How did over 200 Division One Schools pass on Almonor?

[Son_Of_Saul]

He had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in 20 minutes of play. He hit 5/7 from deep. Obviously, this isn't an anomaly for the kid, as he hit almost 100 threes last year at a 39% clip from deep.

Given the trajectory of the modern game with spacing and Almonor's unique skill set as a modern stretch 4, how is it that this young man escaped the recruiting eye of over 200 division one schools in the portal?

 

[bluedog79]

Yeah he looks like he could be a starter on a lot of teams and do some damage too.

 

[CELTICAT]

I was very impressed with him on both sides of the floor. He’s got active hands on D, and obviously isn’t afraid to let it fly when he’s open. Looks like invaluable bench piece based on last night.

 

[RunninRichie]

He had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in 20 minutes of play. He hit 5/7 from deep. Obviously, this isn't an anomaly for the kid, as he hit almost 100 threes last year at a 39% clip from deep.

Given the trajectory of the modern game with spacing and Almonor's unique skill set as a modern stretch 4, how is it that this young man escaped the recruiting eye of over 200 division one schools in the portal?

He has a chip on his shoulder. If you saw that KSR piece on him. He's a hard worker and feels disrespected. He'll be a fan favorite. Tough player. Excited to see what he can do against Duke. Gonna be fun being the old team for once.

 

[chroix]

He has a chip on his shoulder. If you saw that KSR piece on him. He's a hard worker and feels disrespected. He'll be a fan favorite. Tough player. Excited to see what he can do against Duke. Gonna be fun being the old team for once.

Hell yes. Bring on the Blue Devils. Bring on all of them.

 

[UKSanders_rivals37733]

My best guess is it's due to his lacking some athleticism. At 6'7, he doesn't have a lot of length to guard a lot of PFs, but he doesn't seem to have a ton of quickness to make up for his lack of height. At 245lbs, he is solid enough to body up on many PFs, so he at least won't get pushed around too much.

That being said, even though I think he may struggle at times on defense (Carr may as well), he appears to be a perfect fit for what Pope wants from the 4. I like his game, and I am so glad he's a part of the team b/c I think he's going to be crazy valuable.

 

[uk78_rivals88018]

How many times over the years did we read on here pre-season from many how a new recruit was going to be the greatest at his position of any player ever at Kentucky? Then, how many turned out to be Skal or others? A superstar in High School doesn't make a great college player automatically. Some develop and others don't.

 

[catsfan325]

A lot to like about Almonor and fits what we need.

His former coach Tobin Anderson said he's the smartest player he's ever coached.
-Elite shooter for his position.
-Experienced.
-Versatile - and was the primary defender on Zach Edey in their big tournament win a few years ago. Guarding somebody (and holding your own) with such a vast size discrepancy takes toughness.
-doesn't seem like he's gonna complain if he doesn't start/play 30 minutes.

 

[DelkBowl]

He looks big enough to go destroy people in the post.

 

[WeWant9_rivals]

When we first picked him up, I thought he was going be a nice depth piece. If he plays like last night, he will get some good minutes. Another high bball iq guy, and seems we got a lot of them.

 

[ganner918_rivals60369]

I was surprised at how our fans were sleeping on him in the preseason. Seemed people weren't expecting much. I didn't know much about him other than that he shot 39% from three on 7 and a half attempts last year. That was enough to know he's going to contribute.

 

[bluedog79]

Matt Jones is a big fan of Ansley.
Ansley came from Fairleigh Dickinson.
Matt Jones on the radio says he don't want the Fairleigh Dickinson... he wants the full Dickinson. Lolololol.
I'll bet you do Matt I bet you do.

Give the man what he wants. Lmao

 

[Cats192]

Pope has an impossible task of dividing up the minutes with so much talent and so many shooters.

 

[DaDirtyLeb69]

Almanor is a good bench piece at the high major D1 level, but from what I saw at his previous school he struggled with more athletic bigs and wasn’t the best defensively. Almanor as a 8-12 minute bench piece=great, Almanor as a major starter=not great.

 

[jeffky]

Matt Jones is a big fan of Ansley.
Ansley came from Fairleigh Dickinson.
Matt Jones on the radio says he don't want the Fairleigh Dickinson... he wants the full Dickinson. Lolololol.
I'll bet you do Matt I bet you do.

Give the man what he wants. Lmao

Matt jones hated and despised former players coaching their alma mater
Man was he wrong glad we have the pope I have not been that entertained watching a uk game In double digit years will have to schedule my schedule around UK again Go cats

 

[BBNinSC_rivals62411]

Maybe Almonor is more suited at the small forward spot? I could see line-ups with Williams or Garrison with Carr and Alomonor and 2 guards

 

[RunninRichie]

Maybe Almonor is more suited at the small forward spot? I could see line-ups with Williams or Garrison with Carr and Alomonor and 2 guards

I think he's too slow to be a 3. 4 is a good spot for him. Stretches the floor.

 

[megablue]

He had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in 20 minutes of play. He hit 5/7 from deep. Obviously, this isn't an anomaly for the kid, as he hit almost 100 threes last year at a 39% clip from deep.

Given the trajectory of the modern game with spacing and Almonor's unique skill set as a modern stretch 4, how is it that this young man escaped the recruiting eye of over 200 division one schools in the portal?

I really like Almonor and am pulling for him to have a great season. He is focused and committed to it !!
He has been a pretty consistent and improving three-point shooter, albeit at a smaller school. He can shoot !!

CAREER - THREE-POINT SHOOTING PERCENTAGES
DNP = DID NOT PLAY
					Career	Career
	20-21	21-22	22-23	23-24	Overall	Conference
BREA	0.355	0.423	0.370	0.498	0.434	0.461
ALMONOR	DNP	0.343	0.381	0.394	0.385	0.403
KRIISA	0.368	0.336	0.366	0.424	0.368	0.376
OWEH	DNP	DNP	0.250	0.377	0.368	0.211
CARR	0.286	0.405	0.311	0.371	0.344	0.350
ROBINSON	0.286	0.326	0.343	0.354	0.343	0.317
BUTLER	0.290	0.329	0.342	0.302	0.321	0.294
WILLIAMS	0.00	0.500	0.267	0.333	0.308	0.333
GARRISON	DNP	DNP	DNP	0.000	0.000	0.000

 

[ukfan041]

Love his game and he will be a big shot maker off the bench. While he will struggle with athletic players, his ability to stretch the floor will cause just as many concerns for the other team. I foresee 12-15 minutes a game for him.

 

[know1]

The better question is how did Pope find him?

 

[kywildcat1021979]

Hell yes. Bring on the Blue Devils. Bring on all of them.

Exactly for the last so many years playing these good teams I always knew and expected we were going to lose most of the games. Pope is going to have this team playing like the 90's teams. Back when teams feared the UK name and they feared having to come and play UK. If we do happen to lose to a good team it isn't going to be for not trying that's for damn sure!

 

[kywildcat1021979]

The better question is how did Pope find him?

Pope's a smart man a former Rhodes scholarship candidate. Not a lot of people want to give Mark credit for his intelligence but even Rick Pitino told us how smart he was when he took the microphone at BBM. This will pay dividends recruiting and coaching you just wait and see.

 

[know1]

Pope's a smart man a former Rhodes scholarship candidate. Not a lot of people want to give Mark credit for his intelligence but even Rick Pitino told us how smart he was when he took the microphone at BBM. This will pay dividends recruiting and coaching you just wait and see.

Agreed. That's what I was pointing out.

 

[cats#1again]

My best guess is it's due to his lacking some athleticism. At 6'7, he doesn't have a lot of length to guard a lot of PFs, but he doesn't seem to have a ton of quickness to make up for his lack of height. At 245lbs, he is solid enough to body up on many PFs, so he at least won't get pushed around too much.

That being said, even though I think he may struggle at times on defense (Carr may as well), he appears to be a perfect fit for what Pope wants from the 4. I like his game, and I am so glad he's a part of the team b/c I think he's going to be crazy valuable.

The most overrated thing in college basketball is the height of the 4 man. The power forward spot. Through the years I've seen so many good undersized 4's at the college level, but when it comes to recruiting a 6'6/6'7" 4 everyone freaks out. Pj Washington was 6'7" , the dude from Oakland last year was 6'6" power forward and the poy in their conf. I love Almanors game and he will be a huge part of our success

 

[Bluesbrother]

He had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in 20 minutes of play. He hit 5/7 from deep. Obviously, this isn't an anomaly for the kid, as he hit almost 100 threes last year at a 39% clip from deep.

Given the trajectory of the modern game with spacing and Almonor's unique skill set as a modern stretch 4, how is it that this young man escaped the recruiting eye of over 200 division one schools in the portal?

Besides CMP, how many Rhoades Scholars candidates do we know that are coaching big-time college hoops ... with Pope's work-ethic?

 

[UKSanders_rivals37733]

The most overrated thing in college basketball is the height of the 4 man. The power forward spot. Through the years I've seen so many good undersized 4's at the college level, but when it comes to recruiting a 6'6/6'7" 4 everyone freaks out. Pj Washington was 6'7" , the dude from Oakland last year was 6'6" power forward and the poy in their conf. I love Almanors game and he will be a huge part of our success

I really like his game, too, and I think he will be a great piece for this UK squad.

I just mention his height as being a potential hurdle on defense b/c longer PFs can score over him in the post a little easier. That doesn't mean I think it will be a major issue b/c he did ok (not great) guarding Purdue's 7'4 Zach Edey. In the game, Edey still had 21 pts, 15 rebs, but he only had 6 offensive boards, so Almonor negated him some.

 

[jedcat]

Our two power forwards fit being a "stretch 4." And that's what Pope wants. This will be great for spacing.

 

[eb4ukcats]

Imo I think he's just another great fit, to Pope's schematics.
Shooters
Players that know how to defend
Passers
Basketball IQ

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

He had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in 20 minutes of play. He hit 5/7 from deep. Obviously, this isn't an anomaly for the kid, as he hit almost 100 threes last year at a 39% clip from deep.

Given the trajectory of the modern game with spacing and Almonor's unique skill set as a modern stretch 4, how is it that this young man escaped the recruiting eye of over 200 division one schools in the portal?

It makes no sense. Every year there are guys like him on high seeds in the tourney who I think the same thing about. Williams is the same way. Just look at that dude, he built for major play IMO.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

The most overrated thing in college basketball is the height of the 4 man. The power forward spot. Through the years I've seen so many good undersized 4's at the college level, but when it comes to recruiting a 6'6/6'7" 4 everyone freaks out. Pj Washington was 6'7" , the dude from Oakland last year was 6'6" power forward and the poy in their conf. I love Almanors game and he will be a huge part of our success

Chuck Hayes was about 6’7”.

 

[true-blue1]

Kid can shoot!

 

[Bluegrassking]

It makes no sense. Every year there are guys like him on high seeds in the tourney who I think the same thing about. Williams is the same way. Just look at that dude, he built for major play IMO.

Williams is a bit mystifying. Granting he was from Britain but still!

That dude is a big *** hoss and can move, it seems like some power conference teams would have caught wind and at least found a bench spot for him.

 

[Bluegrassking]

Chuck Hayes was about 6’7”.

In some thick soled shoes after a good stretch.

 

[Catzman]

I think he's too slow to be a 3. 4 is a good spot for him. Stretches the floor.

He'd 100% be a 3 on a Cal coached team.

Conversely, Poythress and Washington and Adou would have been monsters in a Pope offense. Even a Livingston could have been dangerous.

Almonor is in great hands to succeed despite some limited athletic capabilities. 10 to 15 minutes a game and a couple 3s with solid defense will keep me happy.

 

[cats#1again]

It makes no sense. Every year there are guys like him on high seeds in the tourney who I think the same thing about. Williams is the same way. Just look at that dude, he built for major play IMO.

Recruiting services place the most athletic kids at the top and as we found out ..... That doesn't always work out..

 

[Cowtown Cat]

I really love his game as well! Damn, we have soooo many elite shooters. Not good or solid, elite! We’d be lucky to have one elite shooter per roster with Cal. Soooo damn glad he’s gone!

 

[kywildcat1021979]

I really love his game as well! Damn, we have soooo many elite shooters. Not good or solid, elite! We’d be lucky to have one elite shooter per roster with Cal. Soooo damn glad he’s gone!

Amen brother on all of what you said!