2025 vs 2026

[VC99]

This is just a rough comparison between players/role

Jaland Lowe -> Zoom Diallo
Denzel Aberdeen -> Alex Wilkins
Collin Chandler -> ?
Jasper Johnson -> Jerone Morton
Otega Oweh -> ?
Kam William -> Kam Williams
Braydon Hawthorne -> Braydon Hawthorne
Trent Noah -> Trent Noah
Andrija Jelavic -> Ousmane N'Diaye
Mouhamed Dioubate -> Justin McBride
Malachi Moreno -> ?
Brandon Garrison -> Franck Kepnang
Reece Potter -> Reece Potter
Walker Horn -> Mason Williams
Zach Tow -> Zyon Hawthorne
Jayden Quaintance -> N/A

I'm not sure about our 4 spot at all. It seems like a very important position and doesn't feel like we upgraded that much, tons of risk. But other than that I think the roster could be better IF we land Momcilivic/tounde to fill Oweh's role, return Malachi Moreno and add another talented guard to fill Chandler's spot (a reclass maybe?) What do you all think?

 

[20MRoster]

Last season was 9th in the SEC with a R32 blowout. Saying it MAY be better IF we add basically 2 All-Americans should give you an idea of how bad of a place we are in.

(It's a very, very bad place).

BTW I agree with you. Right now I have the team pegged at 12th in the SEC. With Momcilovic alone I would put them around 8th, with a ceiling of 5th. With Mom + another stud, they may have a ceiling of 3rd in the SEC.

 

[theBlues]

I think we will see significant addition by subtraction:

BG was a solid defender and rebounder but he was a negative impact player on offense.

AJ has a lot of potential but what we got was poor shooting and the worst post defense I've seen at UK in my almost 60 years of watching. His loss will improve us on both ends of the court.

JJ has a lot of potential but was simply bad at handling the ball and bad on defense last year; losing him improves us on offense and defense.

Chandler has tremendous potential but was really not very good for us last year. His PER was 11 for the year and 15 is an average starter. But wait, if his per for the year was 11 and he shot the lights out in about 6 games, what was his PER in the 30 or so games he wasn't hitting his threes? It had to be well below 10. The shooting was great and fun to watch when he was hot but he didn't create shots for himself or others and had turnover problems and was poor on defense.
I would guess that anybody we have that can play the 3 will be better on defense than Chandler and better on offense in the 30 or so games Chandler was not hot on threes.

 

[Anon1776024529]

I think we will see significant addition by subtraction:

BG was a solid defender and rebounder but he was a negative impact player on offense.

AJ has a lot of potential but what we got was poor shooting and the worst post defense I've seen at UK in my almost 60 years of watching. His loss will improve us on both ends of the court.

JJ has a lot of potential but was simply bad at handling the ball and bad on defense last year; losing him improves us on offense and defense.

Chandler has tremendous potential but was really not very good for us last year. His PER was 11 for the year and 15 is an average starter. But wait, if his per for the year was 11 and he shot the lights out in about 6 games, what was his PER in the 30 or so games he wasn't hitting his threes? It had to be well below 10. The shooting was great and fun to watch when he was hot but he didn't create shots for himself or others and had turnover problems and was poor on defense.
I would guess that anybody we have that can play the 3 will be better on defense than Chandler and better on offense in the 30 or so games Chandler was not hot on threes.

The biggest addition by subtraction we could do is replace mark pope. If you think AJ had poor shooting, go look at Ndiaye 3 point stats. He has plenty of games where he shot1-9, 1-8, 1-7, 0-6. He will also had games where he shot 4-7, 4-8, 3-4. Overall 30% three point shooter which isn’t terrible for a big man, but it is terrible for a guy who shoots that many threes. In the World Cup, he went 1-19 for 3, for 5%. Say what you want about CC, but he would be our best player on our current roster had he stayed.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

The biggest addition by subtraction we could do is replace mark pope. If you think AJ had poor shooting, go look at Ndiaye 3 point stats. He has plenty of games where he shot1-9, 1-8, 1-7, 0-6. He will also had games where he shot 4-7, 4-8, 3-4. Overall 30% three point shooter which isn’t terrible for a big man, but it is terrible for a guy who shoots that many threes. In the World Cup, he went 1-19 for 3, for 5%. Say what you want about CC, but he would be our best player on our current roster had he stayed.

No way. Not even close.

 

[Anon1776024529]

No way. Not even close.

Who is better than CC? Not zoom. Not Wilkins. Not kam. Not Hawthorne. Not ndiaye. Not McBride. MM has more pro potential but as college I don’t think so.

 

[theBlues]

The biggest addition by subtraction we could do is replace mark pope. If you think AJ had poor shooting, go look at Ndiaye 3 point stats. He has plenty of games where he shot1-9, 1-8, 1-7, 0-6. He will also had games where he shot 4-7, 4-8, 3-4. Overall 30% three point shooter which isn’t terrible for a big man, but it is terrible for a guy who shoots that many threes. In the World Cup, he went 1-19 for 3, for 5%. Say what you want about CC, but he would be our best player on our current roster had he stayed.

Aren't we allowed to ever talk about players without it being a Mark Pope thread?
I never mentioned N'Diaye.
As for Chandler I just disagree with you. Was I wrong when I said he was below average on defense last year? Was I wrong about him not creating many shots for others or doing anything besides threes? CC was red hot from 3 point range in about a half dozen games. How good an overall player was he in those other 30 games? Was I wrong about the PER stat suggesting he was a below average starter overall? Somehow, I think if I was wrong about any of those things you would have told me about it instead of changing the subject and making erroneous statements.

 

[20MRoster]

Pope comes up during player discussions because he signs ****** players. If we were going to war with Stokes and Rob Wright, we would be talking about players.

 

[theBlues]

Pope comes up during player discussions because he signs ****** players. If we were going to war with Stokes and Rob Wright, we would be talking about players.

Sure, but we still ARE allowed to discuss things besides Pope if we choose it. Some of us think about more than one thing. I'm fairly certain there are threads specifically about Pope on this board.

 

[Im The Village Idiot]

Pope comes up during player discussions because he signs ****** players. If we were going to war with Stokes and Rob Wright, we would be talking about players.

Don’t think there’s a big gulf between Wright and Diallo. If we whiff on Momcilovic, we have serious problems and it probably spells doom for Pope. However, if you did get him, you’re in the mix for a top 10 team at least imo. Milan is probably going to end up as a top 5 portal player, maybe top 3. Didn’t check any rankings so you can scold me if I’m off.

 

[CatManFromCa]

You’re worried about the 4 spot? THE 4 SPOT? The GM Battalion is already cooking up options we don’t even have NAMES for yet. You think we’re done? Trust the process. Trust the Pope. Trust the Battalion!

 

[Anon1776024529]

Aren't we allowed to ever talk about players without it being a Mark Pope thread?
I never mentioned N'Diaye.
As for Chandler I just disagree with you. Was I wrong when I said he was below average on defense last year? Was I wrong about him not creating many shots for others or doing anything besides threes? CC was red hot from 3 point range in about a half dozen games. How good an overall player was he in those other 30 games? Was I wrong about the PER stat suggesting he was a below average starter overall? Somehow, I think if I was wrong about any of those things you would have told me about it instead of changing the subject and making erroneous statements.

Oh, I agree with you Chandler is a below average defender, he was hot some games, he was inconsistent, and he should never be our best caliber player. I never argued those things. I argued if he was on our current roster, he would be our best current player. I believe this to be true AND what you said about Chandler to be true, and that says A LOT about mark pope.

 

[SenseMaker_Cats]

Don’t think there’s a big gulf between Wright and Diallo. If we whiff on Momcilovic, we have serious problems and it probably spells doom for Pope. However, if you did get him, you’re in the mix for a top 10 team at least imo. Milan is probably going to end up as a top 5 portal player, maybe top 3. Didn’t check any rankings so you can scold me if I’m off.

ESPN has him at # 1. 247 and CBS has him at 2. On3 at 5.

 

[FilsonCat]

Who is better than CC? Not zoom. Not Wilkins. Not kam. Not Hawthorne. Not ndiaye. Not McBride. MM has more pro potential but as college I don’t think so.

Wilkins without a doubt is better. He's a 20ppg every night kind of scorer. Chandler made some great plays, but he wasn't consistent. Chandler also was much easier to guard, despite his athleticism.

 

[UKgrad22]

People liked CC because he could occasionally get hot, saved a couple of games that we shouldn’t have even been down in in the first place, and won the dunk contests. Other than that, he wasn’t some savior of the season, he wasn’t this messiah that couldn’t miss or that made those around him better. He was an average player with slightly above average shooting but most often gave up more points than he scored. Wish him the best, but there is and most likely always will be better versions of him.

 

[theBlues]

Oh, I agree with you Chandler is a below average defender, he was hot some games, he was inconsistent, and he should never be our best caliber player. I never argued those things. I argued if he was on our current roster, he would be our best current player. I believe this to be true AND what you said about Chandler to be true, and that says A LOT about mark pope.

Just to be clear, I don't know if we have anybody that will be as good as CC next year because I expect CC to work on his weaknesses and improve; his potential is very high. But I still think we have several players that will likely be better overall next year than CC was last year.

 

[SenseMaker_Cats]

Who is better than CC? Not zoom. Not Wilkins. Not kam. Not Hawthorne. Not ndiaye. Not McBride. MM has more pro potential but as college I don’t think so.

Wilkins and Zoom both ranked higher than CC in the portal.

 

[20MRoster]

Sure, but we still ARE allowed to discuss things besides Pope if we choose it. Some of us think about more than one thing. I'm fairly certain there are threads specifically about Pope on this board.

You're certainly allowed to, no question. But I'm giving you the reason things always devolve back to Pope.

This is the easiest "root cause" analysis any consultant will ever have to do.

 

[20MRoster]

Don’t think there’s a big gulf between Wright and Diallo. If we whiff on Momcilovic, we have serious problems and it probably spells doom for Pope. However, if you did get him, you’re in the mix for a top 10 team at least imo. Milan is probably going to end up as a top 5 portal player, maybe top 3. Didn’t check any rankings so you can scold me if I’m off.

The ranking doesn't matter -- the 49% 3 pt shooting across volume does.

Mom would be a huge get, agree. I disagree it's a top 10 team with just him, but a much better team than now, for sure.

We'll have to see on Diallo -- I don't trust a guy that campaigned a losing season with OK talent around him. And the 3 point shooting.

 

[Cole World]

The biggest addition by subtraction we could do is replace mark pope. If you think AJ had poor shooting, go look at Ndiaye 3 point stats. He has plenty of games where he shot1-9, 1-8, 1-7, 0-6. He will also had games where he shot 4-7, 4-8, 3-4. Overall 30% three point shooter which isn’t terrible for a big man, but it is terrible for a guy who shoots that many threes. In the World Cup, he went 1-19 for 3, for 5%. Say what you want about CC, but he would be our best player on our current roster had he stayed.

This is actually hilarious to even consider typing but bravo

 

[Im The Village Idiot]

The ranking doesn't matter -- the 49% 3 pt shooting across volume does.

Mom would be a huge get, agree. I disagree it's a top 10 team with just him, but a much better team than now, for sure.

We'll have to see on Diallo -- I don't trust a guy that campaigned a losing season with OK talent around him. And the 3 point shooting.

We will have to see. I still expect we don’t get Milan. If we do, I’ll be firing up the hype engine. I fully believe in what he brings to the table, particularly with two elite mid range shot creators next to him.

 

[20MRoster]

This is actually hilarious to even consider typing but bravo

His first sentence is spot on and worth a like just for that.

 

[K_TIME]

1. We’re better at PG..period. Zoom is better than Aberdeen. Lowe never played so it doesn’t matter what we think. He literally didn’t play save a few games…which he was poor IMO

2. Sg….hard call. I’d say we take a dip as Chandler was a top handful sec snipers. He was terrible off the bounce and defensively…he was ‘’meh’ to me. Wilkins will be way better dribbling and passing. Likely lesser of a shooter…defense …I can’t tell now

3. SF…take a huge step back as of now. Oweh was best player on team….maybe best 3 rim attacker at UL ever. (Wall and Bogans). Was playmaker as well. Oweh fell back on defense for some reason. And was allergic to rebounds for some reason Today , Kam Williams is the sf…can’t dribble much. Better shooter …and maybe defense is a bit better. Need milonavich big time

4. PF….better than last season. Jelly was a flop and Mo was a battler…but Mi had little skills McBride is a far superior shooter to both, can dribble and passing. We’ll see if his athleticism stunts him in sec. NDyia…huge potential. Better shot blocker Appears to be better shooter…I don’t know if physicality will hurt him next season
5. Center. Hands down better than last season. Moreno is a year older and stronger than himself. Kepnag is a smidge better then Garrison imo

we’ll see how Noah and Hawthorne fits. If they get a wing…then they’ll rarely play. Otherwise if we need them…the season is likely a bust

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

Last season was 9th in the SEC with a R32 blowout. Saying it MAY be better IF we add basically 2 All-Americans should give you an idea of how bad of a place we are in.

(It's a very, very bad place).

BTW I agree with you. Right now I have the team pegged at 12th in the SEC. With Momcilovic alone I would put them around 8th, with a ceiling of 5th. With Mom + another stud, they may have a ceiling of 3rd in the SEC.

In truth we finished tied for 7th. If not for an extremely questionable call against Auburn we would have very likely finished tied for 4th. This is with no true PG who was injured preseason and never was anywhere near 100% even when he tried to go before shutting it down. We also were without the services of our best center who by all reasonable expectations should have been available for conference play. We still had an outside shot to win the league or realistically finish near the top when Kam Williams got injured and we finished 2-5 from that point.

 

[LarryLegend9]

In truth we finished tied for 7th with no true PG who was injured preseason and never was anywhere near 100% even we he tried to go before shutting it down. We also were without the services of our best center who by all reasonable expectations would have been available for conference play. We still had an outside shot to win the league or realistically finish near the top when Kam Williams got injured and we finished 2-5 from that point. If not for an extremely questionable call against Auburn we would have finished tied for 4th.

We had a shot to win the SEC? I think you’re way off on that assessment. I think after what I seen on the court, we had some guys that were overrated before they set foot on campus. I also felt that the team chemistry seemed off with these guys, I think that’s what lead to our season playing out the way that it did.

This year, at this point we’re less talented compared to last year. To have a better team, I believe we will need: To sign Momcilovic, hope some guys are better than they are ranked (which isn’t impossible), the returning guys need to have significantly improved, and have better team chemistry on the court.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

I said an outside shot before the Williams injury. This was going into the first Florida game. At least mathematically speaking we were right there up to that point with 7 games left to play. We could have lost both games to UF and still finished tied for second if we had taken care of UGA, Auburn, and A&M. We were in solid shape before the 2-5 collapse to finish the season.

 

[Bleedin Blue in Ohio]

2026 should have improved guard play. The Cats have 3 guards with length and point guard experience. The length should be an asset defensively. Zoom Diallo, Alex Wilkens, and Jerome Morton are all 6'4 or better. The injury to Jaland Lowe was a huge blow to the team as there were really no answers on the team to run the point guard spot as Jasper Johnson proved he was not able to handle pressure and run an offense. Denzil Aberdeen was able to provide enough athleticism and play to keep the season from utter disaster but really did not run an offense. Colin Chandler provided some big shots and some explosiveness in transition but disappeared in many games. Zoom Diallo a former McDonalds All American looks to be the lead guard. Alex Wilkens ran point last season for his old team but is a scorer and playing off ball should allow him to thrive. Diallo and Wilkens are easily the best starting guard combo that UK has had since 2019 in Hagans and Maxie.

Point Guard - Diallo/Morton/Williams > Lowe/Aberdeen/Johnson - Lowe did play healthy all season and Aberdeen/Johnson played point but were not true point guards. Advantage 2026 and depth 2026.

Shooting Guard - Alex Wilkens/Hawthorne > Chandler. While not the 3-point shooter Colin is Wilkens is a scorer and will more consistently provide offense. Wilkens has ability to get his own shot. If Lowe would have played and Aberdeen or Johnson could have played off ball, but they did not. Advantage 2026 but depth 2025.

The forward position is where the Cats have the biggest hole to fill Otega Oweh was the main scorer and go to player last season and unless the UK can Sign Milan they will need Hawthorne to play like a top 35 recruit he was coming out of high school. Kam Williams should have more opportunities to shoot open 3's with the improved guard play, and the ability Diallo has to penetrate and pass the ball. The Power forward position should be improved. Last season the Cats got very little from their Power Forwards. If Ousmane and McBride can provide scoring from the Power Forward position it will be a huge boost to the offense.

Wing -Oweh/Williams/Noah > Hawthorne/Williams/Noah. - Oweh was the 2025 go to player. If the Cats can sign Milan the wing position will be equal without Milan. Advantage 2025 and Depth 2025.

Power Forward - Ousmane/McBride > Jelavic and Diabate - Jelavic and Diabate were disappointments last season. Ousmane and McBride should provide more scoring than this position provided last year. Advantage 2026 and Depth 2026.

Center Malichi Moreno was thrust into starting lineup sooner than expected since Garrison was so inconsistent and JQ wore a dress on the sideline all season. Moreno played well at times and disappeared at times. As a true Freshman he was overpowered in some games. He should put on 15 to 20 lbs. of muscle this off season and have a year's experience. Garrison played well in certain games and gave no effort in others. Today's signing of Kepnag will provide the Cats with a physical presence down low. Reece is coming off an illness, but he has past starting experience and can shoot the 3 as a 7-footer.

Center - Moreno/Kepnag/Potter > Moreno/Garrison/JQ - JQ is the most explosive athlete of the group but decided he did not have any onions and voluntarily rode the pine almost all season. Moreno should be much improved as a sophomore. Advantage 2026 and Depth 2026.

Overall, the 2026 team will be improved due to improve guard play, length, scoring from the bigs, and rim protection. The huge question is with no Oweh is there enough offense overall if the wings struggle. If the 2026 team either gets Milan or Hawthorne is a double-digit scorer then this team will be a contender. Pope needs this team to deliver coming off last season this team will have much more pressure on them to perform.

 

[AllBall]

Look Chandler had some great moments, hit some threes, and had a few wow dunks BUT he's a liability at the 2. A shooting guard who can't dribble well enough to help against pressure (see IA St ) or score off the bounce is extremely limited.

Chandler's athleticism sometimes made up for a lack of defensive understanding but he still got lost way too often. Countless times he would leave a shooter to double the post or loss position between his man and the basket.

CC chose to leave UK and Pope. I hope he's happy in Provo, but I won't pretend he was an elite shooting guard. Outside of catch and shoot 3's he just didn't offer much from a team perspective.

 

[NociHTTP]

You’re worried about the 4 spot? THE 4 SPOT? The GM Battalion is already cooking up options we don’t even have NAMES for yet. You think we’re done? Trust the process. Trust the Pope. Trust the Battalion!

Grow up, and pick a better avatar. You're not half the psycho he is.

 

[NociHTTP]

1. We’re better at PG..period. Zoom is better than Aberdeen. Lowe never played so it doesn’t matter what we think. He literally didn’t play save a few games…which he was poor IMO

2. Sg….hard call. I’d say we take a dip as Chandler was a top handful sec snipers. He was terrible off the bounce and defensively…he was ‘’meh’ to me. Wilkins will be way better dribbling and passing. Likely lesser of a shooter…defense …I can’t tell now

3. SF…take a huge step back as of now. Oweh was best player on team….maybe best 3 rim attacker at UL ever. (Wall and Bogans). Was playmaker as well. Oweh fell back on defense for some reason. And was allergic to rebounds for some reason Today , Kam Williams is the sf…can’t dribble much. Better shooter …and maybe defense is a bit better. Need milonavich big time

4. PF….better than last season. Jelly was a flop and Mo was a battler…but Mi had little skills McBride is a far superior shooter to both, can dribble and passing. We’ll see if his athleticism stunts him in sec. NDyia…huge potential. Better shot blocker Appears to be better shooter…I don’t know if physicality will hurt him next season
5. Center. Hands down better than last season. Moreno is a year older and stronger than himself. Kepnag is a smidge better then Garrison imo

we’ll see how Noah and Hawthorne fits. If they get a wing…then they’ll rarely play. Otherwise if we need them…the season is likely a bust

UL?

 

[LarryLegend9]

I said an outside shot before the Williams injury. This was going into the first Florida game. At least mathematically speaking we were right there up to that point with 7 games left to play. We could have lost both games to UF and still finished tied for second if we had taken care of UGA, Auburn, and A&M. We were in solid shape before the 2-5 collapse to finish the season.

Williams wasn’t good enough to make that big of a difference, in my opinion. If we don’t land Mom, we will have to hope that Kam has improved significantly. If Pope wants to ever win the SEC, his recruiting has got to be better than this. Can’t win it when you don’t land top 25 players in the portal or high school.