Ryan Hampton's father on UK

[SandyBell'sFaxMachine]

“I think Kentucky – and it may sound crazy – is underrated. If you look at their team last year, everybody was hurt. Pope knows what he’s doing. I like the resurgence of Kentucky. I like it.”

- Rod Hampton (Ryan’s dad)

(via KSR, h/t Matt Sak)

 

[BBNSZN914]

I mean - with some needed critiques- pretty much my thoughts as well.

 

[meteordealer]

Pope had some big wins in 2024. We beat Duke, UL, Gonzaga, #1 Florida, etc.

I would like to see what he can do with a healthy roster.

 

[theBlues]

Pope plays his bench 50 mpg. Last year, after KW got hurt, we had these players on the bench:

center: BG...decent defense and a black hole on offense.
PF: AJ...poor shooting, turnovers, incredibly inefficient post defense
SF: Noah...decent rebounding and average defense and a shooting slump, likely mental
SG: JJ...poor defense, turnovers
PG: JJ...poor defense, turnovers

At what position will our bench NOT be improved?
Also, we have 3 natural point guards and last year we had zero.

Yes, I think this roster is already better than last year.

 

[JAC71]

We have been burned by so many good players recently I feel like Uk is just another hat on table. I believe that coaches or maybe even agents put their players/clients up so some shenanigans to make certain school and fan base look inferior…. Will Wade

 

[Crestcat]

A few people try to be reasonable, most don't.

 

[SandyBell'sFaxMachine]

I like seeing a top recruit's family having that view of last season. Because just looking at the results is a scary picture...

 

[BBNSZN914]

Pope had some big wins in 2024. We beat Duke, UL, Gonzaga, #1 Florida, etc.

I would like to see what he can do with a healthy roster.

I feel like if Butler was healthy all year then w Momo and Moreno we are in that convo. I haven’t seen Hampton enough to know the trade off w him and Momo.

 

[DudahUK]

Yeah he sounds big on Pope. His kid better reclass if he really wants to play for him cause he won’t get the chance next year.

 

[battle_cats]

Yeah he sounds big on Pope. His kid better reclass if he really wants to play for him cause he won’t get the chance next year.

Wrong as usual

 

[exo6desmo]

Word is it's SMU or LSU.

 

[JAC71]

I would advise Pope to pull offers to players that don’t take him serious but we would only be getting 3 star players to commit if that’s the case

 

[LineSkiCat14]

For all my criticism of Pope and last seasons roster.. we did have someof the worst injury woes in recent college ball memory. Lost basically two starters and then a key bench piece.

Some say Lowe wasnt gonna change much, and that may be true. But it still threw everything off. We had one guy filling in for PG. Even if Lowe wasnt great at any point last year, I think hes still good enough to lead the team on the floor, move the ball, run the offense, etc.

Those injuries were definitely worth a few losses on the w/l column for sure

 

[loublue22_rivals308424]

Pope isn't signing any 5 stars

 

[moses1uk]

If he re classes UK is out . He would be 3rd or 4th string behind the players at his position . He wants to start

 

[JwUKFan11]

A few people try to be reasonable, most don't.

I've seen Pope's entire career and 2 years here. I don't think reason is the problem.

 

[DudahUK]

Wrong as usual

As usual? Who are you? And what have I been wrong about? It’s okay, I’ll wait.

 

[wildcatdon]

Get Victorius Miller if this kid is reluctant. Dont sit on your hands.

 

[Tim0808]

Pope had some big wins in 2024. We beat Duke, UL, Gonzaga, #1 Florida, etc.

I would like to see what he can do with a healthy roster.

Are we really talking about wins 2 years ago? Do not forget to mention, Joe B. Hall had some big upsets in his last year in the NCAA tournament too.

 

[BlueBloodKyFan72]

If he re classes UK is out . He would be 3rd or 4th string behind the players at his position . He wants to start

He would start over anyone we have at the SF position right now.

 

[Rainmaker]

He would start over anyone we have at the SF position right now.

He is actually a better fit than Milan overall. Hampton is very athletic and is a more well rounded player, most likely a one and done and first round pick next year IMO. Has a ton of potential, not the shooter Milan is but very well rounded overall game with a ton of upside. If we can end up with Milan or him it would catapult us into the top 15 preseason.

You are correct, he would absolutely be the starting 3.

 

[BlueBloodKyFan72]

He is actually a better fit than Milan overall. Hampton is very athletic and is a more well rounded player, most likely a one and done and first round pick next year IMO. Has a ton of potential, not the shooter Milan is but very well rounded overall game with a ton of upside. If we can end up with Milan or him it would catapult us into the top 15 preseason.

You are correct, he would absolutely be the starting 3.

Agree with everything but neither him or Milan makes us top 15 right now

 

[jeffky]

“I think Kentucky – and it may sound crazy – is underrated. If you look at their team last year, everybody was hurt. Pope knows what he’s doing. I like the resurgence of Kentucky. I like it.”

- Rod Hampton (Ryan’s dad)

(via KSR, h/t Matt Sak)

Hey pope

 

[20MRoster]

Some of you keep getting roped in, it's quite comical. Bet Pope thinks he has him "locked up" too.

I still remember the reactions to Stokes shooting at Rupp on IG Live -- God bless, some of you are gullible as ****

 

[Anon526415]

He is actually a better fit than Milan overall. Hampton is very athletic and is a more well rounded player, most likely a one and done and first round pick next year IMO. Has a ton of potential, not the shooter Milan is but very well rounded overall game with a ton of upside. If we can end up with Milan or him it would catapult us into the top 15 preseason.

You are correct, he would absolutely be the starting 3.

 

[BlueSince92]

I can agree more or less. Pope didn't build that roster last year where its ceiling would have been any higher than Elite Eight even if we had no new injuries and Jayden Quaintance was an absolute beast from day 1. He just didn't bring in enough perimeter firepower to optimize his own system, which is way I'm staying so real in my comments about our roster construction this year.

And while Elite Eight was our ceiling last year, it was definitely not our floor. While Mr. Hampton is right about our injury situation as far as it goes, that was only half the story last year. Superhealthy Lowe would have helped things a little bit, but regardless we still had mondo problems with many of our players learning to master their defensive assignments (sort of eventually mostly were able to get there by the very end of the season——that is, they eventually got to where they should have been by early January at the latest) and their roles in our complicated offense (as a team we never came close to learning that. It was very rough going just getting to where they were eventually able to master the dumbed-down, idiot-proof, less effective version of our offense that Pope wound up having to shrug and install). All that made a bigger net difference than our injuries.

Elite Eight ceiling is still nothing to sneeze at. Especially compared to the perception of Kentucky basketball right now in the world at large. So again, I can sort of agree with what he said, as long as it's qualified somewhat.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

“I think Kentucky – and it may sound crazy – is underrated. If you look at their team last year, everybody was hurt. Pope knows what he’s doing. I like the resurgence of Kentucky. I like it.”

- Rod Hampton (Ryan’s dad)

(via KSR, h/t Matt Sak)

That doesn’t explain just not showing up for games and quitting in others.

And sometimes both.

 

[JHannibalSmith]

I can agree more or less. Pope didn't build that roster last year where its ceiling would have been any higher than Elite Eight even if we had no new injuries and Jayden Quaintance was an absolute beast from day 1. He just didn't bring in enough perimeter firepower to optimize his own system, which is way I'm staying so real in my comments about our roster construction this year.

And while Elite Eight was our ceiling last year, it was definitely not our floor. While Mr. Hampton is right about our injury situation as far as it goes, that was only half the story last year. Superhealthy Lowe would have helped things a little bit, but regardless we still had mondo problems with many of our players learning to master their defensive assignments (sort of eventually mostly were able to get there by the very end of the season——that is, they eventually got to where they should have been by early January at the latest) and their roles in our complicated offense (as a team we never came close to learning that. It was very rough going just getting to where they were eventually able to master the dumbed-down, idiot-proof, less effective version of our offense that Pope wound up having to shrug and install). All that made a bigger net difference than our injuries.

Elite Eight ceiling is still nothing to sneeze at. Especially compared to the perception of Kentucky basketball right now in the world at large. So again, I can sort of agree with what he said, as long as it's qualified somewhat.

I agree. Roster construction is the main reason I’m so down on Pope. Last year’s roster & the one he’s building now both seriously lack the main ingredients needed to maximize the potential of zoom action. Lots of good perimeter shooting & quick ball movement is required & he loads up on average shooters & ball dominant players who dribble out the shot clock. Just very flawed rosters for what he wants to do.

He needs to start landing some elite guys, too. You just can’t go 0 for infinity on elite players & expect to do well, here. He could offset the talent deficit by recruiting smart players who are ideal fits for his system, but, he hasn’t done that these last two classes. He can still significantly help the roster if he can snag Momcilovic & Hampton, or, guys on that level, anyway. Not much left, though.

 

[NociHTTP]

I would advise Pope to pull offers to players that don’t take him serious but we would only be getting 3 star players to commit if that’s the case

He needs to reframe his offers. It's as much a job at selling a player on the idea as anything.

 

[BlueSince92]

I agree. Roster construction is the main reason I’m so down on Pope. Last year’s roster & the one he’s building now both seriously lack the main ingredients needed to maximize the potential of zoom action. Lots of good perimeter shooting & quick ball movement is required & he loads up on average shooters & ball dominant players who dribble out the shot clock. Just very flawed rosters for what he wants to do.

He needs to start landing some elite guys, too. You just can’t go 0 for infinity on elite players & expect to do well, here. He could offset the talent deficit by recruiting smart players who are ideal fits for his system, but, he hasn’t done that these last two classes. He can still significantly help the roster if he can snag Momcilovic & Hampton, or, guys on that level, anyway. Not much left, though.

I’m glad to hear someone else sees all this. Here’s hoping Pope will see it too and at least try to do something about it.

 

[Anon1776024529]

When is the last time, a recruit or his dad, said, that team sucks and that coach is the worst. It’s a train wreck.

 

[Catphright23]

When is the last time, a recruit or his dad, said, that team sucks and that coach is the worst. It’s a train wreck.

just jasper who sucked when you put him in the game. Who had to go to Oregon because no one in the sec wanted him...or JQ who already made money here and he wasn't the same after injury prior, his dad is after money too.

 

[SandyBell'sFaxMachine]

When is the last time, a recruit or his dad, said, that team sucks and that coach is the worst. It’s a train wreck.

He could've just said "Kentucky is Kentucky. When they call you answer." just to do the pr friendly thing. Pretty specific compared to general pleasantries.

 

[RunninRichie]

Stage 4, bargaining

 

[meteordealer]

Are we really talking about wins 2 years ago? Do not forget to mention, Joe B. Hall had some big upsets in his last year in the NCAA tournament too.

The overall body of work has to be considered. Not just last season.

 

[RedwoodHigh]

Yeah he sounds big on Pope. His kid better reclass if he really wants to play for him cause he won’t get the chance next year.

Pope will be coach at Ky when Hampton is playing in the NBA
Pope is going no where anytime soon.

 

[RedwoodHigh]

Pope isn't signing any 5 stars

We don’t need 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- We need a team full of Kam’s ,Zooms & Hawthornes .

 

[RedwoodHigh]

I agree. Roster construction is the main reason I’m so down on Pope. Last year’s roster & the one he’s building now both seriously lack the main ingredients needed to maximize the potential of zoom action. Lots of good perimeter shooting & quick ball movement is required & he loads up on average shooters & ball dominant players who dribble out the shot clock. Just very flawed rosters for what he wants to do.

He needs to start landing some elite guys, too. You just can’t go 0 for infinity on elite players & expect to do well, here. He could offset the talent deficit by recruiting smart players who are ideal fits for his system, but, he hasn’t done that these last two classes. He can still significantly help the roster if he can snag Momcilovic & Hampton, or, guys on that level, anyway. Not much left, though.

DJ was elite
JQ was elite
CARR was elite
JJ Was elite
Lowe was elite

 

[Cowtown Cat]

Are we really talking about wins 2 years ago? Do not forget to mention, Joe B. Hall had some big upsets in his last year in the NCAA tournament too.

Lmao he tied the record for wins vs top 15 teams in his first year at UK. That’s an accomplishment. ALL while battling MAJOR injuries. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

 

[DudahUK]

Pope will be coach at Ky when Hampton is playing in the NBA
Pope is going no where anytime soon.

Yes. I’ve seen you say this ad nauseam without ever saying why you are just so sure of it? I’ll refrain from what I think about you. Except you a troll to the max and somehow people are falling for it. Or you are in special education, either way. Leave me alone. I don’t want to talk to you. Thank ya kindly darling.