2026-2027 Roster discussion thread

[EKYCat]

I like that you pointed out how Florida had a mediocre year, returned most of the players and won a championship. Also, Golden had a very bad record at Florida 2 years before the championship as well.

Lots of people can only look at our mediocre year this year and not envision any way we won't be the same or worse next year.

I'm not all in on returning everyone, but I'd be fine if most returned. Add in a few REALLY good players from wherever and we'll be fine as long as we have competent back-ups at PG and C.

Walter Clayton Jr was probably 90% of the reason they won like they did in 2025. It's not that it can't be done here. But, as of now, Pope has zero commitments. Zero. Duke and Arkansas both have 3 five star commits. He's given me little confidence in his ability to land the kind of guys we need to win in March.

[Pobilly]

The big thing that keeps going through my mind. This is the 3rd generation of the Pope UK roster.

Generation 1: We thought it was a miracle what Pope did to put together a roster as fast as he did and a very serviceable roster that got hi-jacked to injury during the SEC portion of the schedule. They did well for what they ended up having left.

Generation 2: We saw swings for the fences and all were misses. Then we saw some good major players signed, we saw some guys that should plug the holes we had in the SEC. Turns out there were not resolved and we saw another roster hi jacked of their PG. Plus Pope could not keep a KY boy and we all had questions about the roster build. We stayed positive: mostly due to Pope talking the roster up and then the Purdue game. It all fell apart from there. We witnessed some of the worst, disjointed under-preforming (at times) teams in recent UK history. Was a bad, ugly year with not much of a sign of better days.

Generation 3: as of March 26th 2026: Nothing to be happy about. The start has not started. Year 2 with big names, swings and misses already. Now we will see if Pope pulls any rabbits out of his hat or if he continues to try to bat in the majors with just about a 000 hitting percentage. At least as far as the major talent is concerned.

Will we see some traction in a positive direction. Stay tuned.

[Pete Hogwallop]

I like that you pointed out how Florida had a mediocre year, returned most of the players and won a championship. Also, Golden had a very bad record at Florida 2 years before the championship as well.

Lots of people can only look at our mediocre year this year and not envision any way we won't be the same or worse next year.

I'm not all in on returning everyone, but I'd be fine if most returned. Add in a few REALLY good players from wherever and we'll be fine as long as we have competent back-ups at PG and C.

[bucsrule8872]

Right now, with Pope coming back, he is going to want to retain most of the team. There is nothing more difficult for a coach than having to start from scratch every year. Retention is a huge key.

Look at Florida as a model (24-25), they returned most of their key players from the season before and was a 1 seed and won the title. The team the year before was mediocre: 24-12, 11-7 in the SEC, a 7 seed, and lost in the 1st round of the NCAA tourney. Similar to us this season. They brought most everyone back, didn’t sign any HS studs, brought in a couple of portal players and won a title.

This is how Pope should approach next season. Bring as many of the core players back (Chandler, Williams, Moreno, Garrison, and Dioubate) as he can. Then mix in a few portal guys. Maybe a couple of HS kids. Maybe an international kid. But retaining the core is critical at this juncture.

My guess is Chandler (shot at a starring role, loyalty to Pope), Williams(already said he wants to return), Dioubate (always dreamed of playing for UK), and Lowe (has something to prove here) will be back. Hawthorne has already said he will be back and is probably a key reserve. Potter also said he would be returning, but he won’t play meaningful minutes. Noah probably returns. Eastern Kentucky kids don’t give up on UK dreams very easily. He won’t play much, though, unless there are injuries again.

Sounds like Garrison might be going with Hart. Wouldn’t mind having him back, though.

Johnson is gone. Impatient kid with unrealistic parents. He will bolt.

Jelavic is likely gone as well. He just didn’t quite seem to fit in. Hope he comes back, but I doubt it. Never seemed comfortable.

I think Pope is desperate enough that he will throw as much money as he can at Stokes. That will give us a legitimate shot at him.

We need a backup PG. Mo Williams’ kid could be a nice start there, but I think we need another, in case Lowe ends up being fragile. I’m penciling in Williams as the backup and hoping we find a little better option to split time with Lowe.

A name I keep hoping to see pop up in the transfer portal discussion is Brett Decker, Jr from Liberty. He is from E-Town and was their leading scorer. He was 2nd in D-1 in 3-point percentage at 47% (on about 7 attempts per game), 11th in 3-pointers made on the season. He’s the kind of sniper that could really flourish coming off the bench at a P5 school.

Dink Pate probably goes to SMU to play for Hart. I think we are out on him.

Need to find a good backup for Moreno.

To me, the best case scenario for a starting five is:

G Lowe
G Chandler
G Williams
F Stokes(fingers crossed)
C Moreno

Need a backup PG, SG(dreaming of Decker here), and Center to go with Hawthorne and Dioubate off the bench. Then Noah, Potter, and Marvin Williams to round out the roster. Maybe add one or two more long-term options.

[bucsrule8872]

Derrick Johnson, Jasper's Uncle just went full nuclear today over his nephew..

I get it but here is the reality, he's not as good as those think he is, never was in my opinion.

Sounds like he may be gone but I am absolutely 1000% good with it, don't need him trying to showcase and prove that he belongs in the NBA at Kentucky.

Maybe it was the pressure, maybe it was just being a freshman who knows?

All I know is every time he was on the floor he wanted to prove to everyone that he could score. Good shot, bad shot, this and that, it was very clear what he was all about.

Maybe another summer getting bigger and stronger helps him out but with all the hype, I expected more.

One of the most selfish players I have seen in some time to be frank.

in today's age of social media etc, he brought a lot of negative on himself trying to do too much...

The bottom line with Johnson is that he was too weak to play major minutes for a D-1 program as a Freshman. He needs to live in the weight room over the summer and add weight and get stronger. He has tons of potential, but was not physically ready to play at this level, especially in the SEC.

Now he will transfer and hit the weights at UNC or somewhere else and come back as a Sophomore and play very well on a stronger frame and his family will be pointing fingers at UK’s staff and saying he wasn’t used right. All because they weren’t patient and realistic enough to know that Jasper needed a year of college to mature and get stronger. Instead of staying the course he will do what most immature people will do, blame everyone else and go somewhere that will give them instant gratification. And his relatives are enabling him by blaming the staff when it was abundantly clear that Jasper was not physically ready to play at this level. They should be saying that Jasper had a successful season as a Freshman, adjusting to college basketball and is looking forward to improving his body in the offseason, instead of whining that he wasn’t used correctly or that the staff wouldn’t give him a chance to shine, or other such nonsense. Delusional parents are worse than delusional fans.