I think Lowe will be a net equal with Butler.
Quaintance is a huge upgrade at the 4/5
Kam Williams is a better all around player than Brea
Dioubate is a big rebounding/defensive/toughness upgrade over Carr, not as skilled in the paint, but Pope grabbed Jelavic for that.
Denzel Aberdeen is every bit as good, or better than Robinson.
Then you have Moreno and Jasper Johnson, 5* guys. I expect Jasper to be a force at the 1 and 2 by conference play.
Oweh is going to make a jump, I think he'll be a 1st team SEC guy and then there is Garrison and Chandler, both guys should be so much better.
Retaining players is a new thing for UK fans, it's like we hit the lottery
I don't think outside shooting will be as good, but I believe tjis team will be better at every other aspect of the game, but I certainly won't make any guarantees.
Robinson shot 46% from 3 in SEC play on 7.5 attempts a game before the injury. Aberdeen was a good backup guard for Florida. Saying he's an upgrade as of now is nonsense.
Not sure I'd put any SEC team in the preseason top 5. But, we could easily see 4 in the top 15 / 6 in the top 25. The gap between 1 and 5 isn't that large. Though, as often is the case, I'm sure one team will emerge as nationally elite (i.e. in contention for a 1 seed).
I like Auburn. I think Pettiford is a SEC POY candidate - and Keyshawn Hall could easily be a top 10 player in the league. I also really like this D2 kid they picked up, Elyjah Freeman. Not sure what that transition will look like for him, but he really pops on video; he has NBA athleticism and shot 46% from 3.
I could be wrong but I'm not high on Hall, like at all. I think the numbers look a lot better than the impact actually is. This is also like his 7th/8th school in as many yearsincluding high school. Big red flag imo