2010 VS 2015 Wildcats201 Who ya got?? and Why?

[The Dog 1967]

2010 Starters

Wall
Beledsoe
Miller
Patterson
Cousins

2015 Starters

Harrison
Harrison
Lyles
Towns
WCS

On paper, 5 vs 5 2010 wins 8 out of 10 games at least.We are looking at 4 NBA all-stars on the 2010 roster. Can we even say that there is one future all-star on this 2015 team? Even if you open it up to the bench I would give the advantage to the 2015 team, however not by a bunch. This team, this year just plays so well together, I have to say I liked the swagger better in 2010, but I really love these kids this year.

What an honor to have had these kids on our team, and the wild thing is we are note even talking about our championship team.......It is crazy...

 

[Joneslab]

2015.

Cousins would be in serious foul trouble and a major part of 2010's attack would be cut off at the knees.

That team fell back to Wall getting into the lane and making plays when Cousins got in foul trouble, and this team is too good defensively to get hurt that way.

Think it would be very low-scoring but I think this team is better, deeper, and just generally tougher on the defensive end.

 

[Graves51]

I got the 2010 Cats, just too much talent. Frontcourt and backcourt. Wall and Bledsoe would out perform the Harrisons and Booker-Ulis. And I can't imagine Cousins having any problem with our current frontcourt. Plenty of bench help for both groups. Neither team really has advantage on free throws. If the 2010 bunch had hit their free throws as well as they did everything else they would have been NCAA champs without a doubt!

 

[UKCatsFan10]

I'll take the 09-10 team... I still feel that they were our most talented team since Calipari has been here at UK. West Virginia just caught us on the right night.

 

[The Dog 1967]

A Boogie vs WCS match up would be AWESOME!!! I mean watching PP going up against KAT, they all would be epic! I cannot disagree with your logic at all. Hell I get excited at the variables.....


GO CATS!!!

 

[StubbornPenny]

Depends on how 2010 is shooting the 3. They hit their 3s, they win by 10, they don't and they lose by 8.

 

[wcc31]

I don't get the 2010 team love around here. Did you guys NOT watch that season? They were a really good team, but had a severe flaw, one that is very important to the game of basketball- THEY COULDN'T SHOOT. Why do people try to compare them to teams like 2012 and 2015, which were much more complete?

If you can't shoot, you're not going to make it through 6 games in March.

 

[The Dog 1967]

Both teams are loaded with talent, but both teams struggled with scoring. So it is interesting to look at the one on one match ups....

Wall vs Andrew H. - I am an Andrew fan, however Wall owns him JW was a man then and is a man now.Bledsoe vs Arron H. - GREAT match-up!!! I give the node to Arron though, when it comes to a big shot he is the man that has to take it. Also I think Eric was a bit of a late bloomer.Miller vs Trey Lyles - I am going to go with a push on this one.....Patterson vs WCS - I LOVE WCS but sometimes it seems he is out chasing bugs, or thinking about coloring. PP was a warrior, I really cannot call this one, COIN TOSS - Patterson it is...Boogie vs KAT - KAT is a great kid, but BOOGIE is a stone cold killer, Boogie is a mean, chip on his shoulder type of player and he would dominate this match up. WCS coming from the backside would prove trouble for Boog, but I like DC in this one.
Again.....on paper it has to be the 2010 cats...

 

[ganner918_rivals60369]

2010 had a turnover problem. 2015 is good at forcing turnovers. Mississippi State with Jarvis Varnado took Kentucky to overtime twice. I think this team's interior defense would give 2010 trouble. 2010 would get transition baskets, that's one relative weakness we've seen this year. I give 2015 the advantage due to depth and balance. 2015's subs are leaps and bounds better than 2010's.

 

[BigBoyBlueMMA]

I'm going with 2010......and the main reason is transition defense. 2015 has HORRIBLE transition defense and who was better from coast to coast than that 2010 team with Wall/Bledsoe! The 3 wouldn't be required to win the game as is a requirement against this 2015 team THIS SEASON. The ability of Wall and Bledsoe to spread the court and break this team down and score off baskets wins the game - 2010- 73 and 2015 - 67

NOW somebody run these on one of those young whippersnappers fancy websites that do that thing!

 

[TTOWN CATS]

2010 easily. Each of the starting five was more talented than our current starting five (Wall and Cousins were 1st Team All-Americans), and Wall and Bledsoe could probably combine for 50 points against the Twins with their quickness and athletic ability. Don't forget that team could also go 10 deep with Orton, Dodson, Liggins, Harris, and Stephenson if they had to. One horrific 4-32 shooting game against WVU tarnished their legacy.

 

[ukwazoo]

2015 - play better defense and they have Booker. 2010 was a horrible shooting team.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[fatguy87]

Originally posted by ukwazoo:
2015 - play better defense and they have Booker. 2010 was a horrible shooting team.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

The 2015 team is better offensively too. They turn it over less and shoot better. Really, an all around better team by a decent margin.





This post was edited on 1/26 3:47 PM by fatguy87

 

[BoulderCat_rivals187983]

Star power vs depth. Good question. I'm still wondering 5 years later how the heck the 2010 team lost to WV. Unlike Tubby, Cal never really got pushed on that one. I don't know the answer, but I'm of the opinion the 2012 team would beat both. That team had what the current team lacks, a bona-fide super star. One Mr. Anthony Davis. When I see KAT projected as the 2nd or 3rd pick and compare him to AD and MKG it makes me scratch my head. He's a great player, but nowhere near at this point AD was. Sure, he'd have better #'s with more PT, but he's still got a ways to go IMO.

 

[bssparks]

The 2010 team wins easily. As a previous poster stated they had a bad night and ruined their legacy as an all time great team. They had shooters on that team, I think Bledsoe even made 6 threes against Wake in the NCAA tourny. Just a bad night like UNLV and the Fab Five.

 

[far_away_fan]

2010 lost to WVa because they couldn't score away from the basket, and WVa packed it way in and conceded open jumpers. 2015 UK could take away the interior scoring by just giving a little help (i.e. packing it in just a little). They wouldn't have to give wide open jumpers and just hope 2010 missed the way WVa did. They could give a little challenge to those perimeter shots. It's unlikely that 2010 makes enough perimeter shots to beat the 2014 UK team.

Also, Cous averaged about 1 foul for every 7 minutes on the court and that included games against TERRIBLE opposing big men. The number was probably nearly twice as high against good teams. He also wasn't in tip-top shape. He would probably only play at most between 20 and 25 minutes against the current UK team due to foul trouble and fatigue. Orton wasn't much of an offensive threat as a backup.

The only way 2010 wins is if John Wall just takes over the game. None of our guards matches up well with him. If that happened and 2014 has an off shooting night, 2010 probably wins a close game.


Also, it seems like most people posting here see the names on the 2010 roster and imagine a more dominant team that the one we actually got to see. Here were some notable and unimpressive non-conference results:

Beat Miami (OH) 72-70.
Gave up 92 to Sam Houston State (still won by 10).
Taken to over time by a Stanford team that didn't make the tourney
Beat #10 UNC at home by 2
Beat #14 UConn in NYC by 3
Beat (unranked) UL at home by 9

Of course they certainly blew out some bad teams as well. They had the usual mixture of big wins, and close games against the SEC. But despite the (ABSURD) talent, they weren't as dominant as this UK team has been (and they didn't play as hard a schedule either).

 

[Joneslab]

Originally posted by bssparks:

The 2010 team wins easily. As a previous poster stated they had a bad night and ruined their legacy as an all time great team. They had shooters on that team, I think Bledsoe even made 6 threes against Wake in the NCAA tourny. Just a bad night like UNLV and the Fab Five.

Bledsoe was probably the best shooter on that team but he made fewer than 50 threes.

But they had other weaknesses: Cousins was strapped with foul trouble virtually in every game. They turned the ball over at a shocking rate as others have mentioned.

They had as much individual talent as Kentucky's ever had, but they were mostly 18 and 19 years old.

I think 2012 would beat them, and I think this current team would beat them. Far fewer obvious weaknesses.

I saw the 2010 practice that November. They did a shooting drill. Unguarded. It was incredible how many bricks those guys put up. Cal spoke to the crowd during that practice and openly mocked the team for what poor shooters they were.

You can't be considered great with a weakness that glaring. The individual talent had simply masked it for much of the year.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

2015 and the difference is Booker and Ulis.,, deeper team with more deep threats.

 

[KyLegacyBBN]

Good thread....going with 2015. Defense wins games and this team has some of the best defense I have ever seen in my life. Add Ulis and Booker combo for threes. Aaron for close game situation. Would be a fantastic game though.

 

[rhstoess]

It all depends honestly, the depth disparity isnt all that much (2010 went 10 deep, just didnt use their bottom 3 as much) and the talent on 2010 is way more in the top 7 i think. The only issue was that they were streaky shooters, with i guess only dodson as a real perimeter threat every game. Occasionally bledsoe and miller could get hot, but the rest were off more than on. Id go with 2015 most times

 

[kyjeff1]

2015 by 8 or so.
Too much sensationalizing of the 2010 squad, they were great but this 2015 team is just too good defensively.

 

[WildMoon]

2015

Wall, Bledsoe and Cousin is serious talent. However, seriously raw

They also lacked major discipline and do stupid **** that lost games. They also didn't know what defense was either. If you look at their schedule and how close they were in so many games against ****** competition tells you that they weren't as great as this year's team.

In 7 game series, 2015 team would beat 2010 team.

 

[The Dog 1967]

The more I think about this one the more I like thinking about it....

I mean just in talking about the bench, how would a Booker vs Liggins look? We have not had many kids here under Cal that I liked seeing play "D" than Liggins. Booker is the consummate "baller" plays hard, plays tough. Then you have Liggins, a mature,physical player that could go into BEAST MODE and just shut someone down.

I think people just giving the 2015 team the edge with bench play may be a tad premature......Lets not forget about Ramon "Razor" Harris, while inconsistent, still a defender that could really give teams fits. Imagine a Harris Lyles matchup....

Josh Harrellson is one of my favorite players ever to wear blue, and when in the game could give you a lot of different options. Josh vs D. Johnson would be the battle of the negative vertical guys.

Toss in Dodson, Orton, Perry and Hoodie, the 2010 team had one hell of a bench!

 

[wcc31]

Originally posted by Joneslab:

Originally posted by bssparks:

The 2010 team wins easily. As a previous poster stated they had a bad night and ruined their legacy as an all time great team. They had shooters on that team, I think Bledsoe even made 6 threes against Wake in the NCAA tourny. Just a bad night like UNLV and the Fab Five.

Bledsoe was probably the best shooter on that team but he made fewer than 50 threes.

But they had other weaknesses: Cousins was strapped with foul trouble virtually in every game. They turned the ball over at a shocking rate as others have mentioned.

They had as much individual talent as Kentucky's ever had, but they were mostly 18 and 19 years old.

I think 2012 would beat them, and I think this current team would beat them. Far fewer obvious weaknesses.

I saw the 2010 practice that November. They did a shooting drill. Unguarded. It was incredible how many bricks those guys put up. Cal spoke to the crowd during that practice and openly mocked the team for what poor shooters they were.

You can't be considered great with a weakness that glaring. The individual talent had simply masked it for much of the year.

Good post, as usual.

Another thing people forget- Wall and Bledsoe were actually suspect on containing the bounce. Joe Mazzula killed them.

I love the 2010 team and they were probably the best team in the country that year, but that loss to West Virginia was coming all year.

 

[keefsopeng]

2010 would win in a game filled with irony because the only thing that could stop that team was zone and other junk defenses(ala WVU's 1-3-1) and Cal would refuse to play it and watch Wall and Bledsoe score at will in the lane watch them penetrate and feed Boogie or Patterson.

 

[qwesley]

Originally posted by Joneslab: Bledsoe was probably the best shooter on that team but he made fewer than 50 threes.

But they had other weaknesses: Cousins was strapped with foul trouble virtually in every game. They turned the ball over at a shocking rate as others have mentioned.


Good points. People on talk about the first issue but the other two were just as important. Cousins just could not stay on the floor, only avg 22-23 mpg. We had the early lead against WVU and then he got his second cheap foul and all the momentum was lost.

 

[Kampus Korner_rivals164031]

2015 better outside shooters.

 

[bssparks]

Everyone is talking about how raw the 2010 team was, but Patrick Patterson was on that team and he was 35% from the three point line that year. Dodson, Liggins and Miller were the small forwards that year. You had Harrellson and Stevenson who couldn't even get off the bench. If this 2015 team is 34-0 after the Sec tourny then I may change my mind, but until then I'll stick with 2010.

 

[UK2005_24]

2015 because the historically great defense this team plays..

This post was edited on 1/27 8:39 AM by UK2005_24

 

[STL_Cat]

Originally posted by wcc31:
I don't get the 2010 team love around here. Did you guys NOT watch that season? They were a really good team, but had a severe flaw, one that is very important to the game of basketball- THEY COULDN'T SHOOT. Why do people try to compare them to teams like 2012 and 2015, which were much more complete?

If you can't shoot, you're not going to make it through 6 games in March.

What he said. We can all look back on paper and see the dominant individual talent, but that team didn't play good team basketball and couldn't shoot. Their overall record was very good, obviously, but do folks here not remember how many close games that team played against severely undermanned teams?

 

[STL_Cat]

Originally posted by TheDog1967:
The more I think about this one the more I like thinking about it....

I mean just in talking about the bench, how would a Booker vs Liggins look? We have not had many kids here under Cal that I liked seeing play "D" than Liggins. Booker is the consummate "baller" plays hard, plays tough. Then you have Liggins, a mature,physical player that could go into BEAST MODE and just shut someone down.

I think people just giving the 2015 team the edge with bench play may be a tad premature......Lets not forget about Ramon "Razor" Harris, while inconsistent, still a defender that could really give teams fits. Imagine a Harris Lyles matchup....

Josh Harrellson is one of my favorite players ever to wear blue, and when in the game could give you a lot of different options. Josh vs D. Johnson would be the battle of the negative vertical guys.

Toss in Dodson, Orton, Perry and Hoodie, the 2010 team had one hell of a bench!

I'm not sure you know what the word "premature" means ... that makes no sense in the context you just used it.

 

[TTOWN CATS]

The argument keeps being made that the 2015 is a much better shooting team than the 2010 team, but the 2010 team shot 33.1% on 3's and 47.8% overall. The 2015 team is shooting 35.7% on 3's and 45.7% overall. The 2010 team averaged 79 points a game and the 2015 team is averaging 74 points a game (and dropping). I don't think an argument can be made that the shooting of the two teams is significantly different.
,

 

[wcc31]

Originally posted by STEVE!:
The argument keeps being made that the 2015 is a much better shooting team than the 2010 team, but the 2010 team shot 33.1% on 3's and 47.8% overall. The 2015 team is shooting 35.7% on 3's and 45.7% overall. The 2010 team averaged 79 points a game and the 2015 team is averaging 74 points a game (and dropping). I don't think an argument can be made that the shooting of the two teams is significantly different.
,

Ever since Poythress went down, this team is torching the nets from 3 at around 45%. You can do what you want with the statistics, but anyone who actually watched both teams play can tell you who the better shooting team was.

Look, if NCAA Basketball Tournament was decided by a 7-game series, then maybe you could take 2010. But it's not. You have to win 6 games in a row. If you can't shoot consistently, it will bite you.

It's not like we DIDN'T see this actually happen. Did you not watch the Elite 8 game?

 

[STL_Cat]

Originally posted by MdWIldcat55:
"I'm not sure you know what the word "premature" means ... that makes no sense in the context you just used it."

It is perfectly clear what he is saying; that we don't have the full body of work for the 2015 bench to compare with what was actually a strong, and probably under-appreciated 2010 bench.

I'm sorry, but I don't think it's premature at all and I don't think we need a full season to recognize our bench this year is much stronger than our bench in 2010.

 

[bssparks]

Originally posted by wcc31:

Originally posted by STEVE!:
The argument keeps being made that the 2015 is a much better shooting team than the 2010 team, but the 2010 team shot 33.1% on 3's and 47.8% overall. The 2015 team is shooting 35.7% on 3's and 45.7% overall. The 2010 team averaged 79 points a game and the 2015 team is averaging 74 points a game (and dropping). I don't think an argument can be made that the shooting of the two teams is significantly different.
,

Ever since Poythress went down, this team is torching the nets from 3 at around 45%. You can do what you want with the statistics, but anyone who actually watched both teams play can tell you who the better shooting team was.

Look, if NCAA Basketball Tournament was decided by a 7-game series, then maybe you could take 2010. But it's not. You have to win 6 games in a row. If you can't shoot consistently, it will bite you.

It's not like we DIDN'T see this actually happen. Did you not watch the Elite 8 game?

Of course in a 1 game scenario anything can happen. I have news for you, Booker and Harrison may have 1 terrible shooting game in the tournament and that will be all she wrote. It's pretty clear the 2010 team wasn't as bad a shooting team as you think.

 

[Joneslab]

^ If Booker and Harrison have an off night I think this team is more capable of overcoming it. And that's not a knock on 2010--I believe this team is more capable of overcoming off nights than any UK team I've seen. 2010 was a bear defensively, but not like this team.

In fact we can prove this because this team has suffered through bad shooting nights while still winning. It happened quite a few times through the first 10 games.

Where 2010 would have an advantage, as others have said, is when they ran. Wall and Bledsoe on the break is something to behold. This team has shown that it's susceptible to teams getting out and running--but then again, so was 2012.

 

[WCBcats]

2010 by 5-7 points. Those guys would explode by the harrisons and ulis and booker. Would have a field day getting to the bucket.

 

[TTOWN CATS]

Originally posted by wcc31:

Originally posted by STEVE!:
The argument keeps being made that the 2015 is a much better shooting team than the 2010 team, but the 2010 team shot 33.1% on 3's and 47.8% overall. The 2015 team is shooting 35.7% on 3's and 45.7% overall. The 2010 team averaged 79 points a game and the 2015 team is averaging 74 points a game (and dropping). I don't think an argument can be made that the shooting of the two teams is significantly different.
,

Ever since Poythress went down, this team is torching the nets from 3 at around 45%. You can do what you want with the statistics, but anyone who actually watched both teams play can tell you who the better shooting team was.

Look, if NCAA Basketball Tournament was decided by a 7-game series, then maybe you could take 2010. But it's not. You have to win 6 games in a row. If you can't shoot consistently, it will bite you.

It's not like we DIDN'T see this actually happen. Did you not watch the Elite 8 game?

Yes, of course I saw it, but that 4-32 abomination was no more indicative of that team's season than were the losses to Indiana and Vanderbilt by the 2012 team. I've also seen no-names like Jarvis Summers, Stefan Moody, and Danuel House torch this year's guards for 25 in a game. Wall and Bledsoe would totally dominate the game. How could this year's guards score on them, or on defensive stoppers like Liggins, Harris, and Miller? I guess we're all lucky we have had such great teams that we can have a debate like this.

 

[BourbonBalz]

2010.

 

[Jkwo_rivals113955]

You guys who are always talking up the '10 team are doing some serious revisionist history.


The NBA talent argument means NOTHING. Even the cumulative college talent (players who won big in college during other years) argument means nothing. Look at 2012 UCONN's roster. They were thoroughly mediocre, yet from a talent standpoint, were a top 5 team this decade. Look at last year's UK, for goodness sake. STOP using these arguments. They're so bad.


The '12 team had a better season than '10 by any measure, even if we're just talking about the regular season. They had better win margins against comparable talent.

And '15 has had a vastly better season than '12 by far. '15 UK is probably having the best season to this point since '91 UNLV. Don't believe me? Go look at all the legendary teams of the modern era and their win margins, games against ranked competition, w-l records, etc going into february. Even the best ones didn't look this good. I've looked over the numbers very carefully.



You guys need to sit down, look at the facts, and then come back and have this conversation, because as much as everyone is enjoying this season, some of you aren't quite fathoming just how special this team is.


'10 produced 2 of the current top 20 players in the NBA, along with two other NBA starters. In terms of NBA talent, they are among the top of all time. But as talented as they were then, they weren't what they are today, and if they were better as a team, in college, than '15, then they would have had at least comparable numbers, if not better, than '15.

In fact, their results against competition were far worse. It's not a comparison, guys. There is not a perfect connection between talent level and quality of the team.

'96 UK was an A+ collection of talent and an A++ team.

'10 UK was an A+ collection of talent and an A team.
'12 UCONN was an A+ collection of talent and a C- team.
'12 UK was an A+ collection of talent and an A+ team.
'13 UK was an A collection of talent and a D team.
'14 UK was an A+ collection of talent, and a C- team during the regular season, then an A team during the tournament.

'15 UK is an A+ collection of talent (although more due to depth, like '96, rather than stars, like '10), and an A++ team.

All the top end talent arguments for '10 over '15 also apply for '10 over '96. '10 had a way, way, more talented top 4 than '96. Those 4 players already have better NBA credentials than the '96 roster combined. Doesn't mean the team was better. This team has a way bigger win margin against a tougher schedule than '10 did, and they are way, way, way, more consistent game to game (though no team is perfectly consistent, obviously). If '10 was a better team, they should have proven it against their schedule. To this point, it's not close.
This post was edited on 1/27 11:17 PM by Jkwo