Who on this team is actually a basketball player
- Thread starter waldo160
- Start date
This is the problem.
Last year, we had skilled basketball players. This year, the team is much more athletic, but they aren't skilled.
No shooting. No understanding of spacing. No court vision or passing ability.
I suspect Pope thought he could recruit more athletic players and his system would make them better in those other areas. But that's not how basketball works.
You have to target players who actually have those skills, then the system will make them even more effective. Without them, the system doesn't work at all.
There's also a massive and obvious problem with team chemistry and the makeup of the roster from a chemistry standpoint. I know we're in a new age of college athletics with players being paid generously, so it's tough to predict how a coach will handle it. But Pope clearly didn't do a good job of assessing the personalities of the players and how they would fit together or get along.
Kentucky isn't a place where you get to learn on the job. This is now a lost year.
Will he get another chance to build a team? Will he actually be able to recruit enough of the right kind of talent to have a successful third year? Who knows. But this season has been a failure on every level.
Last year, we had skilled basketball players. This year, the team is much more athletic, but they aren't skilled.
No shooting. No understanding of spacing. No court vision or passing ability.
I suspect Pope thought he could recruit more athletic players and his system would make them better in those other areas. But that's not how basketball works.
You have to target players who actually have those skills, then the system will make them even more effective. Without them, the system doesn't work at all.
There's also a massive and obvious problem with team chemistry and the makeup of the roster from a chemistry standpoint. I know we're in a new age of college athletics with players being paid generously, so it's tough to predict how a coach will handle it. But Pope clearly didn't do a good job of assessing the personalities of the players and how they would fit together or get along.
Kentucky isn't a place where you get to learn on the job. This is now a lost year.
Will he get another chance to build a team? Will he actually be able to recruit enough of the right kind of talent to have a successful third year? Who knows. But this season has been a failure on every level.