Recruit and buy the super star first then you buy the supporting roster around him players want to play with the best because it lifts their game also.
Ìs Stokes Worth 3-4 players
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They’re paying him the same amount no matter where he goes, No raise to go to a Nike school. Would be nice though. We have enough money and endorsements for him if he wants it. I just hope he becomes a Cat. He’s the real deal and a team guy at the same time. Just a Win first mentality.
For all we know they couldn’t stand each other. Zoom is ok but he just doesn’t move the needle like Wright and honestly The kid from LSU when healthy was a beast and plays to win. Now if they’re best friends or something I guess it would be ok but other than that I think we can do better. Mark is going to go after who he wants tho so we’ll see.
He’s probably worth that if the money is right on how much everyone is asking. He definitely a leader and is going to get paid big. I say get him and build.
And Oscar. I kinda put Oscar and Randle more as Centers on their teams though. Damn we’ve had more talent than anyone by 20 fold. Amazing to only win one. Thank goodness for that one I guess. lol.
What do you care? It’s not even your money.
Would the Spurs trade Wemby for two guys? A superstar plays one position and they you get 4 other guys in the floor. Two guys take up two spots on the floor and then you only get three more. You take the production from the one over the two.
Pay him whatever it takes. Then pay for the rest as needed.
Pope has an unlimited budget.
Money is not the problem here. But money can help mask the problem.
Pope has an unlimited budget.
Money is not the problem here. But money can help mask the problem.
Pay the man. Stokes will be one of the best passers in college next year, on top of all the other things he is really good at.
I just don't think he is elite enough to spend that kind of money. If we're spending that much on any one person, it needs to be in the portal so we are guaranteed to have a star.
Here is the real problem: Pope wont be able to handle his personality or his team unless the kid is just a saint. We already saw him flop miserably trying to manage jq and his family. Beyond that, he couldn't manage all the playing time expectations until enough people got hurt or sat out to make the decisions for him.
So if we pay anyone this much, Pope is going to be just tossing that player the keys and will be a spectator on a team he's supposed to run.
Here is the real problem: Pope wont be able to handle his personality or his team unless the kid is just a saint. We already saw him flop miserably trying to manage jq and his family. Beyond that, he couldn't manage all the playing time expectations until enough people got hurt or sat out to make the decisions for him.
So if we pay anyone this much, Pope is going to be just tossing that player the keys and will be a spectator on a team he's supposed to run.
This reminds me of fantasy football when someone offers you three decent-to-good players for your running back who is leading the league in points. Like yeah your three guys total more points than my one, but everyone has decent players and I have the best player. FOH
I don’t know how good Stokes is, other than he’s ranked #1 and has cool highlights. But UK has enough money to pay big money for a great player and still round out the roster with plenty of talent. “Is Stokes worth three players” isn’t the right question. Is Stokes + the two guys you can afford after you pay him worth more than the three players you could afford without paying him? Who knows but let’s start by getting Stokes and find out.
I don’t know how good Stokes is, other than he’s ranked #1 and has cool highlights. But UK has enough money to pay big money for a great player and still round out the roster with plenty of talent. “Is Stokes worth three players” isn’t the right question. Is Stokes + the two guys you can afford after you pay him worth more than the three players you could afford without paying him? Who knows but let’s start by getting Stokes and find out.
A chain is as strong as its weakest link. So if we get Stokes can he play PG, PF, sF, and the 5. If this fan base is about Championships and March do you put all your hopes in one player. IMHO this fanbase like winning through the season plus they the coach a a failure if they bomb in the tourney. That attitude is hard for any coach which teams like UK and UNC to find a coach who wants that in 2026.
Would rather use 8 million to build and retain a team.
Just not certain one star player is enough of a guarantee.
Then you factor in he’s gone to the draft with that money that could have been spread among a couple dudes who’d return.
Just not certain one star player is enough of a guarantee.
Then you factor in he’s gone to the draft with that money that could have been spread among a couple dudes who’d return.
From what I've read & heard, Zoom is more athletic & he's 6'4", shoots the 3 at 31.5%, that to me screams Lamont Butler because that's almost exactly his 3 point shooting stats when he arrived here. More athletic to me sounds like he should be able to also play defense & being 6'4" will definitely help with this. Robert Wright is 6'1", not much of a difference in height but is said to shoot more than he passes, however, hitting the 3 at a 41% clip is why but it can also turn a player into a ball hog more than a true PG. Either player will be fine for me though. I'm not gonna be a "Debbie Downer" about this recruiting/portal cycle for 1 reason, 2 actually.
1. Pope knows he has to get it right this time & he's gonna be hell bent in doing so. He couldn't run his offense last season because of the lack of defense in year 1, he tried to correct that & it didn't work. He's now going back to spacing the floor & finding players that can shoot, pass & create.
2. Keegan Brown helped him build the 1st team here with players that fit his system & now he's on our staff. I think this year's team will be built even more suited for the offense Pope runs.
Most likely not, plus reports on this kid have been he is a locker room killer, do we really think UK can overcome that.
First of all, you are assuming it is an Either / Or proposition.
A quality team needs a minimum of 2, probably 3, but at most 4 "studs", elite guys who can go get you a bucket when you need one. You simply aren't getting more than 4 because there are only so many shots to go around (and players know/see this). But even getting 4 is tough.
Stokes appears to be one of these (studs). And I don't think getting him stops you from getting 2 more. If you have a hard spending cap, then maybe it lowers the quality of the 5th-6th-7th guy you add (who will be the 7th-8th-9th guy on the roster). But I'm ok with that.
There's no reason we can't do something like:
6M Stokes (F)
5M Wright (PG)
3M Murauskas (PF)
2M Zoom (CG)
1.5M Bizjack (SG)
1.5 Gwath (PF/C)
With Moreno 2.5M, KamW 1M, Hawthorne 0.3M, Noah 0.1M, Potter 0.1M
Total = 23M
Now if we really are going to be limited to something like 15-18M, maybe 5M+ on any one guy needs to be re-thought (I would value Wright > Stokes).
Anybody gonna watch the NIKE Hoops Summit game tomorrow night to see if Stokes says anything?
I hear you, but I think these guys do not give a rip about being retained.
Since nobody really knows the amount Would you pay Boozer, Peterson or Dybansta this amount.
No because I don't think he's on their level. So its going to take more pieces to move the needle.
Id much rather get a foreign 7 footer like the ones who dominated last season.
No Freshman has led a team to a title in 11 years. But we also haven’t seen anyone win a title while retaining 30% of their minutes year over year and Michigan just did it. I’m open to going all in on Stokes. It’d be different if we had a bunch of guys returning but we don’t. Just go for it.
If we were to land wright , stokes diallo, Freeman
That's as solid as any team in the country
U give 16 million for those 4 and not blink twice
Or leave out diallo and give 13
That's as solid as any team in the country
U give 16 million for those 4 and not blink twice
Or leave out diallo and give 13
Stokes is worth 2 good players at 6 million. And yes, hes worth every penny.
Hes probably an 18-20ppg scorer but he's also proof Pope can get elite talent out of high school so getting him hits more than 1 nail on the head.
If we get Stokes, boosters will give Pope more money to fill out the roster. It wont be Stokes and 4 local guys from the YMCA. It'll be Stokes as the center piece of a very strong team.
For comparison with your logic, I still would have traded Garrsion, Hawthorne, Potter, Johnson, Noah and Mo D last year for Stokes. Aberdeen, Chandler, Oweh, Stokes, Moreno with Kam Williams and Jelly off the bench would have been a better team by far.
Hes probably an 18-20ppg scorer but he's also proof Pope can get elite talent out of high school so getting him hits more than 1 nail on the head.
If we get Stokes, boosters will give Pope more money to fill out the roster. It wont be Stokes and 4 local guys from the YMCA. It'll be Stokes as the center piece of a very strong team.
For comparison with your logic, I still would have traded Garrsion, Hawthorne, Potter, Johnson, Noah and Mo D last year for Stokes. Aberdeen, Chandler, Oweh, Stokes, Moreno with Kam Williams and Jelly off the bench would have been a better team by far.
You are plugging Stokes into (probably) Dioubate's spot on the roster. There's no question it is an upgrade. Dioubate just wasn't a threat to score, and allowed teams to drop coverage on everyone except maybe Chandler and Aberdeen. Stokes can still hit that outside shot, so you can't just leave him. Rather than being static with his back to the basket up top, Stokes can handle the ball and make every pass to trigger the offense. If you put a smaller player on him, he can iso and post them. If you put a bigger post player on him, he's gonna make a move and get by them.
No idea where it's coming from, but some of the Stokes money has been set aside. If we don't land 'em, it won't be used. Maybe that's a portion from Nike. No idea.
Kentucky simply has to overspend at this time, at least until we get a coach like Dusty May or Dan Hurley where kids are lining up to get into your system.
If Mark Pope is the coach, then yes. With his job on the line, he needs some DUDES and not "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts" approach.