The Official “Regular Posters of the Basketball Forum” Thread

I'm mostly disappointed I don't get to see this team play anymore :(. Even if KC decided to return (which would imo be as big as Peyton returning and bigger than Trey returning) we still saw our last game in orange for Fulk. Happy he got to finish his career winning the SECT though. But injuries and covid took away what could have been a far better career for that young man. I almost 100% expect he's a GA next year and starts getting groomed to become a coach under Barnes. If I was him that's what I would do. Why go through beating/banging trying to make it in the pros when you can start now on becoming a coach?

I really wanted to see the Villanova rematch. Felt like Michigan came out using their size and being physical to keep us from shooting the deep ball, it was 12 minutes into the first before we even got an attempt up! That got into our heads, no other way about it. Then even when looks started happening our guys weren't hitting 'em and it snowballed from there.

Still a good enough team that with a few calls falling our way we win. The biggest one being the no call on Dickinson's first "block" of JJJ at the rack, even the slo-mo replay showed him hitting everything but the ball.
 
The Ringer's 2022 NBA Draft Guide

Chandler isn't even listed. I don't think it's a forgone conclusion he's leaving. NIL money could come close to matching early 2nd round/ late first round money. Add in with the possibility of improving his resume for next years draft and I think it's closer to 40/60 he returns.

Yeah, I think we'll see Santi, JJJ, and KC all go through evaluation. I don't know who decides to go or who doesn't. I had a feeling Grant would leave, was blown away that Bone left though. So who knows.
 
I'm still pissed at us but I would have gotten more pissed if Auburn won because they probably would have waltzed into the E8 and given they are a bad matchup for KU they had a more than decent shot at the FF. And them making the FF would have pushed me to meltdown mode.
I'm mad because this team had everything going for it. It had come together, gotten hot, had a deep bench it was there. I'm done getting my hopes up i really am thinking it's never going to happen after Saturday
 
I'm mad because this team had everything going for it. It had come together, gotten hot, had a deep bench it was there. I'm done getting my hopes up i really am thinking it's never going to happen after Saturday

That's probably my biggest gripe is everything was trending for us and we actually were playing like a team that had it going. We won the SECT. We played pretty lights out against Longwood. And we played pretty badly against Michigan yet were still relatively in control of the game up until around the 7:30 mark. But nope, same heartbreak.
 
That's probably my biggest gripe is everything was trending for us and we actually were playing like a team that had it going. We won the SECT. We played pretty lights out against Longwood. And we played pretty badly against Michigan yet were still relatively in control of the game up until around the 7:30 mark. But nope, same heartbreak.
Pretty much, there's one gripe about Barnes that I think can be had and that's his big man rotation in the second half. Other than that it was just TN being TN
 
Barnes style of basketball will always put us in the tournament. I still remember basketball before Pearl and then the years after until Barnes arrived.

So I'm okay with having teams that compete for the SEC and make the tournament. I said this to a friend, but I'll say it here to. If Barnes ever lands a legit big who has the same sort of internal motivation to get better and develop as Grant, Admiral, Bone, Santi, JJJ, KC, etc. have then he'll make a deep run. People always remember TJ Ford from that Texas FF team, but forget about the 2 bigs that were 3rd & 4th on the team in PPG.

Not to mention seeding was in their favor that year. Texas was a #1 and went through a 16, a 9, a 5, and a 7 seed before losing to eventual champ Syracuse (lead by Anthony)
 
Barnes style of basketball will always put us in the tournament. I still remember basketball before Pearl and then the years after until Barnes arrived.

So I'm okay with having teams that compete for the SEC and make the tournament. I said this to a friend, but I'll say it here to. If Barnes ever lands a legit big who has the same sort of internal motivation to get better and develop as Grant, Admiral, Bone, Santi, JJJ, KC, etc. have then he'll make a deep run. People always remember TJ Ford from that Texas FF team, but forget about the 2 bigs that were 3rd & 4th on the team in PPG.
I think Aidoo has that potential. We need the other.
 
I think Aidoo has that potential. We need the other.

Aidoo, BHH, Olivier, and Tamba

Heck Uros has shown the ability. Just isn't quite athletic enough in certain matchups to stay on the court. I know Tamba wasn't highly rated, but getting a year to RS and practice all season with Fulky, BHH, Aidoo, Uros hopefully helps him improve his game.

Also our best teams are teams that grow up together so the chemistry is there. I'm hoping that the majority of this team stays together so next year and the year after we see them really flourish.
 
Basketball is a weird game.

Sometimes the best teams doesn’t win the Tournament. It can be an off shooting night or the opposing opponent cannot miss any of their shots.

It sucks we lost, no doubt about it, but that’s part of it.

I remember having endless arguments with vol fans saying UK sucked whenever we lost in the tourney. I always said the tourney is a brutal way to determine a champion because rarely is it the best team overall that wins it. It's usually one of the top 5-10 but it takes 6 good games in a row and the right matchups.
 
  • Like
Reactions: berryvol
One reason I'm a bit high on Tamba as a great developmental guy. This was his evaluation outta HS

Has plus length for a center as a 7-footer. Solid athlete. Plays with an exceptional motor. Seeks the ball off the glass and runs the floor well with no mental hesitation in transitioning. Limited offensively. Raw and mechanical. Does have a right handed jump hook with potential to be a reliable weapon. Not a ball handler but will take care of the ball and execute the simple pass. Works for position defensively and can block shots and will move his feet. Will not get out worked on the boards.

That's the prototype for a successful player under Rick Barnes. I'm not sure if he will ever elevate to be a constant scoring threat, but if you're a high motor guy who can rebound then you may see a lot of easy buckets (like Oscar for Kentucky).
 
Aidoo, BHH, Olivier, and Tamba

Heck Uros has shown the ability. Just isn't quite athletic enough in certain matchups to stay on the court. I know Tamba wasn't highly rated, but getting a year to RS and practice all season with Fulky, BHH, Aidoo, Uros hopefully helps him improve his game.

Also our best teams are teams that grow up together so the chemistry is there. I'm hoping that the majority of this team stays together so next year and the year after we see them really flourish.
My issue with Uros is his offensive game. I love everything else but he struggles putting the ball in the hoop. The younger two are better offensively imo, but not as good on defense.
 
The Ringer's 2022 NBA Draft Guide

Chandler isn't even listed. I don't think it's a forgone conclusion he's leaving. NIL money could come close to matching early 2nd round/ late first round money. Add in with the possibility of improving his resume for next years draft and I think it's closer to 40/60 he returns.
Yeah, I think we'll see Santi, JJJ, and KC all go through evaluation. I don't know who decides to go or who doesn't. I had a feeling Grant would leave, was blown away that Bone left though. So who knows.

IMO, Bone’s departure surprised staff as well.

I’m 85% KC goes. But…Jaden Springer weaves tales of warning. Stuck at the G league and largely ignored this year. Could’ve benefitted from another year of growth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cardvolfan
IMO, Bone’s departure surprised staff as well.

I’m 85% KC goes. But…Jaden Springer weaves tales of warning. Stuck at the G league and largely ignored this year. Could’ve benefitted from another year of growth.
Didn’t Bone have a child while in school? I recall at the time some speculated he would leave because of that.
 
Yeah, I think we'll see Santi, JJJ, and KC all go through evaluation. I don't know who decides to go or who doesn't. I had a feeling Grant would leave, was blown away that Bone left though. So who knows.

Bone leaving likely made way for SV, so it all worked out.
 
My issue with Uros is his offensive game. I love everything else but he struggles putting the ball in the hoop. The younger two are better offensively imo, but not as good on defense.

Aidoo is the best natural defender. His biggest limitations were just how much he got setback from illness and injury.

He also has to get stronger, not even saying he needs to add weight but be stronger in general. I still think BHH has the best potential though, to be that naturally gifted from a size standpoint and also athletically. He just has to accept that he needs to learn to dominate in the paint and turn up his motor.

Cause at 6'9"/6'10" and a good 240lbs+ if he goes hard defensively and offensively he could be impossible to stop on the glass.
 
Aidoo is the best natural defender. His biggest limitations were just how much he got setback from illness and injury.

He also has to get stronger, not even saying he needs to add weight but be stronger in general. I still think BHH has the best potential though, to be that naturally gifted from a size standpoint and also athletically. He just has to accept that he needs to learn to dominate in the paint and turn up his motor.

Cause at 6'9"/6'10" and a good 240lbs+ if he goes hard defensively and offensively he could be impossible to stop on the glass.
Aidoo has good potential to be a rim protector, but I agree BHH has the potential to be a better all around player.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MoCo_Vol
Bone leaving likely made way for SV, so it all worked out.

If both Grant/Bone return we likely don't dip to 17-14. I think Santi still comes, but we probably don't take Gaines and/or Pember. Might even see Kent leave earlier.

Obviously it didn't pan out that way. But Santi was coming either way (I think), we ended up having to burn a potential RS season though when Turner went down.
 
Aidoo has good potential to be a rim protector, but I agree BHH has the potential to be a better all around player.

I mean we also got him a year early since he reclassified. And he's already built like that, didn't need 3 years of "fat camp" like Grant/Admiral either. He just needs to get that "get after it" attitude and realize with his size he should be pulling rims down on defender heads, not shooting jumpers.

Also unlike Uros, BHH & Aidoo both seem more capable of getting off the court. I think the reason we didn't see it more from them wasn't physical limitations (like with Uros) but more mental hesitation. I'm hoping Tamba also has the ability to play above the rim.
 
Last edited:
Advertisement





Back
Top