Poll: UK's Next Point Guard

[W1LDCAT22]

As the great news of Oscar returning next year has been announced, the dominoes have now started to fall. Now we can start recruiting the rest of our roster and filling the gaps.

Point guard is probably the most important position in college basketball, and it seems to have been put on the back burner momentarily as we have been waiting on the decisions of Oscar and Sharpe.

I am curious to know what BBN thinks of our outlook at PG next season and who they would like to see guide the ship for hopefully a deep run. Fortunately, it seems that we have a few options.

I do not feel confident with Wheeler manning the spot again next season. However the numbers may say otherwise, I was underwhelmed with Wheeler last year and hope we can upgrade the position, therefore I hope we look elsewhere for our next point guard.

Wallace, as I could very well be mistaken, should not be handed the huge responsibility of leading the team. To make his college transition much smoother, Cason should play the majority of the time off the ball while playing back-up occasionally. Although it isn't uncommon, most of the time freshmen have more growing pains when given the lead point guard duties, while it takes most of the season for them to get acclimated to the position and all of it's responsibilities. Therefore, I do not feel that CW is our answer next year.

Although I would be thrilled to have Dillingham reclassify and sign with UK, I believe the chances are small. I am unaware of any other high school recruits that are uncommitted that would be an upgrade over Wheeler. Again, I would be ecstatic to get Dillingham next year at the position, I just feel that it is very unlikely, so looking elsewhere would be ideal.

Could the transfer portal hold Kentucky's future PG? And could there be another gold nugget hiding in the portal, ala Oscar Tshiebwe? I doubt the latter is doable, but I do believe we can grab an efficient point guard there that is also a major upgrade from Wheeler. I feel this is our best bet at filling the position, and I also have my personal favorite. I would love to get Tyrese Hunter from Iowa State, or another PG of his stature. We need more scorers at all positions, and specifically ones that can facilitate like Hunter at point guard. Defenses definitely couldn't sag like they did with Wheeler, and would miraculously open up the offense. The kid is a big time player, who isn't afraid of the bright lights on the big stage. This is something that would definitely be refreshing for Kentucky.

Do we already have our PG for next season on the team? Is there something I am missing that can presumably lead the team? If someone thinks we do, I just don't see it. Therefore, Cal and company needs to immediately turn their full attention to the position and find our point guard elsewhere.

Time is ticking..

 

[bnewt]

UK must have a dependable point guard that can score
hopefully one will come from the portal along with a back up for Oscar
landing Miller and Reeves would be a good start, plus maybe the Miller kid
from LSU that was hurt last year. He was pretty talented prior to his injury
would also be nice to have a forward that could rebound & score consistently

 

[SpamburgerHamburger_rivals101482]

I still think Wheeler is a really good point guard. Just can't be the guy having to create basket for himself in crunch time. Look how great we played when Tyty could do that for us. I'm def fine with taking another PG, specially one that can play the 2 if need be, but I wouldn't be running Wheeler out of town.

 

[WhosInTheHouseTonightUK]

What happened to kids willing to compete for minutes. They should know Couch Cal is so cool, Kentucky is the place to be. BBN help y’all go viral on TwitterTok brothas.

 

[stuway]

Wheeler and Wallace combo. Next question

 

[jessieshorts8]

I'm holding out hope for Dillingham.

 

[Gromcat_rivals]

Wheeler is a great asset to a team just not from the standpoint of leading for an entire season. You can’t have the ball in his hands down the stretch in the NCAA tournament. He’s already shown he’s not that caliber.

If Wheeler is the starter and garners all of the minutes during the tournament we will not win a championship that way.

 

[catsfanbgky]

OP I may be wrong. But I do NOT think there is a MAJOR upgrade over Wheeler in the portal. The kid has been pretty damn solid. Yes he plays out of control at times and makes unforced errors. BUT when the offense let's him work by driving it, he is very good. Several games at the end of the year he carried us. He was very good at making that little runner up and under, or dishing at the last minute after the defense committed to him finding the open man. Not to mention a solid 80+% free-throw shooter, very tenacious hounding his man for 60 feet, picking the opposing guards pocket. He is better at playing a more uptempo, trapping pressing style. It is not a coincidence that we looked like a dominate team when Wheeler lead us in uptempo, higher scoring games for the middle and latter part of the season. He is not a great half court PG and last year neither was the team. Give me the guy who you never have to question his motor. Wants to win, and mistakes are from TRYING. Not laziness. JMO.

 

[catsfanbgky]

He has a nearly 2.5-1 assist to turnover ratio, 7 assist per game. 3 turnovers. We haven't had many average 7 assist per game, several to average 3 to's per game. He is a two time all sec pg. let's not act like he is Devin Askew or Ryan Harrow. Wheeler ia far from one of our biggest worries. I do admit he needs to play under control a bit more but he handles the ball a ton and let's not forget he had a couple injuries he had to fight thru.

 

[KentuckyMildCats]

I like wheeler as the backup PG, he'd be perfect in that role but probably not gonna happen.

 

[BBallin23]

Every good insider is saying Wherlers back, so this is a useless thread.

 

[Padsfs07]

Dillingham, like Wagner, is born in 2005. I don't see either of them re-classifying. For reference, Sharpe is 2 years older being born in May of 03, while Wallace was born in November of 03, still over a year older than Dillingham. Dillingham wouldn't turn 18 until January of 2023.

 

[K_TIME]

Wheeler is a great asset to a team just not from the standpoint of leading for an entire season. You can’t have the ball in his hands down the stretch in the NCAA tournament. He’s already shown he’s not that caliber.

If Wheeler is the starter and garners all of the minutes during the tournament we will not win a championship that way.

I agree...but you can't Wheeler as starting PG and then argue he cant' be on floor at end of games. We all should be realistic....he's a backup PG for an top 10 team...not a starting PG. And why it's so vital to get him down from 32+ minutes a game is he's so easy to gameplan for with the ball in his hands so much. Teams will just simply go under every ball screen, sag off him to double post/clog up driving lanes. You just can't hide a poor shooting guard like you can a bigman or even a wing player. Just can't trust Cal to do the right thing.

 

[Wildcats1st]

I don’t know why anyone would give him another shot. It’s like the niners clinging to garrapolo when they have a Super Bowl team or if the browns had run with mayfield. This season needs to be a title season. Wheeler isn’t and never will be the guy. Wheeler off the bench if cal wants to save his job. If he wants to cling his hope to wheeler see ya cal.

 

[Blue63Madison]

As the great news of Oscar returning next year has been announced, the dominoes have now started to fall. Now we can start recruiting the rest of our roster and filling the gaps.

Point guard is probably the most important position in college basketball, and it seems to have been put on the back burner momentarily as we have been waiting on the decisions of Oscar and Sharpe.

I am curious to know what BBN thinks of our outlook at PG next season and who they would like to see guide the ship for hopefully a deep run. Fortunately, it seems that we have a few options.

I do not feel confident with Wheeler manning the spot again next season. However the numbers may say otherwise, I was underwhelmed with Wheeler last year and hope we can upgrade the position, therefore I hope we look elsewhere for our next point guard.

Wallace, as I could very well be mistaken, should not be handed the huge responsibility of leading the team. To make his college transition much smoother, Cason should play the majority of the time off the ball while playing back-up occasionally. Although it isn't uncommon, most of the time freshmen have more growing pains when given the lead point guard duties, while it takes most of the season for them to get acclimated to the position and all of it's responsibilities. Therefore, I do not feel that CW is our answer next year.

Although I would be thrilled to have Dillingham reclassify and sign with UK, I believe the chances are small. I am unaware of any other high school recruits that are uncommitted that would be an upgrade over Wheeler. Again, I would be ecstatic to get Dillingham next year at the position, I just feel that it is very unlikely, so looking elsewhere would be ideal.

Could the transfer portal hold Kentucky's future PG? And could there be another gold nugget hiding in the portal, ala Oscar Tshiebwe? I doubt the latter is doable, but I do believe we can grab an efficient point guard there that is also a major upgrade from Wheeler. I feel this is our best bet at filling the position, and I also have my personal favorite. I would love to get Tyrese Hunter from Iowa State, or another PG of his stature. We need more scorers at all positions, and specifically ones that can facilitate like Hunter at point guard. Defenses definitely couldn't sag like they did with Wheeler, and would miraculously open up the offense. The kid is a big time player, who isn't afraid of the bright lights on the big stage. This is something that would definitely be refreshing for Kentucky.

Do we already have our PG for next season on the team? Is there something I am missing that can presumably lead the team? If someone thinks we do, I just don't see it. Therefore, Cal and company needs to immediately turn their full attention to the position and find our point guard elsewhere.

Time is ticking..

We were the best team in the country mid season — with Wheeler running the show. It was only when Cal reigned in the offense late in the regular season that the train ran off the tracks.

 

[EmCats3]

It will be Wheeler but we would be much better off with a score first PG like Dillingham or even the Davis kid from Detroit. Wheeler’s strong suit is in transition and it was clear that by tournament time Cal is pulling the reigns on that. It was proven this year that Wheeler is a liability in a slowed down game. While he is talented and a pretty decent traditional PG, that position is overrated in todays game

 

[senonesy]

I agree...but you can't Wheeler as starting PG and then argue he cant' be on floor at end of games. We all should be realistic....he's a backup PG for an top 10 team...not a starting PG. And why it's so vital to get him down from 32+ minutes a game is he's so easy to gameplan for with the ball in his hands so much. Teams will just simply go under every ball screen, sag off him to double post/clog up driving lanes. You just can't hide a poor shooting guard like you can a bigman or even a wing player. Just can't trust Cal to do the right thing.

What do you mean he isn’t a PG in a top ten team? He was a PG for a top 5 team, that almost secured a #1 seed. Sure he made a couple mistakes late in the game against St Pete’s, but he was solid for most of the year. With the right supporting cast, Wheeler can get it done.

 

[jessieshorts8]

What do you mean he isn’t a PG in a top ten team? He was a PG for a top 5 team, that almost secured a #1 seed. Sure he made a couple mistakes late in the game against St Pete’s, but he was solid for most of the year. With the right supporting cast, Wheeler can get it done.

You mean surrounded by shooters including a stretch 4 which Cal won't do?

 

[ck-2]

We were the best team in the country mid season — with Wheeler running the show. It was only when Cal reigned in the offense late in the regular season that the train ran off the tracks.

See IMO we looked like the best team in the country in three games TN, UNC, and Kansas, the rest of the season we weren’t
TN beat us like a drum twice after that and I didn’t see us beating UNC or Kansas again either.
Those three wins were great, but they weren’t who this team really was.

 

[Wildcats1st]

What do you mean he isn’t a PG in a top ten team? He was a PG for a top 5 team, that almost secured a #1 seed. Sure he made a couple mistakes late in the game against St Pete’s, but he was solid for most of the year. With the right supporting cast, Wheeler can get it done.

uK ended the season at number 17 so no he wasnt the pg on a top 10 team. That’s what everyone is referring to where we ended not some random point in the season. And no wheeler can’t get it done. Cal already screwed the pooch once sticking with wheeler when he had a real stud pg you know a guy who had 17 assists and 2 turnovers in a game breaking the single UK assist record. Fool me once well cal gets fooled a lot. That stretch people refer too there were alot of bench minutes for wheeler. The UK media talked about how great we were with three legit shooters on the floor. This isn’t brain surgery wheeler wants to be at UK it’s as a bench player in the opinion of many

 

[senonesy]

You mean surrounded by shooters including a stretch 4 which Cal won't do?

uK ended the season at number 17 so no he wasnt the pg on a top 10 team. That’s what everyone is referring to where we ended not some random point in the season.

You are right, He was the PG on a top 5 team heading to the tournament. Which if you could read, is what I said in my original post. St Pete loss was a fluke and I don’t blame that loss on Wheeler.

 

[kentuckycriedfricken]

What happened to kids willing to compete for minutes. They should know Couch Cal is so cool, Kentucky is the place to be. BBN help y’all go viral on TwitterTok brothas.

I know this was unintentional, but I lol'd

 

[jessieshorts8]

You are right, He was the PG on a top 5 team heading to the tournament. Which if you could read, is what I said in my original post. St Pete loss was a fluke and I don’t blame that loss on Wheeler.

Of course it's not all on him but his six turnovers sure helped.

 

[senonesy]

uK ended the season at number 17 so no he wasnt the pg on a top 10 team. That’s what everyone is referring to where we ended not some random point in the season. And no wheeler can’t get it done. Cal already screwed the pooch once sticking with wheeler when he had a real stud pg you know a guy who had 17 assists and 2 turnovers in a game breaking the single UK assist record. Fool me once well cal gets fooled a lot. That stretch people refer too there were alot of bench minutes for wheeler. The UK media talked about how great we were with three legit shooters on the floor. This isn’t brain surgery wheeler wants to be at UK it’s as a bench player in the opinion of many

Yeah Ty Ty would have been great at PG down the stretch seeing as he could barely run or jump at the end of the season.

 

[Wildcats1st]

You are right, He was the PG on a top 5 team heading to the tournament. Which if you could read, is what I said in my original post. St Pete loss was a fluke and I don’t blame that loss on Wheeler.

Michigan was a top 5 team at one point last year. So was Michigan st. None of that means jack it where you end up and Uk was not a top 10 team. Being top 10 mid season is worthless and that’s what you’ll get with wheeler down the stretch. A tired worn out overweight short pg who is great running and gunning but the worst half court pg of the calipari era. It’s always the cal slurpers who cling to wheeler it’s like they are linked at the hip.

 

[Wildcats1st]

Yeah Ty Ty would have been great at PG down the stretch seeing as he could barely run or jump at the end of the season.

If he had been pg all season he would have been fine.

 

[Smooth86_rivals109737]

Wheeler and Wallace are a good 1-2 punch as PG.. we need a SG to fulfill TYTY and Mintz spot… we have fredrick but I’m not sure you fully rely on him after not playing a whole year.. I’m thinking Antonio Reaves will play the 2-3.. Get him, and another 2 guards, and PF,C this is assuming Sharpe is gone..

 

[bucsrule8872]

If Cal wants a legitimate shot at a title, Wallace should be the PG. He is an elite level talent. Wheeler is not. Wheeler is perfect coming off the bench as a spark plug, but he isn’t a championship level PG. I would love to be proven wrong on this one. I love Wheeler’s heart, just realize that he has some physical (5’8) and skill set (shooting) deficiencies that will keep him from ever being more than just a serviceable college PG.

 

[bigsmoothie]

We were the best team in the country mid season — with Wheeler running the show. It was only when Cal reigned in the offense late in the regular season that the train ran off the tracks.

It was when Washington got hurt and Grady forgot how to shoot.

 

[Col. Angus]

5 is the same as 1 and 2.

 

[Rupp'sRunt]

OP I may be wrong. But I do NOT think there is a MAJOR upgrade over Wheeler in the portal. The kid has been pretty damn solid. Yes he plays out of control at times and makes unforced errors. BUT when the offense let's him work by driving it, he is very good. Several games at the end of the year he carried us. He was very good at making that little runner up and under, or dishing at the last minute after the defense committed to him finding the open man. Not to mention a solid 80+% free-throw shooter, very tenacious hounding his man for 60 feet, picking the opposing guards pocket. He is better at playing a more uptempo, trapping pressing style. It is not a coincidence that we looked like a dominate team when Wheeler lead us in uptempo, higher scoring games for the middle and latter part of the season. He is not a great half court PG and last year neither was the team. Give me the guy who you never have to question his motor. Wants to win, and mistakes are from TRYING. Not laziness. JMO.

Pack and Davis would be significant upgrades to wheeler

 

[Rupp'sRunt]

It was when Washington got hurt and Grady forgot how to shoot.

You mean when Washington got hurt and then Cal played Grady 39 minutes a game and then he got planter fasciitis in BOTH feet while not playing sharpe at all to protect his draft status.

 

[catsfanbgky]

Pack and Davis would be significant upgrades to wheeler

Scorers yes. Have they said uk is a possibility? If not then no there is not

 

[Rupp'sRunt]

Scorers yes. Have they said uk is a possibility? If not then no there is not

Sorry I have a hard time believing transfers are just brushing off UK to go to lesser teams.

 

[bigsmoothie]

You mean when Washington got hurt and then Cal played Grady 39 minutes a game and then he got planter fasciitis in BOTH feet while not playing sharpe at all to protect his draft status.

So now foot problems are Cal’s fault. You guys never change.

 

[Rupp'sRunt]

So now foot problems are Cal’s fault. You guys never change.

Playing someone with foot problems 39 minutes a game when you have possibly the best player on the team not playing and can spell him isn’t a coaching problem? Ed how many of them are left at the retard store bc I’d like to buy them and throw them in the wood chipper

 

[catsfanbgky]

Well

Sorry I have a hard time believing transfers are just brushing off UK to go to lesser teams.

Well why aren't they signed up ? By the way, your boy averaged 4.1 assist and 2.7 turnovers per game. Wheeler 7 assist and 3 turnovers per game. Like I said he is a better SCORING pg.

 

[Rupp'sRunt]

Well

Well why aren't they signed up ? By the way, your boy averaged 4.1 assist and 2.7 turnovers per game. Wheeler 7 assist and 3 turnovers per game. Like I said he is a better SCORING pg.

Wheeler is also 5’8 on a good day and can’t defend or create his own shot. I’ll take scoring and defending over a little better passing 10/10 times. If you’re that small you better be ulis good, he’s not even close.

 

[fs-ripcord65]

UK must have a dependable point guard that can score !
. . . .

You nailed it with this one statement, Newt ! Wheeler just can't cut the mustard. I don't know what / who the answer is ... but it ain't Wheeler. Just MHO, of course.

And, whatever the PG situation ... Go 'Cats ! ! !

 

[JC CATS]

As the great news of Oscar returning next year has been announced, the dominoes have now started to fall. Now we can start recruiting the rest of our roster and filling the gaps.

Point guard is probably the most important position in college basketball, and it seems to have been put on the back burner momentarily as we have been waiting on the decisions of Oscar and Sharpe.

I am curious to know what BBN thinks of our outlook at PG next season and who they would like to see guide the ship for hopefully a deep run. Fortunately, it seems that we have a few options.

I do not feel confident with Wheeler manning the spot again next season. However the numbers may say otherwise, I was underwhelmed with Wheeler last year and hope we can upgrade the position, therefore I hope we look elsewhere for our next point guard.

Wallace, as I could very well be mistaken, should not be handed the huge responsibility of leading the team. To make his college transition much smoother, Cason should play the majority of the time off the ball while playing back-up occasionally. Although it isn't uncommon, most of the time freshmen have more growing pains when given the lead point guard duties, while it takes most of the season for them to get acclimated to the position and all of it's responsibilities. Therefore, I do not feel that CW is our answer next year.

Although I would be thrilled to have Dillingham reclassify and sign with UK, I believe the chances are small. I am unaware of any other high school recruits that are uncommitted that would be an upgrade over Wheeler. Again, I would be ecstatic to get Dillingham next year at the position, I just feel that it is very unlikely, so looking elsewhere would be ideal.

Could the transfer portal hold Kentucky's future PG? And could there be another gold nugget hiding in the portal, ala Oscar Tshiebwe? I doubt the latter is doable, but I do believe we can grab an efficient point guard there that is also a major upgrade from Wheeler. I feel this is our best bet at filling the position, and I also have my personal favorite. I would love to get Tyrese Hunter from Iowa State, or another PG of his stature. We need more scorers at all positions, and specifically ones that can facilitate like Hunter at point guard. Defenses definitely couldn't sag like they did with Wheeler, and would miraculously open up the offense. The kid is a big time player, who isn't afraid of the bright lights on the big stage. This is something that would definitely be refreshing for Kentucky.

Do we already have our PG for next season on the team? Is there something I am missing that can presumably lead the team? If someone thinks we do, I just don't see it. Therefore, Cal and company needs to immediately turn their full attention to the position and find our point guard elsewhere.

Time is ticking..

Why so much hate for Bob Cousy finalist?