A head scratcher for sure has been the decision to not try Reece Potter. We all can agree that BG is completely worthless. How much of a disparity can there be between these two? Reece looks to have played for a good coach.. look how Miami (Ohio) is undefeated. You have to be a competent coach to do that in any league. He supposedly can stretch the floor from 3.. when was the last time BG made a 3? BG is terrible at rebounds.. Potter is bigger. Why not take a risk to see what the kid from Kentucky can give you. We already have to try out other Kentucky kids in Trent and Jasper.. why not Reece?
Why not play Reece Potter?
- Thread starter Ridinwithpope
- Start date
Stop with the “Kentucky kid” nonsense. That is not a factor that should have anything to do with the decision-making process here.
And we’re not gonna burn Potter’s redshirt when it’s nearly March. It makes no sense to take an entire year of eligibility away from the kid now when there’s damn near no chance he’d make a difference for this team. This is a silly thread.
He sees him in practice everyday. If he can't get on the floor it's because he's not good enough.
Pretty sure if Pope asked Potter if he wanted to play, he would say yes. But this could have started earlier in the year when we knew about this JQ situation. Moreno already took BG spot why not have Potter try to take more minutes away from BG?
I'm going to say if Potter was asked, he would play, but it was known by the staff from the beginning Potter was redshirting this year and being used primarily to add another big in practice/scout team while he got stronger and learned the offense. Sort of a similar situation to Hawthorne.
Is Potter going to be good enough to actually play in the future? or let me ask you differently, is he going to be much differently next year than today?
our current bigs cannot shot a 3, with the sporadic exception of Jela. Wasn’t Potter supposed to be good from 3?
in the era of portal, I don’t see a reason for redshirt unless injury and you are 100% sure the player will not leave when he gets healthy.
our current bigs cannot shot a 3, with the sporadic exception of Jela. Wasn’t Potter supposed to be good from 3?
in the era of portal, I don’t see a reason for redshirt unless injury and you are 100% sure the player will not leave when he gets healthy.
Maybe, but also from the beginning, we thought JQ would be playing. I really think that after the Missouri game and we knew this JQ situation wasn’t going to happen.. we should have played him. That would have given him plenty of time to get stronger and learn the offense. Hawthorne is kind of a different story because he has professional basketball potential. Don’t want to waste a year on that kid and blow his redshirt. But a guy in potter who has one year left in his career.. let’s give it a shot.
Pope hasn't spoken much about it because he really never does, but there are several articles that say Potter is recovering from a "chronic health issue" and that is why he is redshirting this season. Maybe someone else on the board knows more about it. I do know he hasn't been able to practice much in 5 on 5 or game type situations. I'm not proposing a conspiracy theory, but I think if Potter could play at even a decent level, he'd get some rotational minutes to at the very least, help with foul trouble.
The agreement with him and Hawthorne was to redshirt. Let’s say both end up being good college players. Not NBA good but really solid college guys by their 4th year(junior). What you would potentially be asking them to give up is that 5th year where that could be the most money they’d ever make in a year in their lifetime.
It’s because he’s a muggle, unlike his brother Harry Potter
The same reason that Florida doesn’t play that 7’9 French guy… He’s not good enough to play at UK!
Potter, Noah, and Perry, were all virtue signaling signees for the “Kentucky Boy” portion of the fan base. They were never meant to be major impact players.
Potter, Noah, and Perry, were all virtue signaling signees for the “Kentucky Boy” portion of the fan base. They were never meant to be major impact players.
BG is not good but he would absolutely annihilate Potter.
Because he's not freaking good enough, that's why. If he were good enough, he wouldn't be redshirting. He averaged 6 and 3 at freaking Miami (OH) in THAT conference. We've got plenty of dudes on this roster that aren't good enough trying to get minutes, we certainly don't need another one. I love the entertainment, but sheesh. The nonsense that gets spewed on here is insane.
So what are your solutions? We have the team that we have. Obviously our problem is depth when we go to the bench due to injuries and BG being terrible. Provide solutions on what you would do with this roster.. not just problems.
Dude pope crashes out after losses. If he had a guy on the bench who could help him win more then he would play him.
1) I thought he was injured
2) even if not injured, he desperately needs strength & weight,
3) there is no reason to believe he could outplay BG (and I've been harder on BG's rebounding for 2 years, than anyone else), his defense is ok sometimes
4) he is NOT an NBA prospect, so taking away his redshirt 3/4 through the season wouldn't be right, unless we were desperate (like down to 6-7 guys)
2) even if not injured, he desperately needs strength & weight,
3) there is no reason to believe he could outplay BG (and I've been harder on BG's rebounding for 2 years, than anyone else), his defense is ok sometimes
4) he is NOT an NBA prospect, so taking away his redshirt 3/4 through the season wouldn't be right, unless we were desperate (like down to 6-7 guys)
All I’m saying is that we can all agree BG plays too many minutes. Moreno gets fatigued pretty often and quickly. Why not cut into BGs minutes even more with Potter. He might not be as good but maybe he can rebound better and show more effort than BG does. You can’t just go on talent alone.. BG has more talent than Mo and Jelavic, but Mo plays harder and Jelavic starts. If we could cut BGs minutes by 5. I think that helps.
Some have said Reece is hurt so I don’t know much about that and I still say if he was healthy, he could have played after the Missouri game when JQ went down. That’s practically the whole SEC schedule.
Some have said Reece is hurt so I don’t know much about that and I still say if he was healthy, he could have played after the Missouri game when JQ went down. That’s practically the whole SEC schedule.
Pope? ... I have little to no trust in what Pope sees on the court or in practice!
Can someone explain the obsession with "Kentucky kids"? I know other programs support the players who are local to some extent, but the obsession some Kentucky fans have with players from Kentucky has always been a mystery to me. I don't care where any of our players were born..winning is the only thing that matters to me. Not trying to be a jerk about this, I'm genuinely curious.
Trying to justify the miss on bg talent and over payment
Bg major disappointment
I don’t know how old you are but I’ve always thought age could be a factor in that. Older fans particularly the much older ones that followed the Rupp era would have watched Kentucky dominate college basketball with many homegrown players. That continued with Hall, albeit without as much dominance. This is a state that has hasn’t had a whole lot to be proud of at times and basketball is one of those things, and seeing “one of your own” in there brings a sense of pride to many. Then, even in the Pitino era, you had Kentucky kids like Farmer, Feldhaus, Pelphrey that made the state proud. No Kentucky team has won a title without a “Kentucky boy”
Now, for me, I’m lower middle aged and I didn’t grow up with most of those experiences those guys did. Most of the best players I saw were not from Kentucky. So I tend to be one of the ones who doesn’t care if the players are from Kentucky or Kenya, but I understand why it matters to others, or so I think I understand.
You could be right about that. I could see how that tradition is important to older Kentucky fans.
He sees garrison in practice every day too and he’s still playing (after ****** game performances)
Obsessed with High School Hoops & actually know most of Ky All Star team most years.
Ky signed last 3 Mr Kentucky Winners. 2 Lottery picks of the 3. Other is Ky High School al time scorer & State Champ.
Potter got a 2 yr deal. Wants to graduate & be a solid backup next year.
Hawthorne is KEY to next year.
Hawthorne is KEY to next year.
I think Hawthorne can be a solid contributor. But are you serious when you say Key?
At least speaking about next year. I can see him being Key as a senior or something.
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Play all starters minus Jelavich 35 mins. MO obviously gets the mins Jelavich doesn't play at the 4. If you have any of DA, OO, CC, or MM out then MO absolutely HAS to be on the floor. You can't have two of TN, JJ, or BG on the floor together EVER. Foul trouble obviously negates this, but we sure as hell weren't in foul trouble with UGA or at Auburn when Pope had four freaking subs in the game at once and pissed away leads in both games. He definitely has shortened the rotations, but he has to be mindful of the lineups he puts on the court as well. He's failed miserably at that part.
There are a lot of players on this team with multi-year NIL deals. Which explains where the $22 mil number comes from if you add up the promised money over two years. I do not know for sure, few probably do, but I've heard Potter's NIL deal is sub $250k total for 2 years, broken up into a small amount this year and a larger amount next year. If he was to transfer this offseason (unlikely) then the owed NIL for next year isn't paid out. Garrison had a similar deal (only for more money obviously) last year and this year.