We will be fine

[PhattyJ4UK]

April 7 House vs NCAA settlement has changed everything this year and it means last year has no bearing on this year. That is in tons of news articles and it is in practically every statistic of the portal so far compared to all previous portal seasons. It doesn’t need to be about whether anything material will actually change April 7: there is a critical mass of enough players and coaches believing it will change things that makes all the difference and we are already far above that critical mass. This is affecting every single player who isn’t living under a rock, which means any player we would want because if they have enough skill someone is already whispering this in their ear long since, and it is affecting every coach and program we are in competition with for those players. Even players who plan on entering the draft and possibly transferring after hypothetically withdrawing from the draft are accounting for this and this is a totally brand new, one time, single serving phenomenon. We may well be okay anyway, but when you try to use last year as the basis for asserting we are going to be okay this year, you are only establishing you haven’t looked closely at the situation.

We are entering a no contact period that goes past the April 7 date.

Most of the 1k in the portal now won’t have decided and committed by the April 7 date.

The April 7 ruling is going to affect the portal a lot less than many are thinking.

There will still be coaches getting DUIs, jobs changing hands and all types of other things that lead to entries all over for the next few months.

If we land Yaxel we are in good shape to be picky with the pg spot. Hell, Yaxel could run it most of the time 😂

 

[W1LDCAT22]

I see him a little differently than you but I would still be ecstatic to have a wing like him for sure. As far as facilitating though I disagree with your assessment on Yaxel. That’s one of the most impressive parts of his game. He has a ridiculous assist rate. Regardless I’d love to have both

Don't get me wrong, I love Yaxel too. But if I was made to pick one, I'd have to go with Pierre for the reasons I listed. To each their own though. This is why people are fans with different players.

 

[ImTheVillageIdiot]

Don't get me wrong, I love Yaxel too. But if I was made to pick one, I'd have to go with Pierre for the reasons I listed. To each their own though. This is why people are fans with different players.

Amen to that brother

 

[Zuma75]

if you can legitimately recruit, it doesn’t take 4 years to put together a contender. Especially with the new transfer rules.

Scheyer and Golden made their first FFs this year, in their 3rd year.

 

[BlueSince92]

We are entering a no contact period that goes past the April 7 date.

Most of the 1k in the portal now won’t have decided and committed by the April 7 date.

The April 7 ruling is going to affect the portal a lot less than many are thinking.

There will still be coaches getting DUIs, jobs changing hands and all types of other things that lead to entries all over for the next few months.

If we land Yaxel we are in good shape to be picky with the pg spot. Hell, Yaxel could run it most of the time 😂

It's not a matter of "is going to affect." That's wishful thinking. It's a matter of "has already affected." We had no business being interested in most of the 1k kids in the portal last year percentagewise, and the same thing is true this year.

As for the ones we do want. Go and look at the number of top-tier talent kids (24/7 rated 9500 or above) who went into the portal and signed all of last year's portal season, then compare that to the number of top-tier talent kids who have already both entered the portal this year and already signed this year, and the comparatively small number of top-tier talent kids still left in the portal this year unsigned.

Unless you think by some magic there are going to wind up being twice as many top-tier talent kids total moving through the portal this year as compared to previous years....this prom dance is already almost over. Surely a few kids will make late choices but it will be a lower number of kids than have done that in previous years, since so many great kids all had this one strong financial reason to think they needed to get ahead of the portal restructuring this year.

As I keep saying and as some people keep not hearing, it matters very little what will actually fall out of the actual April 7th court ruling. The damage is in the rearview mirror. If there are going to be all these extra high-talent kids jumping into the portal like you are hoping for, then it will wind up meaning that in total a much higher number of top-talent kids moved through the portal this year as compared with previous years. That is unlikely by all the cold facts of demographics and statistics. But it's especially unlikely when you consider last year there were hundreds of fifth-year COVID seniors eligible for the portal and this year there are.....

...hold on let me count em all up......

None of those. There are none.

Of course we'll be looking a lot better if we sign Yaxel. Yaxel is one of the four, maybe five highest rated players to EVER come through the portal. EVER. And if my grandma had aluminum wings she'd be looking a lot more like an airplane. I'm hopeful for Yaxel too but it's a little early to be using him as a counterargument. Last year when all the dust had settled the highest-rated player we got from the transfer portal was Brandon Garrison, rated number 20. And you're wanting to build an argument based on your hoping that we sign the number-one guy this year.... when Pope is actually talking about putting things on hold and waiting to see what falls out of the April 7th ruling, and letting that pause serve as a filter to weed out kids who really want to play here. His words. I hope we get Yaxel too, but that is not an argument.

I'm not counting Pope out. I'm just being realistic about the equation.

 

[PhattyJ4UK]

It's not a matter of "is going to affect." That's wishful thinking. It's a matter of "has already affected." We had no business being interested in most of the 1k kids in the portal last year percentagewise, and the same thing is true this year.

As for the ones we do want. Go and look at the number of top-tier talent kids (24/7 rated 9500 or above) who went into the portal and signed all of last year's portal season, then compare that to the number of top-tier talent kids who have already both entered the portal this year and already signed this year, and the comparatively small number of top-tier talent kids still left in the portal this year unsigned.

Unless you think by some magic there are going to wind up being twice as many top-tier talent kids total moving through the portal this year as compared to previous years....this prom dance is already almost over. Surely a few kids will make late choices but it will be a lower number of kids than have done that in previous years, since so many great kids all had this one strong financial reason to think they needed to get ahead of the portal restructuring this year.

As I keep saying and as some people keep not hearing, it matters very little what will actually fall out of the actual April 7th court ruling. The damage is in the rearview mirror. If there are going to be all these extra high-talent kids jumping into the portal like you are hoping for, then it will wind up meaning that in total a much higher number of top-talent kids moved through the portal this year as compared with previous years. That is unlikely by all the cold facts of demographics and statistics. But it's especially unlikely when you consider last year there were hundreds of fifth-year COVID seniors eligible for the portal and this year there are.....

...hold on let me count em all up......

None of those. There are none.

Of course we'll be looking a lot better if we sign Yaxel. Yaxel is one of the four, maybe five highest rated players to EVER come through the portal. EVER. And if my grandma had aluminum wings she'd be looking a lot more like an airplane. I'm hopeful for Yaxel too but it's a little early to be using him as a counterargument. Last year when all the dust had settled the highest-rated player we got from the transfer portal was Brandon Garrison, rated number 20. And you're wanting to build an argument based on your hoping that we sign the number-one guy this year.... when Pope is actually talking about putting things on hold and waiting to see what falls out of the April 7th ruling, and letting that pause serve as a filter to weed out kids who really want to play here. His words. I hope we get Yaxel too, but that is not an argument.

I'm not counting Pope out. I'm just being realistic about the equation.

TLDR
Three days away. A top 5 potential next year pg just entered.

The April 7 ruling is just way overblown.

 

[Creed Bratton]

This time next year this board will be melting down.

Let's be honest when is this board not melting down?

 

[Creed Bratton]

Scheyer and Golden made their first FFs this year, in their 3rd year.

Don't forget that Scheyer was handed the reins to a top 5 program not a depleted program.

 

[BlueSince92]

TLDR
Three days away. A top 5 potential next year pg just entered.

The April 7 ruling is just way overblown.

Too uninformed; didn’t read

 

[PhattyJ4UK]

Too uninformed; didn’t read

If it takes a novel to try to make your point- it’s mental gymnastics.

You can’t refute the fact that 90% of current portal entrants won’t be done by April 7. And a whole lot more will be in the portal AFTER.

You heard someone else say it so you’re trying to sound more informed than others. You’re not.

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

Lee, Pierre, Lendeborg, Alvaro and Veesaar, hop on board and let us go and win a championship!

 

[UKfanINcoach]

If he kisses the tourney or gets bounced weekend one with a similar record? The Bunsen burner will be lit. If he fails again the following year it will be time to start shopping.

Unless he misses the tourney he's got a minimum of 4 years easy. We already seen UK is the most desirable coaching job to have after the misses when CCC left. The fan base is already a deterrent for coaches. The last thing you want is an administration that has a knew-jerk reaction.

 

[yabbadabbadoo]

I just want to reiterate the title of this thread. If anyone thinks that Mark Pope doesn’t have a plan then they haven’t been watching. It would really surprise me if we come out of this deal disappointed with our additions. I truly believe there are other things in the works and people should just have faith, realize we have a good coach, and just not stress over it. People act like we aren’t even going to be able to field a team next year.

 

[NociHTTP]

What do y'all think?

View embedded media

He looks like he tripped and fell into a carton of permanent markers with their caps off.

 

[Kyhoward]

I agree because:
Chandler will probably have a bigger than normal freshman to sophomore jump; those not counting him as an elite player next year are likely wrong.
Payne was one of the best wings in the portal for Pope's system.
Oweh will be an elite player.
JJ will probably be an elite player.
Garrison could be good with minor improvement.
With normal freshman to sophomore improvement Noah or Perry(less likely next year) could be capable reserves and none of us know that Lewis or Moreno won't be solid reserves next year.
Out of the over 1000 portal players UK needs only 3-4 that fit.

I think there were 2,000 in the portal last year, not all SEC quality, but we only need 3-5 players. Patience is the key. We will get talented players that believe in Pope’s team concept. He is looking at the intangibles of the player and the “fit” with the current UK players and other potential portal additions IMO. We will be fine.

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

 

[ImTheVillageIdiot]

Unless he misses the tourney he's got a minimum of 4 years easy. We already seen UK is the most desirable coaching job to have after the misses when CCC left. The fan base is already a deterrent for coaches. The last thing you want is an administration that has a knew-jerk reaction.

Goodness, I hate to agree with this but it’s true. Unrealistic fans in an NiL world that has completely shaken up what it takes to be a successful program has make jobs like Kentucky and Indiana less desirable than they once were. Fortunately for us, I do believe Pope is the right person to get us back to glory, but the choices he has been making seem to indicate he is building more for the future rather than trying to go all in for a title this year. That’s me making an inference, could be wrong, but if Pope is building for a third year superteam, I worry half the fanbase isn’t going to make it that far. We want everything now and I just don’t think Pope or the school are really viewing it that way. For full clarity, I trust Pope to build the program as he sees it.