Talking to a mutual friend of my bro who's a UK fan - he swears Ulis will be able to "easily check" Derryck this year. Lol, I'm sorry, while Ulis is quick, DT is going to break his ankles.
Any of yall agree?
Any of yall agree?
Thornton vs Ulis
- Thread starter Crank_it_loud
- Start date
Well we play extremely early in the year so i'd lean more to saying yes Ullis can "check" him. I mean he is the older of the two and he is a pretty good defender. Having said that, I think DT will get his too. Now if this were in March, maybe it's a different story, maybe it's the same, but tough to make any definitive statement since it'll be DT's 3rd or so game.
Ullis is really good. So is Derryck. I don't think either 'abuses' the other.
6 losses seems about right, but Vegas disagrees on our tourney potential, ranking us 2nd behind UK. I expect one of our best defenses in years, to go with a top 10 offense, with a good chance to make another deep run.
I think ullis is legit I wouldn't mind having him but I think DT's upside is significantly better. As for 6 loses and losing in the sweet 16 I doubt both of those. talent wise we are in the top 3 if we mesh I expect a final 4
Ulis is very good, but I'm not sure how great he'll be running the show. Also for guarding DT; I bet DT has little issues get around, and driving on, Ulis. DT is that quick.
DT will not break his ankles.
Ullis is very good and was for sure one of Kentuckys best defenders last year. The kid has great defense.
DT is also gonna be great for us.
Ullis is very good and was for sure one of Kentuckys best defenders last year. The kid has great defense.
DT is also gonna be great for us.
Way too early for these comparisons. Ulis is a very good ball player and defender, and he has the edge in College experience. I think Thornton will hold his own but will show that he is a Freshman. Not a bit concerned about the early Kentucky-Duke matchup, I just want to see the progress as the season goes on!
I'm also not really sure about 6 losses, again, it's way too early to tell, but I really don't believe Duke will go out in the "Sweet Sixteen". Unless I miss my guess, I like the chances of Duke again playing in the "Final Four". I'm not one to say this as a "homer", I'm just feeling very strongly that these kids will really come together as they get experience playing together, and Coach K and Staff find the right combinations. Just a "smorgasbord" of talent!!!
It will also be interesting to see whom can "check" DT from about midseason on (maybe sooner)!!
Go Duke!!
JC-OFC
I'm also not really sure about 6 losses, again, it's way too early to tell, but I really don't believe Duke will go out in the "Sweet Sixteen". Unless I miss my guess, I like the chances of Duke again playing in the "Final Four". I'm not one to say this as a "homer", I'm just feeling very strongly that these kids will really come together as they get experience playing together, and Coach K and Staff find the right combinations. Just a "smorgasbord" of talent!!!
It will also be interesting to see whom can "check" DT from about midseason on (maybe sooner)!!
Go Duke!!
JC-OFC
I don't see Thornton having but a few opportunities to go one on one with Ullis with help defense and switch offs and and all the motion and ball movement going on. I would like to see him score 20 in that game though.
I'm sorry. Thornton is going to handle Ulis. Ulis is not a scorer, while Derryck can certainly be that. And because it's early in the year, Tyler may not be meshing totally with his guys. Derryck's scoring ability, a la Kyrie, can counteract that. I personally think Derryck has a better individual game than Ulis. Hopefully it results in a Duke victory.
We're talking about a player who has never played a college game vs one who played for a final four team the previous year. I understand that it is an opinion based question. But I have a hard time answering it. Based on highlights, I will say that I don't see anyone easily checking Thornton though.
Both are going to be good this year and that individual matchup in November could easily be a wash with both making plays and leading their respective teams. Both Duke and UK will again be among the top teams in the country. UK's backcourt play is going to be better than what they had with the Harrisons, possibly much better, their frontcourt depth and overall frontcourt talent will dip a bit though. Our frontcourt talent decreases but frontcourt depth increases. Our backcourt raw talent will be just as good but will be different (maybe not as mentally tough, not as clutch), younger, and may not result in as many wins
I'm not worried about Ulis, he'll hold his own. I'll always take him playing against any PG. yes, I'm bias. But that kid has that "fire" that you rarely see. I'm sure it's because of his height. He's always been told he's to short.
I've been a UK fan for 45 years and he's already became one of my favorites of all time. That kid plays with a chip on his shoulder.
He might lose the battle but I'll have to see it to believe it. That's the only player on our team I want question.
Like I said, I'm completely bias. I don't mine saying it. But that's one player since MKG that puts 100% in 100% of the time he's on the court.
I've been a UK fan for 45 years and he's already became one of my favorites of all time. That kid plays with a chip on his shoulder.
He might lose the battle but I'll have to see it to believe it. That's the only player on our team I want question.
Like I said, I'm completely bias. I don't mine saying it. But that's one player since MKG that puts 100% in 100% of the time he's on the court.
While I think DT will be able to hold his own against Ullis over the long run, the November matchup is certainly going to be a challenge for DT. The kid is just getting on campus now and will only have a couple months in a college program before he's asked to play in that game. Throw in the relative age difference and it's hard to see DT dominating that matchup. With that said, if DT can generally keep Ullis out of the lane and get us into our offense -- I'd call that a win.
IMO, if we beat UK, it will be b/c our wings outplay theirs (i.e., Grayson, Ingram, Matt, Luke) and our bigs keep UK's frontcourt in relative check. UK's got a lot of talent -- but that roster doesn't fit all that well together. Specifically, their 3 best perimeter players are all ball-dominant PGs -- which raises questions as to how well they'll all fit together + how Cal maximizes the strengths of his roster. You could play all 3 at once, but then UK becomes pretty small at the 2 or the 3 and reliant on PGs quickly adjusting to being 2s and 3s -- or you could replace 1 or 2 of them with objectively less talented players (like a Charles Matthew).
I haven't seen enough of DT to make the analysis. But, KY will either lose to NJIT because they're looking ahead to Duke, or KY won't watch any game film of Duke prior to the game because they're going 40-0 and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
Ullis is a gamer.He will get more minutes, probably, and he can control the pace of the game on both ends at times. I like Ullis. DT has that game in him too but has yet to do it on the D1 level. Should be a good test for DT and one that will only make him better as the year rolls along.
This is going to be a "welcome to the next level" game for DT. I am eager to see how he fares- but more eager to see how things continue to go in workouts now that he's fully baked into the fold. While like everyone else, I want us to beat UK, this year is different than last year. This year's team has a lot more to figure out. You can win the individual battle and still lose the game b/c these teams are so young. But on the topic- i dont expect either to abuse the other.
Here's how I see it.
"Ability" gets DT the chance to go to Duke and to become the starting PG.
"Talent" will keep DT as the starting PG and he will have shining moments.
"Focus" will make him success and generate wins for Duke.
"Experience" will take time and transition from HS Jr to college PG.
For those reasons I would give an edge to Ullis but just ask Kyrie or Tyus how they responded in big games or head to head match ups.
"Ability" gets DT the chance to go to Duke and to become the starting PG.
"Talent" will keep DT as the starting PG and he will have shining moments.
"Focus" will make him success and generate wins for Duke.
"Experience" will take time and transition from HS Jr to college PG.
For those reasons I would give an edge to Ullis but just ask Kyrie or Tyus how they responded in big games or head to head match ups.
Everyone here is doing well to not setup DT for Barnes-like burn out. Let's continue keep expectations reasonable and not let last years group cloud our judgement. Even Okafor hit a wall, in the tourney no less.
Ulis took a backseat last year. There's a lot he is capable of that he rarely showed. He made extremely few bad decisions and his ball handling & passing is as good as I've seen. That said, Thornton is no joke either. They will be a good matchup for each other. As a UK homer, I gotta believe Ulis comes out on top but whoever wins the battle, I don't think either will be embarrassing the other.
Even the early season matchup will not say much. It's too early. If we were playing mid-February it might be a more realistic comparison. But, just a game or two in, is not enough time for a player to become acclimated to the speed of CBB. Not saying that Thornton won't do well; but, it's really not even a relatively fair comparison at that point. It proves nothing.
I think Duke has the talent to have a legit shot at the FF and I'd predict elite 8 based on talent (but also b/c of youth) .. but 6 losses sounds right. Tough schedule early, young team, but we can build and hopefully will come on by the end of the year.
It all depends on how quickly the young guys develop and how well the upperclassmen improve.
I think Duke has the talent to have a legit shot at the FF and I'd predict elite 8 based on talent (but also b/c of youth) .. but 6 losses sounds right. Tough schedule early, young team, but we can build and hopefully will come on by the end of the year.
It all depends on how quickly the young guys develop and how well the upperclassmen improve.