Guys, they’re FRESHMAN! Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t be getting this many minutes and if anyone was expecting them to come in and be immediate contributors then you’re delusional.
Chandler is very athletic but hadn’t picked up a ball in TWO years but let’s just overlook that. Perry and Noah are Kentucky kids who understand what it means to put that jersey on. You can count on them giving their all every time they hit the court. And for all of them, give it another year to see how they continue to mature physically before throwing the towel in.
Continuity, experience and added maturity will make them all better players. We also have a good class coming in and I’m confident we’ll pick up some good players in the portal. It’s silly to borderline childish to cast these guys aside given the turmoil and adversity we’ve faced in the last year. Frankly, I had little to no expectations for this year and any chance we had to make a deep tournament run vanished in January with all the injuries.
I’m more optimistic for the future of this program than I’ve been in the last 5 years. Coach Pope won’t play favorites like our previous knucklehead and if there are better options other than Perry, Noah and Chandler, then we’ll see those other guys on the floor, pure and simple. But I really believe all three of the freshman will be much better players next year: PATIENCE PLEASE!!!