Kentucky is #3 in ESPN's preseason poll

[84Cats]

They obviously must be talking about our football team...

But seriously I think their assessment is pretty fair

[teamchemistry15]

I think that is about right pending Skal being eligible. We have a lot of unknowns with him, Poythress being healthy, and how our young back court will adapt.

[Matt Dillon]

I can't believe they have Duke ranked no. 6.

[Uncle Dave]

What???.......No UL?????? I already have "friends" dogging me about how UL is going to take the Cats down this year. Delusional and in utter denial that Cal has quick Rick's number.

[KevinHall]

Still a little early but we basically know who will be eligible and who everyone has ready to go. I think Maryland is a little overrated. They will be good but not number 1. They did pick up Suliamon from Duke which will help. But they are going to miss Dez Wells. He and Trimble were really good at playing off each other. Also Murray matched up with Trimble in the Pan Am Games and Murray handled him OK I thought. UNC may be number one. They are big and athletic. The variable will be is how well they will do since they are probably having to go to real classes now. Might take too much out of them. I was reading that Kansas still has five players who's eligibilty is still very much up in the air. They may take a hit this year if most of those guys aren't eligible. Duke will still be good even with losing a lot of players. Coach K has proven he can coach the one and done way and they will just bre reloading for this year. Oklahoma may this years Wisconsin. Buddy Heild is really good and they will be a tough out in the NCAA's.
I saw enough of Murray this summer to see he will be a key player in the college basketball landscape this season. If Skal is anywhere close to what people say he is then UK will be just fine this season. They won't win their first 38 games this season but they aren't going to lose many along the way.

[J.Jennings]

Ulis, Briscoe, Murray,,, best 3 guard backcourt in America hands down. If Skal is the real deal and plays along with the Poythrees that went off against the Cards in the NCAA tournament two years ago,,, #BRING IT ALL ON AND THENSOME!!!

[TrueblueCATfan]

What???.......No UL?????? I already have "friends" dogging me about how UL is going to take the Cats down this year. Delusional and in utter denial that Cal has quick Rick's number.

LMAO!!!!!!!

[Roper92391]

I'm kind of surprised to see Maryland so high. I expected the top three to be some mix of Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia.

[GOCAT15]

I can't believe they have Duke ranked no. 6.

I second that.

[Blue Heaven]

I think we have the best backcourt in the land. I hope Skal is eligible because he was more highly regarded than AD in high school. If Poythress is healthy we will be very good. I was doubting our frontcourt but Humphries and possibly Wynard won't hurt it. I feel folks are sort of sleeping on the Cats this year and that's just the way I want it.

[Joneslab]

If Skal is eligible and Poythress is 100% all the way through, I think Kentucky should definitely compete for a title.

If those things don't happen then UK might not be a top 15 team. The margin for error last season was ridiculous. This season it's going to be pretty tight, mainly because of how many unknowns there are and because there are going to be so many young players thrown right into the fire.

[Westtncat]

I can't believe they have Duke ranked no. 6.

Do you mean because that's too high or you think higher? Just asking.

[Matt Dillon]

Do you mean because that's too high or you think higher? Just asking.

Actually, I would have thought they'd be ranked in the top three. Normally, when a team wins the NC unless they lose most or all of their key players and aren't bringing in a good class, they're ranked higher than sixth, if I remember correctly.

[Joneslab]

Actually, I would have thought they'd be ranked in the top three. Normally, when a team wins the NC unless they lose most or all of their key players and aren't bringing in a good class, they're ranked higher than sixth, if I remember correctly.

Duke lost all their key players.

Six sounds about right to me for them. A lot will depend on how ready Thornton and Kennard are, but really that team is very Kentucky-esque. Super young with a lot of on-paper talent. Coach K has morphed right into Cal, and now with Duke's NC last year he's started to improve upon Cal's model.

[Matt Dillon]

Duke lost all their key players.

Six sounds about right to me for them. A lot will depend on how ready Thornton and Kennard are, but really that team is very Kentucky-esque. Super young with a lot of on-paper talent. Coach K has morphed right into Cal, and now with Duke's NC last year he's started to improve upon Cal's model.

That's the thing, they are bringing in a very good class. Even though it's on paper, I would have thought they would be ranked higher. Since Cal's been here, UK has gotten a lot of mileage, in the preseason polls, out of on paper classes.