Our offense sputters when Lowe’s not out there. I know everybody knows but we need to hope and pray he stays healthy, that’s a big ask. Maybe we should get him a bionic arm. JQ on the other hand is like having your best chess piece back on the board
Now everyone sees how valuable Lowe & JQ are..
- Thread starter darkshadesofblue
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They are definitely a different team with those two on the court. Not sure Lowe can finish the season with that shoulder though getting through the grind of SEC play. The lineup of Lowe/Aberdeen/williams/Mo/and JQ was the best lineup we had on the floor all year and if not mistaken was responsible for most of the 14-0 run. Their defense was amazingly good during that stretch.
The Team is still a work in progress but they played their asses off today and gutted out a win against a good(not great) team. It’s a step in the right direction for certain. Will be anxious to see if we play good defense against. Alabama. Become elite defensively and will give us a chance in all SEC games. Can’t afford more than 7-8 SEC losses at most though.
The Team is still a work in progress but they played their asses off today and gutted out a win against a good(not great) team. It’s a step in the right direction for certain. Will be anxious to see if we play good defense against. Alabama. Become elite defensively and will give us a chance in all SEC games. Can’t afford more than 7-8 SEC losses at most though.
I think JQ showed today that you can have all kinds of versatility with him on the court. He can play the 5 and go with a smaller team, and he can absolutely play beside MM and give you two great shot blockers because he can defend away from the basket
The problem with DA at the point is he dribbles too much which affects the flow.
Thanks for posting. I wanted to see his comments and hadn’t looked yet.
Obviously low has to be there. No doubt about it, and JQ has to be there too. It’s not negotiable. It’s not excusable to not have a serviceable backup I’m sorry but you can’t make that mistake. Let’s pray and hope JLowe maintains and doesn’t have to end his season at some point.
This post is exactly what should be said. It’s right on the money for what’s going on in this season. Bigger issue is the JMI and recruiting situation but holding serve right now couldn’t be more important. This might be a year we have to hold on to while we figure the rest out.
People say Pope can't coach. But he is adjusting before your eyes. He is a 30 plus 3s kind of coach. They didn't shoot many at all today. Chandler, Noah and possibly Williams are the best shooters. But with a healthy team. Noah shouldn't play and Chandler 10-12 minutes.
A good coach coaches to the teams strengths. Shooting isn't a strength. So Pope has shifted gears.
Everyone will say it took him too long to change. Maybe so. But every coach is stubborn. Cal refused to ever change anything. Least Pope is adjusting
Key is Lowe. If he plays this team has a shot at a run. If he doesn't. They will struggle. He sets up open looks from 3. They don't need to take a lot of 3s. But they must take and make some. With Lowe they get better looks. Even average shooters can make a few open 3s.
A good coach coaches to the teams strengths. Shooting isn't a strength. So Pope has shifted gears.
Everyone will say it took him too long to change. Maybe so. But every coach is stubborn. Cal refused to ever change anything. Least Pope is adjusting
Key is Lowe. If he plays this team has a shot at a run. If he doesn't. They will struggle. He sets up open looks from 3. They don't need to take a lot of 3s. But they must take and make some. With Lowe they get better looks. Even average shooters can make a few open 3s.
To be 100% out in the open, I was completely surprised as to 1) how much JQ played, and 2) just how impactful he was. I always knew Lowe would be impactful, so that's not much of a surprise. He just needed to get some rust out of his system and have teammates willing to move without the ball.
But the biggest surprise these last two games has been the defensive energy. My goodness, where has this been all year? If they can keep this up, and Lowe can keep his shoulder in place, we should be a monster going into SEC play.
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Right, DA will only give up the ball after he’s tried several avenues and couldn’t find a good shot. Hes not made for a point guard.
Acaden Lewis should have been that guy but he apparently wasn't willing to compete for the job or be a backup. Johnson has the tools but must learn to be a primary distributor.
Long way to go there because passing is about his fifth favorite option. They hoped Aberdeen could too, but they apparently missed that eval as well.
Speaking of Aberdeen, we paid a fortune to get him but when Lowe is healthy hes just a backup.
We absolutely must get an actual gm.
Don't know how many times it needs to be said, but this offense so far doesn't generate many good looks from three. Guys shooting five feet or more behind the arc. Bad shooting and bad ball movement are not the same thing. With JQ in there it might start opening up things outside if guys are willing to lead-pass or if they start setting picks.
Lowe is the biggest key to the season. SJ was able to smother DA when Lowe was out, as soon as Lowe came back in, SJ's traps and ball pressure were neutralized and Lowe made them pay.
But Pope made 1 mistake and is currently making another mistake IMO. He should've found a way to get another pg once Acaden Lewis backed out, you can't just have 1 true pg.
But the mistake he is currently making, is using Aberdeen as a pg. It’s why our offense is stuck in the mud. He should be using Johnson. Johnson has a much better ability to get into the paint and create, he just needs to understand he has 4 other guys on the court with him.
I get it, going with JJ will be frustrating for a while, but long term, he's the better option.
He reminds me a lot of Mark Sears from Alabama. He’s very difficult to stay in front of, very shifty, uses the defenders body to figure out what move he's going to use to score on him and he gets into the paint at will. He showed us a lot yesterday against a really good defense.
I've noticed a big change with Oweh. He is much more assertive and is getting in the paint on both ends to mix it up. Glad to see that. He has the body for it.
Haven't heard that guys name in ages. You're spot on with this. That guy was a terminator on the field.
Very difficult to get a really good point guard to sign on for back up.
Doesn't need to be an all american, he just needs to he a pg. DA and JJ are not point guards and they don't want to he point guards, they just want to score.
There are plenty of guys in the portal every year that would love to play 10-15 minutes at UK.
Yeah. I know Pope wants to/thinks he's protecting them in some way. But we saw Lowe take a hit as soon as he came off the bench.
Bringing him off the bench is no safer than starting. But we get off to slower starts.
If we sign "a point guard" and we have to rely on him I can see the melt down now. He's not a UK caliber point guard, Pope sucks, how much are we paying this guy.
Looks like he’s finally over the foot injury. Faster. More assertive. Now start finishing those layups