Strong rumor that Lowe is done for the year

[kybassfan]

Maybe...Idk. I know a lot of people like to point to the big wins last season, and that's fair. My concern is, that was a complete anomaly. Reverting back to the norm would be a big issue, but might eliminate the head scratchers too. I'm also extremely cautious in just assuming JQ is going to play. If Lowe is indeed done and JQ either doesn't play or isn't anything close to pre-ACL self, this team will lose 10+ games. I'd bet my house on that one, granted about all I own is the door knobs and sinks at this point. No Lowe and an effective JQ, I can see a world where it loses less than 10. Maybe Cal did this to me, maybe not...but there's not one single (currently) legitimate NBA player on this roster. Talent wins out.

So basically you are saying yeah, but if you ignore all the bright spots and just look at the crap, it looks like crap. That’s true.

If you take the hottest chick in Hollywood and focus on her one zit, then she looks like a zit. I’m more a big picture kinda of guy. Enjoy your zits though. Each his own.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

So basically you are saying yeah, but if you ignore all the bright spots and just look at the crap, it looks like crap. That’s true.

If you take the hottest chick in Hollywood and focus on her one zit, then she looks like a zit. I’m more a big picture kinda of guy. Enjoy your zits though. Each his own.

Cal doesn’t leave Kentucky until it’s already portal season…I have no idea how anyone thought Pope was going to put together a Superteam in year one. We lost games we should have won, sure, but that’s what happens when you don’t have the horses. We beat Duke, Gonzaga. Florida etc with inferior rosters last season but due to injuries and lack of talent we were unable to sustain consistency and that’s to be expected. Anyone downplaying last year baffles me.

 

[Anon1755209580]

So basically you are saying yeah, but if you ignore all the bright spots and just look at the crap, it looks like crap. That’s true.

If you take the hottest chick in Hollywood and focus on her one zit, then she looks like a zit. I’m more a big picture kinda of guy. Enjoy your zits though. Each his own.

What are the bright spots?

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

What are the bright spots?

We scored 88 points, hit 12 threes, seeing massive improvement from Chandler, Aberdeen has ascended, Williams finally broke the slump and showed promise as a three and D. If you aren’t seeing bright spots, you don’t want to.

 

[Eagles_Ball_69]

So basically you are saying yeah, but if you ignore all the bright spots and just look at the crap, it looks like crap. That’s true.

If you take the hottest chick in Hollywood and focus on her one zit, then she looks like a zit. I’m more a big picture kinda of guy. Enjoy your zits though. Each his own.

No no no. What I was saying is you pop the zit and put some makeup on it. Meaning, probably drop half of those 7 or whatever it was games that they won vs T15, but also don't have the complete head scratchers. Net result is nil. Hope that makes sense.

 

[kybassfan]

What are the bright spots?

None. It’s all crap to you. Go wallow.

hey guys….. watch…

 

[Anon1755209580]

Cal doesn’t leave Kentucky until it’s already portal season…I have no idea how anyone thought Pope was going to put together a Superteam in year one. We lost games we should have won, sure, but that’s what happens when you don’t have the horses. We beat Duke, Gonzaga. Florida etc with inferior rosters last season but due to injuries and lack of talent we were unable to sustain consistency and that’s to be expected. Anyone downplaying last year baffles me.

I mean, the record kind of downplays itself. When we weren't favored against top 25 teams, we often won. When we were favored, we often lost. That tells me the team played better when the underdog and with less pressure.

For every good win, we have an equally bad loss. And there were at least 2 games last year where we had poor effort and attitudes, very similar to this year so far. That's on Pope.

Pope pretty much had the same opportunity as any first year coach. We had several former players that were interested in staying that he admittedly chose not to keep around. He also had a full team at BYU, many of which could have come with him, and most of them opted not to. That's all on Pope.

He also had the opportunity to keep Antigua, which could have helped retain current recruits or add additional, both last year and this year. Again, that's on Pope.

So, yea, Pope should own some of the struggles and criticism of last year and this year. Ignoring reality or downplaying it won't help anyone.

 

[kybassfan]

We scored 88 points, hit 12 threes, seeing massive improvement from Chandler, Aberdeen has ascended, Williams finally broke the slump and showed promise as a three and D. If you aren’t seeing bright spots, you don’t want to.

One bright spot is that we played the most morose incompetent defense we could and still came back, twice, and closed within 4. The cardies had a pretty good team. We will learn to play better defense.

Some of the LOD are sensing blood in the water over the injury and they will resist anything positive in hopes to gut Pope quick.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

One bright spot is that we played the most morose incompetent defense we could and still came back, twice, and closed within 4. The cardies had a pretty good team. We will learn to play better defense.

Some of the LOD are sensing blood in the water over the injury and they will resist anything positive in hopes to gut Pope quick.

This is exactly what I’ve been saying. People writing obituaries when the only flaws we have shown are entirely fixable.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

I mean, the record kind of downplays itself. When we weren't favored against top 25 teams, we often won. When we were favored, we often lost. That tells me the team played better when the underdog and with less pressure.

For every good win, we have an equally bad loss. And there were at least 2 games last year where we had poor effort and attitudes, very similar to this year so far. That's on Pope.

Pope pretty much had the same opportunity as any first year coach. We had several former players that were interested in staying that he admittedly chose not to keep around. He also had a full team at BYU, many of which could have come with him, and most of them opted not to. That's all on Pope.

He also had the opportunity to keep Antigua, which could have helped retain current recruits or add additional, both last year and this year. Again, that's on Pope.

So, yea, Pope should own some of the struggles and criticism of last year and this year. Ignoring reality or downplaying it won't help anyone.

Antigua!!??? lol more of the “we don’t have thing so we need it”. Constant cycle, logic never factors.

 

[kybassfan]

No no no. What I was saying is you pop the zit and put some makeup on it. Meaning, probably drop half of those 7 or whatever it was games that they won vs T15, but also don't have the complete head scratchers. Net result is nil. Hope that makes sense.

Yes. It still reads…..focus on the zit.. They made a movie about you. An Austin Powers movie. Molely, molely molely… He got a mole…..

 

[Anon1755209580]

We scored 88 points, hit 12 threes, seeing massive improvement from Chandler, Aberdeen has ascended, Williams finally broke the slump and showed promise as a three and D. If you aren’t seeing bright spots, you don’t want to.

In large part to some late, likely lucky 3s. We also gave up near 100 and got annihilated for most of the game. So the moral victory isn't really going to cut it.

Williams played a little at the end of the game and made some shots when defense wasn't really being played and the game was in hand, well after UL was drained and just trying to finish the game.

Aberdeen was arguably the best players in last years F4. He was already good.

Chandler is the one positive on your list but he had already improved last year and his D is still suspect.

Or there just aren't any to see and we are trying to make some up to cope with a loss.

 

[Anon1755209580]

Antigua!!??? lol more of the “we don’t have thing so we need it”. Constant cycle, logic never factors.

You are opposed to proven recruiters with a connection to the school and that obviously want to be here?

Okay....

 

[kyjeff1]

Then he won’t get drafted. I think your lost.

You think JQ won’t get drafted if he doesn't play college ball?

He showed all he needed to show last year, he was just too young to go to the draft.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

You are opposed to proven recruiters with a connection to the school and that obviously want to be here?

Okay....

No. I wouldn’t have been upset if Pope had kept Antigua. I’m also not upset now that he decided to go a different route. Know why? I’m not chalking up every loss to a lack of a *stud* that Orlando Antigua is the answer for.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

In large part to some late, likely lucky 3s. We also gave up near 100 and got annihilated for most of the game. So the moral victory isn't really going to cut it.

Williams played a little at the end of the game and made some shots when defense wasn't really being played and the game was in hand, well after UL was drained and just trying to finish the game.

Aberdeen was arguably the best players in last years F4. He was already good.

Chandler is the one positive on your list but he had already improved last year and his D is still suspect.

Or there just aren't any to see and we are trying to make some up to cope with a loss.

I haven’t coped with anything lol. I’ve caught just as much flak from the sunshine pumpers as I have the negative nellies in the last 48 hours. That usually means you’re telling the truth.

 

[Anon1755209580]

No. I wouldn’t have been upset if Pope had kept Antigua. I’m also not upset now that he decided to go a different route. Know why? I’m not chalking up every loss to a lack of a *stud* that Orlando Antigua is the answer for.

Antigua has been one of the stronger recruiters nationally for years. He has been at UK twice and was good at getting recruits to by in, fabs loved him and he never appeared to be an issue. We are struggling like crazy to land high level HS talent and our top transfer portal targets.

Any moron should be able to comprehend that letting him go for the assistants we brought in was a mistake. We got the Baylor coach and he hasn't helped so far.

 

[kybassfan]

I mean, the record kind of downplays itself. When we weren't favored against top 25 teams, we often won. When we were favored, we often lost. That tells me the team played better when the underdog and with less pressure.

For every good win, we have an equally bad loss. And there were at least 2 games last year where we had poor effort and attitudes, very similar to this year so far. That's on Pope.

Pope pretty much had the same opportunity as any first year coach. We had several former players that were interested in staying that he admittedly chose not to keep around. He also had a full team at BYU, many of which could have come with him, and most of them opted not to. That's all on Pope.

He also had the opportunity to keep Antigua, which could have helped retain current recruits or add additional, both last year and this year. Again, that's on Pope.

So, yea, Pope should own some of the struggles and criticism of last year and this year. Ignoring reality or downplaying it won't help anyone.

Translation….. There’s a ZIT!!

You are opposed to proven recruiters with a connection to the school and that obviously want to be here?

Okay....

No, he is saying he don’t work here anymore. Not gonna work here..

Antigua was a top drawer recruiter back when KY had something to sell. That KY died. It’s gone. NIL and The Portal killed it along with the rest of college basketball. Now we are a fat wallet in a sea of fat wallets. It’s not proven that Antigua can continue to excel in that environment. Pope made changes as virtually 100% of new coaches do. Deal.

I think you missed a zit….

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Antigua has been one of the stronger recruiters nationally for years. He has been at UK twice and was good at getting recruits to by in, fabs loved him and he never appeared to be an issue. We are struggling like crazy to land high level HS talent and our top transfer portal targets.

Any moron should be able to comprehend that letting him go for the assistants we brought in was a mistake. We got the Baylor coach and he hasn't helped so far.

Sure, if you condense every factor into one tiny pixel and make it so simple. Pope wanted to build a staff of guys he could trust and that’s ok. For whatever reason, he didn’t trust OA. Remember this was during a period of time where Arkansas was promising double NIL contracts to anyone offered by Kentucky. Pope may not have trusted Antigua due to his ties to Cal, given the extreme Calipari pettiness and I don’t blame him.

 

[FLBBNFAN]

Cal doesn’t leave Kentucky until it’s already portal season…I have no idea how anyone thought Pope was going to put together a Superteam in year one. We lost games we should have won, sure, but that’s what happens when you don’t have the horses. We beat Duke, Gonzaga. Florida etc with inferior rosters last season but due to injuries and lack of talent we were unable to sustain consistency and that’s to be expected. Anyone downplaying last year baffles me.

Last year was much better than I expected given the timing and how little time Pope had to put a team together.

We tied an all time college record with 8 wins against top 15 teams and we got to the sweet 16 despite all the injuries and a lack of athleticism on the roster.

Some of our losses were ugly for sure but last year was a solid building block in my opinion. The frustration for me was we could have made a deeper run if we weren't all banged up. We beat 2 of the final four teams.

If we have a worse year this year then I think its fair to voice concerns over the direction of the program. We are only 3 games in so I will wait until we get to conference play and deeper into the season.

 

[Anon1755209580]

I haven’t coped with anything lol. I’ve caught just as much flak from the sunshine pumpers as I have the negative nellies in the last 48 hours. That usually means you’re telling the truth.

You're on here making excuses to accept the situation. That's coping.

Why is some who views things different from a sunshine pumper or negative nellie?

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Last year was much better than I expected given the timing and how little time Pope had to put a team together.

We tied an all time college record with 8 wins against top 15 teams and we got to the sweet 16 despite all the injuries and a lack of athleticism on the roster.

Some of our losses were ugly for sure but last year was a solid building block in my opinion. The frustration for me was we could have made a deeper run if we weren't all banged up. We beat 2 of the final four teams.

If we have a worse year this year then I think its fair to voice concerns over the direction of the program. We are only 3 games in so I will wait until we get to conference play and deeper into the season.

Brother, this is a balanced take that I wholeheartedly agree with. Need a lot more of this on the site

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

You're on here making excuses to accept the situation. That's coping.

Why is some who views things different from a sunshine pumper or negative nellie?

Go look at my previous posts. It’s clear I’ve stood on business while getting flanked by extremes on both sides. I make no excuses for losses but also won’t point to root causes that have no quantifiable justification.

 

[Anon1755209580]

Translation….. There’s a ZIT!!

No, he is saying he don’t work here anymore. Not gonna work here..

Antigua was a top drawer recruiter back when KY had something to sell. That KY died. It’s gone. NIL and The Portal killed it along with the rest of college basketball. Now we are a fat wallet in a sea of fat wallets. It’s not proven that Antigua can continue to excel in that environment. Pope made changes as virtually 100% of new coaches do. Deal.

I think you missed a zit….

Im other words, you're just going to blow Pope off like you did Cal for years because he's the coach? Will you play with his nuts too or just the shaft?

 

[Anon1755209580]

I make no excuses for losses but also won’t point to root causes that have no quantifiable justification.

Not what it's reading like.

 

[kybassfan]

Im other words, you're just going to blow Pope off like you did Cal for years because he's the coach? Will you play with his nuts too or just the shaft?

Ah! You lost do you gotta make it sexual. I support my team. Coach is the schools decision.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Not what it's reading like.

Well, let me make it simple for you:

One side thinks we are running a charity. This is the University of Kentucky, the greatest college basketball program in history. We aren’t going to lower the standards of excellence on the court for any coach. These people will get angry if you say anything negative about coach or his performance, and will ignore anything constructive about it.

The other side thinks context doesn’t matter and there’s only one way to do things, which is what we have already tried (and failed with). This side wants the maximum assimilation of talent regardless of circumstances and sees that as the answer to every question. They ignore data and known facts about winning and live by emotional bias. A lot of these want a coach fired before the plane has even left the runway.

I don’t agree with either of those.

 

[ChicagoCat90]

I don't have much to spare for NIL, but I'll send a few bucks to buy milk and Wheaties for the team. I need the rest of the team to stay healthy. My will to live is way too dependent on 18-22 year olds’ ability to put a ball through an orange circle.

 

[bigblueinsanity (the real)]

Cal doesn’t leave Kentucky until it’s already portal season…I have no idea how anyone thought Pope was going to put together a Superteam in year one. We lost games we should have won, sure, but that’s what happens when you don’t have the horses. We beat Duke, Gonzaga. Florida etc with inferior rosters last season but due to injuries and lack of talent we were unable to sustain consistency and that’s to be expected. Anyone downplaying last year baffles me.

Probably an unpopular opinion but....we had more talent last year. We just weren't as deep.

No one on this team is as good as Carr before his back. Butler was a much better pg. Brea is a better scorer than anyone we have now.

Last year the bench was the killer. This year, we just don't have the talent. Hopefully jq changes all that.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Probably an unpopular opinion but....we had more talent last year. We just weren't as deep.

No one on this team is as good as Carr before his back. Butler was a much better pg. Brea is a better scorer than anyone we have now.

Last year the bench was the killer. This year, we just don't have the talent. Hopefully jq changes all that.

I loved Carr but I don’t agree. Carr was slow laterally, was capable outside shooter but low volume and a very slow release. He was not a good defender, either in post ups or switching onto guards. He was a good post scorer and showed up in big games.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

I loved Carr but I don’t agree. Carr was slow laterally, was capable outside shooter but low volume and a very slow release. He was not a good defender, either in post ups or switching onto guards. He was a good post scorer and showed up in big games.

Everything you said is true but I would still take him over Mo.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Everything you said is true but I would still take him over Mo.

I don’t think you will say that by the end of the year. Mo had a bad game but I fully believe he’s the better player

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

I don’t think you will say that by the end of the year. Mo had a bad game but I fully believe he’s the better player

I guess we will see but Mo,Garrison and Oweh all together in lineup is painful to watch.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

I guess we will see but Mo,Garrison and Oweh all together in lineup is painful to watch.

Agreed. But if Pope had those guys making hard cuts to the basket for layups when the defense has back turned to them, it wouldn’t be painful. I know how much cutting matters to Pope. I bet he drilled that in practice yesterday.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

2025 has to be the worst year ever for me. My personal loss, and now UK is snake bitten with key injury again. I was really needing a very good UK team to get me through winter. Team may still do well but Lowe was a key piece to going far n March.

 

[TeamAmerica]

Probably an unpopular opinion but....we had more talent last year. We just weren't as deep.

No one on this team is as good as Carr before his back. Butler was a much better pg. Brea is a better scorer than anyone we have now.

Last year the bench was the killer. This year, we just don't have the talent. Hopefully jq changes all that.

lots to bank on a guy coming back from major knee surgery. When you get cleared to play it takes a bit to get back up to speed.

 

[Monday Nitro]

Agreed. But if Pope had those guys making hard cuts to the basket for layups when the defense has back turned to them, it wouldn’t be painful. I know how much cutting matters to Pope. I bet he drilled that in practice yesterday.

Cornbread and spilt milk all day, everyday.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Cornbread and spilt milk all day, everyday.

I like cornbread. He’s a good poster, man. No hate from me.

 

[cornbreadnmilk]

2025 has to be the worst year ever for me. My personal loss, and now UK is snake bitten with key injury again. I was really needing a very good UK team to get me through winter. Team may still do well but Lowe was a key piece to going far n March.

Man I just read your post and I'm so sorry for your loss and can't even imagine what you are going through.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Matt Jones doesn’t think Lowe is out for the year according to KsR pregame show just a moment ago. Says he feels if it were season ending he would know by now. Isn’t set in stone, but there is hope it seems