Of ALL the kids we contacted in the portal this is the best this staff could do with the money they had. I used analytics also and had a way better roster than this.
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- Thread starter BlueBloodKyFan73
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What roster did you have? Not questioning you, just curious on what it looks like.
I despise analytics. It’s not a way to build a team nor coach a game. The best coaches in the game always rely on instincts and ability to make adjustments. Those adjustments will vary from game to game. Analytics aren’t going to help with that. One of my big early issues with pope (even though I was all in on his hire) is finding out how analytical he is. It has a time and place but you certainly don’t live by it.
These were my top 3 analytical picks not including any returning players or incoming freshman.
PG, SG, CG, SF and C were not very deep as PF/ stretch 4 was the deepest with the higher percentage of NIL dollars. Many things considered including multiple years of class rating and NIL expectation.
PG - Dedan Thomas, Donovan Dent, Pop Isaac’s
SG - Lamar Wilkerson, Josh Dix. LeJuan watts
CG - Wesley Yates III, Myles Rice, Ryan Conwell
SF - Andrej Stojakovic, Chad Baker Mazara, KJ Lewis
PF/ Stretch 4 - Yaxel Lendeborg, Darrion Williams, Morez Johnson Jr., Hannes Steinbach Magoon Gwath, Taylor Bol Bowen
C - Oscar Cluff, Henri Veesaar, Xavier Booker
PG, SG, CG, SF and C were not very deep as PF/ stretch 4 was the deepest with the higher percentage of NIL dollars. Many things considered including multiple years of class rating and NIL expectation.
PG - Dedan Thomas, Donovan Dent, Pop Isaac’s
SG - Lamar Wilkerson, Josh Dix. LeJuan watts
CG - Wesley Yates III, Myles Rice, Ryan Conwell
SF - Andrej Stojakovic, Chad Baker Mazara, KJ Lewis
PF/ Stretch 4 - Yaxel Lendeborg, Darrion Williams, Morez Johnson Jr., Hannes Steinbach Magoon Gwath, Taylor Bol Bowen
C - Oscar Cluff, Henri Veesaar, Xavier Booker
Just posted it’s not perfect by no means but just how I used it not only that I have no clue how money was spent I know that factors in too
Yes, your picks are better than what we got but we tried to get a bunch of guys on your list and they turned us down. We can't just get anybody we choose.
I also have no clue what compensation was discussed, but if we spent what is allegedly reported we could easily have the majority of these
I like those picks for sure. I thought we would get Dent or at worst Dedan Thomas. I feel like Dent and Lendeborg were HUGE misses. I wonder if the staff just whiffed on those or if they weren't willing to spend the money to get them. I know Dent hasn't shot good at all at UCLA, but imagine those two instead of Lowe and Mo. Changes the season in my opinion.
Just stop and think. I would imagine the attitude of some of the fans on here flat turn some of these players off.They can go to another school and not be called terrible or they are awful if they miss 3 or 4 shots in a game. Most schools praise their players instead of just looking to tear them down. Gonzaga got beat by 40 points their last game before Kentucky, and they were not demanding for their coach be fired, or demeaning their players and tellingv them how awful they are. If you would act like grown ups, maybe some of these other players would have been interested in Kentucky.
Stop and think we have been curb stomped by the front court in the last 3 games CURB STOMPED!!!
It all comes down to how much compensation we really had available with no strings attached.
At 22 million this is a record-breakingly stupid roster.
At 7 million, maybe up to 10 million at the outside, this is a really nice roster on paper that just didn't pan out because you're not always gonna win all the dice rolls in terms of sleepers and lemons.
From the get-go in April I watched how things fell out and I always assumed the 7-ish million scenario had to be reality.
But what do I know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
At 22 million this is a record-breakingly stupid roster.
At 7 million, maybe up to 10 million at the outside, this is a really nice roster on paper that just didn't pan out because you're not always gonna win all the dice rolls in terms of sleepers and lemons.
From the get-go in April I watched how things fell out and I always assumed the 7-ish million scenario had to be reality.
But what do I know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
All these so called kids have agents working for money. Not an education.
These kids aren't robots. Hate to use one of our ex's clichés but it is pertinent here especially with Pope's approach to the game. There is no replacement for using instinct and judgement to get where you want to be when it comes to such a human based endeavor like this. There are way too many intangibles in play for data alone to paint the picture. Read them, listen to them, communicate with them, and really attempt to know them. Support, teach, and then get in their azz when necessary.
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What’s your point I’m referring to our coaches and them evaluating the talent probably on the same analytics or better I used. Don’t care what agent they use has nothing to do with our staffs evaluation of them
Don’t forget Jaron Pierre who signed with SMU and dropped 40 on Texas A&M tonight. Uber athletic and built like a linebacker. Don’t know why Pope chose a frail, non shooter like Lowe over him.
Pope and staff went through multiple players before they could find ones willing to come here. With every player that chose to go elsewhere, agents realized Kentucky would pay a premium for players. Unfortunately those players were 3rd or 4th tiers at best.
It’s a bit sad, but when people smell desperation there’ll be plenty of folks willing to take advantage of you. It’s likely why we ended up with Jayden Quaintance. No one else was willing to pay for him to sit on the bench for most of the season but Pope, having promised “stars”, was desperate for any kind of win he could get.
We paid for Prime Rib & got Ground Chuck. The question is who made the mistake.
I personally liked every choice at the time- but did we get sold a lot of optimistic hype by the BBN media or was the Coaching Staff just plain mistaken?
I personally liked every choice at the time- but did we get sold a lot of optimistic hype by the BBN media or was the Coaching Staff just plain mistaken?
Guards is the truly interesting spot that was a questionable handling by Pope.
1. Lowe has been hurt....but to be fair....going all in on a guy who shot 36% FG and 28% 3pt was eye opening risky
They guys we missed/choose Lowe over were
- Donovan Dent....UCLA...he's been a mess so far. 36% FG...7%3pt...yes 7%
- Dedan THomas...LSU....he's been so/so....50% FG and 26% 3pt
- Jason Pierre...SMU...maybe more a combo guard vs. PG...but he's been really good.18pts a game 45% FG and 31%3pt...and some big game vs. good team.
- Lamar Wilkerson...IU....been very solid player...16pts 42% FG but a ton of threes...38%3pt
IU is probably a decent NIL....but how he's losing players to UCLA, LSU and SMU.....this is almost Billy Gillespie level talent misses. And in a day and age where the $$$$ and playing time wins out....How Pope is doing this is unbelievable to be honest.
1. Lowe has been hurt....but to be fair....going all in on a guy who shot 36% FG and 28% 3pt was eye opening risky
They guys we missed/choose Lowe over were
- Donovan Dent....UCLA...he's been a mess so far. 36% FG...7%3pt...yes 7%
- Dedan THomas...LSU....he's been so/so....50% FG and 26% 3pt
- Jason Pierre...SMU...maybe more a combo guard vs. PG...but he's been really good.18pts a game 45% FG and 31%3pt...and some big game vs. good team.
- Lamar Wilkerson...IU....been very solid player...16pts 42% FG but a ton of threes...38%3pt
IU is probably a decent NIL....but how he's losing players to UCLA, LSU and SMU.....this is almost Billy Gillespie level talent misses. And in a day and age where the $$$$ and playing time wins out....How Pope is doing this is unbelievable to be honest.
Pope should not have lost Acaden Lewis.
He would have beaten out a healthy Lowe.
I'm sure NIL is why Lewis walked.
You can say that Lewis ran from competition but there was probably a big pay gap between the two and Lewis' camp knew if UK was paying Lowe big money they were going to start him.
People were already calling for Pope to be fired after the Georgetown exhibition loss.
That's the reason you spend 22 million on 9-10 players and not 15 players and we could've had some of those players that are on @BlueBloodKyFan73 list. Those guys wanted to go play some where and not play behind what essentially is 3 teams built into one.
Gonzaga has wins against other Quad 1 teams, one of which (Alabama) UK hasn't beaten for awhile now.
We are not playing acceptable basketball. Looked to me like the fans did their part inside Bridgestone Arena. BBN showed up and they gave us nothing to cheer for. First sign of adversity and the team quit. No effort, zero pride. I would've boo'd too if I spent my time and thousands of dollars to watch that performance. Overzealous fans are way down the list of issues UK basketball needs to address.
Did you ever think that the staff may have had a max amount they were going to spend on the players you listed, and other teams simply bid above those pre-determined max amount?
You said we could have easily have the majority of these”, referring to the players you listed. You simply don’t know that is true though. I’m not talking about evaluation of recruits/players (that seems to be part of the problem this year), but your claim we could have paid for the guys you pointed out w/out knowing how much Pope and staff were willing to pay on any given player. If we offer Player A $1 million while another school offers $1.5 million, Player A is probably not going to choose us. I’m guessing that happened with several of those recruits on your list we tried to get.
For the alleged amount we spent we have ZERO go to players and why they went with a quantity over quality is beyond me. Besides Lowe and JQ everyone else brought in were role players on their respective teams.
maybe they did, but now they have 10 guys that are nothing but role players.......3 of which are hurt
Gonzaga has a very good team, as does Arizona, & unfortunately UConn. wonder what their NIL budget was? Probably not any where close to the amount that UK threw away. UK will not break even in the SEC. Bama, Aub, UT will all bounce UK like a rubber ball, as will St. John's.
Lowe is a role player as well
JQ is the only "talent" & he is trying to recover from a major injury. Even if he plays, he will be rusty from over a year lay off.
Pope is supposed to have a shooter friendly style, yet he has no shooters. The entire roster is just a head scratcher. A competent
high school coach could have put together a better team. It is truly sad that UK basketball has fallen into this laughable, embarrassing
display.
There’s one name I’d add
Somto Cyril. His defensive numbers are insane this year.
Yes they are but he stayed at Georgia plus when I did this I factored every category. I just did the top 3-4 at each spot by the NIL spent. Because even if we were undefeated I don’t see 22 million not even close
Oh I agree that this roster make-up is bad. I think a huge part of that is that Pope thought OO would be that go-to guy every great team needs, and unfortunately Pope was completely wrong on that. May have even played into not matching/topping what others were paying for the best portal guys. Pope thought he had that guy. He was wrong.
Pope constructed a BYU roster at Kentucky and the BYU new coach constructed a Kentucky roster at BYU. Does Pope understand what talent level it takes at this level? Does he think X's and O's trump Jimmies and Joe's.