Coaches

[WeWant9]

100% agree. He could lose to Santa Cara and it will have zero impact on next year. He was always going to get 3 years unless something happened off the court.

The big question for me is what needs to happen next year in order for him to deserve year number 4? I think anything less than in the hunt for the SEC title and an Elite Eight and he should be shown the door.

I think he needs to show he can have a regular season up to the standard's of UK. It will start with recruiting this off-season, can he bring in the needed elite talent? I do not see a reason why UK can't stay in the that top 10 range from start to finish. UK should be in the conversation to win the SEC up to the bitter end, and at the least should be top 4; I never in my life want to see UK playing a Wednesday SECT game again. Ultimately, we need a team that is in talks for a 1 seed in the NCAAT, we haven't been one since 2015. I feel if he can accomplish stuff like that (not sold that he can), tournament success should follow.

[bthaunert]

He'll be back next year unless he leaves on his own. I expect next year to be a big improvement.

It's hard to believe that people are so totally ignoring the impact of these injuries. Imagine a team with a healthy Lowe, Quaintance and Kam playing very significant minutes all year long along with the guys who have gotten us to this point. This team was set up to be good. Injuries derailed that.

I'll give you Lowe and Kam. JQ was always a risk and it proved not to pay off. I don't think the Lowe injury was as impactful as it looks on paper because of how well Aberdeen stepped into that role. But yes, would be nice for him to have a healthy team next year.

The bigger concern for me is the fact we have zero recruits signed. That's unprecedented and a sign that something is not right.

[TrueblueCATfan]

I'll give you Lowe and Kam. JQ was always a risk and it proved not to pay off. I don't think the Lowe injury was as impactful as it looks on paper because of how well Aberdeen stepped into that role. But yes, would be nice for him to have a healthy team next year.

The bigger concern for me is the fact we have zero recruits signed. That's unprecedented and a sign that something is not right.

I agree...Wondering why Pope isnt recruiting any players

[Pete Hogwallop]

I'll give you Lowe and Kam. JQ was always a risk and it proved not to pay off. I don't think the Lowe injury was as impactful as it looks on paper because of how well Aberdeen stepped into that role. But yes, would be nice for him to have a healthy team next year.

The bigger concern for me is the fact we have zero recruits signed. That's unprecedented and a sign that something is not right.

I agree that JQ was a risk. But what if it had worked out?

Re: Lowe, I also agree that Aberdeen has done fine at the point. However, imagine if he and Lowe were sharing significant minutes on the court this season allowing Oweh to play small forward more?

As far as recruits, I don't think HS recruits matter all that much anymore. Or nearly as much as they used to. I'll get worried when the portal closes and we don't seem to have a few really good players signed.

[WeWant9]

I agree that JQ was a risk. But what if it had worked out?

Re: Lowe, I also agree that Aberdeen has done fine at the point. However, imagine if he and Lowe were sharing significant minutes on the court this season allowing Oweh to play small forward more?

As far as recruits, I don't think HS recruits matter all that much anymore. Or nearly as much as they used to. I'll get worried when the portal closes and we don't seem to have a few really good players signed.

If fully healthy, I don’t think Uk lives up to preseason expectations but has a much better season than currently. I think we’d have a similar record/seeding to a team like Ark.

Aberdeen has done what he can, but end of the day he’s not a true pg. During the SECT I did daydream what a line up of Lowe, Aberdeen, Oweh, Williams/Jelavic, Moreno could’ve accomplished.

[EKYCat]

If fully healthy, I don’t think Uk lives up to preseason expectations but has a much better season than currently. I think we’d have a similar record/seeding to a team like Ark.

Aberdeen has done what he can, but end of the day he’s not a true pg. During the SECT I did daydream what a line up of Lowe, Aberdeen, Oweh, Williams/Jelavic, Moreno could’ve accomplished.

And that still would be a disappointing season with all the preseason hype and talk of a "Ferrari" and whatever divided by whatever equals 9.

[EKYCat]

As far as recruits, I don't think HS recruits matter all that much anymore.

I know where you're coming from. But a player like Flagg or Boozer is a season changing type of guy.

[bthaunert]

I agree that JQ was a risk. But what if it had worked out?

Re: Lowe, I also agree that Aberdeen has done fine at the point. However, imagine if he and Lowe were sharing significant minutes on the court this season allowing Oweh to play small forward more?

As far as recruits, I don't think HS recruits matter all that much anymore. Or nearly as much as they used to. I'll get worried when the portal closes and we don't seem to have a few really good players signed.

I agree that freshman aren't as important as they used to be because of the portal, but you can't flat out whiff. This years freshman class is unbelievable and we missed out on all of them and they could have made a huge impact.

My bigger concern is Pope went after these guys and just didn't get them. It's not that he didn't want them...he did. So, that tells me that something is up when it comes to his connection to HS recruits. He lucked out this past year in that Jasper and Malachi were local kids. He's getting through his second recruiting class right now and the only non-local kid he has signed is Hawthorne. That's alarming to me.

[Pete Hogwallop]

I know where you're coming from. But a player like Flagg or Boozer is a season changing type of guy.

Very true. There are exceptions. It's just not quite as important as it was.

[EKYCat]

Very true. There are exceptions. It's just not quite as important a sit was.

This is true. The original one and done model of having 5 new high school faces every year is obsolete. But I look across the landscape of college basketball and I see guys like Dybantsa, Boozer, Acuff (Freshman and SEC POY), Burries, Peat and all of those guys have had a huge impact on their team (who are all seeded higher than UK). The top 8 picks and 18 first rounders in the NBA draft in 2025 were freshmen. Pope needs to land star high school players. The other big name programs are doing it. Why don't we have a single commitment?