Would you be happy with this 26-27 starting five?
- Thread starter akaukswoosh
- Start date
Not a great lineup with Lowe running point. But I'd take it. More accurately, replace Pate with Trent Noah. Stokes with Potter.
Feel jasper Johnson is going to be really good for someone, hope it’s us but I worry Pope is so soft and honestly I believe his very sappy (super kind by the way) creeps many recruits out. This is why I believe we have struck out on every solid recruit.
I'd find a different PG in the portal if possible and a different SG if possible. Lowe and Pate to me are more backup guys. If JJ stays and keeps progressing I think he will be in play for both. I think he makes a leap.
Assuming those guys are on the roster...
Get a PG1 and use Lowe as the veteran backup to spell rest minutes
Get JJ in the weight room and teach him defense, he gets the start at the SG and Pate/Chandler backup
Fine with Kam as the 3 in a rotation with Pate/Chandler and Noah as a break glass in case of emergency depth piece
Obviously Stokes starts if we by some miracle landed him, Mo spells rest and foul minutes and defense for offense substitution situations, but Hawthorne probably gets some run here as well. Might make Mo the defacto small ball 5 backup by necessity which makes me believe if we were to land Stokes, Mo probably leaves.
Obviously Moreno starts at C as well (assuming he stays, which I think he will at least 1 more year), JQ leaves, Garrison probably leaves, which leaves Potter as Moreno's backup. Will need another solid Center from the portal and not just a project (we already have one in Potter), or we might be very thin.
While I would "take" that starting lineup in a heartbeat, because it meant we landed Stokes and signed Pate and would be stronger because of it, they wouldn't instantly fix this team into a title contender without other roster adds.
Get a PG1 and use Lowe as the veteran backup to spell rest minutes
Get JJ in the weight room and teach him defense, he gets the start at the SG and Pate/Chandler backup
Fine with Kam as the 3 in a rotation with Pate/Chandler and Noah as a break glass in case of emergency depth piece
Obviously Stokes starts if we by some miracle landed him, Mo spells rest and foul minutes and defense for offense substitution situations, but Hawthorne probably gets some run here as well. Might make Mo the defacto small ball 5 backup by necessity which makes me believe if we were to land Stokes, Mo probably leaves.
Obviously Moreno starts at C as well (assuming he stays, which I think he will at least 1 more year), JQ leaves, Garrison probably leaves, which leaves Potter as Moreno's backup. Will need another solid Center from the portal and not just a project (we already have one in Potter), or we might be very thin.
While I would "take" that starting lineup in a heartbeat, because it meant we landed Stokes and signed Pate and would be stronger because of it, they wouldn't instantly fix this team into a title contender without other roster adds.
I think Lowe is gone and we go after the best PG in the portal for next year, but Dink Pate is scoring at the same level as Antonio Reeves, Tshiebwe, and Tyty Washington in the G-League.
I don't think we get Pate and Stokes either, maybe one of them. Chandler and Johnson have proven capable as our SG options.
Yes I would be happy with that lineup. If Chandler and Johnson and an upperclassman stretch 4 rounded out the other 3 I’d be very happy.
I forgot about Chandler not gonna hold you. I think Jasper transfers.
Why? Feel we actually did a good job with continuity this year in terms of players that could come back. If Jelavic keeps improving I wouldn’t mind him back. Would prefer Garrison transfer.
Pilgrim or someone said about 2 weeks ago, that there was smoke that he was talking to UNC. IDK if that's accurate. Most likely a rumor. But I could see it. I don't think Pope's offense is gonna "showcase" him to the NBA.
Unless an injury occurs I can't see a scenario where Chandler isn't the starting 2 next year. He's progressing nicely. If JJ comes back and we get a starting pg then we'll be looking at another 3 guard lineup. If that's the case we need better bigs to go with MM.
You lost any credibility when you suggested Noah start
If you read the rest of the thread, you'd see I forgot about Colin. And I think Jasper transfers.
Johnson doesn't have a great line to a starting spot next year for us with Chandler likely returning and a need for a true 3 like Pate, Stokes, Collins, Holt or some portal player.
Then we need a stretch 4 that can shoot. Kam and Jelavic would be ok at the 4 for that, but we then should get an elite PG, which Lowe isn't a reliable option now.
Then we need a stretch 4 that can shoot. Kam and Jelavic would be ok at the 4 for that, but we then should get an elite PG, which Lowe isn't a reliable option now.
For me no, I want no part of Dink.... I am not a fan of all the BS that is going on with players like that playing. I have no issues with NIL and the portal, but those people are not eligible and its a sham seeing them play. So, for me personally, I would be disappointed to see UK be like Bama
I think Pate is completely different than Bediako and the like. He wasn't drafted and hasn't signed an NBA contract that I know of. In his case, he is no different than Jelavic. He came from the G-League Ignite team out of high school.
I dont think Pope recruits over Chandler either. I think he will sign a PG, even if Lowe comes back, and an athletic scorer, preferably one that can shoot the three to replace OO. And a big time 4.
I think Dink is better than some of you guys are giving him credit for. Im just not a huge fan of small guards like Lowe. Even if he wasnt hurt id still rather have a big guard.
He doesnt like UK….. big Notre Dame fan and hangs out on a ton of message boards but mainly this one because it has lots of traffic.
He entered the draft process, at this point its just semantics to try to excuse it, they shouldn't be eligible and I won't change how I feel just because it might help UK. As to your point about Europeans like Jelavic, they should be ineligible too and they have been, until recently (we have experience with this in the past). I don't say this as some old man yelling get off my lawn, I am all for the player opportunity but the NCAA has lost its way, dudes don't even go to class anymore lol. None of this is about what is best for the kids or the schools. If you play for a professional team, and the G league is a professional team, you should be ineligible period. I think its time we stop fooling ourselves, let those who want to continue in this- form their own league, make it NBA lite, that would be fun, but this isn't college athletics, let everyone else be ran by the NCAA and its rules. I actually think it could be another avenue for kids. I am not good enough to get a major deal initially so let me go to the regular NCAA for a year or two and then sign a major NIL deal at a university and hopeful parlay that into the NBA
Where is JJ? And no I don’t want to see Lowe playing here another year. Might as well get mark Fox ready to be interim coach with that lineup. Zero men. And like I said no JJ. That team will get shredded on defense.
Lowe isn’t gonna be a back up and accept back up money.
Mo won’t be on the team
Everyone needs to prepare for another total rebuild
I wouldn’t expect much out of our transfers. Reece potter is a walk on level player.
Hawthorne was ranked like 180 as a freshman entering college. Pope doesn’t have a reputation as a developer. It would have been better had Hawthorne went somewhere else so he could get pt then transfer to UK after his sophomore year and if he has it.
Until I see us build a solid class I have no reason to think next year will be any better
Horse hockey. What kind of take is that? JJ is a legit player who’s starting to come into his own. Hes a Lexington guy. If pope run him off by favoring Chandler that would be the final nail. If it’s JJ and Chandler well JJ has no ceiling. I expect his to develop as this season moves along. Him and Moreno should be the guys pope builds around. Pope doesn’t seee this and will lose a hometown superstar who will smoke us wherever we go. If JJ doesn’t come back pope has to go. JJ is a legit an I mean a legit potential superstar whose starting is from the backyard. A legacy player.
I pretty much agree, that why I said assuming everyone was on the roster before I started into lineups. It's Magical Christmas Land because we won't have everyone.
I let Lowe walk if he doesn't want the Veteran backup role. He's unproven, coming off injury, and wouldn't hurt most people's feelings if he entered the portal. BUT you have to then bring in 2 point guards, one of which has to be willing to plays second fiddle.
I also let Mo walk if he can't handle a backup role.
Hawthorne actually shot up to between 35-40th in the high school rankings last year across many of the industry rankings. He isn't the homerun Stokes or Collins would have been, but he is an unknown ceiling big wing we may have to develop whether we like it or not. From everything I've seen from Hawthorne he wanted to be at UK and it was his idea to redshirt so I'm not sure if he would have played or chosen to redshirt if he had stayed at West Virginia or chosen another school. Different situation so there's really no telling.
I'm in the same camp with you, I give Pope a pass on High School recruits his first season. He wasn't hired until April and had no time to build relationships and the good players were already committed. His portal haul was scraps as well, but he found guys that fit his system and they overperformed for a team that had no business winning that many highly ranked games. You started to see the cracks in his ability to recruit with this past class. We got Moreno, we got Jasper, and initially Lewis which wasn't stellar, but pretty solid for his first true class here but missed badly on Wilson, Ament, and other 5 stars. Again, you can chalk that up to learning curve for recruiting at this level, lack of relationships with that players camps and losing out to coaches who'd build longer and stronger relationships before Pope had UK on his chest. Concerning, but not yet damning. Then the cracks turned to fissures with the portal. We got athletes, but most, outside of Kam, were 3rd, 4th, and 5th options at each position and all were role players expected to make the jump to floor leaders. Then the JMI deal happens and Pope is standing on the edge of the cliff when it comes to recruiting 5 stars. I will always root for the Cats, and hope the coach does well. I won't consider the season over and unsalvageable until they lose the final game in the tournament. But I'm a realist and I fully expect that if Pope and company don't succeed at a much higher level next season, it's probably his last year assuming the board back channels a sure fire replacement. I don't think they make the mistake again of not having the "right" guy before firing Pope. They can't take a flier on somebody who is average to above average on their way up. They have to take an assassin ready to go to war, and there aren't that many in college basketball right now willing to leave their schools for us, but there are some.
Well, I'm just going by current playing time and starts. I don't think you can have them both starting, unless we can get a tall PG or something. Chandler seems like a poor option at the 3. That's why I said Johnson doesn't have a clear path to a starting spot.
Maybe he turns it on like Rob Wright.
replace dink and stokes for a couple backup portal guys, that's more realistic
Pate seems more like a scorer than a shooter. I really hope & want JJ as our SG next year. Pate can back him up though, as can Chandler.
Lowe, I'm fine with him returning, under the understanding that we can't count on a full recovery (not to mention his shooting limitations), and thus we have to bring in a PG who we would be comfortable with starting. If Lowe can beat him out for the starting spot, fine; but if not he has to be ok w/ coming off the bench.
Lowe, I'm fine with him returning, under the understanding that we can't count on a full recovery (not to mention his shooting limitations), and thus we have to bring in a PG who we would be comfortable with starting. If Lowe can beat him out for the starting spot, fine; but if not he has to be ok w/ coming off the bench.
you know you are lying
but even if there's 20 better pope will make sure to whiff on them and then overpay for a backup from wyoming