Is it possible that…..

[Vek96]

…..Hawthorne explodes into a superstar this season? Perhaps everyone is underestimating this possibility. Reports are he’s gained 30 pounds since he arrived at Kentucky. Maybe he’s blossomed into a major force.

I know this optimism won’t go over well here, but, I thought I would break up the nonstop negativity for a second.

 

[Jonathan40330]

He was fairly well ranked out of high school and will have a year of knowledge and conditioning, so we'll see. I'd be thrilled with solid, consistent contributions.

 

[philstat]

…..Hawthorne explodes into a superstar this season? Perhaps everyone is underestimating this possibility. Reports are he’s gained 30 pounds since he arrived at Kentucky. Maybe he’s blossomed into a major force.

I know this optimism won’t go over well here, but, I thought I would break up the nonstop negativity for a second.

Next to impossible to tell how that will translate, though given our current plight, I give it less than a 5% chance he averages 12-5.

 

[Fruit Cove Wildcat]

Sure it is possible, but as with basically everything else in the Mark Pope era the optics don't suggest we are expecting it. Had we locked him up early in the process and didn't basically combine his announcement with the addition of his brother you would get a sense of him being a key piece for our team next season. Instead everything now is going to feel like we are scrambling to fill out the roster.

 

[Rainmaker]

…..Hawthorne explodes into a superstar this season? Perhaps everyone is underestimating this possibility. Reports are he’s gained 30 pounds since he arrived at Kentucky. Maybe he’s blossomed into a major force.

I know this optimism won’t go over well here, but, I thought I would break up the nonstop negativity for a second.

It’s possible of course, he was a highly sought after recruit and was leaning toward Duke before we landed him last year. He has guard skills at 6’9 and for us he will more likely than not be playing a lot of PF. He is a potential matchup nightmare at that position if he can execute. He is freakishly athletic as well with an above average shooting ability, so to answer the question the potential is definitely there and he could be much better than people think. I could see him. 12-14 pt and 7-8 rebound type stat line if his potential converts.

The flip side is he doesn’t execute and the game doesn’t translate for him and he is Jelavic type numbers. We don’t really know at this point but we do know he has a very high ceiling overall and if he figures it out is a potential draft pick in 2 years. Like you said I know most just wrote him off but that’s because they live in a world of constant negativity and that’s how their brains are wired. It could go either way or even somewhere in the middle. IMO at worst he replaced Jelavic and can play the 3 if needed too, but I’m under the impression he will be playing the 4 more often than not.

 

[BBNSZN914]

Its possible. Can he play through contact and create space for himself? Might be the difference. His length will be his advantage.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

He couldn’t get on the floor with last year’s group of misfits.

Word was our offense looked great in practice. That would have been playing against Hawthorne.

Everyone could guard us except us.

 

[anot]

I don't mind the optimism but I find this scenario highly unlikely. Do I think he gets minutes and contributes yes. Superstar na

 

[Broker]

Its possible. Can he play through contact and create space for himself? Might be the difference. His length will be his advantage.

A kid who is willing to redshirt this day and time must really want to improve and be willing to work so I do think there is a great chance he will be the most pleasant surprise we will have next year. The odds of 12 - 5 is more likely to happen than not. He will be a starter, if not day one, before SEC schedule.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

A kid who is willing to redshirt this day and time must really want to improve and be willing to work so I do think there is a great chance he will be the most pleasant surprise we will have next year. The odds of 12 - 5 is more likely to happen than not. He will be a starter, if not day one, before SEC schedule.

Who did he learn from?

No other players improve under this coaching staff.

Of course he’s a year older and should be a year stronger and mature.

But what basketball skills did he gain?

The pictures don’t even look like he’s gained weight.

 

[CliffHawkinsFan606]

He looked pretty pedestrian in the blue/white game. Seems like wishful thinking to imagine him developing into anything more than a solid role player this soon

 

[Artlaibesghost]

The truth is nobody knows how he will play. Giving percentages on wether he will be effective is just silly. Like many other questions looming over our program we will just have to WAIT and see.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Popes the coach so unlikely. I think he can contribute to the team though.

 

[JonathanW2]

…..Hawthorne explodes into a superstar this season? Perhaps everyone is underestimating this possibility. Reports are he’s gained 30 pounds since he arrived at Kentucky. Maybe he’s blossomed into a major force.

I know this optimism won’t go over well here, but, I thought I would break up the nonstop negativity for a second.

Possible? Sure.
Likely (a superstar)? No.
But I am optimistic that he will be a contributor in the rotation, and potentially could even push KamW for a majority of the SF minutes.

 

[anot]

I think if the potential was as obvious as some say then he would have made it on the floor for a 9th place sec team.

 

[Cats_2010]

It’s possible of course, he was a highly sought after recruit and was leaning toward Duke before we landed him last year. He has guard skills at 6’9 and for us he will more likely than not be playing a lot of PF. He is a potential matchup nightmare at that position if he can execute. He is freakishly athletic as well with an above average shooting ability, so to answer the question the potential is definitely there and he could be much better than people think. I could see him. 12-14 pt and 7-8 rebound type stat line if his potential converts.

The flip side is he doesn’t execute and the game doesn’t translate for him and he is Jelavic type numbers. We don’t really know at this point but we do know he has a very high ceiling overall and if he figures it out is a potential draft pick in 2 years. Like you said I know most just wrote him off but that’s because they live in a world of constant negativity and that’s how their brains are wired. It could go either way or even somewhere in the middle. IMO at worst he replaced Jelavic and can play the 3 if needed too, but I’m under the impression he will be playing the 4 more often than not.

The constant negativity comment is just plain BS. The constant negativity is warranted and justified when your program is in a negative downward spiral. The reality is if Hawthorne blossoms into an all American superstar next year it is not going to be enough to overcome mark popes shortcomings of a coach. So yeah it would be awesome to see him really blossom next year and at the same time see his talents wasted under a coach that can lead us nowhere. We will be back to cal land.

 

[FilmNerd]

It could go either way or even somewhere in the middle.

Rainman, you could just copy and paste this for all your posts instead of acting like you have any more of an idea than anyone else about any player.

Translation: He might pan out or he might not.

 

[TFCat11]

Is it possible? Sure! Is it realistic? No. But, through the power of playing pretend, until we have to move the goalposts further, so we can then continue to play pretend even longer, we can pretend that Hawthorne will turn into Kevin Durant, or as some have suggested, Tayshaun Prince, and spend the offseason having dreams of winning #9, after Hawthorne goes for a Triple Double on UCONN in the National Championship Game

 

[anon1777473514]

Possible? Sure.
Likely (a superstar)? No.
But I am optimistic that he will be a contributor in the rotation, and potentially could even push KamW for a majority of the SF minutes.

^ Should post more.

 

[kyjeff1]

I definitely wouldn't count on it and obviously the staff isn't counting on it either, since they went hard after Freeman.

 

[CELTICAT]

Define “superstar.”

I'm going with No in the meantime.

 

[Broker]

Who did he learn from?

No other players improve under this coaching staff.

Of course he’s a year older and should be a year stronger and mature.

But what basketball skills did he gain?

The pictures don’t even look like he’s gained weight.

Pope may not be the coach we want or need but I am sure he knows enough to teach something to the kid. A kid that wants to learn and improve can do those things on his own. I would bet that Pope or his assistants had a list of things for Hawthorne to be working on. I would also think he would take part in practice scrimmages and learn from his teammates. I know he did not have Dusty May, Dan Hurley, Todd Golden, or Billy Donovan teaching him but he will be vastly improved. If he has not gained any weight, that is on our strength & conditioning coach plus the nutritionist if we have one.

 

[ChocoChicken]

At this point we appear to be desperately hoping one of our current guys blow up to avoid a disastrous year. This is so demoralizing.

 

[wkycatfan7]

Seems to have the length and skillset but needs to get stronger. Not sure if that's happening in the offseason or not.

 

[Catman100]

Well since it doesn't seem like we have a good strength and conditioning program at UK, it is highly doubtful he gained 30 pounds of muscle.
Would love to see it, but would also love to see Jennifer Aniston in my bed.

 

[PoopooPeePee]

I do think Hawthorne will be a good player. But that doesn’t excuse the fact Mark Pope completely screwed up this off season.

 

[JAC71]

If what DA said the other day is true about a Mark Pope practice, then we have bigger issues than where Hawthorne is ranked

 

[The_Answer1313_rivals]

Nothing wrong with being optimistic about it.

Could it happen? Sure.

Do I feel comfortable going into a season relying or expecting it to happen? No not at all lol.

 

[Ash Williams]

…..Hawthorne explodes into a superstar this season? Perhaps everyone is underestimating this possibility. Reports are he’s gained 30 pounds since he arrived at Kentucky. Maybe he’s blossomed into a major force.

I know this optimism won’t go over well here, but, I thought I would break up the nonstop negativity for a second.

Please explain HOW he explodes into a superstar under Pope's coaching.

 

[theBlues]

…..Hawthorne explodes into a superstar this season? Perhaps everyone is underestimating this possibility. Reports are he’s gained 30 pounds since he arrived at Kentucky. Maybe he’s blossomed into a major force.

I know this optimism won’t go over well here, but, I thought I would break up the nonstop negativity for a second.

I already thought he'd be a star before hearing about the weight gain. He's near 6'10" with long arms and a shooting stroke that looks perfect. If that's not enough he's a former guard that had a growth spurt and he has good mobility and a nice handle. Only injuries, a poor work ethic, or a low basketball IQ can stop him from being very good. I think he will be a star. Not a superstar.

 

[Catlogic1552]

With what I saw this year with Mareno and Jelly, I have zero confidence this staff did anything to further develop him as a player to any degree.

 

[wildcat111]

…..Hawthorne explodes into a superstar this season? Perhaps everyone is underestimating this possibility. Reports are he’s gained 30 pounds since he arrived at Kentucky. Maybe he’s blossomed into a major force.

I know this optimism won’t go over well here, but, I thought I would break up the nonstop negativity for a second.

Everybody is a star in fantasyland. So, yeah it may happen, but not in the real world.

 

[BellyBall]

I think Pope would have played him last year if improved that much.

 

[AJG-15]

Player development is an interesting topic, hoping for miracle development not worth discussing.

Development takes time, smart continuous work, great teachers, facilities and good power of will and discipline.

Our former coach was begging our AD that facilities need improvement. He did what he could the shooting tracking machine is still in the craft center. I am not aware of any significant facilities improvements or player development staff that UK invested in since MP took over.


Our former coach was excellent in developing guards and demanding effort , rebounding correctly, etc……I know , many made fun of him for screaming: run , run or two hands on rebound , or hit him first…..but that’s part of demanding and holding players responsible for the few areas that you decide as a coach , you can focus the development during one season time frame.


Whn he had the right staff he was decent even at developing bigs.

He never had anyone to develop SF or shooting form and that’s why he invested in the shooting tracking machine that was helping with the form ….

He never landed a great SF. They all went to Duke, Kansas, UNC….thats because he never one to develop them.

Our former coach also started exploring sending over summer returning players or new recruits to elite training camps for specific skills.

He is a HOF coach with certain principles that work and some not so much…. At least he had ideas of what he wanted to do and we could see the the fruits of development in players such as: WCS, Nick Richards, SGA, Oscar, Quickley, Tyler Ulis, PJ Washington, Andrew and Aaron Harrison. Even KAT and AD improved a lot in one year. Some players we could see improving in few months some took them few years …the key was we could see the improvement….everyone develops on their own time schedule.


With our current coach, I am not sure that I can tell that any player has improved. MM and CC showed some stuff but I think that was more because of increase usage and whatever they had in their knowledge base from their HS/ AAU and less by staff helping their improvement; by the end of the season they were unplayable.

Hawthorne… I have no idea….

Players were redshirted in the past for few reasons:
- get physically stronger, faster, more agile, and mentally stronger , more mature, etc
- learn the playbook
- improve basketball iq and specific skills…

Did he improved in any of these 3 areas ? If he did significantly , yes he could show improvement. A lot of it is about the type of work he put in and the guidance he received and access he had to facilities and nutrition and supplements.

unfortunately, I believe UK took a big step backwards when it come to player development. We were already behind some schools but now even more….

Players, agents and the basketball community know which coaches improve players and which ones just use them or use them badly. I would let decide in what category is MP. Recruiting is a reflection of a coach ABILITY TO develop players and sell them that idea when money and facilities are equal. MP is not exactly killing it on recruiting and I don’t think is a money issue….

 

[rivercatinfl]

I already thought he'd be a star before hearing about the weight gain. He's near 6'10" with long arms and a shooting stroke that looks perfect. If that's not enough he's a former guard that had a growth spurt and he has good mobility and a nice handle. Only injuries, a poor work ethic, or a low basketball IQ can stop him from being very good. I think he will be a star. Not a superstar.

In the clip I saw of him he looked quick and agile. Good stroke and has hops. He handles the ball well and has some offensive moves. That's what I liked about him. We had zero bigs with any post moves or soft touch last year. He could also play multiple positions according to the reports.
To me, keeping him definitely helps the team.
We wait to see his on court performance before we roast him.