Ugo in the portal
- Thread starter wccat2969
- Start date
He probably asked around and found out that there was no place for him in the draft
Guess he got his NBA feedback! Feedback…as Joe says DON’T!!
I'd still like to have him at UK, but it's good he got the reality check.
Can we offer him 1M, so then Ark offers him 2M.
Who could have possibly seen that coming? Best of luck to him. I think he can be very good in a limited role.
Listened to Sunday Morning Sports Talk on WLAP and they had Krysten Peek who is an NBA scout and Anthony White asked her about Ugo's chance of being drafted and she said ZERO!!! Said she hoped he kept his option to return to college open.
I guess he must have failed to show NBA teams his scoring prowess outside the paint!!!
I guess he must have failed to show NBA teams his scoring prowess outside the paint!!!
He's no doubt got handlers and hangers-on giving him crap advise.
When he's done playing basketball they won't care about him at all. Should have stayed put, even our bench warmers are remembered for life here.
When he's done playing basketball they won't care about him at all. Should have stayed put, even our bench warmers are remembered for life here.
He was projected in the 6th round....
Just imagine if you were actually good at basketball
Not a good fit for a Pope offense wish him well in his next adventure.
His head doesn't even turn fast enough to keep up with the action.
Unfortunately, I agree with you. The action would be too fast. He'd just stand there not knowing what to do next.
This surprises no one. If he got some good coaching next 2 years maybe then he can play professional somewhere.
His handlers seem to be dying to get a pay day off of him.
He was actually projected mid 2nd sometime during the season. Then our bigs looked like our bigs
WOW, NOT TO THE NBA?????.....well Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles saw this coming a mile away.
Yep, when I heard he declared, I mentioned it to one of my sons and then in the next breath I said, "And that's a huge mistake because he won't get drafted." And then I went into the reasons why Onyenso wouldn't get drafted. I have nothing against the guy, of course, but it's just being realistic. He can't shoot outside 5-feet (at least he hasn't shown that in games). He can't shoot the three. He can't handle the ball. He's slow laterally and in general. He can't pass. His hands aren't very good. How many times did he fumble a pass while standing right at the rim? It was ten times, I would bet. Our players just quit throwing him the ball. I doubt seriously Calipari will take him at Arkansas, unless he's desperate for bodies. He doesn't fit Pope's offense at all. If he were a tremendous shot blocker or rebounder, then he could transfer for defensive purposes, but he's not. Outside of that Ole Miss game where he looked tremendous defensively, he wasn't even a very good shot blocker- and he never did rebound very well. I do wish him well, though. He has always seemed a polite and kind young man. I'm sure someone will pick him up.
he was advertised as a shot blocker, but I never saw that in him
way to slow to react. the shot is past him before he jumps to block it
way to slow to react. the shot is past him before he jumps to block it
Absolutely agree but at some point he's got to put his big boy pants on and make decisions for himself and do what he wants....not what his handlers want.
Wish him the best at his new school.
Id love to have him back and it’s odd to me that most UK fans don’t. All we hear about is we can’t keep kids but our fan base runs them off before they ever make a decision. Not that I think they read this and make a decision off of it but here we are with a chance to get one back but now we are saying he doesn’t fit Popes style???
How do we really know popes style, I figure Pope will do multiple things and work around his talent.
How do we really know popes style, I figure Pope will do multiple things and work around his talent.
Although he was a good shot blocker he didn't rebound very well and offered nothing on offense and big strong guys backed him down one on one and scored easily against him. Based on what I've seen he is not a good D1 player at this time. Now, he's still young so he can and will improve but I'd advise him to step outside the top five conferences where he could shine while he improves.
I hear you. I would take Onyenso back, if he really wanted to come back. I don't think that is the case. If we wanted back, all he would need to say is that he's withdrawing from the draft and returning to UK. But that's not what he said. He said he's withdrawing from NBA draft consideration (meaning he had no options there) and entering the portal, which likely means not UK. Regarding Pope's style, I'm referring to the way his teams have played at BYU in the last few years. They shoot the 3 a lot- and their big men handle the ball, pass the ball, and also shoot the three. They are a wide-open, 5-out kind of style. They may post up guys at times, but it is rare for their big men post on the low post. They often set up at the high post and back-cut quite a bit. I just don't see Ugo being a very good fit for any of that.
At BYU he didn't have big men that were good at posting up. I think we'll find out that Pope knows a lot
about basketball and will adapt to his roster rather than trying to get players to do things they aren't good
at. You don't need five guys that can shoot the 3 point shot; three will do if you have beasts on the inside. Now if you don't have those beasts on the inside then all the bigs need to be able to play on the perimeter. So I don't think style is the problem with Onyenso; it's just that he hasn't shown himself to be a quality major conference center and we can get better players.
After the one good game he had.
He would be one of the worst players in the entire NBA next season. He might have worked 15 years ago, but not today. At all.
Ugo should consider his alternatives outside of basketball.
He won't even sniff the better European leagues.
He won't even sniff the better European leagues.
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If Old Joe said DON'T, we all know how that will turn out.
Ugo is young, he is turning 20 in September.
He doesn’t seem he surrounded himself with good advisers. Twice he got the wrong advice.
First time , last year when they pushed him on a transfer portal for a payout forgetting that he is on a visa that doesn’t allow him to get paid in US. Not too many schools are willing to do what Kentucky did for Oscar.
Second time , now , when without even talking to Pope or to scouts wanted to leave Kentucky and go to NBA. Unless he goes to a school that is willing to pay him overseas get paid.
Staying at Kentucky and working at his game , would have served him better, however he is listen to the wrong people. This typical to this generation. They don’t want to put the work but are impatient and ill advised.
He doesn’t seem he surrounded himself with good advisers. Twice he got the wrong advice.
First time , last year when they pushed him on a transfer portal for a payout forgetting that he is on a visa that doesn’t allow him to get paid in US. Not too many schools are willing to do what Kentucky did for Oscar.
Second time , now , when without even talking to Pope or to scouts wanted to leave Kentucky and go to NBA. Unless he goes to a school that is willing to pay him overseas get paid.
Staying at Kentucky and working at his game , would have served him better, however he is listen to the wrong people. This typical to this generation. They don’t want to put the work but are impatient and ill advised.
He is even too tall for the military
David Robinson played for Navy. I know, I think he outgrew the height limit while he was at the
academy. Of course they kept him; he was David friggin Robinson and they were Navy.
