Who’s been the most pleasant surprise for you this year?

[jrpross]

I really didn’t know what to expect from anyone this season but I gotta say, everyone has at least MET my expectations (aside from maybe Chandler, but I should have known his time off would set him back)

But I feel like these four guys have been way better than I thought. Butler with his relentless defense, Oweh with his clutch play and tenacity, both of them with elite shooting thus far. Brea is the most efficient offensive player in the country. And while Williams is probably closest of these 4 to what I expected, I didn’t see him averaging a double-double with 11.5 rpg.

Although I think the obvious answer here is Mark freaking Pope. He’s blown my expectations out of the water. But of the PLAYERS, who’s your pick? 😁

 

[littlecreek]

Mine would be Mark Pope. He's pushed the right buttons every time. The all access video of the Duke game showed that he can flat out coach.

 

[MegaBlue05]

For me it’s 00 or OO - Oweh

I had anticipated he’d be more of a role player, but through 4 games he’s proven to be our most consistent player. I love his toughness and willingness to rebound from the guard spot.

I couldn’t be happier with the way this roster was constructed and the way we are playing. The games are fun again. We’ve been stomping the opponents we were supposed to stomp instead of letting them hang around for 32 minutes.

 

[STL_Cat]

All these guys are playing great and I couldn't be happier, but as far as the biggest surprise I'd say it's Otega Oweh. This guy is a legit stud, I thought he'd be a role player. A very good role player, but a role player.

 

[Smashcat]

Oweh. Knew he was good, but not this good.

 

[CastleRubric]

Mine would be Mark Pope. He's pushed the right buttons every time. The all access video of the Duke game showed that he can flat out coach.

Yep - and hearing his actual coaching / talks with the team --- dude makes me want to jump in the freakin game


I will vote A Williams on this poll just because of all the surprises wiyh players - one from the big man is always my favorite 🎖️🎖️🎖️

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

For me it's Garrison. His hustle and intensity are growing game by game. He's going to command more minutes going forward.

If we can stop the occasional black-hole ineffective back-down post moves from Carr, Garrison, and Williams (whip the ball around instead!), this team will be world-beaters.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

Pope-i knew he was good but he has blown me away.
He may be better than Pitino.

 

[STL_Cat]

Kwilt comin in hot

 

[Chief Paducah]

I LOVE Oweh's game. On a roster like Coach Cal's, he would just be another slasher that struggled to get penetration in the lane because of lack of shooters. But in Pope's offense, he can feast. Pope's offense creates so much spacing and causes defense overplay because of the shooters, it opens up the lanes nicely for Oweh's strengths of driving into the lane.

 

[rick64]

Mine would be Mark Pope. He's pushed the right buttons every time. The all access video of the Duke game showed that he can flat out coach.

^^^THIS^^^

 

[BradleyCrawford08]

In terms of players, Oweh has amazing so far. Really has been a pleasant surprise to see him playing this good early on. Pope’s system has really unlocked his skills.

 

[DDMatUK=NBA]

For me it's Garrison. His hustle and intensity are growing game by game. He's going to command more minutes going forward.

If we can stop the occasional black-hole ineffective back-down post moves from Carr, Garrison, and Williams (whip the ball around instead!), this team will be world-beaters.

Garrison has a huge upside, imo. If he perfects that jump hook, he could be unstoppable inside, ala Kareem. Not comparing the two other than Kareem perfected that shot and there was just no defense for it. Garrison might do that same thing, with that same shot and he appears to have better touch and range. Not there yet but he has big potential.

 

[struggler]

This is what happens when you build a team/roster vs grab the highest ranked pieces you can grab and smash them together hoping for a fit. Pope preached fit all through the process and this is the result. Committed to team, Each other, the bigger good. OO is who I voted for... Not close so far to me, but imo the reason he's having this success is he's the right fit and the right fit surrounding him also makes him better. Based on this team building mindset I wouldn't be surprised if it's not someone else throughout the season.

Pope is a HUGE upgrade if you want a coach who both knows the game AND knows how to get the most from his players. Literal night and day difference.

Go cats!!

 

[ukpence]

Ortega Oweh and it's not close for me. Although many players have been better than I expected, Otega is WAY better than I expected. Seeing him at OU and and at UK is light night and day.

 

[CELTICAT]

Voted Oweh but didn’t expect Brea to be a human flame thrower. His only misses so far have been absurd bombs from 30 feet. He’s automatic when he’s set just outside the line.

 

[know1]

The whole team, honestly. It seems we have so many good players on both ends of the floor. I'm not worried about any one of them being on for each game.

 

[UKwootwoot]

As far as the players, Oweh and it isn't close. But if Pope were on the list, he would be my pick

 

[BC_Wader]

I voted Brea. I knew he could shoot but had no idea his defense, passing, and rebounding was this good. He was the 6th man for Dayton. He looks like our best player at the moment. I almost voted for Otega but I watched him a few times at Oklahoma and he did what he's doing now only now he's doing it better.

 

[TTTblue24]

It’s so hard for it not to be coach Pope, but player it has to be Oweh. Kid has came in and put the work in and can tell he’s received a lot of great coaching already. But for Coach, it was such an unknown of what to expect and what we would actually see on the court…….but from the get go, he’s told us what to expect and they have worked their tails off to achieve that plus assembling a brand new roster from scratch in very little time.

He has been the fresh air that BBN needed and so glad he is here.

 

[TeoJ]

The biggest deal to me,the fun put back into the game for the fans by the players and coaches.

 

[Kybluedude]

The cohesion of a completely new team on the floor plus blending of skills and makeup of the roster

 

[CrimsonCats]

Oweh for me. I never doubted his defense, but I was concerned that his season total scoring/shooting numbers from last year may have been a mirage since he had such a steep fall off in conference play. He’s been very consistent so far though, and was the real deal in the Duke game.

 

[chroix]

Brea. I knew he could shoot but first exhibition games didn’t impress much. Since the regular season started it’s been the polar opposite. Amazing shooter. Kid is lights out.

 

[chroix]

Oweh has been awesome for sure but I did some research on him and thought he’d be solid. Better than I’d hoped for for sure but I’d had pretty high expectations of him.

 

[IL Wildcat]

The word "surprise" in the question is what changes things for me...
I expected Brea, Butler, and Williams to be at or near the top of the rotation. I have been very pleased with all of those guys and they are all key players for this team.

The only guy here who has been really a surprise to me is Otega Oweh. I expected him to be a very talented but raw player who would need some significant seasoning before being able to significantly contribute. I thought the same thing about Garrison. But both of those guys have been much better than I expected. I voted Oweh here and would put Garrison at #2 for this question.

 

[jrpross]

Garrison is a legit option too. I edited the OP to include him.

 

[CRZ4UK]

For me it's Garrison. His hustle and intensity are growing game by game. He's going to command more minutes going forward.

If we can stop the occasional black-hole ineffective back-down post moves from Carr, Garrison, and Williams (whip the ball around instead!), this team will be world-beaters.

Almonor is also a surprise. He is 6-7 and every time he shoot a 3 it seems to go in. I never thought he would be clutch.

 

[Smashcat]

I voted Brea. I knew he could shoot but had no idea his defense, passing, and rebounding was this good. He was the 6th man for Dayton. He looks like our best player at the moment. I almost voted for Otega but I watched him a few times at Oklahoma and he did what he's doing now only now he's doing it better.

Yeah, I worried a teeny bit Brea might be one-dimensional but no.

 

[notelvis]

For me it's Garrison. His hustle and intensity are growing game by game. He's going to command more minutes going forward.

If we can stop the occasional black-hole ineffective back-down post moves from Carr, Garrison, and Williams (whip the ball around instead!), this team will be world-beaters.

This - You can see improvement from Garrison over the previous game every night. He has come further faster than I would have dared imagine.

 

[Cawood86]

Amari Williams for me. Had no idea how was this talented on both ends. Passing and rebounding. Key player

 

[Emarc]

The whole team, honestly. It seems we have so many good players on both ends of the floor. I'm not worried about any one of them being on for each game.

The best answer. 😎

 

[crawfords corner]

I agree with @know1

It's the entire team. Who could have expected them to be such a cohesive unit so quickly. Sure, we have very experienced players, but only Jaxson Robinson has ever played for Coach Pope. His offense isn't an easy offense to pick up either despite it being highly geared towards 3 point shooting.

Then there's defensively. I expected them to be a pretty good unit... by about mid-conference. I didn't expect them to be able to play so well so quickly. They obviously have built a very good rapport with each other very quickly to be able to play as well as they have so far.

Now it's just a matter of everyone continuing to gel as a team. The more minutes they get together the better they should be able to play. There is still a lot of talent left to extract from these guys and they have a highly intelligent head coach who has been through exactly what they are to lead the way for them.