Thoughts on Kentucky

[VolGee4]

Originally Posted by jknox33

Every freshmen has some type of learning curve. I expect Poythress to be a big contributor by season's end. He was a guy I wish we could have gotten in on. He won't play that bad all year.

Oh, we got in on him. But, the cloud around the program and Pearl's troubles got rid of any chance we had. Not saying that he would have been at UT if Pearl was still here, but we were recruiting him pretty hard if I remember correctly.

[Chris4Vols22]

Move to Around the NCAA. If we wanted 24/7 coverage of UK bball, we can go to ESPN.com.

[OCIVol]

Originally Posted by Chris4Vols22

Move to Around the NCAA. If we wanted 24/7 coverage of UK bball, we can go to ESPN.com.

My bad Chris. I thought it related to Tennessee basketball because it's one of our biggest rivals.

[cncchris33]

Originally Posted by OCIVol

The UK/Duke game will be telling.

Not really. Unless by "telling", you mean as a barometer of where UK is right now. UK will be a much different team in February after moving past the growing pains. Cal is really good at meshing personalities and egos and will have this team very competitive come tourney time.

Harrow is not Rose, Evans, or Wall, but he is super athletic and will be a good PG in this offense if learns to be more vocal and leads the team.

Noel is not Davis. Never will be most likely. The sooner people realize that and stop comparing the two, the better. He is great defensively, and raw offensively. He will score in transition and on putback dunks. Guess what? 90% of Davis's points were scored in the same fashion. Davis had/has a more polished offensive game, but rarely showed it because he scored the majority of his points within two feet.

Archie Goodwin needs to grow up quick. He was out of control in that Maryland game at times.

Poythress is probably the best of the bunch.

Bottom line, this team will be Cal's toughest coaching challenge at UK in his four years because he lacks the upperclassman leadership he has had in past years. He will need to mold the skill sets of a lineup made up of mostly new players to his system. There is no Patrick Patterson, Josh Harrelson, Darius Miller, etc. They are a too 25 team right now, but talent will carry them into the top 15 by season's end and maybe higher.

[OCIVol]

Originally Posted by cncchris33

Not really. Unless by "telling", you mean as a barometer of where UK is right now. UK will be a much different team in February after moving past the growing pains. Cal is really good at meshing personalities and egos and will have this team very competitive come tourney time.

Harrow is not Rose, Evans, or Wall, but he is super athletic and will be a good PG in this offense if learns to be more vocal and leads the team.

Noel is not Davis. Never will be most likely. The sooner people realize that and stop comparing the two, the better. He is great defensively, and raw offensively. He will score in transition and on putback dunks. Guess what? 90% of Davis's points were scored in the same fashion. Davis had/has a more polished offensive game, but rarely showed it because he scored the majority of his points within two feet.

Archie Goodwin needs to grow up quick. He was out of control in that Maryland game at times.

Poythress is probably the best of the bunch.

Bottom line, this team will be Cal's toughest coaching challenge at UK in his four years because he lacks the upperclassman leadership he has had in past years. He will need to mold the skill sets of a lineup made up of mostly new players to his system. There is no Patrick Patterson, Josh Harrelson, Darius Miller, etc. They are a too 25 team right now, but talent will carry them into the top 15 by season's end and maybe higher.

I think they'll be much worse than most. We'll see.

[bleedingTNorange]

It's really odd to see a calipari team not have excellent guard play...if harrow doesn't step up, this Kentucky team will struggle and be very inconsistent IMO.

[bleedingTNorange]

Originally Posted by OCIVol

I think they'll be much worse than most. We'll see.

Much worse than top 15 ranked team?

[cncchris33]

Originally Posted by OCIVol

I think they'll be much worse than most. We'll see.

Where do you see them? Barring a key injury, they are top 15 on talent alone IMO.

[UK101]

Originally Posted by OCIVol

I think they'll be much worse than most. We'll see.

According to the past 3 years that's doubtful. We'll be top 3 in the SEC without a doubt and probably top 10 team. Of course im somewhat of a homer but im sure some would agree. We'll be more than capable of getting to the final four given the right road. That's what comes down to a lot of teams getting to the final four. UT will be more than capable. All depends on how the NCAA makes the brackets.

Regardless, most UK fans view this season as a "bridge year". 2010-11 season for an example. Some guys will go pro and the ones who don't will add depth and experience to our monster 2013 class.

[UK101]

Originally Posted by bleedingTNorange

It's really odd to see a calipari team not have excellent guard play...if harrow doesn't step up, this Kentucky team will struggle and be very inconsistent IMO.

I think Cal saw Harrow being much better after practicing against Teague for a season. It was a logical transfer and Harrow was a highly touted recruit (i think). He just hasn't performed like many of us expected. Hell Polson looked more impressive imo

[Chris4Vols22]

Originally Posted by OCIVol

My bad Chris. I thought it related to Tennessee basketball because it's one of our biggest rivals.

Was half-joking. Looks like everyone is fine with it here

[zansdad]

Originally Posted by Chris4Vols22

Was half-joking. Looks like everyone is fine with it here

While it probably belongs in the around the NCAA forum, it will get a much better reception here. They need to split that forum into sport specific forums. Or just make "around college basketball" or "SEC Basketball" a sub-forum of this one.

[OCIVol]

Originally Posted by bleedingTNorange

Much worse than top 15 ranked team?

Yes

[OCIVol]

Originally Posted by cncchris33

Where do you see them? Barring a key injury, they are top 15 on talent alone IMO.

I think they'll have 10 or more regular season losses.

[VFL 24/7]

I think we beat them at Rupp and here.. Mark my words.