garrison if he makes the jump). Defense.
Butler and Kriisa will even out. Perry if foul trouble or if he is on that game.
Brea and Oweh will even out. Noah / Chandler / Perry if foul trouble
Oweh and Chandler will even out Noah if foul trouble
Carr and Almonor will even out. Oweh / Noah if Foul trouble
Williams and Garrison will even out. Almonor if foul trouble
If Robinson comes then you just have to move Noah down one and change around the order. I think Robinson starts at the 3.
Butler Pope did say on one show Butler is his starting PG. Defense
Brea at the 2 or Oweh if he makes the jump some think he might make. Oweh Defense
Robinson
Carr
Williams (Maybe by SEC play Garrison if he makes the jump). Defense.
Main rotation (estimated minutes):
G Butler(30)/Kriisa(10)
G Kriisa(20)/Brea(20)
G Oweh(30)/Brea(10)
F Carr(30)/Almonor(10)
F Williams(20)/Garrison(20)
Brea is use to the sixth man role, so I think he comes off the bench.
I just don’t think the Freshmen play much with the veterans we have coming in. Just not enough minutes to go around.
Here’s hoping we get Robinson.
G Butler(30)/Kriisa(10)
G Kriisa(20)/Brea(20)
G Oweh(30)/Brea(10)
F Carr(30)/Almonor(10)
F Williams(20)/Garrison(20)
Brea is use to the sixth man role, so I think he comes off the bench.
I just don’t think the Freshmen play much with the veterans we have coming in. Just not enough minutes to go around.
Here’s hoping we get Robinson.
If he plays well enough to deserve to start and doesn't then fans will be upset but not just cause he is from Kentucky. Most fans want the best players to start no matter where they are from.
The most talented player on this roster is Garrison. He will be a key piece to this roster.
I've never understood this perspective.
No, Ritchie is not effing starting tonight unless he belongs in there.
Why in the world would he?
With the potential to be a little better, if they come together.
Butler is a leader and winner. He played for a national title in ‘23. His only losses the last two seasons have been to the champs.
Kriisa played for a terrible team last season, but the year before played for a 1 seed, so he has won some games. He’s a good shooter and hopefully will play better being mainly off the ball. I think that’s where he belongs.
Oweh has barely scratched the surface. He has loads of potential. He can be a difference maker on both sides of the ball. He may end up being our best player. I think he will be our leading scorer.
Carr is a good inside/outside threat. He averaged 13ppg for a team with a dominant guard leading the way. I think he will be solid for us.
Williams is a defensive menace. He’ll score some, but his impact will be on the defensive side.
Brea should be an excellent sixth man. He has tourney experience. Best shooter in the nation last year.
Garrison should be a great complement to Williams. Shouldn’t lose much when he comes in.
Almonor should be solid as a backup for Carr.
Chandler could be the x-factor.
The talent is there, it’s really all about how they come together.
That scoutingu guy on Twitter said Robinson is leaning towards staying in the draft. I don’t know if he knows what he is talking about or not.
My guess of Mark Pope’s starting five, with minutes.
Butler (28) / Kriisa (12)
Kriisa (12) / Chandler (20) / Brea (8)
Brea (16) / Oweh (24)
Carr (24) / Almonor (16)
Williams (20) / Garrison (16) / Carr (4)
It's a fun exercise but as fans we aren't tuned in to what the staff are thinking when they built this team. It's fun to see how expectations change as we get to know more about the team.
If the roster doesn't change, the big questions in my view are what roles Kriisa, Chandler, and Oweh will play. Is Oweh ready for a breakout year? Will Chandler force his way into more minutes, or is he not ready yet? Can Kriisa reign in bad habits and take good shots?
I don't think Perry/Noah will see much run this year once we get to conference play but am excited to see what they can do during their careers here.
I think Butler's elite defense and his winning tournament experience (along with the staff prioritizing him by flying out to secure his commitment) indicates he'll be the lead guard and get the bulk of guard minutes.
We know Brea's elite offensive game needs to be showcased for a healthy dose of minutes.
I think with how MP has spoken of Carr and everything I've read and watched on him that he will be the leader among the frontcourt players. He has a nice mix of post play, long range ability, defense, and leadership.
I’m not sure of Oweh’s trajectory heading into this season. I feel like he could be comparable to junior year Kelenna Azubuike, but it depends on how his offensive game develops this offseason. Defensively he is a star from everything I've seen/read.
I think with Williams/Garrison, we have two very good centers to defend the post and facilitate on offense. I'm hoping Garrison's post-up game takes a big leap this year because I don't think that's a strength of either Williams or Garrison but I'm hoping Garrison has it in him somewhere.
If we add Jaxson Robinson, it shakes things up and I think Chandler may be odd-man-out.
Butler (28) / Kriisa (12)
Robinson (12) / Kriisa (8) / Brea (12) / Oweh (8)
Brea (12) / Robinson (16) / Oweh (12)
Carr (24) / Almonor (16)
Williams (20) / Garrison (16) / Carr (4)
Butler (28) / Kriisa (12)
Kriisa (12) / Chandler (20) / Brea (8)
Brea (16) / Oweh (24)
Carr (24) / Almonor (16)
Williams (20) / Garrison (16) / Carr (4)
It's a fun exercise but as fans we aren't tuned in to what the staff are thinking when they built this team. It's fun to see how expectations change as we get to know more about the team.
If the roster doesn't change, the big questions in my view are what roles Kriisa, Chandler, and Oweh will play. Is Oweh ready for a breakout year? Will Chandler force his way into more minutes, or is he not ready yet? Can Kriisa reign in bad habits and take good shots?
I don't think Perry/Noah will see much run this year once we get to conference play but am excited to see what they can do during their careers here.
I think Butler's elite defense and his winning tournament experience (along with the staff prioritizing him by flying out to secure his commitment) indicates he'll be the lead guard and get the bulk of guard minutes.
We know Brea's elite offensive game needs to be showcased for a healthy dose of minutes.
I think with how MP has spoken of Carr and everything I've read and watched on him that he will be the leader among the frontcourt players. He has a nice mix of post play, long range ability, defense, and leadership.
I’m not sure of Oweh’s trajectory heading into this season. I feel like he could be comparable to junior year Kelenna Azubuike, but it depends on how his offensive game develops this offseason. Defensively he is a star from everything I've seen/read.
I think with Williams/Garrison, we have two very good centers to defend the post and facilitate on offense. I'm hoping Garrison's post-up game takes a big leap this year because I don't think that's a strength of either Williams or Garrison but I'm hoping Garrison has it in him somewhere.
If we add Jaxson Robinson, it shakes things up and I think Chandler may be odd-man-out.
Butler (28) / Kriisa (12)
Robinson (12) / Kriisa (8) / Brea (12) / Oweh (8)
Brea (12) / Robinson (16) / Oweh (12)
Carr (24) / Almonor (16)
Williams (20) / Garrison (16) / Carr (4)
Playing a guy that can't shoot or score 28 minutes a game is interesting.
Otherwise, seems about right.
I presume you are talking about Butler. How many do you think he should get? Let's see your breakdown.
I think if he was good enough to play about that much on a national runner up and sweet 16 team, I think we'll be fine. If he can shoot 33% from 3 (which is about where his career mark stands) he'll be good enough with all the other shooters we have.
I don't think we'll be asking for too much scoring from Butler. If he can get 8-10 a game, which is what he has been getting, that'll do. The PGs on our last three championship teams were Anthony Epps, Wayne Turner, and Marquis Teague, none of which were prolific scorers and all of which were above average defenders.
Perhaps. They certainly had championship teams around them. Remains to be seen what caliber team we have assembled.
I think we have enough offensive weapons at other positions. The alternative is to play Kriisa at point more, which I don’t think we will want to do because he is more of a liability defensively. The 2/3/4 slots are where our scoring is going to come from so we can afford to give up some offense in favor of defense at the 1 slot.
We are going to need upwards of 30 minutes of Butler’s defense and winning intangibles either way you slice it I think.
I'd play him and the other guy about 20 and 20 at PG. I'm assuming we get Robinson so don't see K getting many minutes beyond the 1 position.
I agree with a lot of this, though I don’t see Carr playing at the 5, unless we have foul trouble. I think Williams and Garrison are looking at somewhere between a 20/20 and 25/15 split. Both were starters last season and played well. Garrison started in the Big 12, I think he will be fine in the SEC and will push Williams for the starting spot.
The productive equivalent of:
senior-level Cliff Hawkins
senior-level Patrick Sparks
junior-level Allen Edwards
senior-level Nate Sestina
senior-level Marquis Estill
With a sophomore-level Azubuike (Oweh), a freshmen-level Magloire (Garrison), a sophomore-level Jeff Sheppard (Chandler), and sophomore-level Scott Padgett (Almonor) off the bench.
Is that good enough for 23+ wins?
I'm not sure. It's a good team, but I could see games where the offense truly struggles to generate points. The defense is going to be superb.
I do not disagree and certainly hope you’re right, only asking, but what about the defense concludes you to think it will superb ?? I sense Butler and Williams should be very good, maybe Oweh, but is that enough ???
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I think the situation at the 5 can be interesting. Garrison is a solid, youngish prospect with more potential yet to realize.
Williams, on the other hand, is proven defensively. On offense he has been rather inefficient for a center. When you dig deep in his numbers and his shot selection, there is tremendous opportunity for improvement through a simple fix. He took a boat load of midrange shots through his career and he was terrible at making them. Pope system will discourage those shots, so I expect him to have a rather big boost to his offensive efficiency this upcoming season.
I think both players have a high probability into becoming strong, impressive players t the 5 due to increased experience in Garrison’s case and better coaching for Williams sake.
Williams, on the other hand, is proven defensively. On offense he has been rather inefficient for a center. When you dig deep in his numbers and his shot selection, there is tremendous opportunity for improvement through a simple fix. He took a boat load of midrange shots through his career and he was terrible at making them. Pope system will discourage those shots, so I expect him to have a rather big boost to his offensive efficiency this upcoming season.
I think both players have a high probability into becoming strong, impressive players t the 5 due to increased experience in Garrison’s case and better coaching for Williams sake.
Garrison also has potential to be a high-level defender. I think we'll see from Garrison and Williams what we saw from Mohammed and Magloire defensively in 1997 (I'm not willing to compare them to the 1998 versions of those guys). We're not going to be bullied by any opponent's big men.
Carr is also competent defensively.
Oweh and Butler are obviously both high level defenders. You add Robinson (which looks probable) and you get BYU's best on-the-ball defender from last year. I do think that having two elite perimeter defenders is more than enough, but having a third guy in Robinson who is above average allows UK to flourish defensively.
I find this line of thinking strange. The best freshmen have nearly always gotten meaningful minutes.
Arguably the most talented player on the roster will be a freshman who is the age of a Junior. You really think he barely plays?
Yep this is it right here! I have that feeling Robinson is on his way here soon!
Kerr-brea -oweh-garrison Williams
Carr and butler are better served coming off the bench
Carr and butler are better served coming off the bench
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I do as well. It just makes to much sense for him to comer here
Not sure. Just my guess.
But Pope signed a bunch of guards that have been use to playing 30 minutes a game, most of which are going into their final year of eligibility.
Lots of mouths to feed that probably came in expecting to play big minutes.
Add in the fact that Chandler hasn’t played basketball for 2 years and I figure they will bring him along slowly.
But I may be totally off base. He may contribute more, Pope plays quite a few players in his system, so he might get a lot more minutes.
But if Pope brings in another big time wing player on top of what we have (like Robinson), then I seriously doubt much will be expected out of Chandler.
Just not enough minutes to go around.
But if Chandler is legit and shakes off the rust quickly, then he plays.
I’m just guessing like everyone else.
Butler
Oweh
Robinson
Carr
Williams
Big game 8-man rotation Kriisa, Brea, Garrison.
Oweh
Robinson
Carr
Williams
Big game 8-man rotation Kriisa, Brea, Garrison.
Butler/Oweh/Williams will anchor the defense. The two other spots have to be decent, but not spectacular, against most teams.
Almonor and Garrison are good defenders off the bench as well. Shouldn’t be much drop off on the defensive end when they come in.
I think our defense could be really good. A bunch of grown men who have played at this level for several years. They all should know how to defend and play team defense. It’s just learning to defend together.
Locker bulletin board material here …
www.aseaofblue.com
Where Kentucky stands in way-too-early SEC Basketball power rankings
There have been a lot of changes in the SEC this offseason, and we see where each team ranks.
www.aseaofblue.com
And this was true for all of the fans. The calls in for Ritchie playing were a miniscule minority and everyone else would laugh at how dumb they were. Unless he demonstrates Reed production, same will be with Perry.
I think the starting lineup will be fluid under pope unless he has 5 sure fire starters. With such q dynamic roster he will probably play guys based on matchup. I mean you play butler one game to lock down a guy like sears but the next game you plays team with a weak point guard and you go with Krrisa. That’s how I think pope approaches his unknown team: he’s gotta find the combinations with chemistry.
I don’t see pope playing two heavy defenders together. Robinson at the 3 brea at the 2 unless we play a team where we need a lockdown defender on the wing. Pops is going to want 4 shooters on the floor and one guy who is strong defensively. That’s my read
I think A. Almonor will contribute more than many here think. I think he will be good....at least hoping he'll be able to compete as well in the SEC.
You may be right, and I'm also a really big Brea fan so I can certainly see that. I think my read was assuming that Oweh and Butler would both see improvements in shooting. Oweh has gotten better each of the last 2 years shooting wise, and I'm hoping he takes a similar leap this offseason. Butler I'm expecting to benefit from the difference in offensive style
I will be shocked if Pope regularly plays Williams and Garrison together.
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