First Full Team Pic!

[lilproUK98]

Interesting.

[Joneslab]

Probably one of the deeper teams Cal has had to be honest.

Only thing they're really lacking might be a back-up center, but I suspect Travis and Washington will play so much together that depth at the 5 probably won't be too much of an issue.

Think Travis plays some at the 3 as well with Washington at the 4 and Montgomery at the 5.

Nick Richards is really going to have to fight for clock.

[KevinHall]

Ten scholarship players.

Nick Richards, Quade Green, Reid Travis, EJ Montgomery, Tyler Herro, PJ Washington, Keldon Johnson, Jemarl Baker, Immanuel Quickley, Ashton Hagans.

Calipari, David and Payne are the three walk-ons.

We are literally ten deep with almost no drop-off.

Sorry miscounted and I was going by WIll's post and he had left off Herro. Ten should be good depth. Maybe another platoon system?

[Joneslab]

Sorry miscounted and I was going by WIll's post and he had left off Herro. Ten should be good depth. Maybe another platoon system?

No way in the world.

Don't think this team has quite enough talent to do it. I think Cal hated it last time. And most importantly, I think we have two or three guys you're not going to be able to take off the floor much.

Hagans, Travis, Washington, and Johnson should be the backbones of most line-ups. Think all four of those guys play 30+ minutes.

You can't platoon unless you have similar talent all across your top 10. This team won't have that. It's got three or four who are going to be significantly better than the rest.

That said, I do think it's a unique team in that guys 8-10 should be able to push really hard for playing time. Some of Cal's teams haven't had that; they've gone six or seven strong and then fallen off. This team should have some real depth of talent.

[lilproUK98]

No way in the world.

Don't think this team has quite enough talent to do it. I think Cal hated it last time. And most importantly, I think we have two or three guys you're not going to be able to take off the floor much.

Hagans, Travis, Washington, and Johnson should be the backbones of most line-ups. Think all four of those guys play 30+ minutes.

You can't platoon unless you have similar talent all across your top 10. This team won't have that. It's got three or four who are going to be significantly better than the rest.

That said, I do think it's a unique team in that guys 8-10 should be able to push really hard for playing time. Some of Cal's teams haven't had that; they've gone six or seven strong and then fallen off. This team should have some real depth of talent.

Yep, you almost had to do it in 2014-15 because so many guys came back that had experience and talent. This year, PJ is the only one coming back that measures up to 2014-15 returnees like the twins, Dakari, Willie, Alex....

Quade comes close, but Baker and Richards are not nearly the same as of now. In 2014-15 you had 6 guys return and 4 very skilled and talented Freshmen come in. "Platooning was the way to go, at least till Alex got hurt.

Our 8-10 guys don't have quite the firepower those guys had, maybe they will show it, but not at this point. What Will said about PJ, Reid, Hagans, and Johnson being the nucleus of the team is spot on. After those guys, EJ, Quade, and Tyler IMO, then Nick, IQ, and Baker fighting for time.

[40bill]

Many seem to be marking this down as a final four/ national title team. Kind of a risky move. Team chemistry is a tricky thing....and is vital. ONE true upperclassman who has never hit the floor at Kentucky.
38-1 should have been 36-3....maybe 34-5. There were some wins that could have and maybe should have gone the other way.

The only thing I DO hope if it ends up a one loss season is that loss doesn't come in March.

[Joneslab]

I've never felt that team chemistry was an issue in Cal's time at UK. One thing you can say about the guy is that he seems to be a master at putting teams together.

Four players returning who have played college basketball is a little unusual for Cal. One fifth-year senior and three other guys who've started games for a season.

That's much better than usual. You would like maybe one more in a Wenyen Gabriel type but I don't think it's a deal-breaker.

I'm much more interested to see if they have consistent outside shooting.

[J.Jennings]

Even if this team has a few bumps on the road, i think we can all agree that when it counts talent wise we have all the tools to win it all. Lets' just hope we are clicking as a unit when it's tournament time, last year i felt we didn't have the horses from the start....

[Lighthouse]

We seem to have all the horses, so to speak, this year, but I believe this team could, and maybe should, stumble early. The Bahama trip will help build chemistry, but they have to learn to play for each other and not for themselves, and that's tough for some freshmen. We know Cal preaches it all the time, but they have to buy in.

[Joneslab]

Nobody wants to believe this if they're a Kentucky fan. I've been mocked for saying this before.

But in this sport a team needs to lose three or four games throughout a season.

Lose more than that and you're fighting with history, because the record books show that you need to be a 4-7 loss team to win it all. Go into the tournament with a staggering winning streak and you can also see a lot of teams that stumbled in the past.

I think it's really no coincidence that our two best teams of the last twenty years--1996 and 2012--both lost in the finals of the SEC Tournament.

You basically need to have a full body of work across a 34-game season going into the NCAA's. You need close, brutal wins. Sluggish, ugly wins where nothing goes right and you have to fight at the end. Some beatdowns where everything clicks. And unfortunately you need a couple of games where the other team hits demoralizing shot after demoralizing shot and you lose because your habits got exposed.

This isn't college football. The college basketball season is all about experimentation and adjustment.

[KevinHall]

Nobody wants to believe this if they're a Kentucky fan. I've been mocked for saying this before.

But in this sport a team needs to lose three or four games throughout a season.

Lose more than that and you're fighting with history, because the record books show that you need to be a 4-7 loss team to win it all. Go into the tournament with a staggering winning streak and you can also see a lot of teams that stumbled in the past.

I think it's really no coincidence that our two best teams of the last twenty years--1996 and 2012--both lost in the finals of the SEC Tournament.

You basically need to have a full body of work across a 34-game season going into the NCAA's. You need close, brutal wins. Sluggish, ugly wins where nothing goes right and you have to fight at the end. Some beatdowns where everything clicks. And unfortunately you need a couple of games where the other team hits demoralizing shot after demoralizing shot and you lose because your habits got exposed.

This isn't college football. The college basketball season is all about experimentation and adjustment.

Ah.... you are right. The 78 team lost two games also. They were basically blown out down in Alabama by 16 points. Then lost in overtime to an LSU team in which their starting five had fouled out. No SEC tournament that year. So they didn't get a chance to lose in the finals. They also had close good wins. They beat Notre Dame in a really great game early that season. I can remember them beating Ole Miss in a game that Joe B made a change every time a player made the smallest mistake. I think that was after the Alabama game. They also held on for dear life in a game against Miss State in Rupp. That all helped in some really close games in the NCAA's against Fla State,Mich State and Arkansas. Still I'm not rooting for a loss if a team is going down the stretch undefeated just for the sake of a loss. I still have the slightest hope of some day seeing a UK team win a national championship while going undefeated. If that ever happens I would certainly retire as a fan. Nothing could ever be better.

[Dwight Schrute]

Nobody wants to believe this if they're a Kentucky fan. I've been mocked for saying this before.

But in this sport a team needs to lose three or four games throughout a season.

Lose more than that and you're fighting with history, because the record books show that you need to be a 4-7 loss team to win it all. Go into the tournament with a staggering winning streak and you can also see a lot of teams that stumbled in the past.

I think it's really no coincidence that our two best teams of the last twenty years--1996 and 2012--both lost in the finals of the SEC Tournament.

You basically need to have a full body of work across a 34-game season going into the NCAA's. You need close, brutal wins. Sluggish, ugly wins where nothing goes right and you have to fight at the end. Some beatdowns where everything clicks. And unfortunately you need a couple of games where the other team hits demoralizing shot after demoralizing shot and you lose because your habits got exposed.

This isn't college football. The college basketball season is all about experimentation and adjustment.

Agreed. The good news though is the SEC should be pretty brutal again next year and will be much better than the 2015 year, so this team will likely lose some games in the league.

By the end of the year, that 30+ game win streak felt like the team was carrying a stack of plates that kept growing and you just felt like it was going to fall over.

[40bill]

I think a team has to be challenged. I also think a loss can be a wake-up call. Sometimes, SOMEtimes two or three 'miracle' wins can give a false sense of security....a Fiddlin' Five thought process where the team thinks it can play around, the games over.....whoooooops.

Outside shooting will be a question until we see it. So will defense, although Calipari does likely the best job in the country getting real young teams to lock in.
The main gripe I've had with Cal and his players is throwing it into a grind early....and then free throw shooting.

[teamchemistry15]

We seem to have all the horses, so to speak, this year, but I believe this team could, and maybe should, stumble early. The Bahama trip will help build chemistry, but they have to learn to play for each other and not for themselves, and that's tough for some freshmen. We know Cal preaches it all the time, but they have to buy in.

Regarding the team having to buy in, I don't see that as a problem at all this year. We have Green, PJ, and Richards who already have, Baker knows what to expect, and you have to think Travis will get straight to business. That's a good group of leaders to push along the young guys. With the attitude and motor the freshmen are rumored to have I think this team will be further along in November than most of our teams usually are in January. Of course the Bahamas trip will help, but the fact that our core group and leadership won't come from freshmen will be a key factor.

[lilproUK98]

First practice report of the season. (Sounds crazy to read that right?)

From coachcal.com's newest member, TJ Beisner. TJ was formerly with KSR and KSTV. Great dude, and really knows basketball, but is not a hype-man like some on KSR can be.

​​​​​​You gotta love what you read here....

https://coachcal.com/news/2018/6/27/news-practice-report-uk-basketball-team-takes-the-floor-together-for-the-first-time.aspx