My thoughts on the team after 1.5 games

[Jamal Mercerr]

1. Mason Williams is going to be difficult to keep on the bench (at least he should be)
2. Malachi Moreno is the weakest big man UK has ever had. Couldn’t win a 50/50 ball if his life depended on it.
3. Our defense looked pretty good IMO. Would help if we had a shot blocker, but TT did have some nice finishes.
4. Kam Williams will be a massive help.
5. Diallo isn’t my cup of tea
6. Milan’s shot is beautiful.
7. Ndaiye is going to have some big games.
8. Mcbride and Kepnang…….eh.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Williams need to be starting in the opener. If he isnt, some weird stuff going on.

 

[CELTICAT]

Washington paying us back for sending them Brooks and Wheeler

 

[WilmoreCat]

Rebounding is a major concern.

 

[Jamal Mercerr]

I can’t get over Moreno being weaker than me.

 

[Bernie4blue]

Rebounding is a major concern.

Gotta want it.

 

[MonsterMash79]

last year of this trash

 

[ala_kat2]

Diallo needs benching. Damn, I thought he would be better.

 

[FLBBNFAN]

Williams need to be starting in the opener. If he isnt, some weird stuff going on.

Another game like tonight and the last game makes it difficult to explain why he isn't starting when we open the season.

 

[rick64]

Hey Mo definitely should be starting.

 

[Chadrock]

1. Mason Williams is going to be difficult to keep on the bench (at least he should be)
2. Malachi Moreno is the weakest big man UK has ever had. Couldn’t win a 50/50 ball if his life depended on it.
3. Our defense looked pretty good IMO. Would help if we had a shot blocker, but TT did have some nice finishes.
4. Kam Williams will be a massive help.
5. Diallo isn’t my cup of tea
6. Milan’s shot is beautiful.
7. Ndaiye is going to have some big games.
8. Mcbride and Kepnang…….eh.

Don't forget Noah coming back.

 

[KyCPA2000]

We beat the number 19 team missing a key player at home. That tells me we are ranked right about where we should be, given home court advantage. Could be a few spots lower possibly but the ranking is about where it should be.

 

[OliverSimmonsTwinBrother]

I caught the last few minutes on some pirated arabic stream on YT.

اعتقدت أن مظهرنا كان جيداً جداً!

 

[TFCat11]

Williams need to be starting in the opener. If he isnt, some weird stuff going on.

Best freshman guard in the country!

 

[megablue]

Williams need to be starting in the opener. If he isnt, some weird stuff going on.

He may end up being Pope's Reed Sheppard.

 

[Coach777]

So we spend millions to get the best 3pt shooter in the country and he only gets 4 attempts. Anybody else thinks this is a problem? Just didn’t see any plays designed to get him open.

 

[bbnkat02]

So we spend millions to get the best 3pt shooter in the country and he only gets 4 attempts. Anybody else thinks this is a problem? Just didn’t see any plays designed to get him open.

He had a similar problem at IST. Teams are going to key on him. And double him.

 

[KYAnywhereEverywhere]

I saw one thing I haven't seen with Pope's teams before. Initiating contact, etting fouled, and just throwing up shots to get the free throws. That's probably an individual player mentality, but we have a few on the team willing to do it.

 

[KYAnywhereEverywhere]

So we spend millions to get the best 3pt shooter in the country and he only gets 4 attempts. Anybody else thinks this is a problem? Just didn’t see any plays designed to get him open.

To be fair, I didn't really see him running around trying to get open.

 

[chattanogawildcat]

Diallo needs benching. Damn, I thought he would be better.

He was benched. Hope he improves immensely.

 

[Cats4321]

The only thing I have been able to determine is that the floor for this team is pretty high. Can't see this team being bad. I also haven't seen enough to think we will be top tier. Not saying it's impossible by any means,..there's just a lot of question that won't be answered for several weeks.

 

[Bleedin Blue in Ohio]

After 2 scrimmage games so I will really reserve judgment until real games are played. I do not think you can draw conclusions on a team 1 way or the other in scrimmage games. Mason Williams has great instincts for the game. He seems to understand his strengths and weaknesses and how to use the strengths to his advantage. He is an exciting player. This will be Coach Pope's best defensive team with its length. They seem to cause shooters problems and get into passing lanes. There are shooters on this team and there will be nights that I think this team will be able to shoot another team out of the gym. Moreno needs to be more consistent. He must provide in the paint scoring. If he does, then shooters will get open looks. If he does not, I think teams will try to run this team off the 3-point line. That is where the ability to score off the drive will be very important. Rebounding will be this team's biggest question mark. If they can rebound, they can have a great season. If they struggle to rebound and get beat on the glass, then they will struggle in many games especially in SEC play.

 

[HolySmokes]

Thank God Popes prized three star recruit was underrated. Seriously im glad. Hes the only pg on the team.

 

[Cleatortoises]

1. Mason Williams is going to be difficult to keep on the bench (at least he should be)
2. Malachi Moreno is the weakest big man UK has ever had. Couldn’t win a 50/50 ball if his life depended on it.
3. Our defense looked pretty good IMO. Would help if we had a shot blocker, but TT did have some nice finishes.
4. Kam Williams will be a massive help.
5. Diallo isn’t my cup of tea
6. Milan’s shot is beautiful.
7. Ndaiye is going to have some big games.
8. Mcbride and Kepnang…….eh.

2. We had Rob Lock
Just stop.

 

[Jamal Mercerr]

2. We had Rob Lock
Just stop.

lol. I saw Lock play. He could hold onto a rebound in traffic.

 

[megablue]

My only thought after 2 EXH games is I hope we will be much better than we've shown.

 

[so_obvious]

I am gonna name my kid Zooooooom. Wait it out until I can retire with whatever NIL he gets

 

[Anon1739778738]

Wilkins and Ndiaye must be more consistent with their shooting for us to have a good season.

 

[SkyPrince]

1. Mason Williams is going to be difficult to keep on the bench (at least he should be)
2. Malachi Moreno is the weakest big man UK has ever had. Couldn’t win a 50/50 ball if his life depended on it.
3. Our defense looked pretty good IMO. Would help if we had a shot blocker, but TT did have some nice finishes.
4. Kam Williams will be a massive help.
5. Diallo isn’t my cup of tea
6. Milan’s shot is beautiful.
7. Ndaiye is going to have some big games.
8. Mcbride and Kepnang…….eh.

You can add Hawthorne to #8.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

1. Mason Williams is going to be difficult to keep on the bench (at least he should be)
2. Malachi Moreno is the weakest big man UK has ever had. Couldn’t win a 50/50 ball if his life depended on it.
3. Our defense looked pretty good IMO. Would help if we had a shot blocker, but TT did have some nice finishes.
4. Kam Williams will be a massive help.
5. Diallo isn’t my cup of tea
6. Milan’s shot is beautiful.
7. Ndaiye is going to have some big games.
8. Mcbride and Kepnang…….eh.

I think you are being a bit over the top with the Moreno criticism. I think his strength is still somewhat of an issue but are you old enough to remember Skal Labissiere for just one example of a weaker big man at UK?

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

Hey Mo definitely should be starting.

For LSU?

 

[storm1507]

So we spend millions to get the best 3pt shooter in the country and he only gets 4 attempts. Anybody else thinks this is a problem? Just didn’t see any plays designed to get him open.

That's what stood out to me. No true point guard that understands his job to get him shots.

Also, was happy to see Wilkins turn the switch sometime during the game and played good defense the rest of the way.

 

[Wildcatmenace]

last year of this trash

But keep Mason and Mo

 

[MichaelGray]

lol. I saw Lock play. He could hold onto a rebound in traffic.

Rob Lock improved quite a bit by his senior year.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Rob Lock improved quite a bit by his senior year.

Moreno is barely a sophomore so weird comparison anyways IMO.

 

[Bernie4blue]

I saw one thing I haven't seen with Pope's teams before. Initiating contact, etting fouled, and just throwing up shots to get the free throws. That's probably an individual player mentality, but we have a few on the team willing to do it.

Yeah, noticed that too. But I doubt Pope taught them that. They learned that elsewhere along the way.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

Washington paying us back for sending them Brooks and Wheeler

These are the players to be named later lol.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

So we spend millions to get the best 3pt shooter in the country and he only gets 4 attempts. Anybody else thinks this is a problem? Just didn’t see any plays designed to get him open.

I do I do!

 

[southernsodbuster]

Mason Williams is better than either of the guards that started, too much dribbling out of them. We need more movement without the ball, Milan stands in around too much on offense he needs to be moving constantly if he is going to be a big scorer. A lot of this season is going to depend on coaching and how coachable these players are.

 

[MonsterMash79]

But keep Mason and Mo

Definitely! Mason got game and his pappy can possibly recruit.