The “All Things UK” Thread
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Even in a loss to No. 1 Kansas, John Calipari has Kentucky looking fun again for the first time in a while
Kentucky is going to take some hits, but at least it won't be a bore as the Wildcats have the feel of a team with immense promisewww.cbssports.com
At halftime I almost bet my whole $30 in my DK account on Kansas moneyline. If I knew one thing, its Kansas would make adjustments and Cal wouldn't.
Make sure you put your money on the CATS on Dec. 21st too, BLOCKHEAD.
Someone help me out with Edwards here. I’m not overly impressed over what they’re telling me he’s capable of. They don’t match. What am I missing?
I had a guy call me a dumbass 2 weeks ago when I said Edwards is playing well below expectations. I hope he dnaps out of it, but from what I see, he’s no lottery pick unless he raises his game and toughness tenfold.
Cal's going to keep playing him and Wagner, it's just what he fies. I just hope Edwards and Wagner don't turn into Whitney and Boston.
ESPN Analyst is Jay Bilas Already a Reed Sheppard Fan
Vicky Graff PhotoSince Reed Sheppard has always thrived on being in big-game situations it was no surprise the Kentucky freshman guard played well in Tuesday’s 89-84 loss to Kansas in Chicago. Sheppard had a career-high 16 pointswww.yoursportsedge.com
I like this. A lot of people are calling for the starters of Wagner and Edwards to be switched with Dillingham and Sheppard. I’m wondering if half that combination would work. That way we’d always have one of our 2 best players on the floor. But maybe it’s synergistic with R & D only?
I like this team. Wondering if they have enough to return Cal to his first half of success at UK? One of (preferably both) Edwards or Wagner has got to show up.
So, if you look at the teams that have reached the FF since Villanova's title run in 2016, I'm trying to find a team that had to have NBA lottery picks to win. I know duke made it in 2022, but that was more about coach K and they didn't win it all.
Dillingham is straight electric and the mistakes he's making now, won't be made in January and beyond.
Reed Sheppard might be the most efficient guard in the country. He is a 3 level scorer, ace defender and an ace 3 point shooter, hit 7 of 8 last night.
When compared to recent title winners, this UK team most certainly can win it all if Dillingham and Sheppard are the best players. This isn’t the NBA draft, where future potential matters, this is college basketball, where efficiency and true team play wins.
Now, as bad as Wagner and Edwards are right now, I feel like it will click for them at some point, but we won't see them at even 30% of their best in UK uniforms. Give me the guys that are playing winning basketball right now, not 5 years from now.
'Weight of the world' is on DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards
Right now, Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham are those guys, but DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards will get there.www.on3.com
So you were totally wrong about this team, and also wrong about freshmen-led teams in general?
How so? Have they made the FF already?
Better teams have lost in the first round. There are no guarantees, especially with freshmen and especially in the NCAAT.
In fact, Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner are proving my point. They are projected lottery picks, but right now, look at em, they look more like BJ Boston.
The leap from HS to college, is massive. The physicality, is on a much higher level, so is the speed and pressure and those two are not handling it well at all.
These kids are ranked based on their potential, not how good they are right now, but how good they will be in the future. That does you no good in your one year in college.
You sure seem to think they're a strong contender. You're also predicting a sweep of Tennessee, a team that many think has a case for #1.
UK swept UT last year, lost in the 2nd round.
UK split with UT two years ago (blew them out by 30 in Rupp), lost in the first round. The 2 are not exclusive.
So, me saying UK has the talent to make a FF, somehow means what I previously said isnt true??? How so?
Cal is a D level bench coach and young teams usually fold in the NCAAT, that’s a fact. If UK's 2010 team can lose the way they did, so can this one. Fox/Monk/Bam were great… didn’t make it, should have, but didn't.
2019 duke couldn't make a FF with coach K + a generational talent + a transcendent talent, but that didn’t stop duke fans (and everyone else) from thinking that team was talented enough to win a title.
It’s a single elimination tournament, one choke is all it takes and freshmen choke more often than experienced players do. It's a fact.
Well, except for Tennessee, they choke every year. 😂
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He has time to turn it around and I think he will.. but so far UK and UL would be better if Wagner went to UL.
But Sheppard is the most efficient guard in the country huh? How many minutes of NCAA basketball has he played?
Obviously nothing is guaranteed in the tourney, whether you have an all-freshman rotation or they're all 25.
You've said over and over that the way to win is to be old. You also said that you didn't expect this team to go far. Then again, you also bash players like Dickinson for still being in college. So I don't really know what the hell your position is at this point.
I do know that Calipari's best teams are the ones filled with highly-rated freshmen. And if he had KU's current veteran roster, he'd probably fall out of the top 25. Calipari has always been the issue; not the talent.
Jesus dude, get a grip. The word 'might' was literally in that sentence, why did you leave it out?
I bashed Dickinson for still being in college? That's news to me. I know I said he wasn't NBA material, because he’s still in college and I also said he's a locker room cancer, but I guess you are just going to put words in my mouth again.
Look at the teams winning titles, where are all the freshmen? Answer: at home.
Doesn't mean a group of special players couldn't break the mold, it's just unlikely.
I'm not sure why you're struggling with this. Facts are facts.
Another comical response. Tell me how you arrived at your "might" analysis. What is it based on. How many data points do you have to come to that conclusion after 3 games.
Well, one thing's for sure, no guard on duke's squad is in the running, so don't worry about it.
Its eary, he's a freshman getting used the physicallity and speed of the college game. Its a lot of pressure on young guys. It takes some longer. I'm not worried. He's extremely talented, needs some confidence. He's also use to playing with Bradshaw and that may make a difference when he gets on the court.
You said that Dickinson isn't that great and there's a reason he's still in college. You're denying that?
So you're still expecting Kentucky to fall short of the final four? What are you so excited about then? Didn't you say that only the tourney matters to Kentucky fans?
If Dickinson was 'great', he would be in the NBA. You're using the word 'great', he ain't great because he had a big game against uk, who was missing all of their big guys.
We’re all 4 games into the season, maybe hold off on sucking this guy off until we all get into the meat of the season. He’s a good college player, that’s it. He's not 'great'.
As far as my excitement about UK, it's not excitement, it's a fact. UK has Final 4 talent, speed, length, athletesism and playmakers, but they still have a D level head coach and too much youth.
Can UK get there? Uhh, yeah, they "CAN", but 23/24 is the oldest college basketball has ever been. There are 26 year olds out there with a serious level of experience. The odds are greatly against UK.
I hadn't really said anything about Dickinson. You went off on an unprovoked rant about how not great he is.
You do realize this is Dickinson's 4th year, right? He's been around for a bit. And do you think it's possible that Self might get more out of him than Howard did? Sure seems like it so far. And do you think having a PG who can actually run the offense and distribute will boost his numbers?
Weird that you're sucking off a bunch of freshmen for beating a few scrubs and losing to the only good team they've played, but you need to see more from a senior who's played at a high level for four years. 🤣
If Dickinson isn't a great college player, there aren't many out there. I couldn't give a crap about his NBA stock. Last I checked, KU's not trying to win the NBA Finals.
You understand that "he's not that great because he's still in college" isn't exactly consistent with "college teams need to be old to be good," right?
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Funny, I don't recall you ever sucking Dick-enson off when he waa at Michigan. Now all the sudden he's this "great" player.
Again, he did what he did to UK, because he was 5" taller than anyone UK could play. That’s not going to be the case for most teams KU plays. You might want to let the season play out before you give this guy npoy honors and refer to him as "great".
Why would you expect to see me talking about a player from a different conference who never played against my team? Especially when his team didn't even make the tourney last year. Did you ever see me knocking his ability?
It's like you pay attention to nothing outside of the SEC. Dickinson's been called the best transfer ever. Preseason AA. Averaged 19/9 in one of the top conferences. KU immediately shot up to #1 in almost every ranking after signing him. But yeah...the hype started after the UK game. 🤣
So let me get this straight….27/21 on 67% shooting is what should have been expected of any decent 7 footer in that game, while drawing a massive amount of attention and getting triple teamed? 🤣
I’d love to see one of those freshman centers (that you claim to be better than HD) duplicate that while drawing that kind of attention.
KU started a 6’7 player (who’s probably closer to 6’6) all year last season at center. Bigs weren’t going off for 27/21.
Dickinson dropped 21 on Edey, who’s 3 inches taller and won NPOY. Edey scored under 20, on four more attempts than HD had vs Kentucky.
Keep twisting yourself into a pretzel to defend your foolish takes. Hilarious that you try to label anyone else a hater/homer.
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All I know is that Dickwad runs like he's got something shoved up his ass.
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Well, we talk all the time on here about what teams and what players are killing it. You only say positive shit about KU and Self, so this is no surprise. Why do you think Purdue has been good the ladt 2 years? They don't sniff a 1 seed if that guy is not so huge. That’s a hell of an advantage.
So, you think it’s not a disadvantage for a guy over 7' tall to score at will over guys that are 5" shorter??? Say you never played ball without saying you never played ball. If Bradshaw played, Hunter doesn’t get those numbers, that’s just common sense.
I say positive things about plenty of teams/players. Recognize it or not, I don't care. But it's funny to pull that card while bashing one of the most highly-regarded players in the country. Even funnier, the main knock you have is that he's still in college. This from the guy who says you need to have an old team to go far. Go figure.
Such a bush league take. It's like saying "Mike Tyson wasn't that good--he just had the advantage of being more muscular than everybody! Tyreek Hill isn't that great--he's just faster than everybody!"
You must think Edey's really overrated. After all, the dude's THREE inches taller than the world's tallest man, Hunter Dickinson, giving him a far greater advantage. If he were really good, he'd probably average 40/20, amirite? I'll bet Bradshaw's going to double HD's output.
You may not be aware of this, but there aren't that many players over 7 ft out there. And even less that are good enough to earn major minutes. Kentucky has guys who measure 6'9 and 6'8 with good length. They're not circus midgets. Dickinson's not going to face a ton of players that are significantly taller than 6'9.
Hilarious that you think an efficient 27/21 while being triple teamed by 6'9/6'8 dudes is just ho-hum. Btw, how many 7 footers shoot better than Dickinson?
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So, if UK had their bigs, even just one of them, you're belief is that Hunter's stats would still be the same?
This has nothing to do with my take about veteran teams winning titles IN COLLEGE, that’s a fact. Hunter is a veteran, but there is a difference between a freshmen draft pick and good veteran college players.
I never said Hunter wasn't good. He is, but he's not a pro. There are thousands of guys that played 4+ years in college, won a title, but never sniffed the NBA. It’s obvious to me that you don't understand how much different the NBA is and what they want for players.
Truth is, Bradshaw can average half of what Hunter averages in college this year, but Bradshaw is a lottery pick, Hunter will never play in the NBA. Do you know why? I do, you obviously don't.
When did I give you the impression that I give a shit about his draft stock?
Are we talking about the college or pro game right now? Cal? Is that you? 🤣
Man, you're exhausing. You interpret everything in a way to just be argumentative, that’s the only way I can describe it for you.
You'll probably twist this post somehow too.
You have it backwards, per usual. We've been talking about Dickinson's production as a college player. I never said he's going to be a great NBA player. Hope this helps.
Given up about 85 offensive boards to St. Joe's.
