With this team I'm afraid of...

[sosoblue]

I hope Coach Pope smashes all naysayers but I must admit; I'm concerned on how well our defense will perform and will there be any focus on dribble-drive pentration for quick assists to the 4 and 5 positions. Part of my nervousness is not seeing Pope's previous coach teams (BYU and Utah Valley). He mentions his offense will shoot a lot of 3's but what about your defense, blocking shots and steals. We also need to be strong in this category.

One thing for sure is I can't wait for the season to start. Let's go BBN!

 

[Mike-D]

Team defense should at least be decent. We've got at minimal 3 elite defenders in Williams, Otega, and Butler.

 

[University-6]

The heart and soul of defense is attacking the other team's PG. With Butler we have the best defender in the nation at that category. We also have elite rim protectors. That's a strong core to start with. IMO we will be no worse than "good" on defense.

 

[JPFisher]

The heart and soul of defense is attacking the other team's PG. With Butler we have the best defender in the nation at that category. We also have elite rim protectors. That's a strong core to start with. IMO we will be no worse than "good" on defense.

In the games I've watched, Pope's teams give 100% on defense, they're just not the most athletic. I think that bodes well for this group.

 

[LukaszObrzut]

My biggest fear is having scorers/ guys who can get a tough bucket. Do we have the elite guards to do that. Do we have a consensus AA at end of year?

Will we look like Creighton? Not a bad thing but I expect it to be similar , in ways to them

 

[DreadLox]

My biggest fear is having scorers/ guys who can get a tough bucket. Do we have the elite guards to do that. Do we have a consensus AA at end of year?

Will we look like Creighton? Not a bad thing but I expect it to be similar , in ways to them

Analytics say that there's no such thing as clutch players. When you look at the numbers, people's shooting percentages don't change in moments with the game on the line. Which is good, because this team is loaded with players with great shooting percentages.

 

[LukaszObrzut]

Analytics say that there's no such thing as clutch players. When you look at the numbers, people's shooting percentages don't change in moments with the game on the line. Which is good, because this team is loaded with players with great shooting percentages.

Certainly.
Clutch players and in my eyes guys who can create or get their own shot are different. Do we have an alpha who other teams think of? Guard, forward, center it doesn’t matter.

Do we have a Knecht?
Or we like Florida with a bunch of just good players.

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

I bet they will know how to be in a defensive stance.

And I'll wager that there will be a strong emphasis on staying between your man and the basket (i.e. moving your feet).

And I bet they know how to locate their man and box them out.

If we achieve those three things on a regular basis, we'll play lights out defense compared to Cal coached teams.

 

[Eight_Banners]

I hope Coach Pope smashes all naysayers but I must admit; I'm concerned on how well our defense will perform and will there be any focus on dribble-drive pentration for quick assists to the 4 and 5 positions. Part of my nervousness is not seeing Pope's previous coach teams (BYU and Utah Valley). He mentions his offense will shoot a lot of 3's but what about your defense, blocking shots and steals. We also need to be strong in this category.

One thing for sure is I can't wait for the season to start. Let's go BBN!

BYU's Defense in 2023-24:

KenPom: 31st
SRCBB: 78th

Top Defenders' Defensive Ratings (per 100 possessions):

Fousseyni Traore - 97.5
Spencer Johnson - 100.5
Richie Saunders - 100.7
Noah Waterman - 101.2

They had four or five pretty decent defensive players last year.


UK Defense for 2024-25 (using 2023-2024 stats):

Amari Williams - 92.1
Otega Oweh - 98.4
Lamont Butler, Jr. - 100.3
Brandon Garrison - 101.2
Andrew Carr - 103.2

Those are pretty comparable numbers from BYU last season to UK this season, with Williams and Oweh being the obvious exceptions as elite defenders.

The biggest concern will be Brea (106.1), Kriisa (116 - the worst on the team), and Almonor (108.5), as well as the unknown freshmen. However, Kriisa's best defensive year was 2021-22, where he was at 101.4 per 100 poss. That's not elite, but it's no slouch either. Koby Brea's best year was also 2021-22, where he posted a defensive rating of 98.7, which is trending toward elite level.

For comparison, Reed Sheppard was 103.1, Dillingham 109.8, Reeves 112.9, Edwards 110.4, Wagner 113.6. We will be light years ahead of the Kentucky 2023-24 team.

Defense will not be a concern this year.

 

[IL Wildcat]

The heart and soul of defense is attacking the other team's PG. With Butler we have the best defender in the nation at that category. We also have elite rim protectors. That's a strong core to start with. IMO we will be no worse than "good" on defense.

Yes, this is pretty much word for word what I was about to reply. The defense always begins with the point guard. Butler is more than just a good defender, he's excellent. Whoever listened to the media day heard Pope talking about Butler. He described Butler as the best on-ball defender in the nation. Now, that may be a little bit of hyperbole, but I doubt Pope would exaggerate that much if Butler were not excellent. Amari Williams was a 3-time CAA defensive player of the year at Drexel before coming to UK. Now, it's not SEC but 3-time defensive player of the year in ANY league tells me he's an excellent defender. The aforementioned Butler was 2-time Mountain West defensive player of the year. Otegah Oweh became known as a serious defensive stopper at Oklahoma, picking up the opponent's pg full court much of the season. Aside from this, the veterans on this team help me not worry about defense as much. There are 10 players on this team who are juniors, seniors, or grad students. These guys are mature and understand what it takes to win, which translates to defense. Last season, we were one of the youngest teams in the country, and it showed. This year, we'll be one of the oldest.

 

[NociHTTP]

I hope Coach Pope smashes all naysayers but I must admit; I'm concerned on how well our defense will perform and will there be any focus on dribble-drive pentration for quick assists to the 4 and 5 positions. Part of my nervousness is not seeing Pope's previous coach teams (BYU and Utah Valley). He mentions his offense will shoot a lot of 3's but what about your defense, blocking shots and steals. We also need to be strong in this category.

One thing for sure is I can't wait for the season to start. Let's go BBN!

You can easily see Pope's teams on YouTube.

 

[RunninRichie]

My biggest fear is we have no shot-creators.

 

[Kybluedude]

Will be be an elite rebounding team? Rebounding wins particularly in tourneys.

 

[storm1507]

I go back to the mid 70's. Last year was the worst KY team defensively that I remember. There may have been a mediocre team worse that I don't remember. I don't think defense should be a major concern this year.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

My biggest fear is if we will have enough room in the trophy case for #9.