Toggle sidebar

Burning questions

Wunky

Wunky

Heisman
Jan 16, 2021
4,413
18,389
78
We already know a few things for certain about next year’s team: Milan is a stud, Moreno SHOULD develop into one of the best centers in the country, Wilkins looks to be in the Antonio Reeves mould, and Diallo should be a serviceable PG. But to me, the answers to these questions will determine if we are a contender or pretender.

#1. Just how good IS Hawthorne?

#2. Can the McBride/N’Diaye combo provide more than Almonor and Jelavic did the last two years? Because we need them to.

#3. Will Kam improve? He had an ok year last year, but if it’s the same Kam again, that won’t be enough.

#4. What happens if Wilkins or Diallo goes down? Because on paper, it looks like this will be the third year in a row we lack quality guard depth. Morton and Williams can’t carry this team.

#5. Since it’s fairly obvious we will be average at best on defense and on the glass, will Pope finally stick to his guns and launch 30+ treys a game? It may be the only winning strategy with this bunch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TFCat11
U

UKCowboys

All-American
Oct 14, 2019
4,365
7,878
113
Wunky said:
We already know a few things for certain about next year’s team: Milan is a stud, Moreno SHOULD develop into one of the best centers in the country, Wilkins looks to be in the Antonio Reeves mould, and Diallo should be a serviceable PG. But to me, the answers to these questions will determine if we are a contender or pretender.

#1. Just how good IS Hawthorne?

#2. Can the McBride/N’Diaye combo provide more than Almonor and Jelavic did the last two years? Because we need them to.

#3. Will Kam improve? He had an ok year last year, but if it’s the same Kam again, that won’t be enough.

#4. What happens if Wilkins or Diallo goes down? Because on paper, it looks like this will be the third year in a row we lack quality guard depth. Morton and Williams can’t carry this team.

#5. Since it’s fairly obvious we will be average at best on defense and on the glass, will Pope finally stick to his guns and launch 30+ treys a game? It may be the only winning strategy with this bunch.
Click to expand...
1 I think he will give us quality minutes
2 Easily
3 Without a doubt
4 What happens to any team that loses their PG?
5 We will shoot a ton of 3's, but guys that can get to the rim and Moreno can score inside
 
  • Like
Reactions: FLBBNFAN, caytsBNA and theBlues
B

BigRafi

Freshman
Nov 13, 2025
66
69
18
Wunky said:
We already know a few things for certain about next year’s team: Milan is a stud, Moreno SHOULD develop into one of the best centers in the country, Wilkins looks to be in the Antonio Reeves mould, and Diallo should be a serviceable PG. But to me, the answers to these questions will determine if we are a contender or pretender.

#1. Just how good IS Hawthorne?

#2. Can the McBride/N’Diaye combo provide more than Almonor and Jelavic did the last two years? Because we need them to.

#3. Will Kam improve? He had an ok year last year, but if it’s the same Kam again, that won’t be enough.

#4. What happens if Wilkins or Diallo goes down? Because on paper, it looks like this will be the third year in a row we lack quality guard depth. Morton and Williams can’t carry this team.

#5. Since it’s fairly obvious we will be average at best on defense and on the glass, will Pope finally stick to his guns and launch 30+ treys a game? It may be the only winning strategy with this bunch.
Click to expand...
 
B

BigRafi

Freshman
Nov 13, 2025
66
69
18
Wunky said:
We already know a few things for certain about next year’s team: Milan is a stud, Moreno SHOULD develop into one of the best centers in the country, Wilkins looks to be in the Antonio Reeves mould, and Diallo should be a serviceable PG. But to me, the answers to these questions will determine if we are a contender or pretender.

#1. Just how good IS Hawthorne?

#2. Can the McBride/N’Diaye combo provide more than Almonor and Jelavic did the last two years? Because we need them to.

#3. Will Kam improve? He had an ok year last year, but if it’s the same Kam again, that won’t be enough.

#4. What happens if Wilkins or Diallo goes down? Because on paper, it looks like this will be the third year in a row we lack quality guard depth. Morton and Williams can’t carry this team.

#5. Since it’s fairly obvious we will be average at best on defense and on the glass, will Pope finally stick to his guns and launch 30+ treys a game? It may be the only winning strategy with this bunch.
Click to expand...
Milan is a stud? Yes, we know he can certainly shoot.
Wunky said:
We already know a few things for certain about next year’s team: Milan is a stud, Moreno SHOULD develop into one of the best centers in the country, Wilkins looks to be in the Antonio Reeves mould, and Diallo should be a serviceable PG. But to me, the answers to these questions will determine if we are a contender or pretender.

#1. Just how good IS Hawthorne?

#2. Can the McBride/N’Diaye combo provide more than Almonor and Jelavic did the last two years? Because we need them to.

#3. Will Kam improve? He had an ok year last year, but if it’s the same Kam again, that won’t be enough.

#4. What happens if Wilkins or Diallo goes down? Because on paper, it looks like this will be the third year in a row we lack quality guard depth. Morton and Williams can’t carry this team.

#5. Since it’s fairly obvious we will be average at best on defense and on the glass, will Pope finally stick to his guns and launch 30+ treys a game? It may be the only winning strategy with this bunch.
Click to expand...
Milan is a stud? Yes we know he can certainly shoot but Kenny do anything else like defend rebound handle the ball and pass I don’t think just being a great shooter makes you a stud and by the looks of what we had to pay for him, I would say we probably overpaid by double.
 
cawoodsct

cawoodsct

Heisman
Apr 27, 2006
39,931
28,079
102
Wunky said:
We already know a few things for certain about next year’s team: Milan is a stud, Moreno SHOULD develop into one of the best centers in the country, Wilkins looks to be in the Antonio Reeves mould, and Diallo should be a serviceable PG. But to me, the answers to these questions will determine if we are a contender or pretender.

#1. Just how good IS Hawthorne?

#2. Can the McBride/N’Diaye combo provide more than Almonor and Jelavic did the last two years? Because we need them to.

#3. Will Kam improve? He had an ok year last year, but if it’s the same Kam again, that won’t be enough.

#4. What happens if Wilkins or Diallo goes down? Because on paper, it looks like this will be the third year in a row we lack quality guard depth. Morton and Williams can’t carry this team.

#5. Since it’s fairly obvious we will be average at best on defense and on the glass, will Pope finally stick to his guns and launch 30+ treys a game? It may be the only winning strategy with this bunch.
Click to expand...
#1 Hopefully earns a top 7 spot which would mean he's really good.
#2 Should be a resounding yes
#3 Should be a yes
#5 Wait and see on the assumption of average D and on glass
 
L

LakeLifeCat

Redshirt
May 9, 2026
18
47
13
Wunky said:
We already know a few things for certain about next year’s team: Milan is a stud, Moreno SHOULD develop into one of the best centers in the country, Wilkins looks to be in the Antonio Reeves mould, and Diallo should be a serviceable PG. But to me, the answers to these questions will determine if we are a contender or pretender.

#1. Just how good IS Hawthorne?

#2. Can the McBride/N’Diaye combo provide more than Almonor and Jelavic did the last two years? Because we need them to.

#3. Will Kam improve? He had an ok year last year, but if it’s the same Kam again, that won’t be enough.

#4. What happens if Wilkins or Diallo goes down? Because on paper, it looks like this will be the third year in a row we lack quality guard depth. Morton and Williams can’t carry this team.

#5. Since it’s fairly obvious we will be average at best on defense and on the glass, will Pope finally stick to his guns and launch 30+ treys a game? It may be the only winning strategy with this bunch.
Click to expand...
1. I think he will hit a lot of 3's. I'm cautiously optimistic only because he's so skinny.
2. I think they will. I am a bit hesitant on N'Diaye only because I thought Jelly was gonna be great based on his film from Mega, and he just wasn't. I need to see N'Diaye in the SEC to believe it.
3. Agree. Kam has to be better. Think he will hit his 3's but he always seemed hesitant to get into the paint and bang around/drive.
4. If Diallo OR Wilkins goes down we should still be OK. Wilkins was a PG at Furman at had great assist and scoring numbers. He would be the PG if Diallo goes down and there would hardly be a step down if so. The BIG problem will be if they BOTH go down.
5. He has to. If you look at our starters everyone can make shots this season. That was not really the case last season, we had way too many guys at like 8 points a game other than Oweh. I'm excited for a fast crazy fun offense. LET'S GO
 
TheApostleSaulSmith

TheApostleSaulSmith

All-Conference
Mar 30, 2026
1,180
2,623
103
Wunky said:
#1. Just how good IS Hawthorne?
Click to expand...

Honestly? Probably pretty mediocre

Wunky said:
#2. Can the McBride/N’Diaye combo provide more than Almonor and Jelavic did the last two years? Because we need them to.
Click to expand...

Yes

Wunky said:
#3. Will Kam improve? He had an ok year last year, but if it’s the same Kam again, that won’t be enough.
Click to expand...

Yes but not as much as some people expect

Wunky said:
#4. What happens if Wilkins or Diallo goes down? Because on paper, it looks like this will be the third year in a row we lack quality guard depth. Morton and Williams can’t carry this team.
Click to expand...

We are screwed and the injury excuse will define yet another season

Wunky said:
#5. Since it’s fairly obvious we will be average at best on defense and on the glass, will Pope finally stick to his guns and launch 30+ treys a game? It may be the only winning strategy with this bunch.
Click to expand...
Hopefully.
 
St.Patterson_54_

St.Patterson_54_

Senior
Apr 15, 2026
140
501
62
I actually feel good about our backup PG options. What we sorely missed the last couple years was elite ball handling- not shooting (although that would have also helped). There were times we couldn't bring the ball up against pressure. That won't be an issue with these guys.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FLBBNFAN and LakeLifeCat
Delk4three

Delk4three

Senior
Jul 1, 2004
469
793
93
The biggest ? for me is Wilkins. Can he continue the rise upward he's been on since high school. If he comes in and averages 15+, with solid shooting percentages, then I think it makes us a top 6-10 team in the country. I think defensively we will be better just because we will have a shot blocker in Kepnang, that we didn't have last year. My other ? is if Morton can be this teams better version of Hawkins, because I think he can be. The starters + Kepnang and Morton I think could very easily be the top 7 rotation come March.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom