Kyle Tucker- "Increasingly Likely that Oscar Returns"

[Montana81]

I think there are coaches that could field a dominant team and win a title with a guy like Oscar playing 30 minutes a game.

I do not think Cal is one of those coaches.

If i had my choice i’d keep Oscar and send Cal off into the sunset. I do not have my choice.

 

[NociHTTP]

I think there are coaches that could field a dominant team and win a title with a guy like Oscar playing 30 minutes a game.

I do not think Cal is one of those coaches.

If i had my choice i’d keep Oscar and send Cal off into the sunset. I do not have my choice.

This. You either get a guy in here who will actually play defense, and be able to generate offense, or you go with Oscar and replace that lazy, arrogant, rambling coach of his. The two are not mutually inclusive.

 

[JLoad22]

True. But I think it’s a hard argument to make this team is better and wins more with Ugonna getting significant mins over Oscar.

We produced quite a bit of wins in year one of Oscar

If Ugonna, Bradshaw and Ware are our three bigs next year, it’s gonna be a Lonngggg year. Need Oscar.

 

[dc513]

If Ugonna, Bradshaw and Ware are our three bigs next year, it’s gonna be a Lonngggg year. Need Oscar.

Amen.

 

[School boy]

Ugo was no where near as good as Ware last month. Ware is going to start at the 5 I'm telling you.

 

[Aike]

Aike why are you on that side of the argument?
What do you mean empty stats? Does that mean every player puts up empty stats? And Oscar would have better players than he ever had around him so he wouldn't need to be first option. Without him we def would've missed the tournament. His offensive rebounds gets us multiple shots.

Ah now I see why you're on that side, you don't think we can win a title with him correct? I respect your opinion though.

That’s pretty much it…I don’t see us winning a Title with him as our focal point. And I don’t see him comfortably sliding into a role where he isn’t the focal point.

I think if a light bulb was going to go off for him it would have gone off before last season.

By empty stats I mean pursuing rebounds out of position in a way that he either hurts our defense and/or just takes a rebound away from a teammate. Or forcing the ball on offense even when double/triple teamed.

Lot of bad blood recently as well. Would be nice to see a fresh start.

 

[jwheat]

That’s pretty much it…I don’t see us winning a Title with him as our focal point. And I don’t see him comfortably sliding into a role where he isn’t the focal point.

I think if a light bulb was going to go off for him it would have gone off before last season.

By empty stats I mean pursuing rebounds out of position in a way that he either hurts our defense and/or just takes a rebound away from a teammate. Or forcing the ball on offense even when double/triple teamed.

Lot of bad blood recently as well. Would be nice to see a fresh start.

So you think Oscar makes himself the focal point? I don’t think any of our players are out there making game plans or drawing up plays. I think Oscar would slide in to whatever role would help the team.

 

[K_TIME]

Disagree with everything said about the defensive stuff. Your reference is the Gonzaga game where he clearly was outplayed. Did you see everyone scoring on him in his other appearances? Oscar Tshiebwe is the worst defensive frontcourt player to play at Kentucky in the Calipari era since Kyle Wiltjer. Nobody outside of Oscar- holics would disagree with that take either.

Uh no

Olivier Sarr
Skal was pitiful
Marcus Lee could not get a rebound to save his life the year he manned the paint wjtb Murray and Ullis
The Nick Richard Fr year with all the dudes that we rotated in was awful

There is more to defending than shot blocking. Rebound the ball is rhe final step of defense always and that alone makes Oscar at least mediocre. Oscar never got bullied ball in holding the lane either. I get his lateral movement in ball screens was poor and no length…..but the dudes aforementioned had holes in their gemes as well

 

[nssdigitalchumps]

Uh no

Olivier Sarr
Skal was pitiful
Marcus Lee could not get a rebound to save his life the year he manned the paint wjtb Murray and Ullis
The Nick Richard Fr year with all the dudes that we rotated in was awful

There is more to defending than shot blocking. Rebound the ball is rhe final step of defense always and that alone makes Oscar at least mediocre. Oscar never got bullied ball in holding the lane either. I get his lateral movement in ball screens was poor and no length…..but the dudes aforementioned had holes in their gemes as well

Olivier had no business playing center. He didn't want to do that and Cal forced him. He was tall, but he was more comfortable playing the 4. Skal, totally right. Marcus Lee was a great shot blocker once he saw minutes. I don't care about his rebounds, he could block. Nick Richard as a sophomore was a presence in the paint.
Oscar doesn't really defend well. He shoots and rebounds well, but he can't defend. He doesn't have the height for it. He is like a gentle and cool Dennis Rodman (I know Rodman definitely was a physical player and would get in people's head -- I just mean his role on the court of a rebounder first).

Anyway, if Oscar returns and isn't our center, I'm more than okay with that because we get scoring, but maybe the defense comes from somewhere else. Ralph knows better than me, but this is my perspective.

 

[OmahaCats]

Love Oscar but he’s proven two years in a row we can’t win the SEC or go deep in March with him in the middle. It’s time for a change imo. His poor defense kills us.

You must not have watched both the tournament games that Kentucky lost these last two years

 

[OmahaCats]

Ugo was no where near as good as Ware last month. Ware is going to start at the 5 I'm telling you.

Lol no he’s not . He’s terrible

 

[School boy]

Lol no he’s not . He’s terrible

Ware wasn't better then Ugo in march? What were you watching? Ware may not be good but he's better then Ugonna.

 

[Aike]

So you think Oscar makes himself the focal point? I don’t think any of our players are out there making game plans or drawing up plays. I think Oscar would slide in to whatever role would help the team.

I don’t think anyone is telling him to go out of his way to knock teammates down to grab rebounds. I don’t think anyone is telling him to dribble into traffic and throw a fast break starting pass back out front.

I have my problems with the coaching, but problems are compounded when players don’t take to the coaching/try to do their own thing.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Ugo was no where near as good as Ware last month. Ware is going to start at the 5 I'm telling you.

If that is the case, we are doing nothing next season.

I think Cal will eventually be forced to play small ball with Bradshaw playing the 5. It will probably be his midseason tweak.

That’s probably the only way we make any noise, in that scenario. Ware won’t be the answer if Onyenso is not ready or we don’t get Tshiebwe back.

 

[The_Answer1313_rivals]

There is zero chance we are going into the season with Ware playing the 5.

 

[wildcatdon]

Ugo was no where near as good as Ware last month. Ware is going to start at the 5 I'm telling you.

Wrong.. gracious

 

[Montana81]

Yeah i can’t see Ware starting at the 5 with bradshaw and ugo on the roster. Cal loves Lance but i don’t think he’ll go that far.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

Yeah i can’t see Ware starting at the 5 with bradshaw and ugo on the roster. Cal loves Lance but i don’t think he’ll go that far.

Never say never with Cal lol. I highly doubt it but man he likes playing Lance.

 

[Jmeeks54thebest]

Olivier had no business playing center. He didn't want to do that and Cal forced him. He was tall, but he was more comfortable playing the 4. Skal, totally right. Marcus Lee was a great shot blocker once he saw minutes. I don't care about his rebounds, he could block. Nick Richard as a sophomore was a presence in the paint.
Oscar doesn't really defend well. He shoots and rebounds well, but he can't defend. He doesn't have the height for it. He is like a gentle and cool Dennis Rodman (I know Rodman definitely was a physical player and would get in people's head -- I just mean his role on the court of a rebounder first).

Anyway, if Oscar returns and isn't our center, I'm more than okay with that because we get scoring, but maybe the defense comes from somewhere else. Ralph knows better than me, but this is my perspective.

Sarr had all the business playing center. It’s what we needed and it’s why we recruited him. Sarr averaged 13.7 ppg and 9.0 rpg in his last season at WF while playing the 5. And that was in the ACC when the ACC was doing pretty well. As far as playing the 4 Sarr never averaged more than 0.8 3pt attempts per game and he never averaged better than 25% from 3. In his last season at WF he averaged 0.2 3pt attempts per game and made 14.3% of his attempts. I’m not sure why people think we recruited Sarr to be a face up 4 or why people think he had the resume to be a face up 4. Through 3 years of college he was very solidly a 5.

I’m not sure why Sarr suddenly forgot how to be a 5 here. But he did improve his face up game by averaging 44.4% from 3 on 1.1 attempts/game.

 

[Runnin'Ramel]

Latest on Oscar?

 

[Anon1723990757]

Actually healthy we probably win the SEC his first year and probably make a run. It’s not his fault we have lost man. It’s the 0-15 supporting cast members.

He's proved he's a all American you got be kidding. So we didn't win because of the player of the year. I would hate to see your roster. You cut all Americans

 

[maysvilleky]

If Cal would play a zone, how much would that help Oscar’s defense?

 

[BBallin23]

Latest on Oscar?

David Sisk thinks he comes back. Said Reeves is the wildcard.

 

[Tampa_cat54_rivals112262]

David Sisk thinks he comes back. Said Reeves is the wildcard.

Where TF would Reeves be going, exactly?

 

[bucsrule8872]

David Sisk thinks he comes back. Said Reeves is the wildcard.

I can live with that. We have really good guards coming in, so Reeves is less of a need.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

Sarr had all the business playing center. It’s what we needed and it’s why we recruited him. Sarr averaged 13.7 ppg and 9.0 rpg in his last season at WF while playing the 5. And that was in the ACC when the ACC was doing pretty well. As far as playing the 4 Sarr never averaged more than 0.8 3pt attempts per game and he never averaged better than 25% from 3. In his last season at WF he averaged 0.2 3pt attempts per game and made 14.3% of his attempts. I’m not sure why people think we recruited Sarr to be a face up 4 or why people think he had the resume to be a face up 4. Through 3 years of college he was very solidly a 5.

I’m not sure why Sarr suddenly forgot how to be a 5 here. But he did improve his face up game by averaging 44.4% from 3 on 1.1 attempts/game.

Sarr was soft as Charmin and one of the worst rebounding big men I’ve seen here. I don’t know why he excelled in the ACC but he wasn’t cut out for it here. I wanna forget that entire team honestly.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

David Sisk thinks he comes back. Said Reeves is the wildcard.

That would be so awesome, I want all 3 including Livingston back.

 

[Runnin'Ramel]

Oscar will have "Calipari type of talent" around him for the first time if he returns next season. I think people are overlooking this enormous factor when even suggesting they want to move on from Oscar at UK ... he was the focal point of the offense by necessity.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

Oscar will have "Calipari type of talent" around him for the first time if he returns next season. I think people are overlooking this enormous factor when even suggesting they want to move on from Oscar at UK ... he was the focal point of the offense by necessity.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

Seems like Kyle Tucker has been onto something here.

 

[Wildcats1st]

That would be so awesome, I want all 3 including Livingston back.

Livingston is gone. There won’t be a spot by the time he decides. I think he stays in the draft personally. I don’t think he’s interested in winning just getting to the league. I also think there are more well rounded players in the portal who will be more willing to do whatever it takes to win

 

[anon1751545683]

I think there are coaches that could field a dominant team and win a title with a guy like Oscar playing 30 minutes a game.

I do not think Cal is one of those coaches.

If i had my choice i’d keep Oscar and send Cal off into the sunset. I do not have my choice.

Right, he only was a 2 seed a season ago with only Oscar and an injured Tyty. Blew out Kansas, UNC and UT. Louisville was scared to play us so they sent Western in for the sacrifice.

So yeah, Cal is one of those coaches. In the HoF in fact.

 

[kyjeff1]

Right, he only was a 2 seed a season ago with only Oscar and an injured Tyty. Blew out Kansas, UNC and UT. Louisville was scared to play us so they sent Western in for the sacrifice.

So yeah, Cal is one of those coaches. In the HoF in fact.

LOL at you thinking Cal is in the HOF, because he’s a good coach. .