Who has better forwards and centers than Kentucky?

[MdWIldcat55]

Now that the Bamba Drama is over, I'm interested in who people think is stronger in the front court than Kentucky:

3 Jarred Vanderbilt, 3 Kevin Knox, 4 PJ Washington, 4 Wenyen Gabriel 4/5 Sacha Killeya-Jones 5 Nick Richards 5 Tai Wynyard.

That's six five stars, two with experience, and a 3rd year strongman as a back up player.

I've tuned out college hoops a bit since April. I'm genuinely curious to hear who people think is better at the 3-4-5 than Kentucky.

 

[ColumbiaCayuts]

Michigan State will have good front court players with Bridges, Ward, Jackson, Tillman, and the guy who just got a 6th season due to injury. I think UK could be right on par with them.

 

[Smashcat]

Michigan State will have good front court players with Bridges, Ward, Jackson, Tillman, and the guy who just got a 6th season due to injury. I think UK could be right on par with them.

That's why one sports book has MSU with lowest odds to win it all. Of course UK is second favorite. We're fine.

 

[Mojocat]

The OP will be derided as rationalizing after the fact - but it's largely true and on point. As I said to someone the other day after they posted we'd be in "serious trouble" if we don't land Bamba: only here, on this forum, could UK get 12 five star kids and if we miss on #13, it's time to fret......We'd be better with Bamba (I presume, I sound like many of the experts here and I've barely seen the kid and have no crystal ball), but we'll be OK without him, too. A lot of factors will go into how successful the team is next year (chemistry, luck, how many other good/great teams there are, who we face in the tournament, etc.), this is just one....

 

[caneintally]

No one. Losing Bamba hurts only if we don't get Diallo or Johnson due to if we had Bamba then Knox could play some guard. Now getting one more guard is big .

 

[Ryan Lemonds Diary]

Now that the Bamba Drama is over, I'm interested in who people think is stronger in the front court than Kentucky:

3 Jarred Vanderbilt, 3 Kevin Knox, 4 PJ Washington, 4 Wenyen Gabriel 4/5 Sacha Killeya-Jones 5 Nick Richards 5 Tai Wynyard.

That's six five stars, two with experience, and a 3rd year strongman as a back up player.

I've tuned out college hoops a bit since April. I'm genuinely curious to hear who people think is better at the 3-4-5 than Kentucky.

Just read the Bamba thread and you will see we are somewhere between EKU and Furman according to some posters.

 

[track42]

We really have to get Diallo back now to make a run IMO.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

We should definitely be better down low than we were this past season, but a lot of us were expecting to have a huge rim protector and presence of Bamba. Hopefully, Richards develops quickly and can provide some of that.

 

[caneintally]

We really have to get Diallo back now to make a run IMO.

You realize we still have the most talented roster in the country? Young but insanely talented. We are still the favorites with MSU even without Bamba or Diallo but if we got Diallo back we would be hands down the favorite. People always forget what we have and only focus on what we lost. Bamba not coming here hurts us for 2 reasons - With Bamba and Richards we would of had 2 of the top 5 shot blockers in college and Knox could focus on sg if we lose Diallo. Missing out on Bamba only hurts for that reason. It doesn't effect much beyond that. As is we are still preseason 1 or 2. Oh woe is me.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

I didn't start this thread with an agenda, as some presume. I'm really interested in hearing what the UK fans who know college basketball have to say about the question.

I had thought of Michigan State, with Bridges back, along with Ward and Jackson and company. That's debatable, but a realistic answer.

Who else?

Probably just MSU if anyone.

I still think getting Johnson or Diallo is important. I have more questions about our guards than the front court.

 

[Chuckinden]

Ask me about this time next year.

 

[Crankdatmustard]

People act like Nick Richards isnt a elite rim protector? He is 7'0 240 with a 7'4 wingspan

 

[BlueBomb]

You guys must be really, really smart. There's no way I can possibly know that all of our incoming freshmen will help to comprise the best (or one of the best) front court(s) in the country. I mean I've only watched a few high school videos of them playing against some chumps. But I hope you're right about your predictions. I'm just not smart enough to figure it out yet.

 

[Catzman]

Arizona will have Ristic and Ayton as twin towers at 7 feet. Could see Ayton with his face ability being the 4 in some sets but thats 1 uber talented center and serviceable back up. Also have 6'11 Chance Comanchee. Not a ton of guys, but a lot of length with almost three 7 footers.

If Missouri gets the other Porter, that'll be 6'10 Porter, 6'9 Porter, 6'11 Tilmon, 6'8 Puryear. Not a bad set up.

 

[JRowland]

UK will clearly have a very good rotation of forwards. Really good. You can only play 2-3 at a time depending on how you want to swing it, but still impressive. I am not as sold on Richards/SKJ in the middle as some. I think they'll both do good things and as a tandem they'll have good games, but I could also see some struggles.

Next year's team is pretty fascinating to think about.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

Now that the Bamba Drama is over, I'm interested in who people think is stronger in the front court than Kentucky:

3 Jarred Vanderbilt, 3 Kevin Knox, 4 PJ Washington, 4 Wenyen Gabriel 4/5 Sacha Killeya-Jones 5 Nick Richards 5 Tai Wynyard.

That's six five stars, two with experience, and a 3rd year strongman as a back up player.

I've tuned out college hoops a bit since April. I'm genuinely curious to hear who people think is better at the 3-4-5 than Kentucky.

We may have some talented guys on paper but none have much to any experience. Only Tai and Skj had had any clock at all. With SKJ being a 5 star I'm sure many on here thought he was going to step right in and dominate.
Many times you see guys who are lower ranked 4 stars that are juniors and seniors be dominate but not drafted.

 

[coolioo1]

Michigan State will be tough and Bridges is a big guy that rebounds too. Duke has a solid front court. The Carter kid is good but depends a lot of BOlden and then they have no depth. Ours is really good and if SKJ steps up then wow. Plus WG who will at times play the 3 is a big active 3. THat is why Bamba would have been great, but Knox was More of a must. Now if we get Johnson and/or Diallo, we are as good as anyone in a down down year.

 

[JDSlam04]

Arizona will have Ristic and Ayton as twin towers at 7 feet. Could see Ayton with his face ability being the 4 in some sets but thats 1 uber talented center and serviceable back up. Also have 6'11 Chance Comanchee. Not a ton of guys, but a lot of length with almost three 7 footers.


Comanche hired agent. He gone.

 

[caneintally]

Arizona will have Ristic and Ayton as twin towers at 7 feet. Could see Ayton with his face ability being the 4 in some sets but thats 1 uber talented center and serviceable back up. Also have 6'11 Chance Comanchee. Not a ton of guys, but a lot of length with almost three 7 footers.

If Missouri gets the other Porter, that'll be 6'10 Porter, 6'9 Porter, 6'11 Tilmon, 6'8 Puryear. Not a bad set up.

Comanche is in the draft as of now.

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

No one. Losing Bamba hurts only if we don't get Diallo or Johnson due to if we had Bamba then Knox could play some guard. Now getting one more guard is big .

Either Diallo or Johnson. There is no one else to get. I don't think we want Walker. I'm not sure why you think this forces Knox to the 3 though. We have plenty of guys 3-5.

 

[Jmeeks54thebest]

Just read the Bamba thread and you will see we are somewhere between EKU and Furman according to some posters.

lol isn't Furman the college with the initials "FU?"

I remember a bunch of bought FU shirts from what I thought was Furman Univeristy our senior year of HS. We wore them to school at least once a week because we were bad to the bone.

 

[efauth99]

In all honesty, I have no idea. Could be nobody, could be a whole handful of schools.I have been hearing about these kids for a while and everything I have seen and heard about them has me thinking they will be good players. But until we see them playing in the blue and white in November I don't think any of us can say for sure how good any one player is.. I have seen a couple mix tapes and a few mins of all star games. So frankly, I have no clue! Can't wait to find out tho

 

[Nooneputsbabyinacorner]

Michigan State will be tough and Bridges is a big guy that rebounds too. Duke has a solid front court. The Carter kid is good but depends a lot of BOlden and then they have no depth. Ours is really good and if SKJ steps up then wow. Plus WG who will at times play the 3 is a big active 3. THat is why Bamba would have been great, but Knox was More of a must. Now if we get Johnson and/or Diallo, we are as good as anyone in a down down year.

Good take. Kansas has Udoka and Preston. Arizona has Ristic and Ayton.

 

[Nooneputsbabyinacorner]

Either Diallo or Johnson. There is no one else to get. I don't think we want Walker. I'm not sure why you think this forces Knox to the 3 though. We have plenty of guys 3-5.

I think Calipari will play Knox at the 2 a few games and eventually move him to the position which garnered him his high ranking and where all the NBA scouts (see DraftExpress) project his greatest value - the 4. Of course, he could shock the world and have developed guard skills.

 

[Rolf Russman]

The Pelicans.

 

[fatguy87]

There is a lot of uncertainty in UK's frontcourt. There are at least 6 players that can play the 4 or 5. Half of them return from the previous season but just 1 was a regular rotation player. This entails a rather wide range of possibilities. Our newcomers might be great and the returning players could improve a ton, giving us a high ceiling. At the same time, we don't have any particularly standout returning players to provide some buffer against the unpredictability of freshman performance.

Until we start seeing how our guys play against college competition, I'm inclined to give the nod to more seasoned frontcourts. UNC, Arizona, and MSU have returning players that were major contributors in the prior season that we can expect to bring that same level of production, or maybe more, this year. If we get 2 or 3 outstanding 4/5's out of our stable, we definitely can surpass that group but that seems rather optimistic based on what we've experienced with freshman.

 

[bucsrule8872]

I don't think anyone will have as much versatility in their frontcourt.

Some will be bigger and some might be deeper, but we have multiple guys that can face up, put the ball on the floor, and also rebound and post up inside.

It will be interesting to see how the pieces end up fitting together.

I am more concerned about the backcourt. Depth is a bit of an issue with only three true guards on the roster.

Green and Gilgeous-Alexander will probably be ready to go, but I am not sure how much Baker can give us.

Knox and Vanderbilt having guard skills will help, but I think we really need another guard to add some depth.

Hopefully, Diallo comes back or we add Johnson.

 

[Ky_Bred_Cat]

Our forwards will overwhelm the majority of teams we play. It's been a while since we've had that.

We're built from the middle out. Solid at PG and enough at C.

Keep things in perspective and enjoy the ride. It will take some time for them to figure things out but if this team gels we'll be as good or better than anyone in the country.