Temper Your Expectations

[KAB Cats]

These are really the only two things Im hoping for this seasaon

• Establish a fun brand of basketball
• Establish a positive culture that attracts talent

Season 1 should be about establishing the footprint. Do those two things and wins will follow.

Also, beat Duke or Arkansas. That'd be cool.

 

[Skyguyb27]

Zags as in top 5 team Gonzaga in their backyard?

Is there another Zags?

 

[rolaid]

Win 24 games & advance past 1st round in both SEC & NCAA and I deem the year a success

 

[TucsonCat]

Can you name one team that will have a better bench than Kentucky?
Butler and Oweh best defensive backcourt in the country?
Carr is an all-SEC forward?
Garrison is a top 15 NBA draft pick talent?
Kriisa, Brea, Robinson and Perry all shoot 40% from 3?

I think sniffing Top25 is fair.

Benches are a luxury. You can only play 5 players at a time. There's a reason teams shorten their rotation come tournament time. No one is in the top 10 because of their bench unless they would be number 12 without it.

Defense is much more about coaching. No one has accused Pope of being a defensive master mind. 225th in steals. Houston always is aTOP defense because Kelvin Sampson wants it. I'm sure we're good, maybe Top 20, in required situations based on talent, but it won't be our things.

I'll be concerned if the 4th leading scorer and 2 rebounder at Wake Forest makes all SEC. That only happens if stat padding and no one else is contributing on our team.

Only Brea starter and has shot over 40%. Rest are bench or not done that before

 

[FanofUK]

This year will be a rollercoaster of emotions, early on we will probably look solid and get our hopes up. Lose a few we shouldn't and the fans will turn sour with the supporting cast say give him time. Then we will beat a tough team and go on a decent run of wins only to lose another one we shouldn't and repeat the sour fans again.
All in all we will be dangerous come march with 20 plus wins imo and we will see what happens.
I think in the end this season will be special

 

[know1]

I'm really tired of people using that fact that it's a whole new team as an excuse. That is what college basketball has become. Maybe not QUITE to the extreme we have this year, but we can all expect that at least half our team will be new every year. And these players have now been together for many months. It's a crutch to use that as an excuse.

 

[BBNinSC]

I think sniffing Top25 is fair.

Benches are a luxury. You can only play 5 players at a time. There's a reason teams shorten their rotation come tournament time. No one is in the top 10 because of their bench unless they would be number 12 without it.

Defense is much more about coaching. No one has accused Pope of being a defensive master mind. 225th in steals. Houston always is aTOP defense because Kelvin Sampson wants it. I'm sure we're good, maybe Top 20, in required situations based on talent, but it won't be our things.

I'll be concerned if the 4th leading scorer and 2 rebounder at Wake Forest makes all SEC. That only happens if stat padding and no one else is contributing on our team.

Only Brea starter and has shot over 40%. Rest are bench or not done that before

It’s an offensive game and Pope is an offensive coach. Kelvin Sampson hasn’t won a thing with his coaching style.
Kentucky will have an elite defensive backcourt, IMO the best in the country and strong defensive presence in the paint.
Sampson will win a lot of games against cupcakes and then stink up a 2nd round NCAA loss with poor shooting.

 

[yabbadabbadoo]

Tempering expectations is for losers. I really feel this bunch is gonna be better than most people think. We can adjust expectations as the season progresses, and I understand that sometimes you just aren’t as good as you might think. However, I got a pretty good vibe about these guys. As long as we are talking about effort and UK basketball, I can take some losses. Just don’t want all that other static drowning out what we love.

 

[zoid1]

lets go game by game then...24 wins/3 losses/4 tossup.
- dont think we beat zags in battle for seattle. @tenn and @bama losses.
- tossups are the duke game, @clemson, @miss and @texas


wright state- W
bucknell- W
duke- tossup
lipscomb- W
jackson state- W
w. kentucky-W
georgia state- W
@clemson- tossup
@gonzaga- L
colgate- W
louisville- W
ohio state-W
brown- W
florida- W
@georgia- W
@miss state- W
texasam- W
alabama- W
@vandy- W
@tennessee- L
arkansas- W
@miss- tossup
s. carolina- W
tennesse- W
@texas- tossup
vandy- W
@alabama- L
@oklahoma- W
auburn- W
lsu- W
@missouri- W

 

[RunninRichie]

I'm really tired of people using that fact that it's a whole new team as an excuse. That is what college basketball has become. Maybe not QUITE to the extreme we have this year, but we can all expect that at least half our team will be new every year. And these players have now been together for many months. It's a crutch to use that as an excuse.

How'd that work out for Arkansas last year?

 

[yes_takeaside]

I expect the women to finish higher than the men. Just not sure how good the men's defense will be but it'll be key.

The women have 2 significant injuries and some are picking them in the middle of the SEC. If that’s better than the men i
I’ll be shocked.

 

[know1]

How'd that work out for Arkansas last year?

Not sure. I don't follow them closely.

I'm not saying it will or it won't work out. I'm saying it's not a valid excuse in this day and time. The teams that figure out how to adapt having most of the team new every year are the ones that will be successful. Because that's just how it's going to be moving forward.

 

[Cleatortoises]

Pope was my first choice. (I know it sounds like bs, but my wife and son can confirm [they ridiculed me])
I will not temper, on the advice of my/our new coach.
So LFG!
GBB!

 

[RunninRichie]

Not sure. I don't follow them closely.

I'm not saying it will or it won't work out. I'm saying it's not a valid excuse in this day and time. The teams that figure out how to adapt having most of the team new every year are the ones that will be successful. Because that's just how it's going to be moving forward.

It is a valid excuse. When you have a team full of transfers who have never played a game together. Even Pope is saying that's his number one priority. Is to get this team to gel with one another. We have 0 returnees. It's all new players.

 

[flacat22]

I've really not seen anything that warrants this post. Very little criticism of Pope. Reasonable expectations. Everybody pretty much worrying about everyone else.

It's the old "let me create something to bitch about" thread.

 

[Seth_C]

From the media appearances of Coach Pope I believe the team is behind compared to what was expected. It’s not hard to understand why, new team, takes time to learn a new offensive system, especially a complex one.It’s going to take even longer to master the defense.
As this team does not have star players , their success or lack of it will be tied to how well they play as a team and do the little things : rebounding, effort, executing sets, staying in front of their player. Etc. that usually takes time….

I wish Coach Pope would have not announced that we are going for number 9 this year. Expectations are so unrealistically set… and will make his job so much more difficult for the years to come. He needs time and patience..

I don’t get that. The goal should be going for #9 every single year (realistic or not) until we are going for #10. I don’t have a problem with him saying it. It gives the players a goal. Would you rather he spent his time bragging about draft picks?

 

[cat tat2]

If you set your sights low, you’ll always come up short.

 

[aceman509]

I will manage my expectation until the Duke game. If we lose to Duke then my expectations will stay the same. If we beat them in a close game, I'm going to be slightly more encouraged, but I think that might say more about Duke than us.

If we beat them by 10+, then expectations are going to be through the roof around here, as they should. I'm worried that we are going to beat Duke and suddenly everyone is going to think this is a final four or bust type of year, which it really should not be.

 

[KAB Cats]

lets go game by game then...24 wins/3 losses/4 tossup.
- dont think we beat zags in battle for seattle. @tenn and @bama losses.
- tossups are the duke game, @clemson, @miss and @texas


wright state- W
bucknell- W
duke- tossup
lipscomb- W
jackson state- W
w. kentucky-W
georgia state- W
@clemson- tossup
@gonzaga- L
colgate- W
louisville- W
ohio state-W
brown- W
florida- W
@georgia- W
@miss state- W
texasam- W
alabama- W
@vandy- W
@tennessee- L
arkansas- W
@miss- tossup
s. carolina- W
tennesse- W
@texas- tossup
vandy- W
@alabama- L
@oklahoma- W
auburn- W
lsu- W
@missouri- W

I think we will probably be underdog in at least 9 games this season.

Duke
Gonzaga
@Tenn
Bama
Arkansas
@Miss
@Texas
@Bama
Auburn

Could also see us dropping one of two to Ohio State / Clemson. Also, Florida @ home will be tough.

I’d put O/U at 11 losses realistically

 

[L.O.D.]

I got us at 20 to 25 wins .

Were a great defense and will be one of best shooting teams in country . In college those are 2 biggest things.

I expect a top 15 team with a high ceiling

 

[zoid1]

I think we will probably be underdog in at least 9 games this season.

Duke
Gonzaga
@Tenn
Bama
Arkansas
@Miss
@Texas
@Bama
Auburn

Could also see us dropping one of two to Ohio State / Clemson. Also, Florida @ home will be tough.

I’d put O/U at 11 losses realistically

20-11. I just don't see it. Say we win every game at home thats 18 wins right there. We're not going 2-11 in neutral/away games imo. Not many teams are coming to Rupp arena and walking out with a win under Pope I'm sure one thing he will do is defend our home court. Yes we have some tough road games maybe if we lose my tossup games we'll still be around 24-7. I say we go 2-2 in tossup games for a 26-5/25-6 record. That's realistic going 18-0 @Rupp and 8-5/7-6 in neutral/away games.

 

[gregbookout]

I think with the schedule we have if you get to 22-9, and get out of the first weekend most would consider that very successful given putting 12 guys together in one month and making it happen…we could still be solid and solid and go 20-11 but the seeding would make getting out of the first weekend tough, but under those circumstances if you win one in sec tourney and at least one in ncaa 22-13 isn’t blow your mind but the strength of the sec is way better than it was 10 years ago…put this team in that sec and win total expectations would have to go up. I think most would be disappointed with less than 20 wins but I just can’t see us being a total disaster like the 9-16 cal team…either way I’ll support this team all year

 

[KAB Cats]

20-11. I just don't see it. Say we win every game at home thats 18 wins right there. We're not going 2-11 in neutral/away games imo. Not many teams are coming to Rupp arena and walking out with a win under Pope I'm sure one thing he will do is defend our home court. Yes we have some tough road games maybe if we lose my tossup games we'll still be around 24-7. I say we go 2-2 in tossup games for a 26-5/25-6 record. That's realistic going 18-0 @Rupp and 8-5/7-6 in neutral/away games.

To win every game at home, we will need to beat probably 3 top 10 teams + Florida and Tennessee, who could be close

 

[Codeartist]

20-11. I just don't see it. Say we win every game at home thats 18 wins right there. We're not going 2-11 in neutral/away games imo. Not many teams are coming to Rupp arena and walking out with a win under Pope I'm sure one thing he will do is defend our home court. Yes we have some tough road games maybe if we lose my tossup games we'll still be around 24-7. I say we go 2-2 in tossup games for a 26-5/25-6 record. That's realistic going 18-0 @Rupp and 8-5/7-6 in neutral/away games.

Did I understand you correctly? You don't think we are going to lose a single home game all year? Did an SEC team even go undefeated at home last year? You think that's a reasonable expectation for Pope in his first year?

 

[ukfan1622]

Don't tell me what to do; you'll get my temper up.

 

[Bluegrass79]

Idk ...nc state was all transfers and they made a run.....late. Sucked early.

 

[KAB Cats]

This also might be the deepest SEC has ever been and might’ve even been before adding Texas and Oklahoma. Best case for us is that it turns into an old school Big East type of situation and everyone beats the hell out of each other.

 

[4UK4Life]

Is there another Zags?

Well I hope so for his sake. Saying no need to be UK’s coach if we don’t beat a top 5-6 team with this years situation. But you already knew what I meant

 

[Edgarman]

20-11. I just don't see it. Say we win every game at home thats 18 wins right there. We're not going 2-11 in neutral/away games imo. Not many teams are coming to Rupp arena and walking out with a win under Pope I'm sure one thing he will do is defend our home court. Yes we have some tough road games maybe if we lose my tossup games we'll still be around 24-7. I say we go 2-2 in tossup games for a 26-5/25-6 record. That's realistic going 18-0 @Rupp and 8-5/7-6 in neutral/away games.

How many times in past 15 years have we gone undefeated at home? I'll shut up and listen!

 

[Edgarman]

How many times in past 15 years have we gone undefeated at home? I'll shut up and listen!

I'll say put your money where your mouth is about going undefeated at home.
We have Duke, Gonzaga, Louisville, Ohio St, FL, GA, aTm, Bama, TN, AR, SC, AU, and LSU. $500 we don't go undefeated at home. I'd love to lose this bet but why we have idiots on this board making such bullshvt statements blows my mind. Coach Pope deserves better than to act like he is or should go undefeated at home with a team of portals who have NEVER played a game TOGETHER.
If you believe the crap you are spewing accept my $500 bet. If not please stop the unnecessary expectation for coach Pope. He deserves all our support but unless you are a troll, STFU about unrealistic expectations. Have you even watched a practice?

 

[Phil_The_Music]

While things on paper look great and Pope's enthusiasm is a breath of fresh air the reality is we don't know how this will translate on the court. It would be awesome for this to be a dream season, but if it's not, please don't go trashing Pope. I personally think our shooting will carry us to at least 20 wins and I'd be super happy with a sweet sixteen. There is a possibility of an early exit again and I don't want to see this board turn on Pope. He needs at least 3 years to get a judgement on him. Should be an exciting season nonetheless and I can't wait for it to start. Go CATS!!!!!

I'll meet you halfway. I'm not tempering my expectations because I don't think Pope is either. With that being said, I certainly won't be bashing him if we fall short. He was dealt the worst possible hand his first round so I'll reserve my criticism for when he's had time to deal his own cards.

 

[gigemkatie1]

These are really the only two things Im hoping for this seasaon

• Establish a fun brand of basketball
• Establish a positive culture that attracts talent

Season 1 should be about establishing the footprint. Do those two things and wins will follow.

Also, beat Duke or Arkansas. That'd be cool.

Beat Duke & Arkansas would be really cool!

 

[Edgarman]

I'll meet you halfway. I'm not tempering my expectations because I don't think Pope is either. With that being said, I certainly won't be bashing him if we fall short. He was dealt the worst possible hand his first round so I'll reserve my criticism for when he's had time to deal his own cards.

That is 3 years. Pope deserves 3 years before one word of criticism should be uttered. He is a good coach and a better person who is working his ass off for UK and UK fans. Give Pope time and he will make us competitive. With NIL the playing court is more level than it has ever been. I would be thrilled if we could win the SEC ever three years in todays NIL environment. We have 15 other SEC teams with deep pockets and they are getting deeper.

 

[AJG-15]

Regular season 19-13 . Pending on what we do in the SEC tournament we make it NCAA tournament or not.

wright state- W
bucknell- W
duke- L
lipscomb- W
jackson state- W
w. kentucky-W
georgia state- W
@clemson- L
@gonzaga- L
colgate- W
louisville- W
ohio state-W
brown- W
florida- W
@georgia- W
@miss state- L
texasam- W
alabama- L
@vandy- W
@tennessee- L
arkansas- L
@miss- L
s. carolina- W
tennesse- L
@texas- L
vandy- W
@alabama- L
@oklahoma- L
auburn-W
lsu- W
@missouri- W

 

[HoneyMoon155]

How many times in past 15 years have we gone undefeated at home? I'll shut up and listen!

6 times

 

[zoid1]

I'll say put your money where your mouth is about going undefeated at home.
We have Duke, Gonzaga, Louisville, Ohio St, FL, GA, aTm, Bama, TN, AR, SC, AU, and LSU. $500 we don't go undefeated at home. I'd love to lose this bet but why we have idiots on this board making such bullshvt statements blows my mind. Coach Pope deserves better than to act like he is or should go undefeated at home with a team of portals who have NEVER played a game TOGETHER.
If you believe the crap you are spewing accept my $500 bet. If not please stop the unnecessary expectation for coach Pope. He deserves all our support but unless you are a troll, STFU about unrealistic expectations. Have you even watched a practice?

Have you even looked at our schedule? I'm not making a bet with a person who doesn't even know we Don't play Duke, Gonzaga and Ohio State at home. Don't tell me to STFU when your the one who don't know what your talking about. 3 of the first 4 teams you mentioned are on a neutral court idiot I'm talking about Home games as in Rupp arena. Know your shit before you talk shit. The question now since you don't even know our schedule is have you ever watched a practice?

Rupp arena we have a 90% win all time or we win 9 of 10 games. Overall we have a 78% all time or we win over 3 of 4 games.

77-78 26
80-82 30
83-84 24
85-86 24
90-91 22
92-94 33
95-97 27
99-00 20
09-12 54 Cal won his first 54 games in Rupp arena
13-14 22
14-16 42
21-23 28
We won straight games in Rupp arena. I won't mention the right under 20 games streak. But omg stfu I'm being critical and unrealistic for Pope his first year to win 18 games at home in Rupp with 6 super seniors another senior, plenty of defense and 3 point shooting with a modern style. Ya dude I just proved you don't know what you talking about so learn UK basketball Rupp arena record and current schedule before you come to me on anything.

 

[fatguy87]

Usually by this point before the season, we'd have convinced ourselves that a preseason ranking of 5 would be a severe under ranking.

 

[Runnin'Ramel]

While things on paper look great and Pope's enthusiasm is a breath of fresh air the reality is we don't know how this will translate on the court. It would be awesome for this to be a dream season, but if it's not, please don't go trashing Pope. I personally think our shooting will carry us to at least 20 wins and I'd be super happy with a sweet sixteen. There is a possibility of an early exit again and I don't want to see this board turn on Pope. He needs at least 3 years to get a judgement on him. Should be an exciting season nonetheless and I can't wait for it to start. Go CATS!!!!!

The schedule is brutal. The SEC is potentially the best its ever been from top to bottom. UK's program just hit the reset button, literally. UK's roster is solid, boasting experience, but lacks that superstar that people around the game buzz about.

I think an NCAAT appearance with a seed better than 8 is going to work for many ... but others will see it as a failure. Somewhat of a tricky spot for Pope, honestly.

 

[Edgarman]

6 times

We have not been undefeated at home in past nine seasons. I could not find early records. I am assuming the six undefeated seasons were the 6 prior years.
12/19/15 lost at home to Ohio St
12/2/16 Lost to TN
1/23/18 Lost to FL
2/16/18 Lost TN
12/12/19 Lost to LSU
2/6/18 Lost to TN
11/19/19 Lost to Evensville
Dec 2020 Lost to TN
Jan 2021 Lost to Ala
Jan 2023 Lost to SC
Feb 2023 Lost to AR
Feb 2024 Lost to TN
What years were we undefeated at Rupp. We have had great years but very few team in basketball go undefeated. Other than UCLA & one year with Ind, I can't off hand think of undefeated seasons home & away. I hope we never lose but if Pope wins 20 this year he deserves a raise & extension.

 

[HoneyMoon155]

We have not been undefeated at home in past nine seasons. I could not find early records. I am assuming the six undefeated seasons were the 6 prior years.
12/19/15 lost at home to Ohio St
12/2/16 Lost to TN
1/23/18 Lost to FL
2/16/18 Lost TN
12/12/19 Lost to LSU
2/6/18 Lost to TN
11/19/19 Lost to Evensville
Dec 2020 Lost to TN
Jan 2021 Lost to Ala
Jan 2023 Lost to SC
Feb 2023 Lost to AR
Feb 2024 Lost to TN
What years were we undefeated at Rupp. We have had great years but very few team in basketball go undefeated. Other than UCLA & one year with Ind, I can't off hand think of undefeated seasons home & away. I hope we never lose but if Pope wins 20 this year he deserves a raise & extension.

2009-10: 18-0
2010-11: 15-0
2011-12: 18-0
2014-15: 19-0
2015-16: 17-0
2021-22: 18-0

Why would he deserve a raise and extension for winning 20 games? I don’t understand why we would have such low expectations