The Official “Regular Posters of the Basketball Forum” Thread

#25,027
#25,027
I’ll just say that I think Igor could still have his best basketball ahead of him.

Does that mean he’s in the NBA, G League, or overseas…don’t know. I think Rick & Vols exposed him to his first real taste of what sort of training and practice it takes to be great. I said all season he would benefit the most from another year here.

Think he caught Covid and never fully got back to 100% afterwards.
 
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#25,029
#25,029
MinisterofDef#92 said:
I'm still surprised we managed to somehow make another E8 with how much Igor struggled at the end of the season....real testament to how much the other players stepped up and how well CRB managed a roster which clearly had some deficiencies.
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A big part of that was ZZ stepping it up on offense.

Him and Igor both out vs Florida on 2/1
ZZ then went 7 straight games scoring at least 15 points

Igor had one big bounce back game vs Missouri where he scored 21 and grabbed 10 rebounds, but was really not back to early season form.

Gainey also turned it up a notch...his mostly came in the post season though.


Had any of Felix, Igor, Mashack been able to give us 10 or more consistently we probably make our first Final Four. But we only got Chaz and ZZ scoring at a regular clip and then Gainey once post-season got here. Just never really had a 4th option...Cade and Dubar also weren't it.
 
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#25,030
#25,030
Each week it seems like VQ shifts their stance slightly more and more towards the 5th year thing being a possibility, it started with an absolutely not and now it’s to them acknowledging it’s going to happen but will it be in time. Austin Price said he thinks it happens in July and then it’s a matter of players suing that our current seniors if they aren’t included in it, Brent & Rob seem more skeptical that a lawsuit will get those guys eligible but also acknowledge that they’d have a good court case. All 3 of them agree that Gainey makes a lot of sense for this team and that Tennessee seems to be keeping that door open by not pursuing anyone else in the portal, they don’t necessarily think it’s happening but also want to make sure if it does that Tennessee has the room and roster makeup to bring him back.
 
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#25,035
#25,035
bleedingTNorange said:
Was thinking the same thing, most analytics will have us Top 10-12 imo
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I guess in the era of constant roster turnover, it’s hard to judge expectations for a team with basically an entirely new roster. But I just find the stark contrast in rankings to be interesting. Some people are very low on this team, while some are obviously bought in.
 
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#25,036
#25,036
MoCo_Vol said:
A big part of that was ZZ stepping it up on offense.

Him and Igor both out vs Florida on 2/1
ZZ then went 7 straight games scoring at least 15 points

Igor had one big bounce back game vs Missouri where he scored 21 and grabbed 10 rebounds, but was really not back to early season form.

Gainey also turned it up a notch...his mostly came in the post season though.


Had any of Felix, Igor, Mashack been able to give us 10 or more consistently we probably make our first Final Four. But we only got Chaz and ZZ scoring at a regular clip and then Gainey once post-season got here. Just never really had a 4th option...Cade and Dubar also weren't it.
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Yep...ZZ got hot and Gainey was clutch at key moments while Chaz did his thing.
 
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#25,037
#25,037
omghulkhands said:
I thought SJ was overrated last year. I feel they’ll be overrated this year.

I’d probably have KY a good bit higher.

Nobody knows if Auburn will be anywhere close to that good. Just a total faith in Bruce Pearl kinda ranking.
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Really? I think 7 is quite optimistic, honestly. I think that assumes Jayden Quaintance is fully healthy and no rust and Mouhamed Dioubate takes another step. Beyond that, their frontcourt has some real question marks. Andrija Jelavic looks great in that euro league, but so did Z. Ivisic. Even at 6'-11, he'd probably slot more like a SF or stretch 4 like Milicic. At guard, I think they are solid. Jaland Lowe is a lot like Otega Oweh in his ability to get to the paint. Not a great shooter, but will be a solid PG compliment to Oweh. Those two with Denzel Aberdeen form a nice trio at guard.

I guess I question their depth relative to what they had this past season and having to implement so many new pieces which is old hat for that program, really. There is plenty of potential for them, but not sure I'd have them top-10, let alone top-5, preseason.
 
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#25,038
#25,038
cncchris33 said:
Really? I think 7 is quite optimistic, honestly. I think that assumes Jayden Quaintance is fully healthy and no rust and Mouhamed Dioubate takes another step. Beyond that, their frontcourt has some real question marks. Andrija Jelavic looks great in that euro league, but so did Z. Ivisic. Even at 6'-11, he'd probably slot more like a SF or stretch 4 like Milicic. At guard, I think they are solid. Jaland Lowe is a lot like Otega Oweh in his ability to get to the paint. Not a great shooter, but will be a solid PG compliment to Oweh. Those two with Denzel Aberdeen form a nice trio at guard.

I guess I question their depth relative to what they had this past season and having to implement so many new pieces which is old hat for that program, really. There is plenty of potential for them, but not sure I'd have them top-10, let alone top-5, preseason.
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I question their shooting, Pope’s system seems to thrive on having shooters all over the court, maybe im mistaken but to me they’ve downgraded in that department which is a massive part of his system.
 
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#25,040
#25,040
cncchris33 said:
Really? I think 7 is quite optimistic, honestly. I think that assumes Jayden Quaintance is fully healthy and no rust and Mouhamed Dioubate takes another step. Beyond that, their frontcourt has some real question marks. Andrija Jelavic looks great in that euro league, but so did Z. Ivisic. Even at 6'-11, he'd probably slot more like a SF or stretch 4 like Milicic. At guard, I think they are solid. Jaland Lowe is a lot like Otega Oweh in his ability to get to the paint. Not a great shooter, but will be a solid PG compliment to Oweh. Those two with Denzel Aberdeen form a nice trio at guard.

I guess I question their depth relative to what they had this past season and having to implement so many new pieces which is old hat for that program, really. There is plenty of potential for them, but not sure I'd have them top-10, let alone top-5, preseason.
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My comment is certainly contingent on Oweh returning and JQ being fully healthy.

I think very highly of JQ. He is literally still 17 years old and will be for a couple more months. His potential is through the roof.

I think their 3 pt shooting is a real concern as BTO pointed out, but it’s my assumption they’ll adjust the offense. You don’t stack this many rim finishers and shoot a bunch of 3’s. If they do that, then yeah. Dumb. Wouldn’t be anywhere close to a good team.

UK defense gonna be wildly improved with this roster IMO.
 
#25,042
#25,042
To be honest Kentucky opening the season as the highest rated SEC team is kind of a joke...

Arkansas, Florida, Bama, Vols all with far higher rated recruiting classes and return some key pieces.

I think my "dark horse" to win SEC would be Arkansas. I think we got a real shot ourselves, but wouldn't be a dark horse imo...

Cal gonna Cal but 4th ranked class and he returns DJ Wagner, Trevon Brazile, Billy Richmond... still could return Thiero, Boogie and even Knox depending on how combine/draft goes for them
 
#25,043
#25,043
omghulkhands said:
Why Purdue too high? I think most view them as consensus #1?
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But why? They finished 24-12...

I mean not losing anyone major, but Heide and Furst who each played 18+ mpg. I mean if Cluff is a big add from the portal maybe they'll be better but consensus #1 seems crazy to me.

4 wins against ranked teams and only 1 was a true road game. I just don't see the improvement of roster to go from fringe top 25 team before the NCAA tournament to consensus #1 when they have only added 1 potential upgrade to the roster.
 
#25,044
#25,044
omghulkhands said:
My comment is certainly contingent on Oweh returning and JQ being fully healthy.

I think very highly of JQ. He is literally still 17 years old and will be for a couple more months. His potential is through the roof.

I think their 3 pt shooting is a real concern as BTO pointed out, but it’s my assumption they’ll adjust the offense. You don’t stack this many rim finishers and shoot a bunch of 3’s. If they do that, then yeah. Dumb. Wouldn’t be anywhere close to a good team.

UK defense gonna be wildly improved with this roster IMO.
Click to expand...
Unless the defense sags, cutting off driving and passing lanes.
 
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#25,045
#25,045
MoCo_Vol said:
But why? They finished 24-12...

I mean not losing anyone major, but Heide and Furst who each played 18+ mpg. I mean if Cluff is a big add from the portal maybe they'll be better but consensus #1 seems crazy to me.

4 wins against ranked teams and only 1 was a true road game. I just don't see the improvement of roster to go from fringe top 25 team before the NCAA tournament to consensus #1 when they have only added 1 potential upgrade to the roster.
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Sure. Probably getting a lot of points for roster continuity in an era where it’s rare.

I honestly thought they were gonna get Mara and really unlock him. But that didn’t happen.

I mean, preseason polls have always been dumb. But now it feels harder than ever to predict anything cause rosters are so in flux
 
#25,046
#25,046
omghulkhands said:
Sure. Probably getting a lot of points for roster continuity in an era where it’s rare.

I honestly thought they were gonna get Mara and really unlock him. But that didn’t happen.

I mean, preseason polls have always been dumb. But now it feels harder than ever to predict anything cause rosters are so in flux
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And if that roster had been mostly freshmen and sophomore I'd give them more benefit of a doubt...but those dudes (Smith, Loyer, Kaufman-Renn) been playing together 2-3 years already and 24-12 was the best they could do without Edey.

And Oscar Cluff wasn't exactly balling at Washington State so I'm not sure his production at South Dakota State in the Summit conference is going to lift them to #1 team level especially since he's not a 7'4" foul magnet...
 
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#25,047
#25,047
MoCo_Vol said:
I’ll just say that I think Igor could still have his best basketball ahead of him.

Does that mean he’s in the NBA, G League, or overseas…don’t know. I think Rick & Vols exposed him to his first real taste of what sort of training and practice it takes to be great. I said all season he would benefit the most from another year here.
Click to expand...

Been saying this since before the NCAA's. The two guys I would have loved to see return were Gainey and Igor - Gainey because he was just beginning to realize his potential and another year as a team leader might have been a real breakout year for him, and Igor because he was clearly not the same player after his illness and I could see the light really going on for him in a year two under Barnes.
 
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#25,048
#25,048
I was listening to the VQ podcast today and Ramey, Hubbs, and Price were all saying how shocked and uncharacteristic it has been that Barnes has apparently not been pumping the brakes on the Nate Ament hype train during the Big Orange Caravan. Said they have never heard him talk about a kid like this, this early.
 
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#25,049
#25,049
MoCo_Vol said:
UConn and Purdue are way too high...and a bit weird to see Duke outside top 11 but Kentucky ahead of them (and us).
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Totally agree. Purdue at #1? Based on what, Braden Smith returning? Top 15 would be much more realistic.

And UConn is top 3 just based on the national media assumption that Hurley had his 'reset' season and is now ready to roll again.

The SEC right now is a crapshoot with all the transfers until we see what these teams actually look like when some games are actually played.
 
#25,050
#25,050
TheMookieMonster said:
I was listening to the VQ podcast today and Ramey, Hubbs, and Price were all saying how shocked and uncharacteristic it has been that Barnes has apparently not been pumping the brakes on the Nate Ament hype train during the Big Orange Caravan. Said they have never heard him talk about a kid like this, this early.
Click to expand...

Makes sense. For the boosters to finance him separately, he had to have made a compelling argument.
 
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