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Thread: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

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    Kentuckian At Heart WVRed's Avatar
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    UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Ive said this before but i think this upcoming season will be Cals last, therefore the question on this thread. Just a matter of if he retires or leaves for another job.

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    Quote Originally Posted by savafan View Post
    I've read books about sparkling vampires who walk around in the daylight that were written better than a John Fay article.


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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    I have always said 10 years is the max time to be a UK basketball coach. Just too much pressure for anyone to last longer than that and to be effective. Cal seems to have confirmed that as he has just finished his 14th season. He's burned out and he is too stubborn to change his style of play which has long been ineffective. He may have a great recruiting class coming in next season but it will be the same old story. No one can shoot the ball, no one can defend drives to the basket and another 10 or more loss season with an early exit from the NCAA's, if they get in at all.

    This past season was a strange season. This team was wildly inconsistent. When you thought they got on the tight track they would then lose to someone they should have beaten badly. It seemed most games were late games. So I watched less than ever before. Which I found wasn't a bad thing. I get little joy watching UK and college sports in general anymore. Too many changes in which I think is not for the good. I suppose I'll will always watch some the rest of my life but I am past letting it set the tone of the day for me.
    Reds Fan Since 1971

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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Wheeler to the transfer portal. No surprise there. Livingston and Collins like gone too.
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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Toppin is off to the NBA or some other pro league. No surprise with him. But, Hey!, Brennan Canada is coming back!
    Reds Fan Since 1971

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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Quote Originally Posted by cumberlandreds View Post
    Toppin is off to the NBA or some other pro league. No surprise with him. But, Hey!, Brennan Canada is coming back!
    So I've got Dillingham, Wagner, Edwards, and Bradshaw in the starting five.

    That's probably the three starting guards. I'm hoping Bradshaw's a new-age center that'll actually be allowed to play on the perimeter a bit, handle the ball, and still affect shots on the other end of the backet-- likely even better as he's not expected to bang perpetually underneath and can get back on transition easier. Livingston would, to me, be an ideal fifth guy in that lineup-- strong enough to bang undernearth, but good enough with the rock to make moves from the perimeter as well. I don't think he's likely back, though. Not sure he enjoyed his time in Lexington.

    If Collins stays, then, he's probably the favorite for the fifth starter's spot as a C/PF hybrid playing next to Bradshaw. That'd probably be an elite frontcourt defensively at the rim, though they'd get pushed around a lot by stronger opponents. Sadly, he, too, is probably leaving for other pastures closer to home.

    That leaves the transfer portal.

    UT's Olivier Nkamhoua has already entered his name as a one-and-done grad transfer. He killed Duke and is probably a solid guy surrounding the likely big scorers in the backcourt.
    TJ Bamba, from Oregon State, is shorter, but very good defensively and an elite shooter. I love his fit offensively, but wonder about defense. Especially with Cal's intensity and focus on that end.
    Northern Colorado's Dalton Knecht is another shooter, but again, he's rail-thin, and I'm not sure he'd be all-in as the fifth wheel in a starting lineup with four young guys.

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    Kentuckian At Heart WVRed's Avatar
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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bourgeois Zee View Post
    So I've got Dillingham, Wagner, Edwards, and Bradshaw in the starting five.

    That's probably the three starting guards. I'm hoping Bradshaw's a new-age center that'll actually be allowed to play on the perimeter a bit, handle the ball, and still affect shots on the other end of the backet-- likely even better as he's not expected to bang perpetually underneath and can get back on transition easier. Livingston would, to me, be an ideal fifth guy in that lineup-- strong enough to bang undernearth, but good enough with the rock to make moves from the perimeter as well. I don't think he's likely back, though. Not sure he enjoyed his time in Lexington.

    If Collins stays, then, he's probably the favorite for the fifth starter's spot as a C/PF hybrid playing next to Bradshaw. That'd probably be an elite frontcourt defensively at the rim, though they'd get pushed around a lot by stronger opponents. Sadly, he, too, is probably leaving for other pastures closer to home.

    That leaves the transfer portal.

    UT's Olivier Nkamhoua has already entered his name as a one-and-done grad transfer. He killed Duke and is probably a solid guy surrounding the likely big scorers in the backcourt.
    TJ Bamba, from Oregon State, is shorter, but very good defensively and an elite shooter. I love his fit offensively, but wonder about defense. Especially with Cal's intensity and focus on that end.
    Northern Colorado's Dalton Knecht is another shooter, but again, he's rail-thin, and I'm not sure he'd be all-in as the fifth wheel in a starting lineup with four young guys.
    You forgot Ugonna Onyenso. He's extremely raw but like Collins and Livingston is a toss up as to whether he comes back or not.

    Collins is understandable. Losing his dad at the start of the season he's likely going to end up somewhere in Texas.

    Livingston could benefit from returning but this is where UK could get burned. He's represented by Klutch Sports and supposedly they weren't happy with his development and want him in the league as soon as possible. If he doesn't go pro the transfer portal is a possibility and Kansas has been mentioned. How would UK fans react to that?

    Really curious to see who replaces KT Turner. Betting it will be a Cal lifer in either Josh Pastner or Derek Kellogg.

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    Quote Originally Posted by savafan View Post
    I've read books about sparkling vampires who walk around in the daylight that were written better than a John Fay article.

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    Kentuckian At Heart WVRed's Avatar
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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Onyenso is in the portal now. No surprise.

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    Quote Originally Posted by savafan View Post
    I've read books about sparkling vampires who walk around in the daylight that were written better than a John Fay article.

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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Quote Originally Posted by cumberlandreds View Post
    I have always said 10 years is the max time to be a UK basketball coach. Just too much pressure for anyone to last longer than that and to be effective. Cal seems to have confirmed that as he has just finished his 14th season. He's burned out and he is too stubborn to change his style of play which has long been ineffective. He may have a great recruiting class coming in next season but it will be the same old story. No one can shoot the ball, no one can defend drives to the basket and another 10 or more loss season with an early exit from the NCAA's, if they get in at all.

    This past season was a strange season. This team was wildly inconsistent. When you thought they got on the tight track they would then lose to someone they should have beaten badly. It seemed most games were late games. So I watched less than ever before. Which I found wasn't a bad thing. I get little joy watching UK and college sports in general anymore. Too many changes in which I think is not for the good. I suppose I'll will always watch some the rest of my life but I am past letting it set the tone of the day for me.
    Kinda like baseball, which has become a hot mess. And that doesn't make me happy.
    “It’s the mathematical potential for a single game to last forever, in a suspended world where no clock rules the day, that aligns baseball as much with the dead as the living.”
    ---- Bill Vaughn

    "Science adjusts its views based on what's observed. Faith is the denial of observation so that belief can be preserved." ---Tim Minchin("Storm")

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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Quote Originally Posted by cumberlandreds View Post
    Toppin is off to the NBA or some other pro league. No surprise with him. But, Hey!, Brennan Canada is coming back!
    The big kid who couldn't stick a finger in his ass on offense(Onyenso) but was a really good shot blocker(but he was never on the floor to block anything) is gone. His handlers were apparently not happy with his NIL money. Man, what a sh!tty product college basketball has become. Well, at least there's parity(and lots of mediocrity). I was told Onyenso liked it at UK but his handlers said no.
    Last edited by Ky Fried Redleg; 04-06-2023 at 11:58 PM.
    “It’s the mathematical potential for a single game to last forever, in a suspended world where no clock rules the day, that aligns baseball as much with the dead as the living.”
    ---- Bill Vaughn

    "Science adjusts its views based on what's observed. Faith is the denial of observation so that belief can be preserved." ---Tim Minchin("Storm")

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    Member cumberlandreds's Avatar
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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ky Fried Redleg View Post
    The big kid who couldn't stick a finger in his ass on offense(Onyenso) but was a really good shot blocker(but he was never on the floor to block anything) is gone. His handlers were apparently not happy with his NIL money. Man, what a sh!tty product college basketball has become. Well, at least there's parity(and lots of mediocrity). I was told Onyenso liked it at UK but his handlers said no.
    That is what is sounds like about Onyenso. All college sports are just a mess. Not any fun in it now. Players moving around at a whim or by direction of some outside influence. Its all about greed from all parties. Just not a good product to watch anymore.
    Reds Fan Since 1971

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    Kentuckian At Heart WVRed's Avatar
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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Kentucky had a Zoom meeting with Hunter Dickinson so that could be something to watch.

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    Quote Originally Posted by savafan View Post
    I've read books about sparkling vampires who walk around in the daylight that were written better than a John Fay article.

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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Quote Originally Posted by WVRed View Post
    Kentucky had a Zoom meeting with Hunter Dickinson so that could be something to watch.
    Dickinson reminds me of ground-bound centers like Isaac Humphries and Jorts himself, Josh Harrellson.

    He's got a shot out to three-point range (42% last season), but I question whether Calipari will allow him to shoot at that range. (Same for Aaron Bradshaw, fwiw.)

    I'm wondering if this is the year Thiero makes the leap-- as of now, I'm guessing he's the favorite to play PF on this squad:

    PG Dillingham
    CG Wagner
    SF Edwards
    PF Thiero
    C Bradshaw

    At 6'6", he's probably an inch or two too short, but he's got long arms and a motor-- I'm okay with trying it if someone else doesn't pop.

    The best possible outcome would be that either Livingston or Collins stays, but that doesn't look likely.

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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bourgeois Zee View Post
    Dickinson reminds me of ground-bound centers like Isaac Humphries and Jorts himself, Josh Harrellson.

    He's got a shot out to three-point range (42% last season), but I question whether Calipari will allow him to shoot at that range. (Same for Aaron Bradshaw, fwiw.)

    I'm wondering if this is the year Thiero makes the leap-- as of now, I'm guessing he's the favorite to play PF on this squad:

    PG Dillingham
    CG Wagner
    SF Edwards
    PF Thiero
    C Bradshaw

    At 6'6", he's probably an inch or two too short, but he's got long arms and a motor-- I'm okay with trying it if someone else doesn't pop.

    The best possible outcome would be that either Livingston or Collins stays, but that doesn't look likely.
    That's assuming Cal abandons his love of two bigs clogging up the paint. He really hasn't shown any signs of doing that unless his hand is forced.

    I'm guessing a PF would come from the transfer portal. Really wanted it to be Livingston but if he's not in the NBA next year he will probably transfer out too.

    Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk
    Quote Originally Posted by savafan View Post
    I've read books about sparkling vampires who walk around in the daylight that were written better than a John Fay article.

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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Rumor is that Oscar Tshiebwe is likely to come back to Kentucky for his super senior season.

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    Re: UK Basketball 2023-2024: The Last Dance?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bourgeois Zee View Post
    Rumor is that Oscar Tshiebwe is likely to come back to Kentucky for his super senior season.
    He put his name in the NBA draft today but left open the possibility of returning to UK, which I expect him to do. He would very likely make more money next season at UK than he would in the NBA as a late second rounder in the NBA.
    “It’s the mathematical potential for a single game to last forever, in a suspended world where no clock rules the day, that aligns baseball as much with the dead as the living.”
    ---- Bill Vaughn

    "Science adjusts its views based on what's observed. Faith is the denial of observation so that belief can be preserved." ---Tim Minchin("Storm")

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