Ok we are all used to seeing cal teams and they always hit the weights hard and when we get to madness most of his guys not all but most are ripped. And freshmen they are usually well defined. These guys last night I thought well they didn’t look like they had that definition. Idk if that will transfer to a weak team but I have some concerns about this team being able to compete against the physical sec. Am I overlooking something here?
Strength
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18 year olds hitting weights look different than 22+ year olds hitting weights, but fwiw, I noticed the exact opposite. I thought our guys looked strong.
Looking strong isn't being strong, though. Our bigs last year would get knocked over by a sneeze. Bradshaw had a ton of definition because he was tiny. I want to see someone try bullying Williams. Maybe they can, but I don't see it happening regularly.
Attitude has something to do with playing strong too. Imposing your will on the opposing player.
Amari Williams
Butler
Oweh…
They look and are extremely strong guys
Carr
Krissa
Brea
They are not as athletic/stong…but their games are different
Jaxon Robinson js somwhere between these body types…
I have little issue with Noah, Perry and ,Chandler as they are freshman and likely to be here 3-4 years
I hear you on body of some of Cal guys….but they never stayed long enough to really show it for Ky…. Like did I ever see Dilly, Reed,DJ, ivisic , Bradshaw etc play strong….heck to the no
Butler
Oweh…
They look and are extremely strong guys
Carr
Krissa
Brea
They are not as athletic/stong…but their games are different
Jaxon Robinson js somwhere between these body types…
I have little issue with Noah, Perry and ,Chandler as they are freshman and likely to be here 3-4 years
I hear you on body of some of Cal guys….but they never stayed long enough to really show it for Ky…. Like did I ever see Dilly, Reed,DJ, ivisic , Bradshaw etc play strong….heck to the no
Looking strong is sometimes different than being strong.
What? Cal’s teams of spaghetti-armed freshmen got bullied in tournament play in recent years.
I think op is confused over the muscle definition, which was visible because they were so thin. Of course there were a few exceptions, but by and large our freshman were really without any added muscle. Thats why we were constantly physically bullied.
This group is the opposite. Theyre mature and years of weights added the bulk needed for the conference and season grind. These guys wont be getting pushed around.
This group is the opposite. Theyre mature and years of weights added the bulk needed for the conference and season grind. These guys wont be getting pushed around.
Oweh is built like a brick wall so is Amari Williams
I was there to see it in person. And I see it differently. I think we will bully teams with our strength and experience.
Far different than counting on growing freshmen to go against grown men
Far different than counting on growing freshmen to go against grown men
Over the years I have run into some little guys that you did not want to fool with . We will be fine this year.
It’s not a bodybuilding show, it’s basketball. I trust the strength and conditioning coach that came from the Bucks to have the players ready to go and conditioned to fit our style of play.
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Its more balance than overall strength, if we are gonna be fast, you can't always load up on the weights....Post players can load up, but the guards and forwards might want to work more on endurance. I think we have a good showing yesterday, as our strength and conditioning coach is from an NBA team. He has that experience, we gotta feel good about things as of right now.
Really don't understand what your talking about, Cal's freshmen weren't well defined the last few years. There's a difference in being defined and being in excellent shape. Watching what little film of practiceS available and Pope making them run extra if they don't touch the line during running drills. Saying the difference in the extra foot is the difference in not making a final four. This team will be in excellent shape and with the depth they have will wear teams out and excell in the last 5 minutes, IMO.
Almonor is a pretty big dude. I'm not sure how many minutes he'll play, but if he can defend and rebound at a decent level against SEC competition it'll be a nice boost. He lingered around the 3-point line at FDU and his rebounding percentages weren't great. Neither was his defensive metrics (although he played out of position at center at FDU). Perhaps better teammates and playing a different position could help him. He can shoot the rock but having a 3/4 off the bench who can come in and get a few boards a game would be ideal.
I honestly didn't notice their builds either way. Pope did seem to really like the S&C coach during intros. Since most of them have some years on them, and have done well enough to get a call from Pope, I'm not to worried about it. Cal had plenty of freshman string beans. I didn't see any of those last night.
The only player I can remember posting any kind of workout progress picture from last year was Edwards and that worked out awesome.
What I noticed about Cal’s teams was that they were always heavily injured.
Look at this way, one of the best players in the world in Steph curry was skinny his whole career. And look where he is at now
It's hard to tell since he was wearing a t-shirt last night, but Noah's lost his baby fat from high school and looks pretty jacked.
Thiero too. Idk we ll see. The sec is a brutally physical conference.
Perry has some muscle too. Corn fed Kentucky boysIt's hard to tell since he was wearing a t-shirt last night, but Noah's lost his baby fat from high school and looks pretty jacked.
Looking strong and being strong are 2 completely different things. I focus on strength and power, not so much muscle growth when I lift. Am I still big? Yeah. Do I look bigger than guys that focus on bodybuilding? No. Am I stronger than most of them? Absolutely. Muscles and strength don't always correlate.
They probably won’t be world beaters. I think our fans should temper their expectations year 1, but controlling this fanbase is like trying to stop a hurricane .
Don't forget Kahlil "The Dragon" Whitney. Had a prototypical NBA 2-guard body at age 18, but couldn't run and dribble at the same time. He literally could not dribble a basketball.
Williams is a monster, he’s built like a tank.
Exactly, I’ll take some skill over looks like Tarzan plays like Jane.
I was being sarcastic as hell. Edwards was talked about as a potential number one pick and definitely lottery.
And he’s literally almost exactly the same size and weight as a game-ready Demarcus Cousins. I really think a lot of people who rated us low thinking “how can no-name Mark Pope ever win where even Cal couldn’t win” are going to wake up pretty quick once the season gets rolling.
Popping in with a weird comment, it’s been a long time. Edward’s head and neck were visibly slumped forward and his neck had that big hump in it. I think he was looking at his phone constantly.Justin Edwards was like a chiseled Greek god
I hope, I doubt Williams is as great as Cousins but I think he will be a good defender and rebounder. From what I’ve seen on tape he really understands where to be on the court and how to defend the paint.
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Hmmm , if my memory serves me right, I think Rob, Justin, Big Z all looked like they borrowed the Arnold genetics…
Anyhow, I don’t think John Wall , Fox or Davis impressed us with their muscles but with basketball related skills or athletic abilities.
While this year team does not seem to have extreme athletic abilities as Calipari teams spoiled us with , this year team players should have good shooting, passing and defensive skills and high basketball iq. Time will tell if these skills are as good as advertised .
Being the first year under Coach Pope, and a team put together from the portal in 2-3 weeks, with players that never played together or under Pope system, I don’t have high expectations. Next year will be also first year Pope can recruit , so I think is only fair to expect a final four and above after year 3.
Meanwhile the strength and muscles , I think are just fine.