Is this team better than 2014?

[MdWIldcat55]

That team went to the final game and likely wins a championship if WCS isn’t injured and Randle isn’t forced to play on a badly bruised foot.

Guards: I gotta go with sophomores Hagans and Quickley over freshmen A and AA Harrison. Quicker, better at seeing the floor in Hagans’ case, better penetrators and better on defense. Quickley is a much more talented scorer overall than freshman AA Harrison.

Wing; Give me Maxey over James Young all day. More versatile scorer, much better passer and defender. Young had a nice shot but was one of the worst passers I’ve ever seen at Kentucky, and an indifferent defender.

PF - This is the biggest mismatch and the only place 2014 has a clear advantage. Randle was a double-double machine and commanded the attention of the defense. Only edge to EJ: He might be a better defender and rim protector.

5- Huge edge to junior Nick over freshman Dakari or WCS as a sophomore. Nick is a bona fide scorer, a rim protector and rebounder. In a typical game, the 2014 team didn’t get that much from the 5.

Bench - totally different. 2020 has better scorers on the bench with Sestina, Juzang and Brooks. 2014 might have had better rebounders with WCS, Lee and Poythress.

Bottom Line: it is hard to argue against the idea that 2020 has better players, more experience and more ways to beat teams than 2014. At this point in the season, 2014 was still stumbling around looking for an identity (lost to a terrible S.C. team on March 1). Will 2020 find another level of cohesion late - and play with luck on their side? We’ll see. ,

 

[akaukswoosh]

looking for an identity (lost to a terrible S.C. team on March 1).

I still vividly remember that game and thinking the team looked very fatigued and ready for the season to end. One of the reasons I think this team can still improve significantly this late in the year.

 

[Poetax]

That team went to the final game and likely wins a championship if WCS isn’t injured and Randle isn’t forced to play on a badly bruised foot.

Guards: I gotta go with sophomores Hagans and Quickley over freshmen A and AA Harrison. Quicker, better at seeing the floor in Hagans’ case, better penetrators and better on defense. Quickley is a much more talented scorer overall than freshman AA Harrison.

Wing; Give me Maxey over James Young all day. More versatile scorer, much better passer and defender. Young had a nice shot but was one of the worst passers I’ve ever seen at Kentucky, and an indifferent defender.

PF - This is the biggest mismatch and the only place 2014 has a clear advantage. Randle was a double-double machine and commanded the attention of the defense. Only edge to EJ: He might be a better defender and rim protector.

5- Huge edge to junior Nick over freshman Dakari or WCS as a sophomore. Nick is a bona fide scorer, a rim protector and rebounder. In a typical game, the 2014 team didn’t get that much from the 5.

Bench - totally different. 2020 has better scorers on the bench with Sestina, Juzang and Brooks. 2014 might have had better rebounders with WCS, Lee and Poythress.

Bottom Line: it is hard to argue against the idea that 2020 has better players, more experience and more ways to beat teams than 2014. At this point in the season, 2014 was still stumbling around looking for an identity (lost to a terrible S.C. team on March 1). Will 2020 find another level of cohesion late - and play with luck on their side? We’ll see. ,

I guess if we get to the FF we will see. All I know is if Willie had played against Uconn we would have #9 already.

 

[d2atTech]

That team went to the final game and likely wins a championship if WCS isn’t injured and Randle isn’t forced to play on a badly bruised foot.

Guards: I gotta go with sophomores Hagans and Quickley over freshmen A and AA Harrison. Quicker, better at seeing the floor in Hagans’ case, better penetrators and better on defense. Quickley is a much more talented scorer overall than freshman AA Harrison.

Wing; Give me Maxey over James Young all day. More versatile scorer, much better passer and defender. Young had a nice shot but was one of the worst passers I’ve ever seen at Kentucky, and an indifferent defender.

PF - This is the biggest mismatch and the only place 2014 has a clear advantage. Randle was a double-double machine and commanded the attention of the defense. Only edge to EJ: He might be a better defender and rim protector.

5- Huge edge to junior Nick over freshman Dakari or WCS as a sophomore. Nick is a bona fide scorer, a rim protector and rebounder. In a typical game, the 2014 team didn’t get that much from the 5.

Bench - totally different. 2020 has better scorers on the bench with Sestina, Juzang and Brooks. 2014 might have had better rebounders with WCS, Lee and Poythress.

Bottom Line: it is hard to argue against the idea that 2020 has better players, more experience and more ways to beat teams than 2014. At this point in the season, 2014 was still stumbling around looking for an identity (lost to a terrible S.C. team on March 1). Will 2020 find another level of cohesion late - and play with luck on their side? We’ll see. ,

aarons balls were bigger than the moon that year. This team isn’t better

 

[BourbonBBN]

Yes, I think so.

 

[kybassfan]

WCS was a freak of nature. Lateral quickness in a 7 footer that I have never seen before. The Harrison twins may well be the most underrated guard tandem in history. The only reason they are not held in reverence at UK is an entitled few at in the dregs of our fan base were let down.

This team may have the potential of 2014. Right now, they aren’t that good.

I would have loved to see Richards on the floor with WCS. Damn, what a front line defense.

 

[STL_Cat]

They’ve had a better regular season, that’s for sure. We’ll see what happens in March.

 

[JerseyCat84_rivals57050]

Not at all

 

[fatguy87]

They’ve had a better regular season, that’s for sure. We’ll see what happens in March.

The 2014 team had a dreadful ending to the season. They lost 3 out of their 4 last games and punctuated it by getting blown out by UF. Thankfully, the tweak happened and we caught fire in the postseason.

 

[HenryMuto]

No.

2014 had great talent but just didn't come together until the end of the year. They lost 3 times to a Florida team that was a #1 seed so that was 3 of their 10 regular season losses.

The 2014 team proved how good they were beating all those teams in the tournament. This team was special and proved it at the end of the year.

 

[Jkwo_rivals113955]

The spot by spot comparison gets you like 50% of the way - a pretty rough estimate of team quality.

Sure, it modestly correlates with how good a team is, but it's not surefire by any means.

The other half comes down to cohesion, mentality, grindability - where are their heads at in the last 5 minutes of a game?

Now, some people on here mistake any close outcome for "not wanting it enough", which is stupid, because the other team presumably wants it, too.

But if every single game is close at the end, that causes me to worry about playing down to the competition.

When it comes to intangibles, this team performs very poorly in terms of "putting it out of reach", but extremely well in terms of "winning the last two minutes".

That other team wasn't great at either until late in the season.

Can this squad start to be just as mean with 6 minutes remaining as they are with 2? I think they're trying to head that way - we'll see if they can accomplish it. That will determine where these guys stand in the big picture.

 

[AllBall]

That team went to the final game and likely wins a championship if WCS isn’t injured and Randle isn’t forced to play on a badly bruised foot.

Guards: I gotta go with sophomores Hagans and Quickley over freshmen A and AA Harrison. Quicker, better at seeing the floor in Hagans’ case, better penetrators and better on defense. Quickley is a much more talented scorer overall than freshman AA Harrison.

Wing; Give me Maxey over James Young all day. More versatile scorer, much better passer and defender. Young had a nice shot but was one of the worst passers I’ve ever seen at Kentucky, and an indifferent defender.

PF - This is the biggest mismatch and the only place 2014 has a clear advantage. Randle was a double-double machine and commanded the attention of the defense. Only edge to EJ: He might be a better defender and rim protector.

5- Huge edge to junior Nick over freshman Dakari or WCS as a sophomore. Nick is a bona fide scorer, a rim protector and rebounder. In a typical game, the 2014 team didn’t get that much from the 5.

Bench - totally different. 2020 has better scorers on the bench with Sestina, Juzang and Brooks. 2014 might have had better rebounders with WCS, Lee and Poythress.

Bottom Line: it is hard to argue against the idea that 2020 has better players, more experience and more ways to beat teams than 2014. At this point in the season, 2014 was still stumbling around looking for an identity (lost to a terrible S.C. team on March 1). Will 2020 find another level of cohesion late - and play with luck on their side? We’ll see. ,

I like my team

 

[Madcat62_rivals113839]

They’ve had a better regular season, that’s for sure. We’ll see what happens in March.

might want to look at the teams they lost to compared to this year

 

[morgousky]

Not even close. Julius Randle continues to be the most underrated player of college basketball the last 10 years. EJ has no “edge” at all when it comes to Randle.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

It wont matter much if this team cant get at least an Elite 8, but probably more.

But its interesting to look back on that 2014 team.. they had a lot of issues during the year that seemingly were all erased due to some clutch play down the stretch, mainly from Aaron Harrison, as we all know.

 

[KDCats11]

aarons balls were bigger than the moon that year. This team isn’t better

By this logic, even if this team were to win it all this year then they still wouldn't be better because "aarons balls were bigger than the moon that year."

The truth is what you said makes no sense. This team has a better resume than that team had by a mile to this point in the year. We all loved the run they made, but to suggest that team is miles ahead of this year's team is simply crazy.

 

[ScrewDuke1]

As of right now yes this team is better. The 2014 team looked really rough especially at the end of the season. This team has had a few slip ups but has played better than that team did at similar points in time. We will see if this team will outdo that team in the tournament though.

 

[STL_Cat]

might want to look at the teams they lost to compared to this year

I’m not sure exactly what you mean by that, other than I’ll concede the Evansville loss. Believe me, I’ve been hard on this team about that. But that team took some bad L’s too, and had a ton of em.

I do think that team was more talented on the top end which is why we saw them do wha they did in the tournament. But that was a painful regular season.

 

[YouKay]

It’s not the best comparison and I don’t know why you picked it. This team compares better to the 2011 team, only it is doing much better on the road in the SEC. There’s a decent chance this team ends up as a 4 seed, despite what we think and even if they win the SEC. Some #1 seed is gonna be really unhappy on the second weekend.

 

[d2atTech]

Dude....

By this logic, even if this team were to win it all this year then they still wouldn't be better because "aarons balls were bigger than the moon that year."

The truth is what you said makes no sense. This team has a better resume than that team had by a mile to this point in the year. We all loved the run they made, but to suggest that team is miles ahead of this year's team is simply crazy.

2014 we were a more favorable rim and a less insane UConn away from winning it all. We nearly had no. 9. Till we make a final four with this team, 2014 has the edge

 

[HerrosHeroes]

I think this team absolutely is better.
More experience, fewer losses for starters.
Not as much raw talent but the pieces seem to fit better.

Richards is miles better than Johnson and I think that is the biggest difference.

This team plays better defense too.

 

[JC CATS]

It’s not the best comparison and I don’t know why you picked it. This team compares better to the 2011 team, only it is doing much better on the road in the SEC. There’s a decent chance this team ends up as a 4 seed, despite what we think and even if they win the SEC. Some #1 seed is gonna be really unhappy on the second weekend.

You think we will be a 4 seed if we win out? I think 3 at worse and prolly 2

 

[bigblueinsanity_rivals250340]

Not even close. Julius Randle continues to be the most underrated player of college basketball the last 10 years. EJ has no “edge” at all when it comes to Randle.

Randle is the difference. What a player.

 

[TBCat]

It's really hard to answer this question. The 2014 team wasn't good and didn't live up to expectations until the post season. This team on paper is far better but also far more inconsistent. By definition to win a title a team must be able to win 6 straight. This year's team has shown that it does not have the athletic talent to win when it doesn't play well. The 2014 team actually could although it was a narrow path. So the end question is can this year's team play 6 straight good games. At the end of the day my answer is no. This team is at best capable of 3 good games. So this is probably a team that loses in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. While we've gotten better this team is still 3 rounds short of being a championship level team. The 2014 team was also insistent but could actually win when not playing their best. This team can't.

 

[podgejeff_]

Randle over Montgomery is such a laughable mismatch.

Like I said in another thread with Terrence Jones, put Julius Randle on this team at the 4 and we're undefeated and stomping teams on our way to #9.

 

[Panthur]

All I’m saying:

Calipari tweaks this team and everyone else in the country better run get under a car.

 

[Paulyv94]

I still vividly remember that game and thinking the team looked very fatigued and ready for the season to end. One of the reasons I think this team can still improve significantly this late in the year.

Hell yeah. I was at this game actually. I got to see Davis in the game in Columbia two years before (Back then we played them every other year maybe?) and then the 2014 team. They got down by like twelve and then got it close but SC won. I would have never believed that the team I saw that night would have made it to the title game. Not in a million years.. Goes to show you anything can happen in March.

ALSO, would have much rather played Florida for a Third (Maybe Fourth?) Time than Uconn. Was so pissed we got there to lose to that sorry *** school. Uconn was a pain in our *** in the early Cal years.

 

[UKcatXXXL]

2014 was better

Randle was one of the most special freshman at Kentucky to this point during the Cal era.

 

[JonathanW_rivals]

That team went to the final game and likely wins a championship if WCS isn’t injured and Randle isn’t forced to play on a badly bruised foot.

Guards: I gotta go with sophomores Hagans and Quickley over freshmen A and AA Harrison. Quicker, better at seeing the floor in Hagans’ case, better penetrators and better on defense. Quickley is a much more talented scorer overall than freshman AA Harrison.

Wing; Give me Maxey over James Young all day. More versatile scorer, much better passer and defender. Young had a nice shot but was one of the worst passers I’ve ever seen at Kentucky, and an indifferent defender.

PF - This is the biggest mismatch and the only place 2014 has a clear advantage. Randle was a double-double machine and commanded the attention of the defense. Only edge to EJ: He might be a better defender and rim protector.

5- Huge edge to junior Nick over freshman Dakari or WCS as a sophomore. Nick is a bona fide scorer, a rim protector and rebounder. In a typical game, the 2014 team didn’t get that much from the 5.

Bench - totally different. 2020 has better scorers on the bench with Sestina, Juzang and Brooks. 2014 might have had better rebounders with WCS, Lee and Poythress.

Bottom Line: it is hard to argue against the idea that 2020 has better players, more experience and more ways to beat teams than 2014. At this point in the season, 2014 was still stumbling around looking for an identity (lost to a terrible S.C. team on March 1). Will 2020 find another level of cohesion late - and play with luck on their side? We’ll see. ,

I have been a supporter of Richards all 3 years, and while I would give him the advantage over WCS & Johnson, I wouldn't call it "huge". Richards has become a good defender, WCS was an elite one. If you want to look at the stats Richards per-30-min stats are 14.2, 8.0, 2.2, where as WCS were 8.6, 7.7, 3.6 and Johnson's were 11.0, 8.2, 1.2 (combined the 2 of them were 9.5, 7.9, 2.7). So Richards much better scorer, about the same rebounding, and even with Johnson I have to give defense to 14.

On the bench you can't have both WCS and Poythress, since they were 5th & 6th in minutes played. So the 14 bench was Poythess, Johnson, Hawkins, and Polson, & Lee if you really want to dig (4.1 mpg).

I think the one advantage 14 had, is that Randle wasn't just much better than EJ is, he was an elite offensive force when he wanted to be.

 

[cal=8]

That team went to the final game and likely wins a championship if WCS isn’t injured and Randle isn’t forced to play on a badly bruised foot.

Guards: I gotta go with sophomores Hagans and Quickley over freshmen A and AA Harrison. Quicker, better at seeing the floor in Hagans’ case, better penetrators and better on defense. Quickley is a much more talented scorer overall than freshman AA Harrison.

Wing; Give me Maxey over James Young all day. More versatile scorer, much better passer and defender. Young had a nice shot but was one of the worst passers I’ve ever seen at Kentucky, and an indifferent defender.

PF - This is the biggest mismatch and the only place 2014 has a clear advantage. Randle was a double-double machine and commanded the attention of the defense. Only edge to EJ: He might be a better defender and rim protector.

5- Huge edge to junior Nick over freshman Dakari or WCS as a sophomore. Nick is a bona fide scorer, a rim protector and rebounder. In a typical game, the 2014 team didn’t get that much from the 5.

Bench - totally different. 2020 has better scorers on the bench with Sestina, Juzang and Brooks. 2014 might have had better rebounders with WCS, Lee and Poythress.

Bottom Line: it is hard to argue against the idea that 2020 has better players, more experience and more ways to beat teams than 2014. At this point in the season, 2014 was still stumbling around looking for an identity (lost to a terrible S.C. team on March 1). Will 2020 find another level of cohesion late - and play with luck on their side? We’ll see. ,

 

[cal=8]

I just hope this team can win without having to make a three to win in every game during the tournament. Not sure my 6 year older heart could take it.. That was the most exciting yet hard to watch run we've ever went on. What thing to witness..

 

[caneintally]

Yes . Despite the run in the tourney that team went on they weren't very good until then and all you can go on is what that team looked like at this point vs what we look like now . They got hot in the SEC Tourney and derserve credit but lets not confuse that team with any of Cal's better teams. The question is whether this team is better then the 2011 , 2017 or last year's team. I think we are better then the 2011 team AT THIS POINT. and not quite as good as the 2017 or 19 team AT THIS POINT as that is all you can judge . Regardless we are just playing against the field this season not other year's teams and no one is great this year. Hell the 2017 Cats would be so far and away the favorites this season with Fox Monk and Bam it wouldn't be funny. No one in college is as good as Fox was that year and Bam was as good as any big this year.

 

[jrpross_rivals]

aarons balls were bigger than the moon that year. This team isn’t better

Aaron caught lightening in a bottle in the tournament. It was fantastic but if any one of those 3 shots rims out, his mystique is gone. A sophomore Quickley is better at most everything than he was as a freshman.

 

[STL_Cat]

Aaron caught lightening in a bottle in the tournament. It was fantastic but if any one of those 3 shots rims out, his mystique is gone. A sophomore Quickley is better at most everything than he was as a freshman.

That’s part of sports, though. Especially at UK legends are made in March. They all went in, so he earned himself a spot in UK lore.

 

[jrpross_rivals]

That’s part of sports, though. Especially at UK legends are made in March. They all went in, so he earned himself a spot in UK lore.

Absolutely and he deserves his spot in UK lore. I go back and rewatch those shots every few months or so. I just think as an overall player, he gets inflated a bit because of those 3 shots. Doesn’t mean that I don’t love him or that he wasn’t clutch as heck in that tournament. But if you asked if I’d rather have him or Quickley as my starting 2 guard, all things considered, I’d probably take Quick.

 

[GonzoCat90]

I don't think they're anywhere close to as good as 2014, except to people who terribly underrate the twins, Randle, Poythress, Dakari and James Young.

Randle is the best player on either squad by a substantial margin and 2014's bench is deeper. Poythress at the 4 would make this team significantly better, and he came off the bench. Dakari/Willie, whichever you prefer, is miles better than everyone we bring off the bench.

2020 isn't even as good as 2019.

 

[jwheat]

Randle would single handedly beat this team. He would make EJ quit the game of basketball altogether

 

[littlecreek]

20 has had a better regular season by far. 14 had more talent but it didn’t gel until the postseason. 20 has more experience which will be huge in the postseason. We have been craving a UK team with returning experience and we have that this year. Hopefully it all comes together when it counts. Also, guards are very important as is good free throw shooting in the tournament, which UK has both. This team is quietly positioning itself for a good run this year. After 2015 I don’t allow myself to get too emotionally involved anymore, I hate the heartache. Bad draws, crooked refs, Duke favoritism, and cheaters(UNC, UL, KU and Duke) going unpunished has tempered my hopes.

 

[SDcatfan13]

I don't think they're anywhere close to as good as 2014, except to people who terribly underrate the twins, Randle, Poythress, Dakari and James Young.

Randle is the best player on either squad by a substantial margin and 2014's bench is deeper. Poythress at the 4 would make this team significantly better, and he came off the bench. Dakari/Willie, whichever you prefer, is miles better than everyone we bring off the bench.

2020 isn't even as good as 2019.

2019 and 2020 are both better teams than 2014. That team looked really ugly a times, and just because it had more raw talent (though I don't think there's much of a gap) doesn't make I'd a better team. The tournament run was fantastic, but for entire seasons these 2 teams have been more impressive.

 

[wacatss]

I feel (Dakari+WCS）> Nick.
Nick does not have a quality backup.

No bench player is in Poythress level.