Thoughts on this line-up, if it can happen ???

[megablue]

PG Lowe
SG Wilkerson
SF Oweh
PF Dioubate
C Quaintance (his free-throw shooting will be a major problem late in close games)

With this line-up, I think Lowe, Wilkerson and Oweh need to play at least 27 minutes each, if not 30+ ...

 

[JimboBBN]

I think BG starts the year at center but other than that, probably our most likely starting lineup

 

[UKWildcats1987]

I think the bench will very unhappy if those 3 get thirty minutes each.

 

[sosoblue]

I like it but I believe BG will fight for a starting position. If he puts the work in over the Summer. He should push for that starting role. I like his chances of playing either the 4/5.

 

[megablue]

I think BG starts the year at center but other than that, probably our most likely starting lineup

Good Point ... what are your thoughts on minutes for the first three (3) ??? To my view, they've gotta play a lot.

 

[Jim Malone Lt.]

I think BG starts the year at center but other than that, probably our most likely starting lineup

If Quaintance is healthy, BG aint starting over a projected lottery pick.

 

[megablue]

I think the bench will very unhappy if those 3 get thirty minutes each.

You might be right, but what about what it takes to win it all ?? How much do you see them playing ??
Last year:
Lowe 35.4
Wilkerson 34.9
Oweh 28.3

 

[Jim Malone Lt.]

PG Lowe 25
G Wilkerson 25
G Oweh 25
F Dioubate 20
C Quaintance 20

G Johnson 15
G Chandler 15
F Jelavic 20
C Garrison 20
Williams 15

 

[CELTICAT]

Something like:

Lowe/Jasper
Wilkerson/Chandler
Oweh/Dioubate
Big Croat/JQ
BG/Moreno

 

[JimboBBN]

If Quaintance is healthy, BG aint starting over a projected lottery pick.

Assuming he won’t be ready to start by the time the season begins. Definitely think he will start once healthy

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

I think each of them playing 22-25 min/game is more likely based on the insane depth and talent we have.

 

[CUJO_1970]

I know nothing, but I think we may need to be prepared to give JQ until December.

With that said if he’s ready for September then look out

 

[Wildcats1st]

Garrison and JQ will be on the floor alot together that’s my call.

 

[JimboBBN]

Good Point ... what are your thoughts on minutes for the first three (3) ??? To my view, they've gotta play a lot.

I think we have a lot of flexibility with this roster. The only player I see playing 30 minutes or more is Lowe. We have too many other solid options to have guys playing that many minutes

 

[megablue]

For reference, here are the average minutes per game they actually played in, as reported by www.sports-reference.com.
As everyone knows, the roster was not entirely healthy for the entire season, so some garnered playing time they wouldn't have ordinarily received. With a tough OOC and if the SEC is as strong again, CMP will play the players it takes to win the games.

OWEH	28.3​
BREA	28.1​
ROBINSON	28.1​
BUTLER	26.0​
CARR	24.0​
WILLIAMS	22.8​
KRIISA	17.4​
GARRISON	17.3​
ALMONOR	14.2​
NOAH	11.1​
CHANDLER	10.4​
PERRY	9.7​

 

[bucsrule8872]

My projection (once Quaintance is 100% back):

G Lowe(24)/Johnson(16)
G Wilkerson(25)/Chandler(15)
G Oweh(26)/Williams(14)
F Dioubate(22)/Jelavic(14)/Garrison(4)
F Quaintance(22)/Garrison(18)

Oweh- 26
Wilkerson- 25
Lowe- 24
Quaintance- 22
Dioubate- 22
Garrison- 22
Johnson- 16
Chandler- 15
Williams- 14
Jelavic- 14

Note: when it comes to the frontcourt, we really have three starters for two positions, so any of the three could start. I just listed MD and JQ first, because of how I see the minutes breaking down. I think it’s entirely possible, maybe likely, that BG starts every game this season, with either JQ or MD. Pope has brought his best player off the bench in the past (Robinson at BYU), so it wouldn’t be that surprising to see JQ come off the bench, especially if he is being eased into the rotation after his recovery. I kind of half suspect that to happen. Start the two Juniors (MD and BG) together and bring the potential superstar Sophomore off the bench.

 

[KA4Prez]

Nobody on Pope's team is going to play more than 28 MPG. Just not going to happen given how closely the staff tracks peak performance stuff.

 

[KA4Prez]

Minutes per game

Lowe 28
Jasper 22
Oweh 28
Dioubate 22
Garrison 18

Chandler 14
Wilkerson 22
Williams 16
Jelavic 14
Quaintance 22

Perry 6
Moreno 5
Hawthorne 3

This is assuming 10% overlap on minutes per game due to injuries.

 

[AzubuikeandFitch]

PG Lowe 25
G Wilkerson 25
G Oweh 25
F Dioubate 20
C Quaintance 20

G Johnson 15
G Chandler 15
F Jelavic 20
C Garrison 20
Williams 15

Johnson should play 15+ if he lives up to his billing and can play multiple positions.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Nobody on Pope's team is going to play more than 28 MPG. Just not going to happen given how closely the staff tracks peak performance stuff.

Good point. Last year Oweh was highest with 28.3 and Robinson and Brea both with 28.0.

 

[KA4Prez]

Rk	Player	Pos	G	GS	MPG
1	Mark Sears	G	37	37	32.3
2	Latrell Wrightsell Jr.	G	8	5	25.8
3	Grant Nelson	F	37	34	25.4
4	Chris Youngblood	G	28	18	25.3
5	Labaron Philon	G	37	29	24.7
6	Aden Holloway	G	37	0	21.1
7	Clifford Omoruyi	C	37	37	19.2
8	Jarin Stevenson	F	37	22	18.7
9	Mouhamed Dioubate	F	37	0	16
10	Derrion Reid	F	24	3	14
11	Aiden Sherrell	F	36	0	8.8
12	Houston Mallette	G	6	0	7.8
13	Max Scharnowski	F	10	0	1.6
	Team Totals		37	37	201.4

 

[KA4Prez]

This above is a decent picture of what UK could look like, with a bit coming off Sears. It's nice to go "12-13 deep", but that many players won't be relevant.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Johnson should play 15+ if he lives up to his billing and can play multiple positions.

Very possible, but he will have to earn it. He might eat away at Chandler’s minutes and/or Williams’ minutes. I don’t see him taking minutes from Lowe, Wilkerson, or Oweh, though.

 

[KA4Prez]

Johnson I put at 22, because he's going to be asked to play some PG. Either he or Chandler will likely need to be closer to the 20 MPG range.

 

[JPFisher]

If Quaintance is healthy, BG aint starting over a projected lottery pick.

The NBA drafts on potential. I have to assume Pope will distribute minutes based on production.

 

[megablue]

Minutes per game

Lowe 28
Jasper 22
Oweh 28
Dioubate 22
Garrison 18

Chandler 14
Wilkerson 22
Williams 16
Jelavic 14
Quaintance 22

Perry 6
Moreno 5
Hawthorne 3

This is assuming 10% overlap on minutes per game due to injuries.

Noah ???

 

[bucsrule8872]

Johnson I put at 22, because he's going to be asked to play some PG. Either he or Chandler will likely need to be closer to the 20 MPG range.

If Johnson gets basically starter minutes like that, I think Chandler and/or Williams play a lesser role.

Might be Chandler and Williams will get around 12-13mpg each.

Or maybe Pope tightens the rotation and Chandler gets around 20 and Williams around 10. Or vice versa.

Going to be interesting to see, if we stay healthy, will Pope play 10 guys double digit minutes? Or will he scale back to a 9-man rotation? And if so, who gets left out?

 

[bucsrule8872]

Noah ???

I think Noah and Perry will be back to spot minutes, barring major injuries. This was the plan for them from the beginning, but injuries derailed Pope’s plans to bring them along slowly.

Moreno will be in the same boat, IMHO, but he might see some bigger minutes early on if JQ is brought along slowly.

 

[Dalroxas]

Put the starters at about 25 mins because I want to see Kam, Andrija, Moreno, and Jasper play to see what they have skill set wise. Jasper could be our back up pg but that sorta limits what he can do. Move him to sg if we do get another pg. regardless he will back up Lowe, oweh, and Wilkerson. Kam will too.

I also want to see Noah and Chandler play. I think both can hit 3s at a 38-39 percent clip and we are cooking.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

You might be right, but what about what it takes to win it all ?? How much do you see them playing ??
Last year:
Lowe 35.4
Wilkerson 34.9
Oweh 28.3

I dont think we need anyone playing that much. We don't even know who the best players are of the guards other than Oweh.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Im looking at this kind of like a puzzle, because I just don't see how to keep everyone happy with almost every configuration. And maybe that's the point, not everyone can get what they want. But it makes me wonder if we won't see another transfer out or two.

Like, how do we keep Jasper Johnson here if he's not even starting?

We may honestly need to think of giving no one more than 25 minutes to keep everyone happy and see how things shake out. And then, come February, we tighten the roster as needed. Players won't all be happy, but at that point there's nothing they can do. That's probably how we need to play this.

 

[megablue]

Minutes played last year ... from sports-reference.com and basketball-reference.com

LOWE	35.4​
WILKERSON	34.9​
WILLIAMS	32.4​
QUAINTANCE	29.5​
OWEH	28.3​
JELAVIC	27.4​
GARRISON	17.3​
DIOUBATE	16.0​
NOAH	11.1​
CHANDLER	10.4​
PERRY	9.7​
JOHNSON
MORENO

 

[megablue]

I dont think we need anyone playing that much. We don't even know who the best players are of the guards other than Oweh.

If Lowe and Wilkerson (assumed) are not the best guards, we're in for a rough season, imho.

 

[Drcatfan]

Not saying it won't happen, but do you see with the upgrade of talent and depth that Noah and Perry will go from significant minutes last year to basically none next season?

 

[Dalroxas]

If Lowe and Wilkerson (assumed) are not the best guards, we're in for a rough season, imho.

It’s hard to say. Do we need Lowe to be a scorer or a facilitator? Wilkerson and Oweh will be our leading scorers.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Put the starters at about 25 mins because I want to see Kam, Andrija, Moreno, and Jasper play to see what they have skill set wise. Jasper could be our back up pg but that sorta limits what he can do. Move him to sg if we do get another pg. regardless he will back up Lowe, oweh, and Wilkerson. Kam will too.

I also want to see Noah and Chandler play. I think both can hit 3s at a 38-39 percent clip and we are cooking.

I think early on, we will see Pope deep into the roster. Perry and Noah probably play a lot against Cupcake U in November and December. I think JQ will be brought along slowly and be out a minutes restriction in November and December (if he can play at all). That will mean more minutes for Moreno and Jelavic to get accustomed to college ball.

Once SEC play starts and once JQ is ready to go, I think Pope cuts back the rotation to 9 or 10 guys.

As deep as we are, I have a hard time seeing him cut back to 9, if everyone is healthy. I mean, Chandler and Williams as 9th and 10th guys? Going to be hard to keep those guys off the floor.

This team is a little deeper than last year’s team that had 9 upperclassmen. Last year, Pope could go with a 9 man rotation and give his Freshmen spot minutes and justify that because he had 9 upperclassmen and none of the Freshmen were elite level. Now we have all these upperclassmen, but the Freshmen are coming in highly ranked, so it’s going to be hard to cut down to 9.

Going to be interesting to see how he decides to do things.

Hopefully, we won’t have a bunch of injuries that dictate who plays and who doesn’t.

 

[trueblujr2]

I think the bench will very unhappy if those 3 get thirty minutes each.

Yeah, Pope has shown he likes a deep bench and to play upwards of of a 9-10 man rotation.

 

[megablue]

Three-point shooting from last year, ranked by minutes played ... assuming we get Wilkerson.
He was a high-volume shot-maker, to say the least. Resembles Lanier from UT last year ... seems to me.

	MINS	3PT	3PTA	3PT%	ATT/MIN	MADE/MIN
WILKERSON	1116​	109​	245​	0.445​	0.220​	0.098​
LOWE	1103​	41​	154​	0.266​	0.140​	0.037​
WILLIAMS	1069​	63​	153​	0.412​	0.143​	0.059​
OWEH	1020​	27​	69​	0.391​	0.068​	0.027​
QUAINTANCE	709​	6​	32​	0.188​	0.045​	0.009​
JELAVIC	630​	21​	65​	0.323​	0.103​	0.033​
GARRISON	607​	12​	40​	0.300​	0.066​	0.020​
DIOUBATE	590​	12​	26​	0.462​	0.044​	0.020​
CHANDLER	311​	17​	49​	0.347​	0.158​	0.055​
PERRY	302​	18​	56​	0.321​	0.185​	0.060​
NOAH	268​	12​	36​	0.333​	0.134​	0.045​
JOHNSON
MORENO
TOTALS	7725​	338​	925​	0.365​	0.120​	0.044​

 

[Dalroxas]

I think early on, we will see Pope deep into the roster. Perry and Noah probably play a lot against Cupcake U in November and December. I think JQ will be brought along slowly and be out a minutes restriction in November and December (if he can play at all). That will mean more minutes for Moreno and Jelavic to get accustomed to college ball.

Once SEC play starts and once JQ is ready to go, I think Pope cuts back the rotation to 9 or 10 guys.

As deep as we are, I have a hard time seeing him cut back to 9, if everyone is healthy. I mean, Chandler and Williams as 9th and 10th guys? Going to be hard to keep those guys off the floor.

This team is a little deeper than last year’s team that had 9 upperclassmen. Last year, Pope could go with a 9 man rotation and give his Freshmen spot minutes and justify that because he had 9 upperclassmen and none of the Freshmen were elite level. Now we have all these upperclassmen, but the Freshmen are coming in highly ranked, so it’s going to be hard to cut down to 9.

Going to be interesting to see how he decides to do things.

Hopefully, we won’t have a bunch of injuries that dictate who plays and who doesn’t.

I love the thought process you put into this, I think you’re right that he will develop the new players like Moreno, Jasper, and Andrija in the cupcake games. Kam is a defensive specialist and when he and JQ are on the floor together they will shut down high octane offenses. Kam is key to it all though. If he develops and hits his potential offensively he could end up being our best player.

 

[bucsrule8872]

It’s hard to say. Do we need Lowe to be a scorer or a facilitator? Wilkerson and Oweh will be our leading scorers.

I think Oweh and Wilkerson will be our leading scorers.

Quaintance, once back to 100%, will probably score a lot.

Lowe is capable, and will score, but I think he plays more of a facilitator role with Oweh and Wilkerson on the court.

I think that’s the top four scorers. I think they will all average double digit points per game with Garrison and Johnson also close to double digits.

Dioubate, Williams, Chandler, and Jelavic will have moments, but won’t be as consistent.