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)

[UKHoops01]

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)

People from Tennessee aren't anywhere close to as obnoxious as Louisville fans are. My dad's family is from Tennessee and I lived there for a few years....they care more about football and look at UK as a rival. Louisville fans look as UK as the evil enemy that needs to be destroyed. The level of hate is a bit different.

[bucsrule8872]

UT fans have never bothered me, but I think it’s a geographic thing. Where I live (near Bowling Green) there aren’t many Vols fans. Most Tennesseans I am around care more about the Titans than the Vols and really don’t care much about basketball in general. I think people who live in eastern Kentucky probably deal more with the diehard Vols fans that live near Knoxville. Hear in the western part of the state, UofL fans are obnoxious toward UK and like the above poster said, think that anything UK related is just pure evil incarnate.

I would think the closer you get to the city of Louisville, the worse it probably is when dealing with UofL fans and the closer you get to Knoxville the worse it is dealing with Vols fans.

Interestingly, I live less than an hour from the Indiana line and less than an hour from the Tennessee line and neither team’s fanbase seem very visible or vocal in the area. It’s pretty much UK or UofL with the occasional WKU diehard. Most WKU (my alma mater) fans are also either UK or UofL fans around here.

[UKHoops01]

Interestingly, I live less than an hour from the Indiana line and less than an hour from the Tennessee line and neither team’s fanbase seem very visible or vocal in the area. It’s pretty much UK or UofL with the occasional WKU diehard. Most WKU (my alma mater) fans are also either UK or UofL fans around here.

As a fellow Hilltopper alum that grew up in Owensboro, I can attest that this is true.

I moved out of state shortly after graduating from WKU, and years later I went to visit a friend living in Louisville. We had made plans to go to a U of L football game, and I showed up at his house wearing a UK sweatshirt. He looked at me incredulous and said "Are you really going to wear that?", and I said "Sure, why not.". He thought I was crazy. We got to the game and as I was walking up the steps to our seats, I couldn't believe the looks and comments that I was getting. I kid you not, I honestly thought one guy was going to get up and start throwing down. I was just smiling and nodding and being good natured, but those a-holes were being belligerent jerks. I've dealt with personal friends that were Louisville fans making their comments throughout my life, but when it came from complete strangers that didn't know me but outnumbered me and it was simply for wearing a piece of clothing, that hit different. I haven't cared much for U of L fans ever since.

[EKYCat]

I went to the UK and UofL football game when they had Dave Ragone and we beat them at their house. I’ve never been treated so bad anywhere in my life. And I was like 15 at the time.

[UKHoops01]

I went to the UK and UofL football game when they had Dave Ragone and we beat them at their house. I’ve never been treated so bad anywhere in my life. And I was like 15 at the time.

When I went to the U of L game, they weren't even playing Kentucky! They were playing somebody like Southern Mississippi! I could almost understand it somewhat if they were playing UK...but they just saw a UK shirt and started popping off at the mouth. And it wasn't just one or two people, it felt like an entire section of the crowd! I'm rarely uncomfortable, but that was one time where I can honestly say I was.

EDIT: Ironically, this was right around the same time you probably experienced that, because Ragone played there in the early 2000s and that's exactly when I experienced it as well.... and I was closer to 30!

[Matt Dillon]

UT fans have never bothered me, but I think it’s a geographic thing. Where I live (near Bowling Green) there aren’t many Vols fans. Most Tennesseans I am around care more about the Titans than the Vols and really don’t care much about basketball in general. I think people who live in eastern Kentucky probably deal more with the diehard Vols fans that live near Knoxville. Hear in the western part of the state, UofL fans are obnoxious toward UK and like the above poster said, think that anything UK related is just pure evil incarnate.

I would think the closer you get to the city of Louisville, the worse it probably is when dealing with UofL fans and the closer you get to Knoxville the worse it is dealing with Vols fans.

Interestingly, I live less than an hour from the Indiana line and less than an hour from the Tennessee line and neither team’s fanbase seem very visible or vocal in the area. It’s pretty much UK or UofL with the occasional WKU diehard. Most WKU (my alma mater) fans are also either UK or UofL fans around here.

I think you nailed it about geography. I live in Corbin which is about 30 mi. from the Ky./Tn. line and I don't know a single UofL fan. Also, the UT fans I know do care a lot more about fb than bb.