The more you use the site, the less anonymous you are, and the more pseudonymous your identity on here becomes.
I might like this team
- Thread starter bbnkat02
- Start date
We’re all anonymous when it comes to our real names (99% anyway). When it comes to not having a “handle”, you don’t know if it’s an anon genuinely wanting to talk basketball/football or an anon that creates multiple accounts on here just to come on here to be an a hole.
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That will change if you stay here; you remember user names and get to know their personalities and that can be very helpful in evaluating what they have to say. For instance, if you paid attention, you'd know I'm never wrong.
I've been on this board and its many variations for 20 years there, clown. People know my persona. You anonymous idiots just flood the zone with bait to trigger people. You're all literally the same.
liking a team and winning/losing are two different things. just about all cal's teams the final few years were likable. but none of them got the job done. all they guys on this years team seem like really good dudes....but if lose to kansas next week not much of that stuff matters.
Stupid SELECTIVE sec rules. No inter conference transfer except for Aberdeen, Garrison, MoD.
Kepnang was such a good pickup, love his game.
He's gonna contribute. I don't expect him to be a 20-10 type of guy, but he will have nights where he helps win games.
Matt Jones used to harp on letting the fans get to know the players before every season. UK has not a done good with the common fan in recent years. Putting it nicely.
Zoom has been getting hammered on this site, but there will be some crow getting served up, because that guy is going to be really good. He has size, skill and strength, he is just trying to find his role.
The system they ran out at Wahington is much different than what Pope runs. Zoom will get it going.
That, and we could really use another guard. I like the 3 we have, but 1 more guy who isn't super talented for depth would have been nice.
We have one. He is injured. Who knows when/if he will return. I haven't heard a timeline.
Seems he going to be out a long time, would have been nice to have one more since he has been injured for a good while.
I agree. I do think Ousame and Zoom will get more comfortable as time goes on.
Tuesday was their first game in Rupp for all the marbles. Let’s let them get the jitters gone.
If those 2 guys play to their potential, we are gonna be wayyyyy better than good imo.
While I agree that Kansas is the measuring stick game early. Let's not forget that early season losses to solid opponents didn't foreshadow what was to come. We can lose (the right way) and still take a lot of positives away from it. We can also lose (the ugly way) and have reason to worry.
2010-2011: #8 Kentucky got blown out in Maui by then unranked UConn. UK made the Final Four, Uconn ended up winning the National Title.
2011-2012: #1 Kentucky lost to then unranked Indiana. UK went on to win the National Title and beat Indiana in a rematch in the Sweet 16.
2012-2013: #3 UK lost to #9 Duke, Unranked Notre Dame, unranked Baylor, and to U6 that non con and went to the NIT
2013-2014: #1 UK lost to #2 Michigan St, #20 Baylor, and #18 UNC in the non-con and were National Runners Up
2014-2015: Even the great 38-1 team lost an exhibition game to the Dominican Republic Team in the Bahamas. Obviously Final 4 team.
2015-2016: #1 UK lost to Unranked UCLA, and Unranked Ohio St in the non-con. (and Kansas in a January Non-Con game) Lost in the Round of 32.
2016-2017: #1 UK lost to #11 UCLA, #10 U6, and #2 Kansas in the non-con. Went to the Elite 8.
2017-2018: #7 UK lost to #4 Kansas, and Unranked UCLA in the non-con. Went to the Sweet 16.
2018-2019: #2 UK lost to #4 Duke, and Unranked Seton Hall in the non-con. Went to the Elite 8.
2019-2020: #1 UK lost to Unranked Evansville in Rupp... Unranked Utah and #5 Ohio State before the COVID... No post season
2020-2021: #10 UK lost to Unranked Richmond in Rupp, #7 Kansas, Unranked Georgia Tech, Unraked Notre Dame in Rupp, #22 UNC, and to U6 in the non-con. Did not make the NCAA tournament.
2021-2022: #10 UK lost to #9 Duke, and Unranked Notre Dame in the non-con. Lost first round of the NCAA to St Peters...
2022-2023: #4 UK lost to unranked Michigan St, #2 Gonzaga, #16 UCLA, and #9 Kansas in the non-con. Lost to Kansas State in the round of 32.
2023-2024: #17 UK lost to #1 Kansas, Unranked UNC Wilmington in Rupp... and Unranked Gonzaga in Rupp. Lost first round of the NCAA to Oakland...
2024-2025: #23 UK lost to Unranked Clemson, and unranked Ohio St in the non-con. Went to the Sweet 16.
2025-2026: #9 UK lost to #12 U6, #17 Michigan St (blown out), #16 UNC, and #11 Gonzaga (blown out). Lost in Round of 32.
I list those because for the last 15 plus years, non-con losses, for the most part, are not directly corelated to how the team will finish. Obviously bad teams (2020-2021) prove to be obviously bad. Obviously great teams usually prove to be great (2011-2012). But you have multiple instances where teams suffer some bad head scratching losses early in the non-con and end up with solid tournament runs.
I'm less concerned with the win/loss of an early November game than I am about the effort. If they play Kansas tight and show resilience and fight and lose, I'm much less concerned than if UK lays down and gets throttled (Gonzaga last year). Obviously want us to win every single game we play, but UK vs Kansas is a temperature check on the pulse of the team moving forward, not the end all be all for me personally.
Technically we have 5 (Zoom, Wilkins, Mason, Morton (hurt), and Zyon (near unplayable?) ). But currently only 3 you can trust to give any real minutes to. After the Mitchell thing fell through, it would have been nice to fill that 15th roster spot with something that could at least walk and chew gum at the same time given our injury history. Pre-Morton's injury I think they were more worried about the 4-5 spots. Hindsight says should have grabbed another guard.
True. We all know why he's here. But somebody has to fill out the 12-15 cigar minutes roster spots. Nobody worth seeing the floor is going to do that unless you vastly overpay them to. And even then, they'll still be low mid major talented.
all this completely ignores the most important thing. pope is on the hot seat and doesnt have 15 years to see how things shake out.....
It ignores it, because that wasn't even part of the discussion. It also ignores the price of eggs in China, the status of the S&P 500, and what uniforms we'll be wearing tomorrow night against JMU.
All relevant topics in a conversation about those topics. You didn't even mention Pope in the post I responded to. It was about liking or disliking the team (and winning/losing) and saying that if we lose to Kansas next week, none of that matters. Pope's hot seat wasn't mentioned. I figured that was already common knowledge and accepted and had nothing to do with likeability of this team's players, win or lose, against Kansas.
There is a certain handful of posters who have to turn EVERY thread into how much they hate Pope. Says a lot about them.
Do I think they would beat last year's team after watching three preseason games and one regular season?
YES.
Absolutely they would.
Could they beat the first team with all healthy players?
No not yet. Amari Williams and the bunch is just a little too much at this point....imo.
Point guard defense the key in that match up
YES.
Absolutely they would.
Could they beat the first team with all healthy players?
No not yet. Amari Williams and the bunch is just a little too much at this point....imo.
Point guard defense the key in that match up
If that first team goes on one of their trademark 5min scoring droughts then this years squad might have a chance
I'm pretty sure if we took a poll of the entire UK fanbase (not just RR), about 85% would say they love Mark Pope the man and former player and HOPE he does well here while admitting he was a bad hire and is over his head. Another 10% probably have zero connection to Pope, are too young to remember him, too young to remember Billy G, and only started being fans during Cal. No fault to them, but they just see an average Coach who has trouble recruiting and inspiring his team to give effort. Then that last 5% would burn any coach to the ground who doesn't go 40-0 every year because that is how they fan.
But 99.9% of them would agree Pope, like him or not, want him gone or not, needs to SHOW US SOMETHING. And do so consistently. Prove Year 2 was a fluke of pieces that didn't fit, lack of leadership, and guys out of position because of injuries, and admit that you didn't do a good enough job with what you had. Show us you've learned and grown from it. He shows glimpses. His recruiting is better. He evaluated Mason Williams and decided he was worth it to go get. He hired two solid staff that has helped recruiting. He's not all the way there yet, but he's improving. He just needs to win and the nancies will love him for it. But most fans are in the middle, love our team, support our team, begging Pope to prove it or let the next guy have a crack. And if we dare not post doom and gloom in every thread, we're somehow avoiding things.
This is exactly my stance.
Year one showed great potential and without injuries might have surpassed most fans expections.
Year two, something was off. Whether it was poorly assembled, bad attitudes/chemistry something just didn't click. Then add the injuries... Pope just could not get the team to work. Ultimately it is on him.
I think, if recruiting was stellar, people would be a little more patient. But for whatever reason, it hasn't been what any of us expected. Maybe it is his philosophy (ceiling on how much to pay certain recruits, focus on transfer portal?), or maybe he just isn't very good at it.
That brings us to where we are now...and he needs a good season to prove he can do the job. What I can't understand is those who just will not wait until the season is played out? That is all most of us are saying. He isn't getting fired beforehand, so let it play out. That doesn't make one a pumper, just a sensible fan.
This team seems very likable and it has a lot of upside. But, there are those who are convinced that this season is going to be terrible. And they voice it constantly. They turn every thread into how much Pope sucks...they like him...(not), but he sucks. It never ends.
Coach Pope and team will either have a good season or will be replaced, but rest assured those that keep being constantly negative will never change. That is their identity. They have nothing else.
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