Small Forward Position

Your point is spot on. We need a quality SF ... in addition to a quality PF ... if we will have the kind of starting, major minutes five that can be a TOP TEN team that can compete at a high level. Pope and staff still have work to do. Here is a look at the pair you mentioned... https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/juke-harris-1.html https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/lejuan-watts-1.html

megablue said:

Your point is spot on. We need a quality SF ... in addition to a quality PF ... if we will have the kind of starting, major minutes five that can be a TOP TEN team that can compete at a high level. Pope and staff still have work to do.

Yeah, these are integral components, Watts and Williams combined gets us 15-6 nightly, good enough. I’m hoping we get Rancik today instead of Freeman, DF has way too many issues with injuries, missed ~40 games the past two seasons.

I actually feel better about Stokes now than I did before. If a player has no interest he doesn’t fly from Portland to Lexington. I think he comes to UK or stays at the mothership and goes to Oregon. I don’t buy the excuse of meeting coaching staff.

Our SF position next year is as follows: Kam/Hawthorne and then Noah. Maybe Stokes. Even without Stokes, we've got two great options at the wing and a third guy who's got experience in the system. I don't see why we'd go after any portal SFs, tbh.

philstat said:

In the portal, there are only two notable SFs remaining Juke Harris and LeJuan Watts, it’s looking we aren’t going to get Stokes, I really hope MP goes fully in on trying to get Watts, he would compliment KW well. Juke will likely be drafted.

Who said it's looking like we won't get Stokes,we have a shot

Anon1730326584 said:

Who said it's looking like we won't get Stokes,we have a shot

Of course we have a shot, though do we lose out on everyone waiting for him?!?

JPFisher said:

Our SF position next year is as follows: Kam/Hawthorne and then Noah. Maybe Stokes. Even without Stokes, we've got two great options at the wing and a third guy who's got experience in the system. I don't see why we'd go after any portal SFs, tbh.

I don’t believe that SF combination is competitive, IMO, not against elite teams.

Tri-Countycat said:

I actually feel better about Stokes now than I did before. If a player has no interest he doesn’t fly from Portland to Lexington. I think he comes to UK or stays at the mothership and goes to Oregon. I don’t buy the excuse of meeting coaching staff.

I believe he goes to Oregon, they will throw everything at him and the Nike connection there is insurmountable.

JPFisher said:

Our SF position next year is as follows: Kam/Hawthorne and then Noah. Maybe Stokes. Even without Stokes, we've got two great options at the wing and a third guy who's got experience in the system. I don't see why we'd go after any portal SFs, tbh.

Yeah that's my read on what the staff is going for. We get Stokes or we roll with Kam and Hawthorne.

philstat said:

I don’t believe that SF combination is competitive, IMO, not against elite teams.

I think Kam is our Darius Miller, basically. If he’s one of your two best players you probably struggle, but if he’s 4-6 then you have a pretty talented roster.

philstat said:

I don’t believe that SF combination is competitive, IMO, not against elite teams.

I think that duo is adequate if we had some all conference/all american guys around them and they are purely potential/complimentary players. But that isn't exactly where we are at the moment haha

I think the VAST majority of posters view most everything through the prism of being a TOP TEN, 1-2-3 seed team at the end of the year. Evaluations and opinions generally are focused on that level ... can we win the SEC, can we win the SEC Tourney and can we realistically have a shot to be in the Final Four ?? We all know it takes a balanced, well-constructed roster to achieve this. For most ... it is not so much ... are these 2 better than our best 2 from last year, etc.. It is whether our OVERALL team is going to be a high-level team that can legitimately make a FF run at season's end. To my view, even though I think Diallo and Wilkins are great pieces, Pope's work is far from done and I'm still hoping for major-quality pick-ups.

Kam is also extremely low usage, and career 39% from three. I could see him slotting in very nicely next to Wilkins and Zoom, who are both ball dominant but also high assist guards. Should be much easier for him than trying to play next to a converted pg like DA. I like Kam a lot. And I think Noah should be much improved as a Junior. Don’t know what to expect from Hawthorne.

megablue said:

I think the VAST majority of posters view most everything through the prism of being a TOP TEN, 1-2-3 seed team at the end of the year. Evaluations and opinions generally are focused on that level ... can we win the SEC, can we win the SEC Tourney and can we realistically have a shot to be in the Final Four ?? We all know it takes a balanced, well-constructed roster to achieve this. For most ... it is not so much ... are these 2 better than our best 2 from last year, etc.. It is whether our OVERALL team is going to be a high-level team that can legitimately make a FF run at season's end. To my view, even though I think Diallo and Wilkins are great pieces, Pope's work is far from done and I'm still hoping for major-quality pick-ups.

We need to make a splash at the 4. Need a solid backup 5. And need more shooting. How I see it at the moment at least.

We have a 6'8" small forward who was getting NBA mocks in the lottery before his early season confidence issues last year. He will probably shoot about 36-42 percent from three, continue to expand his game on cutting and slashing. Love me some Kam Williams and, no, I don't think we need a small forward at all. Obviously, Tyran Stokes is the exception. You take that player regardless of how you have to reshuffle the positions around. Love my small forward. Go get a power forward and let's ball.

I think we might add a foreign player of two after the portal closes. I think that has always been the backup plan waiting out Stokes

I’m The Village Idiot said:

We have a 6'8" small forward who was getting NBA mocks in the lottery before his early season confidence issues last year. He will probably shoot about 36-42 percent from three, continue to expand his game on cutting and slashing. Love me some Kam Williams and, no, I don't think we need a small forward at all. Obviously, Tyran Stokes is the exception. You take that player regardless of how you have to reshuffle the positions around. Love my small forward. Go get a power forward and let's ball.

I like and appreciate your confidence in Williams. I really like him, too, especially his apparent love for being here and wanting to help us win. The consistency in his 3-point shooting supports the notion that he is always going to be an above-average shooter. Everybody appreciates that, I think. I am not sure, reserving the right to be wrong about it, but I see KW as a QUALITY 10-20 minute, verses a 20-30 minute, piece of a team with FF potential at the end of the year. The Darius Miller comparison is excellent, I think, and is a positive, not a negative.

I’m The Village Idiot said:

We have a 6'8" small forward who was getting NBA mocks in the lottery before his early season confidence issues last year. He will probably shoot about 36-42 percent from three, continue to expand his game on cutting and slashing. Love me some Kam Williams and, no, I don't think we need a small forward at all. Obviously, Tyran Stokes is the exception. You take that player regardless of how you have to reshuffle the positions around. Love my small forward. Go get a power forward and let's ball.

We need 3-4 more players at this point, two guards-wings, a center and PF, at minimum, preferably three solid post players.

megablue said:

I like and appreciate your confidence in Williams. I really like him, too, especially his apparent love for being here and wanting to help us win. The consistency in his 3-point shooting supports the notion that he is always going to be an above-average shooter. Everybody appreciates that, I think. I am not sure, reserving the right to be wrong about it, but I see KW as a QUALITY 10-20 minute, verses a 20-30 minute, piece of a team with FF potential at the end of the year.

I disagree but I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve always been high on Kam.

philstat said:

We need 3-4 more players at this point, two guards-wings, a center and PF, at minimum, preferably three solid post players.

Easier to get the reserve pieces though imo. We need one more starter. Everything from there should be mostly specialists.

JPFisher said:

Our SF position next year is as follows: Kam/Hawthorne and then Noah. Maybe Stokes. Even without Stokes, we've got two great options at the wing and a third guy who's got experience in the system. I don't see why we'd go after any portal SFs, tbh.

The purpose of this is not just to field a serviceable roster, but instead to get BETTER than we were last year, right? The Kam/Hawthorne option does seem fine if we’re willing to accept another mediocre 14 loss type season, but it’s certainly NOT an improvement over what Oweh gave us from that 3 spot. It would be a step backward at that position, not forward.

JPFisher said:

Our SF position next year is as follows: Kam/Hawthorne and then Noah. Maybe Stokes. Even without Stokes, we've got two great options at the wing and a third guy who's got experience in the system. I don't see why we'd go after any portal SFs, tbh.

Neither of those are great options. Kam is at best a 6th man and Hawthorne is a wild card. Stokes would be the only legitimate great choice but I would imagine the 2 you mentioned is who we roll with.

I’m The Village Idiot said:

Easier to get the reserve pieces though imo. We need one more starter. Everything from there should be mostly specialists.

Agree, the PF Pope is looking at Justin McBride along with Rancik would be a perfect get.

I’m The Village Idiot said:

I disagree but I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve always been high on Kam.

Nothing would make me happier than to see KW assume the SF spot and have a fabulous, break-out year, trust me !!