Chaz Lanier NOT in Lexington

[DaDirtyLeb69]

So not off much from the Great One Osobor. Would we have been better off just going ahead and getting Osobor and put him at the three since we have so many really good guards?

No not at all. Osobor can’t shoot. Krisa doesn’t need to be playing major mins, butler is a defensive guard, oweh and brea need somebody to create offense for them. Kentucky needs a wing scorer who can fill it up. Laneir/poplar/robinson fit that description. And since it’s looking like Robinson is the draft or Kansas for some reason, poplar & laneir become that much more important

 

[Coach Marrow]

What is Pope’s salary? 5.5 Million? Are these players making more than the assistant coaches?

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

I've defended MJ a lot on this site. I don't even listen to his show, just never understood why so many fans disliked him.

That said, he's been wrong on A LOT since Cal left for Arkansas

He obviously has no sources anymore inside the program on BBall side. Cal cut him out and now he prolly hasn’t had time to make an assistant friend.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

Chaz Lanier is supposedly asking 1.8 million from Pope & UK & considerations to help his family relocate.

If UK says yes, look for Lanier to be a Wildcat by the end of the week.

Tennessee was given the same option.

He better pan out and be an AA then. These numbers are getting stupid but we do need him I just don’t know if I believe these large numbers. Especially when we got Reeves for 150k.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

Chaz Lanier is supposedly asking 1.8 million from Pope & UK & considerations to help his family relocate.

If UK says yes, look for Lanier to be a Wildcat by the end of the week.

Tennessee was given the same option.

If he gets 1.8 million he can damn well relocate them himself too.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Crazy ask if true but not my money.

What makes this guy worth that much versus any of the other guys we signed?

Chemistry and drama await.

 

[senonesy]

No not at all. Osobor can’t shoot. Krisa doesn’t need to be playing major mins, butler is a defensive guard, oweh and brea need somebody to create offense for them. Kentucky needs a wing scorer who can fill it up. Laneir/poplar/robinson fit that description. And since it’s looking like Robinson is the draft or Kansas for some reason, poplar & laneir become that much more important

Krisa doesn’t deserve major minutes? I think folks are underestimating him big time. He literally started all but 3 games in 2022 and 2023 for two good Arizona teams that were #1 and #2 seeds in the NCAA tournament those years. He will play major minutes. At least I hope so, if UK wants to have the best chance to win.

 

[JASUN74]

Chaz Lanier is supposedly asking 1.8 million from Pope & UK & considerations to help his family relocate.

If UK says yes, look for Lanier to be a Wildcat by the end of the week.

Tennessee was given the same option.

Supposedly? Ok. Don’t buy it. Not one person here has a clue what they’re getting or asking for.

 

[DaDirtyLeb69]

Krisa doesn’t deserve major minutes? I think folks are underestimating him big time. He literally started all but 3 games in 2022 and 2023 for two good Arizona teams that were #1 and #2 seeds in the NCAA tournament those years. He will play major minutes. At least I hope so, if UK wants to have the best chance to win.

If Krisa plays anything more than 10-12 mins Kentucky will be hurting. He worked at Arizona because mathurin carried them. He was relied on more this year at WVU and they were terrible. Krisa needs to be year 2 mintz for Kentucky but maybe less mins

 

[senonesy]

If Krisa plays anything more than 10-12 mins Kentucky will be hurting. He worked at Arizona because mathurin carried them. He was relied on more this year at Arizona and they were terrible. Krisa needs to be year 2 mintz for Kentucky but maybe less mins

Well, he played at West Virginia last year and was coached terribly. He will get 20 plus minutes next year. Pope and staff love him. The UK staff will utilize him correctly. He didn’t come here to play 10-12 min a game

 

[wardlow]

1.8m is a lot of autographs. I don’t believe these large numbers, but I shouldn’t be surprised if they are true.

Solid strategy to wait it out and get into a bidding war though. As a coach I couldn’t justify this guy getting 1.8 if our other signees are all around the 500k range.

It has been repeated, but I’d be pissed off if I was out performing someone and they were making 3 times what I’m making. Put yourself in Osobor’s teammates shoes.. reportedly making 2m while they are likely all making less than 2-300k. Osobor isn’t that good and the ROI is garbage.

 

[kyboy1998_rivals34276]

Well, he played at West Virginia last year and was coached terribly. He will get 20 plus minutes next year. Pope and staff love him. The UK staff will utilize him correctly. He didn’t come here to play 10-12 min a games

Don’t you love when people misspeak and do so definitively? Makes them think they sound smart.

 

[megablue]

Well, he played at West Virginia last year and was coached terribly. He will get 20 plus minutes next year. Pope and staff love him. The UK staff will utilize him correctly. He didn’t come here to play 10-12 min a games

He has averaged over 30 minutes a game in his four (4) years, 99 games.

Kerr Kriisa College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Kerr Kriisa - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

 

[DaDirtyLeb69]

Well, he played at West Virginia last year and was coached terribly. He will get 20 plus minutes next year. Pope and staff love him. The UK staff will utilize him correctly. He didn’t come here to play 10-12 min a games

Then that’s an issue. He is the only add pope has made that I’m not crazy about.

 

[Festivus Miracle]

Along the lines of what Hurley said, coaches should be able to ask a lot of these guys. 1.8 million? The kid better hit clutch 3's and percentage nothing less than 80 at the charity stripe. He should be in the gym late and be a leader in the locker room.

Surely these things will cool down. It was absurd what two or three received on our team last year.

I used to think myself and others were asking too much of these kids and maybe crictising them a little too much. Those days are over. No use being nasty, but their feet must feel at least some fire.

 

[senonesy]

Then that’s an issue. He is the only add pope has made that I’m not crazy about.

That’s fine, but I honestly think your opinion will change when you see him on the court next year.

 

[CatPatrick13]

Krisa doesn’t deserve major minutes? I think folks are underestimating him big time. He literally started all but 3 games in 2022 and 2023 for two good Arizona teams that were #1 and #2 seeds in the NCAA tournament those years. He will play major minutes. At least I hope so, if UK wants to have the best chance to win.

You don’t have to hope. He will

 

[CatPatrick13]

If Krisa plays anything more than 10-12 mins Kentucky will be hurting. He worked at Arizona because mathurin carried them. He was relied on more this year at Arizona and they were terrible. Krisa needs to be year 2 mintz for Kentucky but maybe less mins

lol wrong.

 

[megablue]

Along the lines of what Hurley said, coaches should be able to ask a lot of these guys. 1.8 million? The kid better hit clutch 3's and percentage nothing less than 80 at the charity stripe. He should be in the gym late and be a leader in the locker room.

Surely these things will cool down. It was absurd what two or three received on our team last year.

I used to think myself and others were asking too much of these kids and maybe crictising them a little too much. Those days are over. No use being nasty, but their feet must feel at least some fire.

Lanier’s statistical improvement last year over his previous three (3) years is pretty phenomenal. You just don’t see that kind of improvement, usually. If he comes here, I hope he can produce like he did last year.

Chaz Lanier College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Chaz Lanier - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

 

[JASUN74]

That’s fine, but I honestly think your opinion will change when you see him on the court next year.

He’s going to be a heck of a player for us next season for sure. If somehow he doesn’t start he’ll still play 20 plus and be on the floor when it’s game time. He’s a bad man and will be a fan favorite In my opinion. We’ve got a team full of tough players who can all play. Couldn’t ask for more. But we’ll still end up with two who may happen to be our two best. lol. Ahh yes, Kentuckys Back. Also, I’m saying it now, we’re going to be one of top five best defensive teams in the country. Absolutely love this team already.

 

[DaDirtyLeb69]

lol wrong.

In what aspect. Krisa isn’t great, if he plays major mins that’s an issue. He is the only one I like everybody else, Krisa just isn’t that good

 

[DaDirtyLeb69]

Well, he played at West Virginia last year and was coached terribly. He will get 20 plus minutes next year. Pope and staff love him. The UK staff will utilize him correctly. He didn’t come here to play 10-12 min a game

Well I typed wrong and autocorrect never recognizes wvu for some reason. Krisa in 20 mins is a little concerning but pope gets the chance to make it work. I just don’t see Krisa being a guy you rely upon if you want to be good

 

[UK_BlueBlood]

If he gets 1.8 million he can damn well relocate them himself too.

Exactly

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Well I typed wrong and autocorrect never recognizes wvu for some reason. Krisa in 20 mins is a little concerning but pope gets the chance to make it work. I just don’t see Krisa being a guy you rely upon if you want to be good

If he gets 20 plus where does that leave butler?

A lot of fascinating playing time questions to be worked out by the staff.

 

[megablue]

If he gets 20 plus where does that leave butler?

A lot of fascinating playing time questions to be worked out by the staff.

This is an understatement. Hopefully, overall team energy, effort and intensity will allow most to play reduced minutes without dissatisfaction. It looks like this will simply HAVE to be the case. It will be interesting to see how the Freshmen figure into the allocation of playing time and schematic mix. GO CATS !!!

 

[AllBall]

1.8 mil….thats ridiculous, again, getting waaaaaay out of hand with these asks.

If I'm paying that much give me Robinson, Wells, or Poplar. Chaz has good numbers but it wasn't against the same competition as the others. There's also Almonor and Waterman being considered for roster spots.

Bottom line, I'd like to get a pure scorer as one of the final pieces but I'm not sure the market is at 1.8 mil. You better be a walking bucket asking for that kind of paper. We could add 2 guys and use additional funds to give the guys we have a monetary bump. I trust the staff to do what's best for the program and it feels good to say that.

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

Just going by the way Pope talks about Krissa I think he is going to be a pretty big guy for the team. I think the senior guys like Butler, Krissa, Brea, Williams and Carr will get a lot of minutes. And whoever they add as a senior will also get a lot of those minutes. The next level of minutes would be Oweh, Garrison and one of either Chandler, Perry or Noah. JMO

 

[Warf2012]

If that is the ask there is no way I see Pope continuing to recruit him. He already backed away from a player asking about the same NIL who signed at Washington. Go find someone who averaged a couple of points less a game on a P5 team that isnt asking for millions but maybe $500,000 or a little more

Problem is we desperately need a legit first option and big scorer. I would have rather given $1.8M to Johnell Davis or Richardson but at this point you either give it to Lanier or you go into next year with no real major scoring threat and are looking at 10-14 losses.

This is what happens when you don’t secure your top players early. You get later in the process where there aren’t as many top guys left and they’re able to shoot their price up.

 

[BigBlueGuru]

Problem is we desperately need a legit first option and big scorer. I would have rather given $1.8M to Johnell Davis or Richardson but at this point you either give it to Lanier or you go into next year with no real major scoring treat and are looking at 10-14 losses.

This is what happens when you don’t secure your top players early. You get later in the process where there aren’t as many top guys left and they’re able to shoot their price up.

I will trust Pope until he gives me a reason not too. He has done a great job so far and I am sure he has a plan to finish out this team. I just refuse to believe all these posts from Twitter, people supposedly having sources etc. In a couple of weeks we will have our team and lets roll. Don't need all the unnecessary drama until then.

 

[Uncle Adolph_rivals58629]

I think people get the Ryan Lemond thing wrong when they say he just agrees with anything Matt Jones says. I think it’s broader and a different thing going on than just being about Jones. If you listen to the KSR radio show very much you’ll notice that Ryan almost always prefaces his statements or opinions with “We all agree” or “Like we talked about” or “We all want…” It’s pretty obvious that he is afraid of being on an island with his thoughts or having an opinion different than the majority. He never wants to take a definitive position until he hears what others say. And I think it’s mostly reflective of the fact that he doesn’t like to put any effort into preparing or researching something, or really having to think too deeply about anything. He seems to be happy relying on cliches and perceived common wisdom.

But the thing is I think he’s actually a smart guy with good takes. You see it come out if he is kind of caught off guard and speaks without thinking about what others will think about what he just said. Basically, what I’m trying to say is I think Lemond gets a bad rap – or better to say the wrong rap. I don’t think it’s per se a Matt Jones thing. Just my opinion from listening to that show’s podcast for a while now.

Always good to hear from you Ryan !

 

[dc513]

If he gets 1.8 million he can damn well relocate them himself too.

Say No Thanks. Cause more team problem than worth.

 

[DaDirtyLeb69]

Say No Thanks. Cause more team problem than worth.

Who will be that first scoring punch then? They are at the point now where they don’t have a lot of options

 

[flacat22]

1.8 brings a LOT of pressure to produce.

 

[G-PIP]

Always good to hear from you Ryan !

I don't even understand your reply. My post wasn't too flattering if you actually read and understood it. But ok, good to hear from you too Unc.

 

[weatherbird]

Who will be that first scoring punch then? They are at the point now where they don’t have a lot of options

I would use caution with that. First, did you even know who Jaxson Robinson was prior to last year, and possibly even prior to Pope getting hired? Did you know who Chaz Lanier was prior to last year, and even possibly prior to last month?

The short answer is most likely no, unless you were following their teams. Jaxson averaged 8.5 points per game the year before last at a BYU team that was playing in the WCC. Chaz averaged 4.7 points per game playing for North Florida in the A-SUN. The first scoring punch may already be on the roster, but maybe not.

The biggest issue is that we don't really know what Pope's game plan and development is going to be like. Yea, it is nice to have a guy that a lot of teams covet, but at the end of the day, most of these guys weren't coveted last year. There is no guarantee that any of these guys will be able to replicate what they did last year in their final year in Lexington. We also are very unsure of how all these players will mesh together, or any new hieghts they may reach as a player in a different system and being a year older.

 

[DaDirtyLeb69]

I would use caution with that. First, did you even know who Jaxson Robinson was prior to last year, and possibly even prior to Pope getting hired? Did you know who Chaz Lanier was prior to last year, and even possibly prior to last month?

The short answer is most likely no, unless you were following their teams. Jaxson averaged 8.5 points per game the year before last at a BYU team that was playing in the WCC. Chaz averaged 4.7 points per game playing for North Florida in the A-SUN. The first scoring punch may already be on the roster, but maybe not.

The biggest issue is that we don't really know what Pope's game plan and development is going to be like. Yea, it is nice to have a guy that a lot of teams covet, but at the end of the day, most of these guys weren't coveted last year. There is no guarantee that any of these guys will be able to replicate what they did last year in their final year in Lexington. We also are very unsure of how all these players will mesh together, or any new hieghts they may reach as a player in a different system and being a year older.

I knew who Robinson was I didn’t know who laneir was, but the roster next year needs a guy they just do

 

[G-PIP]

I knew who Robinson was I didn’t know who laneir was, but the roster next year needs a guy they just do

I can't say your opinion is wrong, but I just don't really believe that the roster needs "a guy" - which I assume means another scorer. As a fan I'm happy for every player UK can add and let the competition sort them out. But the only thing I feel is a real need is a complimentary PF. I like the potential backcourt & SF scoring options already on the roster, and not sure how much additive effect Lanier or Robinson would have over what's already on the roster.

 

[DaDirtyLeb69]

I can't say your opinion is wrong, but I just don't really believe that the roster needs "a guy" - which I assume means another scorer. As a fan I'm happy for every player UK can add and let the competition sort them out. But the only thing I feel is a real need is a complimentary PF. I like the potential backcourt & SF scoring options already on the roster, and not sure how much additive effect Lanier or Robinson would have over what's already on the roster.

Who is the guy on the roster right now? Let say Kentucky gets laneir(good chance) then you can have laneir brea and carr on the floor and have 3 good scorers on the floor. Oweh butler krisa Williams and everybody else are all secondary guys

 

[weatherbird]

I knew who Robinson was I didn’t know who laneir was, but the roster next year needs a guy they just do

That is what I am saying. That guy, may already be on the roster. Obviously Pope is looking to add more, I just don't believe that either of those 2 in particular are guys that we can't live without, and definitely not sure either would be worth near 2 mil if that is true.

Not saying it is wrong to want another big time player, I want all I can get as long as it doesn't mess with the chemistry. Just pointing out the fact that we all get caught up in "needing" this guy or that guy, when those guys weren't really all that the year before last.

By the way, of the guys I have seen, if I was going to throw the bank at someone, it would be Jaylen Wells.

 

[DaDirtyLeb69]

That is what I am saying. That guy, may already be on the roster. Obviously Pope is looking to add more, I just don't believe that either of those 2 in particular are guys that we can't live without, and definitely not sure either would be worth near 2 mil if that is true.

Not saying it is wrong to want another big time player, I want all I can get as long as it doesn't mess with the chemistry. Just pointing out the fact that we all get caught up in "needing" this guy or that guy, when those guys weren't really all that the year before last.

By the way, of the guys I have seen, if I was going to throw the bank at someone, it would be Jaylen Wells.

Yeah I get it, and it’s not a terrible point. Oweh is the guy to me people are sleeping on. I could see him making a big jump, I could also see Chandler having a Sheppard like impact offensively in year one. I agree on wells he is who I like the most of the potential guys on the fringe between draft/coming back to college. I really like Lanier as well and I think that’s who pope like as well, let’s hope we get him