Biggest duds KY starting 5

[KCKUKFan]

I could name a few that has already been mentioned but JULIUS MAYS.

No way the hobbling midget Julius Mays was better than experienced JON HOOD who practiced against the best of the best on a daily basis..... Hood may have not been the same after the injury but still better than Mays....

Oh, here we go with this s again.

Julius Mays was a better basketball player in almost every way than Jon Hood.

Jon Hood sucked.

[bthaunert]

I'll chime in and do it by position:

C: Skal - Consensus #1 player in the nation - averaged 6.6ppg
F: Cedric Jenkins (RIP) - MAA and big time recruit - averaged 2.4ppg over his 4 years
F: Irving Thomas - First team AA in HS - averaged 2.5ppg in 2 years at UK
G: Rashaad Carruth - MAA - 5.5ppg - in a season where he scored 15, 19 and 22 points in games. That's hard to do.
G: James Blackmon - First team AA in HS (big time recruit) - this one might get some arguments. never averaged over 10ppg and averaged 6.8ppg over his 4 years

There have been quite a few big men and less guards that haven't panned out over the year. Finding 2 guards wasn't easy.

[SportsFan]

Julius Mays was a better basketball player in almost every way than Jon Hood.

This is arguable, and you could be right, so I won't argue that point.

Jon Hood sucked.

This, however, I will argue. Anybody who is a Kentucky Mr. Basketball that is ranked in the top 50 in the nation that had the schools recruiting him that he did and was offered a full ride scholarship to play basketball at the University of Kentucky doesn't "suck". Maybe he was a disappointment to you or your expectations were too high to begin with, or maybe he wasn't quite as good as his competition in-house, or maybe he wasn't given a good opportunity or able to deal with and recover from injuries....but I wouldn't say he "sucked".

[Joneslab]

We've talked about Hood a million times on this board, mostly through JWORLD, but I always assumed he was the age-old "good at several things, great at nothing" player.

I watched him in high school a couple times and was struck by the fact that he wasn't a great shooter. Not bad, that just wasn't his game. He was actually something like a slasher.

As a white guy who isn't overly big, isn't strong, isn't a natural ballhandler...that's a tough spot.

Mays was a little more versatile and could play some point guard. He was far from great and that was a very mediocre UK team after Noel went down, but I thought it was pretty obvious why he was playing when that team needed somebody who could take up the slack Harrow left when he came unglued.

[Pobilly]

I'll chime in and do it by position:

C: Skal - Consensus #1 player in the nation - averaged 6.6ppg
F: Cedric Jenkins (RIP) - MAA and big time recruit - averaged 2.4ppg over his 4 years
F: Irving Thomas - First team AA in HS - averaged 2.5ppg in 2 years at UK
G: Rashaad Carruth - MAA - 5.5ppg - in a season where he scored 15, 19 and 22 points in games. That's hard to do.
G: James Blackmon - First team AA in HS (big time recruit) - this one might get some arguments. never averaged over 10ppg and averaged 6.8ppg over his 4 years

There have been quite a few big men and less guards that haven't panned out over the year. Finding 2 guards wasn't easy.

Think your list if fine, I give Cedric Jenkins a pass, he tipped it in for the WIN. Blackmon was just on a buzz his whole career. You could tell by the way he stepped to the free throw line, would look in the crowd and such eyes glazed over. He had all the potential but not the follow through.

[KCKUKFan]

This is arguable, and you could be right, so I won't argue that point.



This, however, I will argue. Anybody who is a Kentucky Mr. Basketball that is ranked in the top 50 in the nation that had the schools recruiting him that he did and was offered a full ride scholarship to play basketball at the University of Kentucky doesn't "suck". Maybe he was a disappointment to you or your expectations were too high to begin with, or maybe he wasn't quite as good as his competition in-house, or maybe he wasn't given a good opportunity or able to deal with and recover from injuries....but I wouldn't say he "sucked".

Clearly, "sucks" is relative here.

He got a free ride to play basketball at the University of Kentucky and was Mr. Basketball, so obviously he was a good player.

When I said I "sucked," I meant that it didn't take long to see that he really didn't belong on the floor with the sort of talent that Cal was putting on the court at that time. He might have been a serviceable player during the waning Tubby years. Maybe? But he wasn't very good in the opportunities that he got, and if he really was good enough, he should have cracked the rotation during that devastating Noel season. He wasn't better than Julius Mays (who wasn't a great player, either).

Our friend JWORLD has had a hard-on about Jon Hood for about a decade now, and nothing that kid ever did at Kentucky justifies it. Strange.

[SportsFan]

Clearly, "sucks" is relative here.

He got a free ride to play basketball at the University of Kentucky and was Mr. Basketball, so obviously he was a good player.

When I said I "sucked," I meant that it didn't take long to see that he really didn't belong on the floor with the sort of talent that Cal was putting on the court at that time. He might have been a serviceable player during the waning Tubby years. Maybe? But he wasn't very good in the opportunities that he got, and if he really was good enough, he should have cracked the rotation during that devastating Noel season. He wasn't better than Julius Mays (who wasn't a great player, either).

Our friend JWORLD has had a hard-on about Jon Hood for about a decade now, and nothing that kid ever did at Kentucky justifies it. Strange.

I hear ya....I guess I'm just living vicariously through Jon Hood here 🤣

As someone who never played sports past high school and never was even recruited by ANY colleges, let alone a major one like UK, I guess I just have a soft spot for guys that have enough skill, ability and athleticism to be able to do something that I only dreamed of. I kind of told myself years ago that I would never say anybody who played a sport professionally "sucked", and my reverence for Kentucky kind of places it in that rarified air, so I'm just giving him some props here. But compared to similar guys who played at Kentucky, yeah...he probably could be viewed as a bit of a disappointment. I never expected Hood to be the next Rex Chapman like I think some people did, I always thought he might be more of a poor man's Jeff Sheppard. But early on it became pretty apparent that wasn't happening, but I still hoped maybe he could be another Cameron Mills. Oh well...at least he stuck it out and remained a loyal Cat until graduation and didn't transfer to Ole Miss or anything like that. 😉

[KentuckyWild2020]

This is arguable, and you could be right, so I won't argue that point.



This, however, I will argue. Anybody who is a Kentucky Mr. Basketball that is ranked in the top 50 in the nation that had the schools recruiting him that he did and was offered a full ride scholarship to play basketball at the University of Kentucky doesn't "suck". Maybe he was a disappointment to you or your expectations were too high to begin with, or maybe he wasn't quite as good as his competition in-house, or maybe he wasn't given a good opportunity or able to deal with and recover from injuries....but I wouldn't say he "sucked".

1. If you go back and watch Hood against Bledsoe, I would highly doubt anyone would consider Hood to be garbage, Im talking about ERIC BLEDSOE.

2. I would advise anyone to go back and check out a podcast by Ramon Harris in regards to Jon Hood. Over the summer the prior to the Gillispie firing, Gillispie instructed Patterson Harris and other to run roughshod on Hood during pickup games to see if 1. He was tough enough to play at Kentucky and 2. to make sure he would fit in.

3. Insert Calipari, for some reason he just did not believe in HOOD at all. Same way he blackballed Harrellson, he blackballed Hood in my honest opinion. Had Kanter cleared, Harrellson would have been bury on the bench and long gone forgotten, Cal had no choice but to play him.

4. Jon Hood Senior year. Finally towards the end he started getting some clock and was solid in spot minutes.

Mays sucked, just couldn't handle the bright lights of Kentucky in my opinion. Was Hood going to be a ALL STAR NBA pick, no but still, I will take a Kentucky kid 4 year SENIOR 6'6 decent wingspan over a hobbling gator armed midget ( can't shoot like Desmond Banee)6 foot overweight riunning like something stuck up his blank any day of the week and twice on Sunday...

Good news is this moving forward. If a Kentucky kid makes the team, POPE will care less about NBA draft status or (MOST IMPORTANTLY) put a player in position to succeed at the skills they have. Johnson Moreno and Noah is in good hands under Pope. Wish Perry would have stayed on board because whether or not he played much this year, he could have still walked away being a Kentucky kid and possible NCAA Champion, UK celebrity for life and all that comes with it...

[KentuckyWild2020]

We've talked about Hood a million times on this board, mostly through JWORLD, but I always assumed he was the age-old "good at several things, great at nothing" player.

I watched him in high school a couple times and was struck by the fact that he wasn't a great shooter. Not bad, that just wasn't his game. He was actually something like a slasher.

As a white guy who isn't overly big, isn't strong, isn't a natural ballhandler...that's a tough spot.

Mays was a little more versatile and could play some point guard. He was far from great and that was a very mediocre UK team after Noel went down, but I thought it was pretty obvious why he was playing when that team needed somebody who could take up the slack Harrow left when he came unglued.

And I remember when they said Derek Willis sucked and tried to run him off...

Take D. Allen for example, I don't know much about him, he may be a headcase, who knows?

Still, I believe 4 years under a good coach who can develop like Pope Allen's UK future may have been completely different. Good size, shooter, what more do you want in today's game?

[Joneslab]

Mays sucked, just couldn't handle the bright lights of Kentucky in my opinion. Was Hood going to be a ALL STAR NBA pick, no but still, I will take a Kentucky kid 4 year SENIOR 6'6 decent wingspan over a hobbling 6 foot overweight midget any day of the week and twice on Sunday.....

Hood was actually a junior on that team. Mays was a senior.

I don't see the two players as being in any way related. Their games were pretty wildly different. If you watched Hood in high school he played more like a slashing small forward.

Mays only became "important" (that team kinda stunk so it's relative) for that team when Ryan Harrow just totally imploded, and Mays took some some of the weight of that. Hood wasn't gonna be running point guard at this level.

4. Jon Hood Senior year. Finally towards the end he started getting some clock and was solid in spot minutes.

Hood played three times more on the Mays team than he did his senior year.

[KCKUKFan]

I kind of told myself years ago that I would never say anybody who played a sport professionally "sucked", and my reverence for Kentucky kind of places it in that rarified air, so I'm just giving him some props here.

This is probably a good maxim to go by as a UK fan. I should do better.

[KCKUKFan]

And I remember when they said Derek Willis sucked and tried to run him off...

Take D. Allen for example, I don't know much about him, he may be a headcase, who knows?

Still, I believe 4 years under a good coach who can develop like Pope Allen's UK future may have been completely different. Good size, shooter, what more do you want in today's game?

Dontaie Allen was not good enough to play at Kentucky. Under Tubby, Cal, Pope, Rupp, Hall, Pitino (maybe Clyde). He struggled mightily at both Western and Wyoming, so I don't think it was a "headcase" thing, but rather a talent thing.

I don't remember anybody trying to run Derek Willis off. It was clear that he had the size and raw talent to get there eventually, and if any Kentucky kid had to overcome the "Cal hurdle" that you ascribe to Jon Hood, it was actually Willis.

Would you have such a soft spot in your heart for Jon Hood if he would have been, say, Missouri Mr. Basketball? Or is it just because he's a kid from Kentucky?

[KentuckyWild2020]

Dontaie Allen was not good enough to play at Kentucky. Under Tubby, Cal, Pope, Rupp, Hall, Pitino (maybe Clyde). He struggled mightily at both Western and Wyoming, so I don't think it was a "headcase" thing, but rather a talent thing.

I don't remember anybody trying to run Derek Willis off. It was clear that he had the size and raw talent to get there eventually, and if any Kentucky kid had to overcome the "Cal hurdle" that you ascribe to Jon Hood, it was actually Willis.

Would you have such a soft spot in your heart for Jon Hood if he would have been, say, Missouri Mr. Basketball? Or is it just because he's a kid from Kentucky?

I have no ties to Jon Hood at all but yes Kentucky kids get a little more love at the end of day, you can Thank all others that came before them for that...

Mychael Mulder kind of sucked too at Kentucky but then managed to play pro ball for 8 years.


Say what you want about Allen but you will never be able to take away his freshman 23 points SEC on the road off the bench away from him.

[KentuckyWild2020]

Hood was actually a junior on that team. Mays was a senior.

I don't see the two players as being in any way related. Their games were pretty wildly different. If you watched Hood in high school he played more like a slashing small forward.

Mays only became "important" (that team kinda stunk so it's relative) for that team when Ryan Harrow just totally imploded, and Mays took some some of the weight of that. Hood wasn't gonna be running point guard at this level.



Hood played three times more on the Mays team than he did his senior year.

When it counted?????


Fair enough. After that season Hood, too much talent and Cal was adamant playing a handful of guys..

[EKYCat]

I have no ties to Jon Hood at all but yes Kentucky kids get a little more love at the end of day, you can Thank all others that came before them for that...

Mychael Mulder kind of sucked too at Kentucky but then managed to play pro ball for 8 years.


Say what you want about Allen but you will never be able to take away his freshman 23 points SEC on the road off the bench away from him.

So Allen had one good game. Got it.

Hood... give us a break man.