With the roster set now, what's the minimum expectation?

[Pobilly]

Gotta say, no expectations. I am going into this blind. Will just wait and see how the pieces fit together. You can have 10 very good players but if they do not play as a team they will not be good. Pope has more work to do. We will hear great things over the summer, early fall. Noah is the greatest shooter in the history of basketball. That kind of stuff. I will wait to see it on the court against good competition.

[UKHoops01]

SEC tournament, not NCAA tournament,...make the weekend.

Sorry....I missed that (SEC) part.. I naturally think of the biggest stage possible and have very high expectations for UK men's basketball, for anyone that hasn't figured that out by now.

[bthaunert]

Sorry....I missed that (SEC) part.. I naturally think of the biggest stage possible and have very high expectations for UK men's basketball, for anyone that hasn't figured that out by now.

All good...for the NCAA Tournament, imo, the expectations are that we should have a Final Four caliber team with an Elite Eight as the baseline for success.

[EKYCat]

I would agree with this 100%. I too think it is unreasonable to expect a Title/Final 4 every year, but being in contention matters and the will to compete to get there matters. I don't think I could add anything to the above.

A lot of things have to go just right to reach a FF or a title. A good bracket draw, maybe an upset or two in the bracket, health, etc. You obviously have to be good but also have to have a little luck, too.

[UKHoops01]

A lot of things have to go just right to reach a FF or a title. A good bracket draw, maybe an upset or two in the bracket, health, etc. You obviously have to be good but also have to have a little luck, too.

Exactly right....which is why results will vary, but expectations should always be higher than for other programs. When expectations are lowered, so should the blue blood status be as well.

I want to feel like 25+ wins, single digit losses, a top 2 or 3 finish in the SEC with a year long stay in the top 25 and a minimum Sweet Sixteen tourney run are practically a guarantee. That's the expectation at the very least. Depending on how close we get to achieving all of those determines if it was a successful season. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake....just as long as we're not saying "We haven't won a championship or reached the Final Four in a couple of decades". Going on 15 for a championship and 12 for a Final Four....which is why I probably seem impatient in waiting to see if Pope can figure out whatever it is that he needs to figure out in order to right his ship.

[bucsrule8872]

The more I study the rest of the SEC rosters, the more encouraged I am.

Other than UF, everyone looks similar. Everyone has holes. I don’t see a complete roster. Texas is probably the closest thing.

And I think UK is right there with them.

Our potential on paper is just as good as any team outside of Florida.

We’ve got three top 50 portal players, one of them is number two overall. We’ve got a potential lottery pick inside.

We have lots of experience on this squad:

G Diallo(6’4 JR)- 64 games played, 51 games started.
G Wilkins(6’5 SO)- 35 games played, 35 games started.
F Momcilovic(6’8 SR)- 102 games played, 101 games started.
F McBride(6’8 SR)- 88 games played, 33 games started.
C Moreno(7’0 SO)- 36 games played, 30 games started.
G Morton(6’4 SR)- 92 games played, 51 games started.
G K. Williams(6’8 JR)- 57 games played, 35 games started.
C Kepnang(6’11 SR)- 111 games played, 46 games started.
C Potter(7’1 JR)- 56 games played, 11 games started.
F Noah(6’5 JR)- 51 games played, 3 games started.

That’s 10 guys who have started a D1 game at some point in their careers.

Even if you take out Potter and Noah, since neither one is going to play meaningful minutes if all goes well, you still have 8 players with at least 30 D1 starts.

Five of those 8 have started in major conferences (Momcilovic- Big 12, Diallo- Big 10, Moreno- SEC, Kepnang- Big 10, and K. Williams- SEC).

Like I said, Florida is head and shoulders above everybody on paper, but everyone else has flaws and ours may not be as bad some others.

Look over everyone else’s rosters and tell me who in the SEC besides the Gators looks any better on paper.

[Semi-OldEvilleCat]

Same as every year, beat IU, win SEC outright, SEC tourney championship game (preferably a win) a sweet 16 and then expectations depend on health & matchups.

[bucsrule8872]

Same as every year, beat IU, win SEC outright, SEC tourney championship game (preferably a win) a sweet 16 and then expectations depend on health & matchups.

I would add beat UofL to that list. That’s the one game I really hate to lose. I know too many UofL fans.

[Bluehausen]

I would add beat UofL to that list. That’s the one game I really hate to lose. I know too many UofL fans.

Add beat Tennessee and if its Home/Away, defend home court at the very least since road games are generally harder in rivalries. (pick your poison situation)