Portal

[BlueBlood]

A friend and I were talking this morning, and I said the almost identical same thing. I told my friend that, at this point, I don't really care whether he comes to UK or not.

I have felt that way for awhile about Stokes, he might be a team cancer with the ego he seems to have.

[Matt Dillon]

Muurinen is off the board, commited to Arky.

[EKYCat]

I have felt that way for awhile about Stokes, he might be a team cancer with the ego he seems to have.

At this point, Stokes might be Pope's only hope to be here beyond 2027.

[KentuckyWild2020]

Muurinen is off the board, commited to Arky.

Great, he can be the new Big Z. Sit on the bench and have Calipari tell him how slow he is and make him play with his back against the basket. all of of the above.


Oh well, going to Arkansas is a relief, Cal will ruin him. Wherever Muurinen plays two years from now he will be a totally different player...

[WeWant9]

At this point, Stokes might be Pope's only hope to be here beyond 2027.

I do get people being over it/him, but with the current roster I think we 100% need him. Pope also seems all in on him.

[EKYCat]

I do get people being over it/him, but with the current roster I think we 100% need him. Pope also seems all in on him.

If Stokes is another swing and miss, the unrest will be even more palpable.

[Cawood86]

I do get people being over it/him, but with the current roster I think we 100% need him. Pope also seems all in on him.

That's the problem in more ways than one.

[bucsrule8872]

I do get people being over it/him, but with the current roster I think we 100% need him. Pope also seems all in on him.

Pope’s career rests on getting Stokes, IMHO.

He’s a dead man walking so to speak, if he misses on him.

About the only other option for a potential go to guy/star would be if Momcilovic pulls out of the draft, and even if he does, everybody will be after him and it’s doubtful we could outbid most of those other schools.

So, it’s pretty much Stokes or bust at this point for him.

With Stokes, I think a Diallo, Wilkins, Stokes, N’Diaye, and Moreno starting five could be pretty solid. I think Kam is going to be very good this next season and will be an excellent 6th man and might even push N’Diaye to the bench. Need to grab a solid backup 4 and 5 (McBride/D. Williams?) and a backup guard (Morton?) and we should have a decent bench.

Getting Stokes would also re-energize the fanbase a bit.

And if he is as good as advertised, then maybe we can make some noise this season. The last few years, we have seen what truly elite Freshmen can do on the college stage (Flagg, Fears, Dybantsa, Boozer, Peterson, Acuff, etc.). Hopefully, we get Stokes and he balls out like they did and we at least have some hope and something to cheer for.

[Pete Hogwallop]

I don't see why people speak so definitively that the team will be bad without significant more talent? Is there no accounting for coaching, growth, players who come together as a group and elevate each other? What did Pope's first team look like on paper in the offseason? And while they only got to the Sweet 16 - something Cal had failed to do with more paper talent the previous several years - they did have more wins over ranked teams than any other before them. I don't think Oweh was ranked very high in the portal at all.

Next year's team might not be any good, but it doesn't seem as if it's a foregone conclusion yet. There are still roster additions that could be made from the portal, draft and internationally.

[EKYCat]

I don't see why people speak so definitively that the team will be bad without significant more talent? Is there no accounting for coaching, growth, players who come together as a group and elevate each other? What did Pope's first team look like on paper in the offseason? And while they only got to the Sweet 16 - something Cal had failed to do with more paper talent the previous several years - they did have more wins over ranked teams than any other before them.

Next year's team might not be any good, but it doesn't seem as if it's a foregone conclusion yet.

Well, to put it bluntly and simply, typically teams with more talent win more games and stand a better chance to make deeper runs in the tournament. Would you rather have a team full of midlevel guys or take your chances with the number 1 player available with some of those same midlevel guys around him? To the Cal thing, I maintain that elite level talent is 100% why they went to 4 Final Fours and won a championship early in the tenure because it certainly wasn't player development or coaching.

[EKYCat]

KSR says Stokes is announcing today.

[Pete Hogwallop]

Well, to put it bluntly and simply, typically teams with more talent win more games and stand a better chance to make deeper runs in the tournament. Would you rather have a team full of midlevel guys or take your chances with the number 1 player available with some of those same midlevel guys around him? To the Cal thing, I maintain that elite level talent is 100% why they went to 4 Final Fours and won a championship early in the tenure because it certainly wasn't player development or coaching.

I get that, but to make comments that Pope is a dead man walking without landing Stokes or other comments about us being sub .500 next year is very premature when it's still April. Talent shows up on the court and not on paper. I guess I still believe players improve/develop and teams can gel or perform better as a group than the sum of the parts. And I also believe our roster isn't done yet.

Seems like in the last 8 years of Cal, we could spend all off season calmly thinking that we had good talent and that kept the overwhelming negativity we have now from simmering for months.

[EKYCat]

I get that, but to make comments that Pope is a dead man walking without landing Stokes or other comments about us being sub .500 next year is very premature when it's still April. Talent shows up on the court and not on paper. I guess I still believe players improve/develop and teams can gel or perform better as a group than the sum of the parts. And I also believe our roster isn't done yet.

Seems like in the last 8 years of Cal, we could spend all off season calmly thinking that we had good talent and that kept the overwhelming negativity we have now from simmering for months.

But the problem is, if they don't land Stokes, there's not much left out there. I've used this analogy before, but I don't have to wait for the report card to come home if my kids are making C's and D's on tests to know what's coming. Pie in the sky optimism isn't going to make it any better. And if we go 22-14 next year, are we going to hope the 2027-2028 roster gels and performs better than advertised?

[Pete Hogwallop]

But the problem is, if they don't land Stokes, there's not much left out there.

There are at least two potential freshman that have been offerred and are thinking about re-classifying. There's who knows how many international players out there. There are guys who will remove themselves from the draft and there's going to be the 5in5 guys potentially. Maybe there's not an overwhelming amount of talent out there, but the roster can still change some for sure.

[bucsrule8872]

KSR says Stokes is announcing today.

Goodman is saying it’s KU.