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01-06-2025, 07:12 AM
There are two teams in the SEC that I think are much better than what they are getting credit for nationally-- Mississippi State and Georgia.
Mississippi State is starting to get their flowers. Georgia isn't. As someone who watches random games and would like to think he keeps up with teams more than the average fan, I'll tell you that we should be wary of this one. Not saying we won't be favored in Stegman, just saying that this one will probably be a tough game and that the 'Dawgs are better than people probably think. Maybe I'm hyping them up too much-- they lost to Marquette by 11, lost to an Ole Miss team that's probably a little untested/overrated right now, and beat St. John's when Pitino had them coming off a tough stretch of games, but I see this as a test given how no one is talking about them and how it's sandwiched in-between the Florida and Mississippi State games.
As for Georgia, you'll see a trend of Florida and Georgia talent on Mike White's squad. If I don't mention that the player's from Florida, then they're from Georgia (sans Somto Cyril).
Asa Newell is the team's leading scorer. The Floridian prepped at Montverde and was #13 in ESPN's Top 100 last season. He goes 6'11 and averages just over 15 points and just under 7 rebounds per game. He's leads the team in points & rebounds; he's also very consistent-- he's had one game with 9 points and two with 20 and 26, but every other effort has been between 12 and 18 points. If he gets Williams in foul trouble, it could be a long night for Kentucky. Not that rankings are the only thing that matter, but I'd have to think that he'll be the highest rated player on the floor in terms of where everyone was coming out of high school and that it won't really be close.
Somto Cyril is a name that Kentucky fans will be familiar with. He's played in every game and a player with those types of recruiting accolades is obviously going to be important for a school like Georgia. But I don't think he's really anything for them that we wouldn't have thought he'd be at Kentucky. He's played in every game but averages almost as many fouls per as points. He does get about 4-5 rebounds and a couple of blocks in ~15 minutes per game though. No one is going to confuse Kentucky with a team of physical bangers, so refer back to what I said about Amari getting in foul trouble and think about the trouble Carr has keeping a load like this off the glass.
Dakota Lefffew is a 6'5, 190 lb. Georgia native who also transferred in from Mount St. Mary's. He's a super-Senior who averaged 17 per in a First Team All-MAAC season in '24. He's averaging 12 per for Georgia and should lead the team in three point attempts this season.
De'Shayne Montgomery was ineligible for the first part of the season after coming over from Mount St. Mary's. Another Florida native, he sat out the Fall-Winter semester and has played in four games so far this season. He goes 6'5, 190 and averaged over 13 points and shot over 40% from three on a couple of attempts per game last season.
Tyrin Lawrence is another super Senior. He spent the past four seasons at Vanderbilt and will play starter's minutes, but his results are all over the board. He, along with returning Junior Silas Demary Jr., and returning Junior shooter Blue Cain are a handful of guards in the 6'4, 180 range that will see a lot of minutes.
RJ Godfrey is a 6'8, 240 lb. forward who spent the past two seasons at Clemson and gives most of his contributions in the rebounding and defensive areas. Expect Kentucky to try to attack him. No cares about putting him on the line, as he's a sub-67% free throw shooter for his career.
Keys to the Game:
- Don't start slow. This is asking a lot of this team and I trust in Pope to make adjustments, but we're going to be playing at Georgia and their students have had almost a full week to lick their wounds from their loss in the CFP. If we start slow, the crowd gets into the game and can carry them. Tennessee and Auburn may be ranked higher, but they don't have the tradition that Kentucky has and their fans will treat it that way. Coming out hot and not letting the arena get loud would be huge.
- Probably stating the obvious here, but keeping Asa Newell in check is going to be huge. I'd expect that Williams gets the draw and that we'll hope he stays out of foul trouble. As much as a I worry about Newell going one-on-one and getting lots of his, I'm more worried about their guards beating Robinson & Brea and wreaking havoc when Williams has to step off and protect the rim.
- Make Georgia work defensively. Florida isn't the type of team who likes to switch a ton, but they had to more than they'd have liked against Kentucky. Georgia is more used to switching and won't mind doing so (unless Cyril is out there, but again, probably stating the obvious here). Not saying one philosophy is better than the other, it's just how their teams were built. Kentucky is more talented than Georgia, so making them work for everything on both ends means you like our chances, it's just a matter of executing.
- Getting Carr involved. Georgia is on the smaller side, and this is the kind of game where he can exploit them on the offensive end (though in a different way than he did against Duke or Gonzaga).
- In the theme of what we'll probably hear for the rest of the season: shoot the ball well, don't get killed on the glass, and don't bail the opponent offensively by letting them shoot a high percentage at the rim (whether it's cleaning up misses, catching players on duck-ins, or just completely cooking Brea).
Mississippi State is starting to get their flowers. Georgia isn't. As someone who watches random games and would like to think he keeps up with teams more than the average fan, I'll tell you that we should be wary of this one. Not saying we won't be favored in Stegman, just saying that this one will probably be a tough game and that the 'Dawgs are better than people probably think. Maybe I'm hyping them up too much-- they lost to Marquette by 11, lost to an Ole Miss team that's probably a little untested/overrated right now, and beat St. John's when Pitino had them coming off a tough stretch of games, but I see this as a test given how no one is talking about them and how it's sandwiched in-between the Florida and Mississippi State games.
As for Georgia, you'll see a trend of Florida and Georgia talent on Mike White's squad. If I don't mention that the player's from Florida, then they're from Georgia (sans Somto Cyril).
Asa Newell is the team's leading scorer. The Floridian prepped at Montverde and was #13 in ESPN's Top 100 last season. He goes 6'11 and averages just over 15 points and just under 7 rebounds per game. He's leads the team in points & rebounds; he's also very consistent-- he's had one game with 9 points and two with 20 and 26, but every other effort has been between 12 and 18 points. If he gets Williams in foul trouble, it could be a long night for Kentucky. Not that rankings are the only thing that matter, but I'd have to think that he'll be the highest rated player on the floor in terms of where everyone was coming out of high school and that it won't really be close.
Somto Cyril is a name that Kentucky fans will be familiar with. He's played in every game and a player with those types of recruiting accolades is obviously going to be important for a school like Georgia. But I don't think he's really anything for them that we wouldn't have thought he'd be at Kentucky. He's played in every game but averages almost as many fouls per as points. He does get about 4-5 rebounds and a couple of blocks in ~15 minutes per game though. No one is going to confuse Kentucky with a team of physical bangers, so refer back to what I said about Amari getting in foul trouble and think about the trouble Carr has keeping a load like this off the glass.
Dakota Lefffew is a 6'5, 190 lb. Georgia native who also transferred in from Mount St. Mary's. He's a super-Senior who averaged 17 per in a First Team All-MAAC season in '24. He's averaging 12 per for Georgia and should lead the team in three point attempts this season.
De'Shayne Montgomery was ineligible for the first part of the season after coming over from Mount St. Mary's. Another Florida native, he sat out the Fall-Winter semester and has played in four games so far this season. He goes 6'5, 190 and averaged over 13 points and shot over 40% from three on a couple of attempts per game last season.
Tyrin Lawrence is another super Senior. He spent the past four seasons at Vanderbilt and will play starter's minutes, but his results are all over the board. He, along with returning Junior Silas Demary Jr., and returning Junior shooter Blue Cain are a handful of guards in the 6'4, 180 range that will see a lot of minutes.
RJ Godfrey is a 6'8, 240 lb. forward who spent the past two seasons at Clemson and gives most of his contributions in the rebounding and defensive areas. Expect Kentucky to try to attack him. No cares about putting him on the line, as he's a sub-67% free throw shooter for his career.
Keys to the Game:
- Don't start slow. This is asking a lot of this team and I trust in Pope to make adjustments, but we're going to be playing at Georgia and their students have had almost a full week to lick their wounds from their loss in the CFP. If we start slow, the crowd gets into the game and can carry them. Tennessee and Auburn may be ranked higher, but they don't have the tradition that Kentucky has and their fans will treat it that way. Coming out hot and not letting the arena get loud would be huge.
- Probably stating the obvious here, but keeping Asa Newell in check is going to be huge. I'd expect that Williams gets the draw and that we'll hope he stays out of foul trouble. As much as a I worry about Newell going one-on-one and getting lots of his, I'm more worried about their guards beating Robinson & Brea and wreaking havoc when Williams has to step off and protect the rim.
- Make Georgia work defensively. Florida isn't the type of team who likes to switch a ton, but they had to more than they'd have liked against Kentucky. Georgia is more used to switching and won't mind doing so (unless Cyril is out there, but again, probably stating the obvious here). Not saying one philosophy is better than the other, it's just how their teams were built. Kentucky is more talented than Georgia, so making them work for everything on both ends means you like our chances, it's just a matter of executing.
- Getting Carr involved. Georgia is on the smaller side, and this is the kind of game where he can exploit them on the offensive end (though in a different way than he did against Duke or Gonzaga).
- In the theme of what we'll probably hear for the rest of the season: shoot the ball well, don't get killed on the glass, and don't bail the opponent offensively by letting them shoot a high percentage at the rim (whether it's cleaning up misses, catching players on duck-ins, or just completely cooking Brea).
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01-06-2025, 08:35 AM
(01-06-2025, 07:12 AM)Cactus Jack Wrote: There are two teams in the SEC that I think are much better than what they are getting credit for nationally-- Mississippi State and Georgia.
Mississippi State is starting to get their flowers. Georgia isn't. As someone who watches random games and would like to think he keeps up with teams more than the average fan, I'll tell you that we should be wary of this one. Not saying we won't be favored in Stegman, just saying that this one will probably be a tough game and that the 'Dawgs are better than people probably think. Maybe I'm hyping them up too much-- they lost to Marquette by 11, lost to an Ole Miss team that's probably a little untested/overrated right now, and beat St. John's when Pitino had them coming off a tough stretch of games, but I see this as a test given how no one is talking about them and how it's sandwiched in-between the Florida and Mississippi State games.
As for Georgia, you'll see a trend of Florida and Georgia talent on Mike White's squad. If I don't mention that the player's from Florida, then they're from Georgia (sans Somto Cyril).
Asa Newell is the team's leading scorer. The Floridian prepped at Montverde and was #13 in ESPN's Top 100 last season. He goes 6'11 and averages just over 15 points and just under 7 rebounds per game. He's leads the team in points & rebounds; he's also very consistent-- he's had one game with 9 points and two with 20 and 26, but every other effort has been between 12 and 18 points. If he gets Williams in foul trouble, it could be a long night for Kentucky. Not that rankings are the only thing that matter, but I'd have to think that he'll be the highest rated player on the floor in terms of where everyone was coming out of high school and that it won't really be close.
Somto Cyril is a name that Kentucky fans will be familiar with. He's played in every game and a player with those types of recruiting accolades is obviously going to be important for a school like Georgia. But I don't think he's really anything for them that we wouldn't have thought he'd be at Kentucky. He's played in every game but averages almost as many fouls per as points. He does get about 4-5 rebounds and a couple of blocks in ~15 minutes per game though. No one is going to confuse Kentucky with a team of physical bangers, so refer back to what I said about Amari getting in foul trouble and think about the trouble Carr has keeping a load like this off the glass.
Dakota Lefffew is a 6'5, 190 lb. Georgia native who also transferred in from Mount St. Mary's. He's a super-Senior who averaged 17 per in a First Team All-MAAC season in '24. He's averaging 12 per for Georgia and should lead the team in three point attempts this season.
De'Shayne Montgomery was ineligible for the first part of the season after coming over from Mount St. Mary's. Another Florida native, he sat out the Fall-Winter semester and has played in four games so far this season. He goes 6'5, 190 and averaged over 13 points and shot over 40% from three on a couple of attempts per game last season.
Tyrin Lawrence is another super Senior. He spent the past four seasons at Vanderbilt and will play starter's minutes, but his results are all over the board. He, along with returning Junior Silas Demary Jr., and returning Junior shooter Blue Cain are a handful of guards in the 6'4, 180 range that will see a lot of minutes.
RJ Godfrey is a 6'8, 240 lb. forward who spent the past two seasons at Clemson and gives most of his contributions in the rebounding and defensive areas. Expect Kentucky to try to attack him. No cares about putting him on the line, as he's a sub-67% free throw shooter for his career.
Keys to the Game:
- Don't start slow. This is asking a lot of this team and I trust in Pope to make adjustments, but we're going to be playing at Georgia and their students have had almost a full week to lick their wounds from their loss in the CFP. If we start slow, the crowd gets into the game and can carry them. Tennessee and Auburn may be ranked higher, but they don't have the tradition that Kentucky has and their fans will treat it that way. Coming out hot and not letting the arena get loud would be huge.
- Probably stating the obvious here, but keeping Asa Newell in check is going to be huge. I'd expect that Williams gets the draw and that we'll hope he stays out of foul trouble. As much as a I worry about Newell going one-on-one and getting lots of his, I'm more worried about their guards beating Robinson & Brea and wreaking havoc when Williams has to step off and protect the rim.
- Make Georgia work defensively. Florida isn't the type of team who likes to switch a ton, but they had to more than they'd have liked against Kentucky. Georgia is more used to switching and won't mind doing so (unless Cyril is out there, but again, probably stating the obvious here). Not saying one philosophy is better than the other, it's just how their teams were built. Kentucky is more talented than Georgia, so making them work for everything on both ends means you like our chances, it's just a matter of executing.
- Getting Carr involved. Georgia is on the smaller side, and this is the kind of game where he can exploit them on the offensive end (though in a different way than he did against Duke or Gonzaga).
- In the theme of what we'll probably hear for the rest of the season: shoot the ball well, don't get killed on the glass, and don't bail the opponent offensively by letting them shoot a high percentage at the rim (whether it's cleaning up misses, catching players on duck-ins, or just completely cooking Brea).
"Keeps up with teams more than the average fan." LMAO Cacti, I've never seen anyone more engaged in roundball action than you. I'll bet on your wedding night you had to check out that Valparaiso-Drake game before gettin' busy with the whoopi.
01-06-2025, 12:06 PM
I agree with your assessment. I am very hesitant to call UK the favorite. Carr really is the key; he needs to have a strong game.
This is exactly the worry I had. Just like the Clemson and OSU game. Georgia has come out first half and just gone right at us. I know not to count out the Cats but these first half starts are tough. Especially on the road. Just being outplayed and being more physical than us.
At least we aren't playing as bad as Tennessee right now, ouch 34-15 down to Florida at halftime. Hopefully Pope comes up with some good adjustments here at the half.
At least we aren't playing as bad as Tennessee right now, ouch 34-15 down to Florida at halftime. Hopefully Pope comes up with some good adjustments here at the half.
01-07-2025, 10:29 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-07-2025, 10:30 PM by Old School Hound.)
How can you slide on your back for 6 feet with the ball and not be called for walking? I've watched this game for three minutes and the officiating is atrocious.
01-07-2025, 10:41 PM
(01-07-2025, 10:29 PM)Old School Hound Wrote: How can you slide on your back for 6 feet with the ball and not be called for walking? I've watched this game for three minutes and the officiating is atrocious.I said the same thing. The officiating has been terrible. As bad as our play we are still in it.
01-07-2025, 10:42 PM
Frustrating officiating...
01-07-2025, 10:54 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-07-2025, 10:59 PM by Old School Hound.)
(01-07-2025, 10:51 PM)rookie57 Wrote: We suck at blocking out and going to the boardsRookie, how can a guy slide on his back for six feet, with the ball, and not be called for travelling?
(01-07-2025, 10:42 PM)The Old School Hound Wrote: Frustrating officiating...Ya think?
Absolutely one of the worst officiating I’ve seen
01-07-2025, 11:01 PM
I’m ok with officials allowing a physical game and we get out muscled so be it as long as the game is called both ways
01-07-2025, 11:04 PM
We are so soft.
Some really late whistles on top of the bad whistles. Just terrible. Makes me not want to watch basketball.
Some really late whistles on top of the bad whistles. Just terrible. Makes me not want to watch basketball.
01-07-2025, 11:07 PM
We're gonna see a lot more of this, unfortunately. I'd take 11-7 in conference right now, and run with it.
01-07-2025, 11:15 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-07-2025, 11:17 PM by Old School Hound.)
Our coach needs to get a technical... or two.
Just a soft bunch of guys.
Just a soft bunch of guys.
01-07-2025, 11:17 PM
01-07-2025, 11:17 PM
(01-07-2025, 11:17 PM)Bluecat Wrote:Wow(01-07-2025, 11:10 PM)rookie57 Wrote:It was 30-8 at one point(01-07-2025, 11:07 PM)Old School Hound Wrote: We're gonna see a lot more of this, unfortunately. I'd take 11-7 in conference right now, and run with it.Probably about how we will finish
Anybody know the free throw stats right now?
01-07-2025, 11:21 PM
We need a couple of enforcers, a couple of guys that are just a drop step or a dribble drive from a committing a felony. Boogie Cousins & Jamaal Magloire come to mind.
01-07-2025, 11:25 PM
For the love of Joseph Smith, please get angry, Mark Pope. These guys have not showed any fire tonight.
01-07-2025, 11:26 PM
Not ready to throw in the towel by no means but geez all 3 of our losses have been frustrating losses. There's more to come I am sure but man.
And something that kills me is the "overrated" chant. To me that waters down your team's win. Be like heck yea we beat the #6 team in the nation. Just a pet peeve of mine.
And something that kills me is the "overrated" chant. To me that waters down your team's win. Be like heck yea we beat the #6 team in the nation. Just a pet peeve of mine.
01-07-2025, 11:37 PM
What a horrible showing. These refs are gonna run roughshod over Pope with his good guy demeanor. Our guys need a little meanness, as well. They just let physical teams brutalize them.
01-07-2025, 11:38 PM
(01-07-2025, 11:32 PM)Bluecat Wrote: Not ready to throw in the towel by no means but geez all 3 of our losses have been frustrating losses. There's more to come I am sure but man.
And something that kills me is the "overrated" chant. To me that waters down your team's win. Be like heck yea we beat the #6 team in the nation. Just a pet peeve of mine.
But... they're kinda right. There's bound to be more than five better teams than the cream puffs in blue tonight.
A UK guy touches the ball the same time a Georgia guy does, better go to the monitors.
A UK guy looks at a Georgia guy, better go look at the monitors.
A UK guy breathes the same air as a Georgia guy, hey let's check the monitors.
A UK fan bought nachos at the concession stands, check the monitors!
Never seen a team wanting to go to the monitors as much as Georgia! Look out Saturday Night Live and Hollyweird, here comes Georgia. Some of the best actors in the country. Falling, flopping, crying everytime someone bumps into them! Lol
Heck that one goof for Georgia didn't know what huddle was his team's! Outta be common sense there Sparky!
We just couldn't get much of anything going this game.
Excuse me I'm going to check some monitors
A UK guy looks at a Georgia guy, better go look at the monitors.
A UK guy breathes the same air as a Georgia guy, hey let's check the monitors.
A UK fan bought nachos at the concession stands, check the monitors!
Never seen a team wanting to go to the monitors as much as Georgia! Look out Saturday Night Live and Hollyweird, here comes Georgia. Some of the best actors in the country. Falling, flopping, crying everytime someone bumps into them! Lol
Heck that one goof for Georgia didn't know what huddle was his team's! Outta be common sense there Sparky!
We just couldn't get much of anything going this game.
Excuse me I'm going to check some monitors
01-07-2025, 11:52 PM
Another bad loss, they are stacking up quickly. Going to be a long season if its win one, lose one in the SEC.
01-08-2025, 12:25 AM
Robinson needs to be benched, period, tired of waiting for him to live up to his billing. Personally, I’m not down on this team. 38 to 19 in free throws, I don’t think there’s anything Ky could have done to win this game. 16 of the 19 free throws ky shot were LATE in the second half, and we’ve all seen it before, when an officiating crew knows they’ve ripped a team, late in the game, especially when the RIPPED team is not shooting, the refs will make makeup calls.
01-08-2025, 12:40 AM
(01-07-2025, 11:52 PM)plantmanky Wrote: Another bad loss, they are stacking up quickly. Going to be a long season if its win one, lose one in the SEC.
Win one , lose one is gonna be pretty common for a lot of SEC teams this year. We could very easily go 9-9 in the conference.
The blueprint for manhandling KY is clear as crystal: Be physical with them, punch them in the mouth and watch them melt like butter.
Btw, this horrid affair took 2 hrs, 33 minutes to play. I could have driven to Knoxville, ordered me some BBQ at Calhoun's, and driven back home before this game was over.
Assist to turnover ratio = 4:7 ( 8 assists, 14 turnovers)
Butler and Garrison were good, everyone else sucked.
01-08-2025, 05:24 AM
Well, that sucked!!! Even though I was fearful of a loss, I didn't think we would stink up the gym.
And I don't want to talk about the officiating. It will just get me mad all over again. I admire Pope's composure. I was foaming at the mouth by the time this game was over.
BUT at least we made more than 10 field goals. UT couldn't throw the ball in the ocean!! TEN baskets for the entire game!??!
Back to work.
And I don't want to talk about the officiating. It will just get me mad all over again. I admire Pope's composure. I was foaming at the mouth by the time this game was over.
BUT at least we made more than 10 field goals. UT couldn't throw the ball in the ocean!! TEN baskets for the entire game!??!
Back to work.
01-08-2025, 06:53 AM
This is what we are going to get from this team. Good enough some nights to beat an excellent Florida team (and Duke and Gonzaga). But limited enough to lose to only slightly above average teams like Georgia and Ohio St., especially on the road. I said before conference play that 11-7 would be an excellent showing, and like OSH I would take that right now. Road wins are going to be few and far between in this league I’m afraid. Oh yeah, and the officiating did suck last night, like King Kong said those boys were monitor crazy.
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