Imo they can. But they need pieces around them that they can play off of. With Jax/butler healthy Brea would be lethal! Now he gets the most attention defensively. And nobody to burn them for overplaying him!
Will we be more talented in the coming years?
- Thread starter movershaker74
- Start date
True, but injury will matter more with having brea/kellan type player on the team...
In 2022, tyty had injury and we went from a hot team beating kansas to first round exit bust...
Funny how only two of those guys have us a championship and that’s because 1 of them was a generational Collegiate player and one of the best freshmen of all time. Rutgers has Bailey & Harper and they’re not even going to make the tourney. It’s a different time.
It's hard to win a national title. We have 4 in 65 years. Relying on raw freshmen to win them clearly wasn't a recipe for success.
I put that on cal and not so much the players though. We also had injuries that derailed probably titles in 2014 and 2015. Cal may still have blew it but I doubt it.
I agree. That was kind of my point. I agree with injuries in 2014 but the 2015 team had quality depth that injuries weren’t an issue with. We just blew it and Cal blew it.
I believe they would have with a good coach not just roll the ball out offense
I would take the roster we have right now, without injuries and with a full 29 games playing together to be in the mix for a championship:
Williams: has he become the best big man in the conference? He bested Broome yesterday.
Butler: healthy with a full season at PG
Oweh
Robinson
Carr: he is playing hurt. He’s a factor at the 4 when healthy
Pope’s first roster, pieced together from the portal has proven they are good enough to win it all.
Williams: has he become the best big man in the conference? He bested Broome yesterday.
Butler: healthy with a full season at PG
Oweh
Robinson
Carr: he is playing hurt. He’s a factor at the 4 when healthy
Pope’s first roster, pieced together from the portal has proven they are good enough to win it all.
Dean Smith made 11 Final Fours and won two of them despite having edges for many years in talent and arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.
Imagine what he would have done if he hadn’t just rolled the ball out.
Very true, also Auburn and Alabama are going to take big steps back next year. Both of them got lucky that they got a Mid Major player that turned out to be a superstar. That will not happen very often. It was pure luck for both of them. They will be good but not like they are this year.
Agree with this. Really Pope only missed twice of significance imo with the roster. Garrison and Chandler.
Garrison stinks and they overpaid due to a HS recruit ranking with him also having one of his fluke games against this staff.
Then Chandler I blame him a lot less for due to the preexisting relationship and obviously unique circumstances. But I’m sure the staff expected more from a 21 year old former top 40 prospect, even knowing it would take time.
The main guys he did pretty well with.
I don't have any crayons, so I probably can't say anything that you would understand. Just f*ck off. I'm so sick of fans who are only fans when things go their way.
I don’t really think you can say he missed with those two, they’ve both shown flashes and can improve if they stick around
That was a terrible last game. But it’s hard to knock a 38-1 team.
You won't. Anybody who sits around on another teams message board trolling, clearly lacks all talent , intelligence, and dignity .
"We" will be fine. You will continue to suck.
From TankedCat
"I believe Pope will be in the mix with talent but we have to move away from thinking that landing a 5 star kid is more meaningful than landing a 4 star veteran guy that took his team on a deep NCAA tourney run.
It's about "buying" the pieces to a team in the transfer portal, not recruiting athletes that have zero experience competing at the next level."
Agree completely!
The elite freshmen are most likely going to do the following:
1. Go to NBA draft after 1 year - for the $$$, NIL cannot compete
2. Transfer - I did not have a draft type year - Must be the coach!
Coach Pope has done a marvelous job with a new staff and players that never played together before this season. Plus, the injuries in the toughest (top to Bottom) SEC that I have seen in my nearly 60 years of being a UK fan. Yes, we lost some games that maybe we should have won but also won some games against more talented teams that had returning players and coaches.
As far as putting together a roster, I believe you need a balance of returning players, recruits from the portal, and high school. What is the mixture? With the ridiculous NIL and transfer portal that is presently in place, every team in the nation is going to have upheaval in the roster every year.
- The returning players have to judge both playing time and $$$ when deciding to stay or leave.
- The transfer portal had over 2,000 players in it this past offseason. A coach and his staff have to somehow sift through this list and determine the character, fit, and yes the money. You cannot get multiple 5* and the top portal players.
- Most, if not all, of the 5* freshmen think they are going to the NBA. So their focus is usually on the $$$ and the coach they feel will propel their status and not so much on winning a championship in their 1 year in college.
I think Rick Pitino is correct in focusing on the Portal players to build his team at St Johns. Every player (high school to graduate player) has to be considered a "1-year rental." As Tanked stated, do you want a 5* kid that has proven he can play on the scholastic level or a less talented player who has proven he is a good player on the collegiate level? I prefer recruiting proven college "basketball players" over high school athletes with great measurables.
I am hoping that Coach Pope will get 4-5 guys from the portal who have more that 1 year of eligibility at UK. This year he was hamstrung by the lack of time he had to evaluate portal guys and did an admirable job getting the guys presently on our team. Maybe not the most talented, but a few years down the road we may see them as the catalyst for bringing UK back.
"I believe Pope will be in the mix with talent but we have to move away from thinking that landing a 5 star kid is more meaningful than landing a 4 star veteran guy that took his team on a deep NCAA tourney run.
It's about "buying" the pieces to a team in the transfer portal, not recruiting athletes that have zero experience competing at the next level."
Agree completely!
The elite freshmen are most likely going to do the following:
1. Go to NBA draft after 1 year - for the $$$, NIL cannot compete
2. Transfer - I did not have a draft type year - Must be the coach!
Coach Pope has done a marvelous job with a new staff and players that never played together before this season. Plus, the injuries in the toughest (top to Bottom) SEC that I have seen in my nearly 60 years of being a UK fan. Yes, we lost some games that maybe we should have won but also won some games against more talented teams that had returning players and coaches.
As far as putting together a roster, I believe you need a balance of returning players, recruits from the portal, and high school. What is the mixture? With the ridiculous NIL and transfer portal that is presently in place, every team in the nation is going to have upheaval in the roster every year.
- The returning players have to judge both playing time and $$$ when deciding to stay or leave.
- The transfer portal had over 2,000 players in it this past offseason. A coach and his staff have to somehow sift through this list and determine the character, fit, and yes the money. You cannot get multiple 5* and the top portal players.
- Most, if not all, of the 5* freshmen think they are going to the NBA. So their focus is usually on the $$$ and the coach they feel will propel their status and not so much on winning a championship in their 1 year in college.
I think Rick Pitino is correct in focusing on the Portal players to build his team at St Johns. Every player (high school to graduate player) has to be considered a "1-year rental." As Tanked stated, do you want a 5* kid that has proven he can play on the scholastic level or a less talented player who has proven he is a good player on the collegiate level? I prefer recruiting proven college "basketball players" over high school athletes with great measurables.
I am hoping that Coach Pope will get 4-5 guys from the portal who have more that 1 year of eligibility at UK. This year he was hamstrung by the lack of time he had to evaluate portal guys and did an admirable job getting the guys presently on our team. Maybe not the most talented, but a few years down the road we may see them as the catalyst for bringing UK back.
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Auburn, Bama, A/M, will all lose a ton. Florida will lose those guards, Tennessee will lose a bunch. I don’t see it being near as tough next season!
Valid. One problem I've watched all season is lack of effort on 50/50 balls and rebounding. That is effort and can be fixed in practice
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