We gonna be right in the thick of it next season

[GOING FOR #9]

We have a top 3 team IMO. I think lee becomes a man and I think Poythress carries us like cook did this year at Duke. I also think the way this class has panned out will be a benefit for early 2016 commits. This class is spreading it around all of basketball and we have as good a class as anyone not to mention some 5* returners. We gonna have 2 point guards on the floor and Ulis can knock down the 3. Labissiere is the X factor IMO. If he is the legit top pick we have to be favorite. We have final four caliber team no doubt.

Could we have line up like this? That's tough to defend and attack against
Labissiere
Lee
Poythress
Briscoe
Ulis

 

[.S&C.]

I'm sorry to everyone who doesn't believe it but that team can win a title. And they can DEFINITELY compete for a final four day 1.

 

[bookerfan66]

Top ten for sure.I think we will have to be patient because they will lose some games early as they learn their roles.But by March they could be ready to make a run.

 

[KnowsAllTellsAll]

Top ten for sure.I think we will have to be patient because they will lose some games early as they learn their roles.But by March they could be ready to make a run.

Top 10? Make your argument. I can see (in no particular order): Duke, UNC, Virginia, Maryland, Kansas, LSU, CAL, Arizona, Michigan St., Villanova, Georgetown, Oklahoma, Iowa State all can make an argument for the top 10.

Which team does Kentucky displace? Toss the homer glasses off: Each team listed lost less and bring back more to teams that were good last season, than Kentucky (maybe Arizona is in the same question mark as Kentucky, but they have a deeper incoming class).

 

[dezyDeco]

Top ten for sure.I think we will have to be patient because they will lose some games early as they learn their roles.But by March they could be ready to make a run.

Next year will definitely be a Bourbon Season.

Gonna pour a few drinks every game...

watch Ulis get 500 assists, hope Poy is 100%, find out Skal is Marcus Camby 2.0, that Mulder nails everything from the 3-pt line, see Lee's energy go through the roof... Willis and Dom get their shot, Briscoe and Matthews surprise me...

probably won't worry too much until mid-January, then watch the team gel and make a run in March.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

O.96% chance is what your math produces. So, you're telling me there is a chance?

 

[the nail at the foul line]

24 % then. My math is fine. My reading was lacking.

The biggest question is offense. We need to score 80 plus. Not looking good.

 

[bnewt]

the problem has been offense for the past several years

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

Ulis
Briscoe
Poythress
Lee
Skal

3 of which were top 10 in their respective recruting classes including a #1 and some of you are talking NIT?

Get a grip people.

 

[mattadam]

Ulis
Briscoe
Poythress
Lee
Skal

3 of which were top 10 in their respective recruting classes including a #1 and some of you are talking NIT?

Get a grip people.

Should be exciting! It's also time for Willis and Hawkins to bring it.

 

[etowncatfan]

Not trying to be a Debbie Downer but there are alot of questions with these 5. Who will be our go to guy??? As much as I like Ulis he is still VERY VERY small and with the way refs let people double team and trap with out calling fouls he is a liability when he is double teamed. Briscoe and Skal are Freshmen...and like the Julius Randle team they had trouble early going against seasoned 3-4 year players until late in the season. Alex is coming off a terrible injury and has always been a player that shows flashes but has been inconsistent since coming to UK. Maybe if he has to be THE MAN we will see a different player. Skal will be Julius Randle. He will bring it every night and will be the most consistent of them all. Ullis Poythress and Lee have up to now been role players...coming in and giving us unexpected boosts. Now we will need to depend on them every night to get their numbers. Not saying it will but it could be a long season IMO.

 

[LmdCat]

Kentucky needs a few things to happen now for a potential Elite Egiht-FInal Four type season. None of them is unlikely by themselves. It may take some luck for ALL of them to happen:

* Poythress has to be 100 percent on October 15. Physically healed and playing with a senior's poise and ferocity. I'd say 60 percent likely

* Skal has to be eligible and as good as we believe him to be. 80 percent likely

*Lee has to be ready to convert the glimpses of stardom into consistent play. Not perfect play -- he's going to make mistakes on defense and get lost on offense sometimes. But overall he has to be a high-level basketball player. This is hard to judge for me, but I'd say 50 percent chance.

If those three things happen, Kentucky will be fine. The odds aren't great, but it isn't hopeless. Two other things have at least a chance of happening to improve the picture:

* If Lee isn't a big positive surprise, Matthews or Mulder must be -- one of them has to look like a legitimate major college wing player, capable of excellent defense and averaging 10 points a game. 40 percent chance.

* A late recruiting surprise. Cal will sign another player or two for frontcourt depth but I'm talking about a potential starter, ala Murray. 10 percent chance.

Unfortunately, if you place all of your efforts on the obvious one-and-dones and not provide opportunities to develop the 2, 3 and 4 year players, there should be no surprise if they are not ready to play when you need them.

 

[blubo]

i think this year we'll be able to see someone step up and be the go to guy. i don't think there was one standout leader on the team last year, which is somewhat understandable considering how many there were in the rotation. even said, 38-1. having watched briscoe twice, i think our backcourt could be one of the best this year.

 

[Sawnee Cat]

I like this team and I am excited for their future. As far as a go to man these things will work out

 

[jrm693]

Last night I stayed up longer than usual waiting for the announcement finally went to bed as I have discovered in my 60 years that when someone keeps you waiting it rarely turns out the way you hoped for and so this morning I see that another highly hoped for recruit has went somewhere else. I believe we are going to have to manufacture our own luck this season and all the guys that have been discussed in this thread have came here with high expectations, I feel a little like what Coach Norman Dale said in the movie "the Hoosiers" to the fans "this is your team" so we need to all get behind these guys and help them and our coaches get through the rough spots that are surely coming and let not only these guys know we have their back but send a message to future recruits that we will support them should they want to play at UK. I do want to compliment the OP as I believe his post was pretty close to accurate, I do hope that the 80% on Skal was accurate don't know for sure if that was on him becoming eligible to play or potential.

 

[Sawnee Cat]

I would also add in the injury factor. We can't afford any player going down this year. It would have a Mike Casey affect

 

[gossie21]

I can't imagine Lee starting. And technically Skal wasn't a McDs AA.

I still like our roster, but we could really use a scoring wing.

 

[Kerry Kat]

the problem has been offense for the past several years

Problem is coaching during the BIG game and maybe the other coaches have used that against Cal.

 

[UKFanNIndiana]

I like what this team can become, however, according to Cal's statements and looking at the players available ... Then I doubt seriously that we start 5 McBurger Boys. We need someone coming off the bench to provide back up minutes along the front line. I seriously think our line up with be more along this line.
PG - Ulis
SG - Briscoe
SF - Mulder/Matthews (toss up at this point)
PF - Poythres
C - Skal

I think Poy, Skal, and Lee play a lot of minutes in the front court rotation, while Briscoe, Mulder, Matthews, and Hawkins play a lot of the 2/3 time. I have a feeling Ulis is going to be a 38 minute a night pg next year. Which is fine by me.

 

[EvilMD]

It is the four letter (okay number) word on here. Let's try to remember why it happened before we ever apply it to an upcoming season...

* Our point guard in waiting couldn't handle Cal (or being challenged on drives to the hoop) and left/quit the team right as the season was starting. This alone would decimate a lot of teams.

* Our two guard was the most selfish offensive player I have ever seen at Kentucky. How he got drafted in the first round after his one disastrous season at UK is still one of the great mysteries to me. Never seen a player take on three defenders and throw it up blindly hoping for a foul as many times as he did.

* Our third guard was a fifth year transfer who didn't bring a whole lot to the table against the better teams. Wasn't fast enough. Wasn't a great shooter. Was just a body.

* One of our forwards would score 20 against Duke and then two the next game. His game suffered without a steady point guard on the floor.

* Another one of our forwards was a great shooter....the previous year. He never consistently found his shot as a sophomore, and his defense was non existent. He was so bad that Vanderbilt attacked him every possession in one half.

* One of our centers was a converted football player who made a few great plays but looked completely lost half the time.

* The other center was our best player by far, and almost carried us to the NCAA before going down with a knee injury.

This team still managed to win 20 games. And it was a dumpster fire by season's end. Let's never compare another team to this one.

 

[1war]

It is the four letter (okay number) word on here. Let's try to remember why it happened before we ever apply it to an upcoming season...

* Our point guard in waiting couldn't handle Cal (or being challenged on drives to the hoop) and left/quit the team right as the season was starting. This alone would decimate a lot of teams.

* Our two guard was the most selfish offensive player I have ever seen at Kentucky. How he got drafted in the first round after his one disastrous season at UK is still one of the great mysteries to me. Never seen a player take on three defenders and throw it up blindly hoping for a foul as many times as he did.

* Our third guard was a fifth year transfer who didn't bring a whole lot to the table against the better teams. Wasn't fast enough. Wasn't a great shooter. Was just a body.

* One of our forwards would score 20 against Duke and then two the next game. His game suffered without a steady point guard on the floor.

* Another one of our forwards was a great shooter....the previous year. He never consistently found his shot as a sophomore, and his defense was non existent. He was so bad that Vanderbilt attacked him every possession in one half.

* One of our centers was a converted football player who made a few great plays but looked completely lost half the time.

* The other center was our best player by far, and almost carried us to the NCAA before going down with a knee injury.

This team still managed to win 20 games. And it was a dumpster fire by season's end. Let's never compare another team to this one.

Good post, this team is nothing like 2013 but people lazily make that comparison. This team also has more experience.

 

[OHIO COLONEL]

I think you have to add in the mental aspect with Poythress as well. Sometimes the mental side after a major injury is as important or more so than physical.

 

[reignof cats]

I would also add in the injury factor. We can't afford any player going down this year. It would have a Mike Casey affect

AP affect last year or NN a couple of years ago. We need a few more guys for depth. Who knows it is college basketball??? GBB

 

[Dakota25]

Top 10? Make your argument. I can see (in no particular order): Duke, UNC, Virginia, Maryland, Kansas, LSU, CAL, Arizona, Michigan St., Villanova, Georgetown, Oklahoma, Iowa State all can make an argument for the top 10.

Which team does Kentucky displace? Toss the homer glasses off: Each team listed lost less and bring back more to teams that were good last season, than Kentucky (maybe Arizona is in the same question mark as Kentucky, but they have a deeper incoming class).

Well you should root for one of those teams then. UK is better than LSU, Arizona, is California even a tourney team?, and Georgetown. I think Arizona lost a lot and LSU lost their two best players. Anyway I think you should root for Duke. My best friend does despite not having any connections to Duke.

 

[UK_fan_41102]

Having a returning point guard in Ulis

It is the four letter (okay number) word on here. Let's try to remember why it happened before we ever apply it to an upcoming season...

* Our point guard in waiting couldn't handle Cal (or being challenged on drives to the hoop) and left/quit the team right as the season was starting. This alone would decimate a lot of teams.

* Our two guard was the most selfish offensive player I have ever seen at Kentucky. How he got drafted in the first round after his one disastrous season at UK is still one of the great mysteries to me. Never seen a player take on three defenders and throw it up blindly hoping for a foul as many times as he did.

* Our third guard was a fifth year transfer who didn't bring a whole lot to the table against the better teams. Wasn't fast enough. Wasn't a great shooter. Was just a body.

* One of our forwards would score 20 against Duke and then two the next game. His game suffered without a steady point guard on the floor.

* Another one of our forwards was a great shooter....the previous year. He never consistently found his shot as a sophomore, and his defense was non existent. He was so bad that Vanderbilt attacked him every possession in one half.

* One of our centers was a converted football player who made a few great plays but looked completely lost half the time.

* The other center was our best player by far, and almost carried us to the NCAA before going down with a knee injury.

This team still managed to win 20 games. And it was a dumpster fire by season's end. Let's never compare another team to this one.

Having a returning point guard in Ulis should be enough reason to not compare the 2 teams.

 

[Dakota25]

I agree that we need some luck. We have a strong core of seven players which means as long as no injuries happen then we should be fine. Also Skal needs to be cleared if he isn't then our front court is in trouble. I think poythress will be fine. In this day and age athletes recover well because of all the medical technology and training that is available. Lee is a great player and we are fortunate to have him on the team.

 

[crazyqx83]

Poythress is NOT a 3.

Ulis
Briscoe
Mulder
poythress
skal

Lee
Matthews
Willis
hawkins

 

[TT Cat]

Another big difference is that Cal was not in the HOF yet

 

[UKWildcats#8]

24 % then. My math is fine. My reading was lacking.

The biggest question is offense. We need to score 80 plus. Not looking good.

80 plus? LOL. Last year's team scored 75, and did pretty well.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

Problem is coaching during the BIG game and maybe the other coaches have used that against Cal.

Oh really, I guess the WSU game, UL game, Michigan game, and Wisconsin games were not big in the 2014 tourney, none of the 2012 tourney games were big games, what about OSU and UNC back to back in 2011 tourney? Give me a break. There is a reason Cal is the 2nd best coach at worse during the last decade (I'm fine with K due to the 2 titles being #1 but he has sucked most other years in the tourney).

 

[Bkocats]

I try to think of myself as a reasonable person - try to see both sides of an argument, and to be fair in how I respond to people.

But damn - do you all really think next season will be THAT bad? All I'm seeing is that because we didn't get the coveted recruits, then there is no way we can do a thing next season. That's kind of a slam on Calipari, wouldn't you say? Reads like you all agree with the notion that he just "rolls the ball out." Yes, I know - the Wisconsin game. But how did we get to that point in the first place? We have a top 5 ranked class coming in; we have real upperclassmen coming back. We have good talent on this team. Yet - that doesn't seem to matter because we didn't get Jaylen Brown, or Malik Newman. Nevermind that we DID get Labissiere, Briscoe, Matthews and Mulder. Nevermind we are returning Poythress, Ulis, Lee, Hawkins and WIllis. We might have to go on experience, rather than just talent this coming season.

I know everyone is afraid of a repeat of the 2013 season. Folks, that's just not going to happen ever again. Ulis is not Harrow. And we have enough players to not be caught in that situation again.

Lighten up already.

Thanks for reading

 

[Dakota25]

I try to think of myself as a reasonable person - try to see both sides of an argument, and to be fair in how I respond to people.

But damn - do you all really think next season will be THAT bad? All I'm seeing is that because we didn't get the coveted recruits, then there is no way we can do a thing next season. That's kind of a slam on Calipari, wouldn't you say? Reads like you all agree with the notion that he just "rolls the ball out." Yes, I know - the Wisconsin game. But how did we get to that point in the first place? We have a top 5 ranked class coming in; we have real upperclassmen coming back. We have good talent on this team. Yet - that doesn't seem to matter because we didn't get Jaylen Brown, or Malik Newman. Nevermind that we DID get Labissiere, Briscoe, Matthews and Mulder. Nevermind we are returning Poythress, Ulis, Lee, Hawkins and WIllis. We might have to go on experience, rather than just talent this coming season.

I know everyone is afraid of a repeat of the 2013 season. Folks, that's just not going to happen ever again. Ulis is not Harrow. And we have enough players to not be caught in that situation again.

Lighten up already.

Thanks for reading

I agree with you. I think as the off season goes along people will put the recruiting losses behind them and will become more optimistic. I think most of the negative reactions is more of a heat of the moment type of thing. Surely no one honestly thinks that we don't have at worst a top twenty team. I personally think top fifteen. Kentucky has a solid roster and as long as skal has no eligibility problems and no major injuries to our top seven then this will be a fun season.