Since the only seniors are Oweh, Aberdeen, Horn (walk-on), and Tow (walk-on), do we bring everyone else back with this team being so bad. We will lose JQ too, but he has not played anyway. If we do bring back everyone, who do we add to try to make this team better?
Next year's team...
- Thread starter Tim0808
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If you brought back everyone and added 4-5 strong players you would have a heck of a team. A lot of the kids on this team will take jumps like CC has this season, and he will take a greater jump next season
I have a hard time seeing BG coming back. Not really sure about the other ones, but hope to bring back the KY boys, Chandler, Jelly, and MoD (assuming he can accept a role based around D/rebounding and not shooting). If Lower has surgery and is healthy, he would be a great back-up PG, but I’m not sure he’s looking for that role.
Edit: I don’t know much about the two guys redshirting, but if Pope thinks they can actually fit in his system (unlike some of the current guys), I’m all for it.
As for who do we bring in…. I have no idea. I don’t follow recruiting anymore and a lot of the roster will be filled by transfers. I just hope the guys Pope brings in fit his style of play much better than the current roster, though I think a couple more shooters and a capable PG would do wonders for what we think of the current guys.
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I think you can assume:
Very Likely to Return:
Hawthorne
Potter
Chandler
Noah
60/40 to Return:
Lowe
Jelavic
Williams
Moreno
Very Likely to Leave for Portal or test NBA waters (despite being unworthy of the NBA yet):
Mo D
Garrison
Johnson
Gone:
Oweh
Aberdeen
JQ
Horn
Tow
So based on that list, we'd need 1 NBA level guard from the Portal that sticks around for the money, Stokes or Collins to commit, probably need both actually, an NBA bruiser grown man Center, and a Kobe Brea clone just to be competitive...
Very Likely to Return:
Hawthorne
Potter
Chandler
Noah
60/40 to Return:
Lowe
Jelavic
Williams
Moreno
Very Likely to Leave for Portal or test NBA waters (despite being unworthy of the NBA yet):
Mo D
Garrison
Johnson
Gone:
Oweh
Aberdeen
JQ
Horn
Tow
So based on that list, we'd need 1 NBA level guard from the Portal that sticks around for the money, Stokes or Collins to commit, probably need both actually, an NBA bruiser grown man Center, and a Kobe Brea clone just to be competitive...
Why would Moreno leave when he is starting as a freshman at UK?
I’m not sure you can say that with certainty. Predicting who will improve with more time is definitely an inexact science in talent evaluation, but some guys already are who they are. That’s part of our predicament this year is that we had Oweh, Garrison, and to some extent Noah penciled in to make a big leap in their second year with the program, and none of them did. One of them actually seems to have regressed.
The staff will need to soberly evaluate everyone and decide who fits and not just assume that all multi-year players drastically improve if we want to be better next year.
Regardless of who returns, much better players must be recruited over them for us to be a much-improved team. To me, that is obvious.
I just don't see many players returning to this team. Maybe Noah, redshirt freshmen, maybe Chandler.
Brand new team, and a brand new coaching staff!
No one, not even Pope, can come back from the booing that occurred in Nashville! When the traveling, money spending fans are done, it’s over! Period.
No one, not even Pope, can come back from the booing that occurred in Nashville! When the traveling, money spending fans are done, it’s over! Period.
Disagree. He may not be able to turn anything around this year, but winning cures all in sports, and a new team next year that wins some big games will get the fan base back.
I get why people are so negative with this team, but things can turn around quickly with the right players.
Because he's already mocking on some NBA draft boards due to his size and potential. I'm not saying he would go or will, but being fair to the possibility he might leave I put him in the 60 he stays, 40 he leaves category.
Would you fire him first day of the offseason, regardless of how we finish in the NIT or CBI?
Who do we add?
First, who do we think will return?
Aberdeen=No (can't)
Oweh=No (can't)
Quaintance=No (98% NBA)
After those 3 the water is much murkier, so these are my guesstimates.
Garrison=No (60% goes somewhere else)
Williams=No (50% goes somewhere else, 5% goes NBA)
Dioubate=No (50% goes somewhere else, 5% goes NBA)
Lowe=Yes (45% goes somewhere else, 5% shoulder issues ends career)
Moreno=Yes (30% goes NBA, 10% goes somewhere else)
Chandler=Yes (10% goes NBA, 20% goes to BYU or Utah)
Johnson=Yes (25% goes somewhere else)
Jelavic=Yes (25% goes somewhere else)
Hawthorne=Yes (10% goes somewhere else)
Noah=Yes (5% goes to in-state mid-major)
Potter=Yes (5% goes somewhere else)
I would love to see a core of Moreno, Chandler, Johnson back, add in some contributing pieces Hawthorne, Noah & even Potter. And then 2-3 from Jelavic, Lowe, Dioubate, Williams. I do think there are good players there, just not "the Guy" guys. We need someone like Stokes. I think 1 or 2 of those first 3 (Moreno/Chandler/Johnson) aren't yet but could become "a Guy, who can go get you a bucket when you need one", but you need at least 3 of those on a championship level team, so may need to also add 1-2 from the Portal.
First, who do we think will return?
Aberdeen=No (can't)
Oweh=No (can't)
Quaintance=No (98% NBA)
After those 3 the water is much murkier, so these are my guesstimates.
Garrison=No (60% goes somewhere else)
Williams=No (50% goes somewhere else, 5% goes NBA)
Dioubate=No (50% goes somewhere else, 5% goes NBA)
Lowe=Yes (45% goes somewhere else, 5% shoulder issues ends career)
Moreno=Yes (30% goes NBA, 10% goes somewhere else)
Chandler=Yes (10% goes NBA, 20% goes to BYU or Utah)
Johnson=Yes (25% goes somewhere else)
Jelavic=Yes (25% goes somewhere else)
Hawthorne=Yes (10% goes somewhere else)
Noah=Yes (5% goes to in-state mid-major)
Potter=Yes (5% goes somewhere else)
I would love to see a core of Moreno, Chandler, Johnson back, add in some contributing pieces Hawthorne, Noah & even Potter. And then 2-3 from Jelavic, Lowe, Dioubate, Williams. I do think there are good players there, just not "the Guy" guys. We need someone like Stokes. I think 1 or 2 of those first 3 (Moreno/Chandler/Johnson) aren't yet but could become "a Guy, who can go get you a bucket when you need one", but you need at least 3 of those on a championship level team, so may need to also add 1-2 from the Portal.
I think the following returns.
Chandler
Johnson
Noah
Hawthorne
Moreno
Jelavic
Possible Williams
Potter
JQ will go Pro.
The rest will graduate or transfer out.
Chandler
Johnson
Noah
Hawthorne
Moreno
Jelavic
Possible Williams
Potter
JQ will go Pro.
The rest will graduate or transfer out.
If pope is coach it won’t matter who is on the team! He is a terrible coach!
With that nucleus, a big time scorer, another PG and an athletic big man would form a nice squad
Hence begs the question, why didn’t Pope get the right players with 22 million. I can answer that question, he whiffed on all their first choices.
I think it’s a combination of a few things:
1) He simply had a “max amount” he’d pay for any given player, and a lot of the gems of the transfer class were simply given more from other schools.
2) He overpaid for Oweh and BG.
3) Some of the guys simply aren’t living up to what was expected of them.
Also, I’m not sure how much I believe the $22MM number. I’m sure he spent a lot, but I also don’t believe all the numbers batted around online. Regardless, he lacks a true go-to guy (he seems to think Oweh was going to be that guy) and ended up paying for guys who don’t fit well together. That’s both on the coach (bad evaluation) and the players (not living up to what was expected of them).
That is not the coaches full decision anymore, which is largely the issue with college sports today. Now we have to wait for the players to decide where they want to play- but like every team, every season now, we will have lots of turnover regardless of the season we have. Just is what it is now
I thought Johnson played really well yesterday. He and Aberdeen finally got down hill and opened up some 3 pt shots.
I hope we can retain him. And then:
Moreno
Noah
Chandler
Johnson
Jelivic
Potter
Hawthorne
Lowe
I believe the rest are gone. Add a high level guy like Stokes, another point guard, center and PF from the portal.
All this depends on how well these guys develop over the course of the season.
I hope we can retain him. And then:
Moreno
Noah
Chandler
Johnson
Jelivic
Potter
Hawthorne
Lowe
I believe the rest are gone. Add a high level guy like Stokes, another point guard, center and PF from the portal.
All this depends on how well these guys develop over the course of the season.
Before the year, it looked like:
Lowe-Johnson-Chandler-Dioubate-Moreno
With Noah, Hawthorne, Williams, Jelavic, and Potter off the bench.
If Dioubate, Lowe, Williams, and Jelavic move on, I wouldn't be upset about it, just due to fitment issues.
Then bring in an elite PG that can shoot, with whichever of the elite freshmen wings, and a true stretch PF. Johnson can then be the 6th man.
Lowe-Johnson-Chandler-Dioubate-Moreno
With Noah, Hawthorne, Williams, Jelavic, and Potter off the bench.
If Dioubate, Lowe, Williams, and Jelavic move on, I wouldn't be upset about it, just due to fitment issues.
Then bring in an elite PG that can shoot, with whichever of the elite freshmen wings, and a true stretch PF. Johnson can then be the 6th man.