This isn't a great team
- Thread starter JwUKFan11
- Start date
Yes there are concerns
Yes this team mostly sleep walked through two games…during a holiday week. Teams that really had very little chance of beating us. We weren’t playing in any of the feast week tournaments that would give that extra motivation
It’s understandable
However, the concerns I have are greatly mitigated by the fact that we have a real coach who will work with them and and correct and improve this team
Yes this team mostly sleep walked through two games…during a holiday week. Teams that really had very little chance of beating us. We weren’t playing in any of the feast week tournaments that would give that extra motivation
It’s understandable
However, the concerns I have are greatly mitigated by the fact that we have a real coach who will work with them and and correct and improve this team
Love this team and especially the coaching staff.... They will rise up and play even harder against better competition ( like Duke ) 105 points and could not hit a 3 ... and we lead the nation is points per game. Having a lot of fun this year GO BIG BLUE !!!
Only a troll could have problems with this team right now. If I had run a poll the week Pope was hired Do you think UK will beat Duke and go 6-0, maybe 1% would have agreed. Hey OP NOBODY said this was the 96 Cats. Any fan that isn't estatic with this start is an idiot. It remarkable what you are witnessing so far. Does this team have weaknesses , of course, will it lose some games yes. No rational fan could say otherwise, but from where we were a few months ago to where we are now is one of the great season starts IN UK HISTORY.
It’s hard to get up for 2-3 games vs No Name States in a row during Holiday Break. Regardless these games were still not close. 7-0
They aren’t right now but they also still have months to grow and get better
Show me any team right now that is heads above the rest of the country. I think this team can hang with any team, they may lose a few games but hell right now I have more confidence this team gets to the NCAA tourney and gets past the first weekend than anything Cal has done in the last 5 or 6 year.
Lol We lead the nation in ppg and that after two straight sub par games from deep. Garrison sits and we still score 105 and win by 29.
Sure Duke is the only really good team we have defeated but what is our avg margin of victory 25? 28?
What are you expecting here 100-50 every damn game with all new players and a new Coach in November?
Dont humiliate yourself OP.
Sure Duke is the only really good team we have defeated but what is our avg margin of victory 25? 28?
What are you expecting here 100-50 every damn game with all new players and a new Coach in November?
Dont humiliate yourself OP.
Yeah if you watched that Ark game yesterday, the current product is a night and day difference. I don’t miss that brand of basketball at all.
Who would you say are the great teams this year?
It's November and honestly we missed s ton of wide open threes that we typically make.
But I digress, UK has the #1 rated offense, so that has to count for something.
But, it's a good thing you don't have to be great to win a title. I wouldn't consider 2016 Villanova, 2015 duke, 2014 UConn, 2013 UL, 2017 unc, 2018 Villanova, 2019 UVA, 2021 Baylor or 2022 KU great either. It vomes down to matchups and how hot you are going into the tournament.
I'll admit I got a little frustrated at times the last 2 games, but we're seeing "better" teams struggling at times too.
Cal has been left behind, his style is out dated, he is too stubborn to change, plus Cal seems to me to be a lazy coach, most really good coaches work on the little things like FT's, out of bounds plays, out of bounds D, scouting and Cal has admitted he does very little to none of those things. He is really a roll the ball out coach.
These are emotions in control of a man. The other way around is a better look.
Can't wait to see some of you implode after our first loss, because it's coming. Every one of us would have signed up for being undefeated in November, obviously. Enjoy the ride, or continue nitpicking when we win by 30, and score 105. Whatever floats your boat.
By the OP's standards, evidently only Kansas and Auburn are worth a damn this season.
We played probably our worst game of the season and were up 35 with a minute to go.
Let’s look at it another way. How many great teams are there in CBK this year? Auburn and Kansas are good, but are they great? Every team looks flawed, or has stuff that can hold them back
You've been around since 2011 and 7-0 isn't enough for you. 2nd highest point total this year against a scrappy GAST team.
Huh.
It can take a lot of luck to even get to the EE look at NC State last year. Literally won so man6 close games to even get in and the the first round they came back.
If we had lost a few games at this point, tons of posters would be telling us what a mistake it was to push Cal out and an even bigger one to hire Pope. This team has maybe one to three guys who might be NBA material. NC State won it all in 1983 with how many NBA players? How about Marquette in 1977? How many were there on the 1985 Villanova team?
You can win with smart players who are talented, but not necessarily NBA talented. There is no one totally dominant team this year, although I can think of a couple that could be by March. When Cal left and took most of his recruits and Adou, no one thought we'd be 7-0, No 8 in the AP Poll, have a win over Duke or be anywhere near as good as we are right now. This is Pope's first season and he had to put this team together in a few short weeks with Perry and Noah added on. If we land Wilson, keep Oweh and Garrison and do as well in the portal again, we could win it all next year, barring things like injuries and lack of chemistry.
Rick built UK into a top ten team in 2 years and by 1992, we were a Laetner shot away from a FF. We made a FF in 1993 and might have won if the ref had called Webber for blocking on Mashburn. We won in 1996, likely would have won in 1997 if Anderson doesn't tear his ACL, and Tubby won with mostly Rick's players in 1998. Can Mark bring us to dominance that quickly? I don't know, but no one would have believed we are as good as we are at this juncture the day Pope was hired. He's working his ass off, so let's give him credit and maybe he can do something approaching what Rick did when history is written on the Pope Era.
Very much disagree with this post.
- We shot way below average from 3 and scored over 100 points.
- We’ve played a handful of cupcakes since the Duke game, hard to stay one hundred percent focused in a stretch like that. But they’ve done it with some real competition right around the corner.
- We may be older but it’s still a completely new roster and we are a third of the way through the year. Not even in conference play. Growth will continue to come.
- Coach Pope has made solid adjustments in every game so far. We are always going to be in it because of him.
Enjoy the ride.
- We shot way below average from 3 and scored over 100 points.
- We’ve played a handful of cupcakes since the Duke game, hard to stay one hundred percent focused in a stretch like that. But they’ve done it with some real competition right around the corner.
- We may be older but it’s still a completely new roster and we are a third of the way through the year. Not even in conference play. Growth will continue to come.
- Coach Pope has made solid adjustments in every game so far. We are always going to be in it because of him.
Enjoy the ride.
Hey. I think it's the closest thing we've had to a team in too long.
Now....is it delk, Pope, et al good???? Likely not.
But it sure is good to watch a team rather than wonder if our star is gonna get a hot hand.
Championship level team????? Waaaaaaaaayyy too early. But a really good team already? Yeah.
Now....is it delk, Pope, et al good???? Likely not.
But it sure is good to watch a team rather than wonder if our star is gonna get a hot hand.
Championship level team????? Waaaaaaaaayyy too early. But a really good team already? Yeah.
Amen my friend
Also…loved how they really banded together after Peters attacked
That might have really sparked something
Lots of people would pick Duke as a Final 4 team and we beat them on a neutral court.
Edwards came to play tonight! I don't remember if he has eligible left after this year or not. He would be a nice piece for someone next year!
For us to become a serious title contender. Along with evolving offensively, we will need to become a very physical defensive and rebounding team!
We don't have a high steal guy like rondo/Hawkins.
But we have strong physical guards. They need to stop reaching/fouling and move their feet!
Ga St got bailed out with to many reaching fouls!
For us to become a serious title contender. Along with evolving offensively, we will need to become a very physical defensive and rebounding team!
We don't have a high steal guy like rondo/Hawkins.
But we have strong physical guards. They need to stop reaching/fouling and move their feet!
Ga St got bailed out with to many reaching fouls!
Hey OP, you do realize that we are 6-0 (now 7-0) for the first time since 2015? Remember the teams from 2015 on that had all of those NBA bound 5 star freshmen? How were they doing 6 or 7 games in? My point is to just enjoy what this group of young men are doing now and try not to worry.
Well that depends on your definition of great I guess . Some people think of teams like 96&2012 when they say great. I can tell you this , there are plenty of teams that make the final four that aren’t “great “ teams . And this team is better than a lot of them .
What do you think the chance are of putting together a "great team" under the circumstances Pope had? Pretty much zero. He did great.
Not sure if someone else pointed this out, but the GA ST guys shot out of their minds...my guess is the scouting report said you could leave some of their guys open.
For example, Edwards, Nutter & McMullen combined to go 5/6 from 3 pt range tonight. For their careers...
Edwards - 26.7% career (3rd season), last season was 12/48 for a whopping 25%
Nutter - 26.4% career (4th season), last season was 12/41 for 29%
McMullen - 23.5% career (5th season), so far this season 1/7 for 17%
So, as a coach, I would've probably played the odds, too.
You know what's strange? I don't recall you ever taking shots at Cal's teams. In fact, I distinctly remember you supporting even his crappier squads without publicly critiquing them. You pulled a Tammy Wynette and stood by your man all the way until last Spring.
Sing it with me, @JwUKFan11 . "Stand by your man! Give Cal two arms to cling to! And something warm to come to! When nights are cold and lonely!"
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This team will be a tough out come March.
Very smart and can stroke it. Defense will improve as they gel. I think we’re ahead of the curve as far as where we hope to be.
Very smart and can stroke it. Defense will improve as they gel. I think we’re ahead of the curve as far as where we hope to be.
