I wonder if maybe we are underestimating Potter? He might be able to give us 12-15 minutes as a stretch 5. Dude can shoot the ball. 40% career 3 point shooter. Gives us a totally different look offensively than Moreno.
He may struggle defensively, but on offense, he could be a floor spacer for us. Diallo and Wilkins are guys that can get to the rim. If you have a 5 that can pull the opposing 5 man away from the rim, that greatly helps drivers.
Put Diallo or Wilkins out there with Morton(40% last season from 3), Kam (39% career from 3), McBride (40% last year from 3), and Potter (40% career) and there’s no way teams can pack it in. Diallo/Wilkins should have a field day with their abilities to drive and their size. That lineup might not be able to stop anyone defensively, but it could be fun to watch on the offensive end.
And if we could somehow add Momcilovic (49% from 3 last season), then we would really have a dangerous shooting team.
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So some are saying Graves leaving the Draft and others saying he is staying. These reports out there are useless. You might as well wait to actually see what the player does. We keep calling these guys kids but heck they are grown. Heck I had my first job at 10, my first above board at 14. I played sports and kept a job all through high school. These 20 plus year old people are no longer kids. Yes they will make many bad and good decisions. But we have to stop with that stuff. These people are millionaires. These people are making crazy money.
They have their cake and are eating it too. I am young and confused / oh pay me more / oh I like option a or b today b or a tomorrow. Horse crap.
We will get who we get. It will be guys that came to Kentucky. We will play with those guys on the floor. Can we win. Have to wait and see.Leave a comment:
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Sounding like Santos is going to LSU.
They have like 1 player on their roster, so he’s likely their starter and they can probably pay him a lot more than we can.
Who’s next as a backup 5?
Graves is 6’9, 225 and I think he played some 5 at Santa Clara, but it sounds like he is staying in the draft. He would be ideal at the 4 and backup 5.
What happened to Devin Williams? One of the best shot blockers in the nation, but only at 210 pounds. He would be solid as a backup.
Is it going to be Potter? Can he handle 12-15 minutes a game? He can shoot the 3 at least.
N’Diaye is 6’10, but skinny (205). Could he play some at the 5?
I have seen McBride listed at 6’8, but is probably closer to 6’7. Can he give us spot minutes at the 5? He is 230, so he has some bulk.
Might be a backup 5 by committee situation, with Potter, N’Diaye, and McBride rotating at that spot.
I remember the ‘93 team had Dent(6’10 but raw), Riddick(6’9 and skinny as a rail), and Marinez(6’8, but could shoot the 3) and went to the Final Four. Of course, they had a pretty decent PF playing with them, LOL!
I think if we don’t find a decent backup and Moreno gets hurt we are looking at a losing record for sure.Leave a comment:
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That's why Pope is recruiting Marcio Santos, to be the primary backup C for Moreno who can also see time at the 4. It sounds like it's going to happen, the main holdup right now before they announce anything seems to be a matter of getting him cleared so that he is NCAA eligibile.
I've also heard some rumblings that Allen Graves may be removing himself from the draft. He entered the portal with a Do Not Contact tag, and the schools it was down to was LSU (home state) and Duke...but Duke supposedly is out now. Could Kentucky jump in at the last minute?
I mean, part of me hates that Pope has gone after guys like N'Djaye and McBride and now Santos.... because I would have loved to have seen Graves and Momcilovic come to Kentucky and be the forward tandem. But I also realize that he almost had to because there's no guarantee either one will pull out of the draft, and with the way Pope's recruiting has been there's certainly no guarantee that they would even think about going to Kentucky!Leave a comment:
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This roster is deeply flawed. What happens if Moreno gets in foul trouble? Who takes up scoring slack for Oweh? Can any of our 4 players rebound? Alot of unknowns here. I don't think there is anybody left to add that can replace Oweh's points, nor do I see a serviceable back up center available. We are going into next season with a bunch of guards unproven wing players , questionable power forwatds and 1 center. It will certainly be an adventure next season.Leave a comment:
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This is kind of where I am at. I don't expect any more real big pick ups, but I do think they should try and throw that Stokes' money at someone testing the draft waters. We will need Diallo and Wilkins to mesh well and be floor generals. We probably go as far as they can take us. I thought K. Williams was coming into his own before the foot injury, hopefully he gets back to that. Moreno seemed to hit a wall by the end of last season, but I do think we see a nice Frosh to Soph jump for him. I won't pretend to know anything on N'Diaye. The grouping of Hawthorne, McBride, and Morton all seem like decent/solid rotational pieces. I would feel more comfortable if we could get some beef to back up Moreno.
Probably not a team that enters next season ranked, or towards that 20-25 range, but they will get ample opportunities to show they belong in the ooc part of the schedule. We just need to hope this is the type of team that gels well with each other and Pope. I think that was a major issue last year.Leave a comment:
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So, right now, if we don’t add anyone, I think Pope is looking at something like this as our main 9-man rotation(with estimated minutes):
PG Diallo(30)/Wilkins(10)
SG Wilkins(20)/Morton(20)
SF K. Williams(25)/Hawthorne(15)
PF N’Diaye(20)/McBride(20)
C Moreno(30)/Potter(10)
Hopefully, Pope adds another big man to possibly push Potter out of the rotation or at the very least give us another option. Right now, Santos seems to be the leading candidate there. I could see Potter and Santos actually splitting the backup Center minutes. Might not be a bad thing to have two guys fighting it out for minutes there.
Overall, a lot rests on Diallo and Wilkins becoming an elite backcourt and Moreno (assuming he pulls out of the draft) becoming a force in the middle. Kam is going to be a solid role player. He is a 3 and D guy. He’ll hit some spot up 3’s to stretch the defense a bit and he will play good defense. N’Diaye and McBride will hopefully give us shooting and rebounding at the 4 spot. Hawthorne and Morton provide shooting off the bench on the wings.
The ball is going to be in Diallo’s or Wilkins’ hands 90% of possessions, I would assume. They should both average double digit points. Their first look is probably going to be Moreno in the post. He’ll average double digit points as well, most likely. The rest of the team will score off kick outs and rebounds. Kam might average double digits. I don’t see anyone else being double digit scorers.
Could be a fun, hard working blue collar type team. Underdog type. Hopefully a bunch of guys will be overachievers.
That’s just my guess on how things are going to look. Adding another piece or two could alter that outlook some. Most likely, we will add a couple more role players. I don’t think there is a star out there that we could add that could make a huge impact.
I’m ready to roll with the punches and hopefully the season is as much a surprise in a good way this year as it was in a bad way last year.Last edited by bucsrule8872; 2 days ago.Leave a comment:
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I think he'll be a redshirt (depending on how the NCAA rules on the whole 5 years proposition). I'm not expecting (or hoping) that he'll see any action....I expect him to see about as much as his brother saw last year...but he has committed and is on next year's roster, as of now.Leave a comment:
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It's clear, the top players really aren't lining up to play for Pope. I get it, players want the safer route, the branded route, a coach who is proven with a reputation. Look at Purdue, good coach, good players, still no star power really, still no Championship, I don't want to be another Purdue.
To solve this problem, Pope has to win with so so players the old fashioned way. If he can consistently win and get a reputation within the ranks, maybe he will be able to land those top freshman and portal players down the road? For now it's the old fashioned way, everyone on the same page, everyone knowing the role, no egos', great x's and o's gameplan, 110% effort. Is it good enough, time will tell....Leave a comment:
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Hawthorne’s brother will be way down the bench. He understands that will be his role too. The Hawthorne brothers are guys we should all be rallying behind and making fan favorites. They’re here because they want to be and not chasing a payday. I think Braydon surprises some folks this year.Leave a comment:
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