Has good range well balanced game too
Kentucky has contacted Kimani hamilton 6ft7 foward High point
- Thread starter jeffky
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Has good range well balanced game too
He's strong. 225 pounds. Averaged 7 rebounds/game as a sophomore. Not the best shooter (32% from three) but UK wouldn't get out-thugged with him at the 3 spot.
I have never seen Kimani play. He is not a good 3-point shooter statistically but I don’t know the style of offense High Point played. Was he their main 3point go to or did he just shoot 3’s occasionally? Taking 1 or 2 threes a game with that percentage made is not a big deal. Taking 5 or more a game and only hitting 32% is a big deal.
We were a poor rebounding team last season’s and a good rebounder at that spot would be a plus. I believe CMP is looking at adding 1-2 more players and will find what is needed and those with the right temperament to share minutes on a deep team. This player(s) may not even be in the portal yet!
Pope has definitely shifted recruiting in a different direction. The physicality of play in the SEC (and NCAA overall) was off of the charts rough last season. You need extra bodies that can play the 3 and 4 to throw out there and go hold their own.
Pope can get offense done with worse shooting
But strong body, physicality can not be taught
I worry that this could become a point of emphasis, and refs put a stop to the rough stuff. Then we'll have a team that specializes in fouling out.
Hamilton started out at Miss St and they have basically been TxAM-lite the last several years (aka football on a basketball court). So this guy is probably not the best shooter but would be great to play defense and rebound and goon ball. We have to get nastier than we were last year because we were way too finesse.
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Might not be the worst thing since we'll have deep and versatile rosters. Plus, I feel like it's a lot easier to temper players than it is to make more passive players play aggressively. That was a point of emphasis last year and we never quite got there.
That was one question I had about year two of Pope. How would he adjust to the physical play
in the SEC or would he bring in the same type of player we saw last year? He was in a position
to take what he could get last season so it wasn't a true picture of his recruiting style. He seems
to have a good balance of system vs needs vs reality of how conference games are played
I wouldn't worry about that. Pope already got a taste of the games SEC officials play, and knows what to expect. You can't control it, but you can play through it. He's got to have players he can bring off the bench who can fight for rebounds and hold their own on D.
Dioubate will play some 3 when dictated by matchups or foul trouble but he is primarily a 4. Williams, on the other hand, will play some 4 for the same reasons but he is primarily a 3. Jelavic won't be playing any 3 so we need another true 3 to be available to relieve Oweh when he needs a blow or if he is at the 2 or injured or in foul trouble ... or heaven forbid, he stays in the NBA draft. Hamilton is a bit quicker and bouncier than Dioubate with a better handle so he would be that true 3.
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