We have some guys that are good basketball players, but unfortunately they aren't very athletic. The issue is exacerbated without Buttler. I am glad that Pope is the coach, but he will not prevail without top notch athletes. I think he can bring in the tallent.
Athleticism is the issue
- Thread starter Cat_Man_Blue
- Start date
Yes and no.
Its also the will to win and play.
We are not even trying to defend or guard.
We are not playing as a team.
They look clueless out there defensively.
Its also the will to win and play.
We are not even trying to defend or guard.
We are not playing as a team.
They look clueless out there defensively.
I don't agree. Better athletes are always good, but it's schematic.
Athleticism is one issue, not THE issue.
The lack of anything resembling a point guard is another issue absolutely killing this team. We’re in for a world of hurt if both Butler and Kriisa are done.
The lack of anything resembling a point guard is another issue absolutely killing this team. We’re in for a world of hurt if both Butler and Kriisa are done.
Thats why I mentioned the affect of not having Buttler. Even with Buttler, we need more athletes.
Roster continuity is another.
Alabama, for example, goes from terrible on defense last year to good by returning a core, 4 of their top 6 players in minutes this season were on the team last year, and added some impact freshmen and a transfer to round out their top 7.
Lack of defensive principles is the key. No communication. No weak side help. No close outs with high hands. We don’t have a defensive minded coach and it shows
We’ve had some VERY athletic teams before that couldn’t hoop. Don’t forget all the brick laying high flyers we’ve had here not so long ago.
I'm not to worried.. As long as Pope gets some better athletes, and a solid core of returning players.... And see where we stand... I like what I saw before the injuries... Concerned about a few things... But will reserve judgment till we see a Pope squad that has been together for a year... We won't see that till year 3.
I'll add a familiar team to this.
The 2015 team returned a solid core of players. The twins, WCS, Poythress and Johnson, were all a part of mediocre defensive team in 2014. They return and we add some good freshman, the team becomes the best defensive team of the last 20 years.
Remember when Billy Donavan was considered a good offense coach, but horrible defensive coach while at FL (may still have that reputation for all I know). But he went out and brought in a defensive coach and fixed the issue pretty well. Maybe that's what Pope needs.
How does a team like Houston get athletic players that can score and play defense but UK can't? Pope better go all in on super athletic players in the portal that can do both of those things.
How many times do we have to do this? He’s already not bringing in top notch athletes!
Oweh
Johnson
There are your two top-notch athletes for next year.
And here’s six guys who are not:
Garrison
Perry
Noah
Chandler
Moreno
Lewis
And do you really think he’s going to strike gold in the portal and just grab up whoever he wants?
You're one the biggest beechs on the board now,, lol.. Congrats
So I make an actual point based on a projected roster and this is your response? Are you one of these people that has the testicles hanging from the back of your truck? And a really fat wife? Thought so.You're one the biggest beechs on the board now,, lol.. Congrats
Chandler is actually a decent athlete. He just can’t do anything with the ball.
It’s recruiting to what you do and maintaining that standard.
Kelvin Sampson is a damn fine basketball coach. But mainly he knows how he wants to play and he recruits to that. He is a system coach.
Same for Izzo. His style is to be physical on defense and rebound. On offense it’s all scripted. They don’t even have one hitters in their system. They only run when you hand it to them in the open court. Even then he prefers you back it out and run a play. His playbook has over 100 plays in it.
Again, he recruits big strong front court players to rebound and set picks and guards that want to run sets.
We don’t know what Pope is going to have as his signature style and how he will recruit long term. This team was thrown together with leftovers.
The only plan was getting enough to field a team.
He has to have time.
But not giving full out effort is the biggest problem.
30 minutes of the game tonight was about as embarrassing as I can remember from a UK team.
They just didn’t care.
Athleticism is among the least significant reasons why we are so bad at defending. Maybe you can point to that to say that’s why we aren’t elite, but there are plenty of teams with comparable athleticism that defend much better than we do.
you lost cred by saying Lewis isnt. go watch him again. Lewis is definitely athletic.
Yes and no. Being athletic does help but defense is mostly technique and effort. Our guys have neither. Watch them. Look at their feet. They are standing flatfooted, not up on their toes or balls of their feet. They are also standing straight legged instead of having their knees bent. They don't step and slide which allows you to change directions much quicker. They run around with their arms at their side instead of up. This is something they should have learned in Little League years ago. Then again that may be why they were at a mid major school to start with.
And Pope still has 7 schollys to play with.
The best thing about going to 15 is that you can afford to let Perry,Noah, Chandler and maybe Kriisa stay on the roster if they wish and still be able to add more athleticism and speed in the portal.
Don't underestimate a team personality change.
It's hard to be the kind of defensive team we want to be when your best player(Robinson) is also the softest player on the team and avoids contact as much as possible.
Do you think all those dudes are gonna come back if he fills out seven scholarships? Hell no. If those eight are back at Kentucky next year, then you can only have three or four legit players to join them. Pope is not relegating Chandler or Perry or Noah to the end of the bench.
That's where they are now .
Idk what they will decide to do but the space is there for them if they choose to remain at UK.
As far as who else Pope brings in, he knows his job is to win and he knows what his roster shortcomings are.
But if it your opinion that Pope won't " take their heart" then so be it
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He is certainly not going to take the heart of Chandler (fellow Mormon he recruited at BYU) or the Kentucky boys.