What does a best case roster look like next year?

[bucsrule8872]

I just don't see Johnson coming back.

I don't understand why Pope can't recruit Elite dudes to Kentucky.

He seems to want to take the Billy Gillispie route with lower level dudes.

Is he scared of the Elite level recruits? Does he not understand them?

Does he not comprehend NIL and how it affects recruiting?

I think that his handling of Jasper is going to scare off potential star players that are necessary to move the program back to an Elite level.

The problem with Johnson is his body. He is not physically ready for college basketball.

Did you see him and Acuff on the floor together? One looked like a child and the other looked like a grown man. And they played like it.

Kid needs to hit the weights and get stronger and he will be an absolute stud.

I hope he is patient and returns, because with some added strength, he will be a star for us. He has everything else. He can handle, he can make big shots, but he is just too weak to help us much this season.

I hope he understands that.

[bucsrule8872]

We will have to get scraps from the portal to even field a team.


They are all getting the hell out of this mess. Only Noah is a sure returner.


Players do not get better playing for Pope. That’s a major reason for no high level recruits.


Now even JQ’s father says JQ was used wrong.

There is no offensive identity. There is no defensive identity.

Pope can’t sit a guy down and show him a plan for how he will be used.

He can’t even put a game plan together for any opponent.

He’s in so far over his head he needs a snorkel to breathe.

I don’t buy the whole JQ was used wrong argument.

He played four games and it was clear that the first game was the only one where he was anywhere close to healthy. He was a beast in that game. Then the knee swelled the next day and he tried to play through it, but was tentative.

His dad tried to play it off on Pope not knowing how to play him, but it was the kid not being healthy and being a bit gun shy over the knee that limited him.

Kid came back too soon. Simple as that. No one really to blame, he just came back too soon.

[Catsrock]

I don’t buy the whole JQ was used wrong argument.

He played four games and it was clear that the first game was the only one where he was anywhere close to healthy. He was a beast in that game. Then the knee swelled the next day and he tried to play through it, but was tentative.

His dad tried to play it off on Pope not knowing how to play him, but it was the kid not being healthy and being a bit gun shy over the knee that limited him.

Kid came back too soon. Simple as that. No one really to blame, he just came back too soon.

I agree. Used wrong? What are you talking about out? He wasn’t used. And the fact that they attempted to use him is probably the reason he’s laid up. Now, should he have been paid to even show up when his injury occurred when it did and the typical recovery time required for that injury? That’s another question. Dad wanna give some money back?

[bthaunert]

I just don't see Johnson coming back.

I don't understand why Pope can't recruit Elite dudes to Kentucky.

He seems to want to take the Billy Gillispie route with lower level dudes.

Is he scared of the Elite level recruits? Does he not understand them?

Does he not comprehend NIL and how it affects recruiting?

I think that his handling of Jasper is going to scare off potential star players that are necessary to move the program back to an Elite level.

I think Pope is relying too much on why he likes Kentucky...the tradition, playing in front of the craziest fan base in America, etc...as a reason why a HS kid should come here. He's trying to sell that when in reality...how much can you pay me and do you have a history of putting guys in the NBA are the 2 biggest reasons why a kid picks a school. If you're a guy like Stokes, why would you pick UK over Kansas if the money is the same?

He's just an odd guy too. The "beautiful" and just his demeanor might not jive with a stud recruit.

[bucsrule8872]

I think Pope is relying too much on why he likes Kentucky...the tradition, playing in front of the craziest fan base in America, etc...as a reason why a HS kid should come here. He's trying to sell that when in reality...how much can you pay me and do you have a history of putting guys in the NBA are the 2 biggest reasons why a kid picks a school. If you're a guy like Stokes, why would you pick UK over Kansas if the money is the same?

He's just an odd guy too. The "beautiful" and just his demeanor might not jive with a stud recruit.

I agree wholeheartedly.

And I think Pope is self-aware enough to realize this and that he is better when recruiting “grown men” in the portal.

And he knows constant turnover is not going to work. You can’t bring in a totally new roster every season from the Portal. This is why he is going to go above and beyond to get these guys to come back, even if some of them aren’t quite the players that he had hoped they would be.

Retention is the key. Look at Golden and UF right now. He didn’t sign any 5-star superstar talent out of HS, but he is the defending champ and has his guys looking good because he got all those guys to come back. Then he augmented that killer frontcourt with a couple of Portal guards, one of which (Fland) is really good.

That is not to say that you can’t have a HS stud or two (look at Zona and Houston), but the core of the team needs to be veterans. Guys who are not just college vets, but program vets. You have to build a team around guys that have been with you a year or two or three. Like UF, Clayton was good year one with Golden, but he was unstoppable in year two.

Retention is the key. The rest is icing on the cake.