Next yrs starting five?
- Thread starter HerrosHeroes
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One of those UNLV teams AVERAGED over 110 points a game. And that was before the three point rule, and the two Smiths were a threat to shoot a long one (and make it) when they got past midcourt. I think that was the team that lost to UNC when they spread the floor and played stall ball, probably a big reason we have the shot clock today. And they lost by a point when Robert Smith led the nation in free throw shooting all year and went 2 for 5 in that game. A lot like UK shooting one for six from the free throw line at the critical point in the Peters game. UK shot unbelievably bad from the line that game and they shot unbelievably good.
Why are so many of you predicting/hoping for Wallace over Wheeler? Wallace is NOT a pg. He has played very little of it. He has enough pressure on him coming here playing in front of some idiot know more than hall of fame coach fans , playing out of position would be career suicide. I can hear some of you already "my God Wallace is horrible, turnover after turnover etc. Etc." No **** because throwing him into the fire at a position he is not used to playing because a 2 time all sec pg doesn't suit you, he will struggle and struggle mightily. It is hard enough for freshmen to perform at elite levels at UK. Make them play a position that doesn't best suit their game would only make it even harder.
Well we need better than a point guard that can't shoot to save his life to actually make a final 4.
Well not if you need a true pg. A guy name Rondo couldn't shoot for **** either. Wheeler is a distributing pg first, scorer second. Wtf do you think he averages all those assist ? So now we are too good for a 2 time all sec pg? Some of you deserve a Devin Askew. 7 assist per game , you know assist is the stat pg's are most graded by, and you are not satisfied. Not every pg can be Ja Morant, damn. Do you want a true point or a all world hall of fame score first pg, because if 2 time all sec isn't good enough for you , nba is your only place to find what you are looking for. There is not a Fox type pg available this year lol. Maybe we can go pick a Brandon Knight off of the pg tree out behind Rupp Arena.
Looks good, except that Wheeler can’t shoot. Enjoy the sagging defenses as they dare him to launch jumpers.
Wheeler is not anywhere close to Rondo. And Rondo is about 4 inches taller and has the wing span of a pterodactyl!
Listen, I love Wheeler’s heart. His motor is always going. He just doesn’t have the physical skills to get the job done at the level we want him to.
Just don’t see us making the Final Four and winning a title with him as our primary PG. I sure hope to have a big ole plate of crow in April 2023, though.
WTF.You are actually comparing Wheeler to a guy who starred in the NBA like Rondo?
No! Please no!
That team is a disaster offensively, even if the SG shoots like Steph Curry, we are still in trouble.
Well sorry to say it, but Wheeler is your starting pg so get used to it or jump off the bandwagon. I’ll trust Cal and basketball experts that have him rated a top 5 pg in the nation.
I have accepted it, but I don’t agree with it. As I said before, I hope to eat crow on this.
And you degraded two players. So? Hypocrite.
Yes. Point guards at UK who couldn't shoot worth a **** but was still solid pg for what a pg is suppose to be. How many assist did Ronda average per game? To's per game ? Shooting %s. Points per game? Compare their numbers then holla back at me. BTW, IDGAF what Rondo did in the NBA. UK is my comparison. Do we get credit for what former players achieve in the NBA? Maybe they changed it and transfer their #'s. Lol. Booker is doing pretty damn good also in the NBA. Was he a better 2G than Aaron Harrison? I mean Harrison can't compare to Book in the NBA. See how dumbs that logic is? Never said Wheeler was as good or better than Rondo, I said both of them couldn't shoot for **** but where / are good college pg's.
The only pg In your rant that was even in the final four was Brandon knight.
As others have pointed out rondo is not even close to comparable to wheeler,
rondo’s defense was unreal, his decision making and basketball iq is off the charts, he is an nba HOF’r
it’s not right comparing him just like it’s not right saying fans deserve Devin askew.
fans are frustrated because wheeler is a liability in half court defense, is a liability in half court offense and Cal refuses to change to a zone or spread the floor allowing him to be effective.
i think some fan frustration with wheeler is reasonable and others is not, but in our coaches system all SEC or not, it is difficult to believe he can be the lead guard on a final four team. We lost to a 15 seed this season so I think fans are wondering if we try the same thing next year how the results will be different is all.
Once again you can't use Rondo's NBA career. We are talking in COLLEGE.
Rondo 8.8 ppg. 4.9 assist 2.3 to's 2 steals per game. 27% 3fg(lol Wheeler is bad???) 55% ft%.
Wheeler 10.2 ppg 7 assist 3to's 2 steals per game. 31% 3fg 79% free-throws.
You sure about your rant ? Keep in mind, college stats only. Proof is in the pudding and no extra style points because you like player 1 better than player 2. Use real data and facts and look at them. We don't even want to factor in team chemistry or leadership do we ? Lol. Rondo can't get along with his mom I'm sure. Great nba career and most definitely the better college connect 4 player, but college pg, maybe, maybe not.
Yes I am sure that not a single basketball person outside of the wheeler family would choose him over college rondo.
I watched rondo in college, his support cast did not include a lottery pic, a player of the year, a 2000 point 5th year senior, a 6th year senior and a few other top rated recruits.
come on man you can say fans shouldn’t **** on wheeler and I agree, but if you would choose college wheeler over college rondo I don’t know if it’s worth having a discussion with you.
you completely ignored the aspect of how wheeler is handicapped by Cal’s refusal to switch defenses as well. Rondo could guard in the half court and fill court in man to man. Wheeler is 5 foot 7 and not Tyler ullis on defense so it hurts his game.
I agree with you that wheeler is the only option we have at point and we just as well get used to it aspect though.
Not getting to Final Four anyway with the line ups I am seeing, unless we find some shooting somewhere this team has same problem last years did. Wheeler can't depend on him making a shot, Livingston not an outside shooter, Wallace who knows whether he can shoot in college game, I sure hope so because if you are depending on Toppin to do it we are screwed. I am praying CJ is healthy ,AND we get another scoring threat in portal like a Davis. Still have a huge hole at the 4 7nless Collins improves dramatically. I would love to see us pick up a thick body banger in portal to shore up the four and help Oscar guard the rim when opposing guards blow by our guards like they have for 2 years.
How do you figure? Let’s break this down shall we… Wheeler and Oscar will probably be just as good if not slightly improved from last year. Generally you get better as you become more of a veteran. Agreed? Good, now do you think Brooks is better than Toppin? Or last years Brooks is better than what this years Toppin will be? I personally don’t think so. At least not defensively. And Toppin shoots a higher % from 2. Mainly Bc he dunks most of his shots where Brooks takes 15-18 footers. So we can agree that at the very worst, Toppin is just as good as last years Brooks? Good. Ok now to Wallace and Livingston compared to TYTy and Grady… so you truly believe that what tyty and Grady gave us against ST Peter’s is better than what Wallace and Livingston will give? The 3-19 shooting and horrible defense while being beat on many back door cuts, iS truly better? Now if you’re saying mid season TyTy and Grady, then it’s more of an argument. But mid season Tyty and Grady gives Kentucky a real chance to win it all. We were arguably the best team in the country for a while. But that wasn’t the Tyty and Grady we had at the end of the year. They were horrible.
Now as far as Defense goes I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that Wallace and Livingston will be more superior. They’re longer, more athletic and they seem more physical than both. Let’s be honest, Grady wasn’t a good defender . And once Tyty got hurt, he wasn’t either.
Overall Tyty and Grady might give Kentucky more from 3… again if you’re talking mid season form. But Wallace and Livingston will give you more defensive, better potential at finding lanes to the rim offensively, and more than likely better in transition Bc of their athleticism compared to Tyty and Grady’s. So again, do you really feel like last years starting 5 would be better? I don’t . Unless again we are talking mid season guards. Which THAT team could’ve won it all. But I think we’ll have the ability to have that chance next year too
Wheeler (or Dillingham if he can/will reclass would be a true dream)
Wallace
Sharpe (if he is not here, Reaves)
Livingston
Oscar
Gives us a bench of
Toppin (will split minutes with Livingston)
CJ
Collins
Ware
PG from portal (if we get Dillingham, I think Wheeler will leave)
Also, I think Brooks will come back to college, but not at UK if Sharpe comes back.
Wallace
Sharpe (if he is not here, Reaves)
Livingston
Oscar
Gives us a bench of
Toppin (will split minutes with Livingston)
CJ
Collins
Ware
PG from portal (if we get Dillingham, I think Wheeler will leave)
Also, I think Brooks will come back to college, but not at UK if Sharpe comes back.
I’m not going to be excited about any starting lineup that has Wheeler in it.
What Rondo has done in the NBA is irrelevant in this discussion.
Rondo's last year at UK he averaged 11.2 PPG, shot .273 from 3, .571 from the line, averaged 4.9 AST and 2.3 TOV. Wheeler's numbers compare pretty favorably to these. Oh, and UK lost in the 2nd round going 22-13 for the season, 9-7 in the SEC.
You are missing my point. I am not saying Wheeler is better. I simply used Rondo to compare other point guards who couldn't shoot for ****. Then I used stats to back it , simple as that. My point was this. You can be a true point guard and help the team and not have to be a 20ppg scoring pg. Now, if you are a true pg, well you had better have shooters around you I agree. Wheeler shot 31% , I mean we have had worse. He is terrible from distance no denying. He does have a really nice pull up 15 footer off the bounce, and is very good at driving and scoring. I have not seen one person in the "should Wheeler be the starting pg" debate give him ANY credit for his assist. Ability to direct the team, and pesky full court defense. Hell he got injured twice while guarding full court and teammates not warning g him of a pick. Go back and watch games. Wheeler was very tenacious on defense. In a debate you can just focus on a person's negatives and ignore the positives. It gives your debating skills away.
PG - Wallace
SG - Reeves
SF - Livingston
PF - Stretch PF transfer
C - Oscar
Having said that I think there's a boatload of potential with Toppin if he continues to develop. I like Toppin much more than Collins as he's much more versatile, can defend the perimeter better and CAN develop his outside shot more and at least keeps teams honest. I think it might be hard to get a starting caliber PF to come because of the unknown in Brooks, the return of Oscar and Toppin, Collins and Ware all sitting there ready to eat up minutes.
SG - Reeves
SF - Livingston
PF - Stretch PF transfer
C - Oscar
Having said that I think there's a boatload of potential with Toppin if he continues to develop. I like Toppin much more than Collins as he's much more versatile, can defend the perimeter better and CAN develop his outside shot more and at least keeps teams honest. I think it might be hard to get a starting caliber PF to come because of the unknown in Brooks, the return of Oscar and Toppin, Collins and Ware all sitting there ready to eat up minutes.
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I think assists are cool, give him credit for that if you want but the facts are it takes more than that to win games and much more than that to win if John Calipari is your coach.
he lead the league in assists two years in a row for a team who didn’t make the tourney and a team that lost to a 15 seed.
I think most poster’s points are that if wheeler is the 30 minute a guy point guard and nothing changes then it will be hard to see Kentucky past the sweet 16 or even in the sweet 16 next year.
Next year just looks like it needs a total overhaul in the way Cal coaches or the roster in order to be a big success, luckily the portal isn’t closed yet because we know cal ain’t changing.
This. A whole lot of this. I get the portal and all...but as it stands...this team has lost some dudes...and follows it up with, to date, no portal signings and the 25thish rated class. No bueno.