[4 Quarters]

Looks like Lewis has decommitted.

[Old School Hound]

Looks like Lewis has decommitted.

Said the KENTUCKY on the front of jersey just wasn't enough...   

[Cactus Jack]

Given how fast everything has been moving, the players that we are still pursuing, and what's still missing, I'm wondering if we're in store for a surprise departure or de-commit. The numbers just don't seem to work otherwise.

When I say shock, I don't mean Garrison or even Chandler; thinking someone like Lewis, Johnson, or Oweh. If not that or losing someone we just got out of the portal, it's going to be a pretty guard-heavy roster that will have to depend on a lot of small ball line-ups with smaller fours and fives.

Looks like Lewis has decommitted.

Said the KENTUCKY on the front of jersey just wasn't enough...    ;)

Makes sense given how we'd added Lowe and the narrative was that we'd "found our starting point guard" and were still pursuing other guards in the portal. Seemed much more likely that we were going to lose a guard that we're trying to replace than having a team that lacks the types of 4's and 5's that Pope typically has in his system. Dioubate and Williams or threes or small ball 4's, Quaintance is a 4 that doesn't shoot well, and we still need a true stretch 4 and a 5 that can hit cutters or get assists by hitting open shooters from the perimeter or high post.

Garrison seems on his way out. I think we get a shooter like Wilkerson or Pierre-- basically someone playing the Brea role. Folgueiras is still the name I think I'd be most excited to see added. He could change the geometry of the floor, dragging one big outside of the paint and giving Quaintance lots of space to work inside would make teams pick between singling JQ or doubling JQ and losing a defender capable of really getting up in Folgueiras' shot or having the size to keep him from just backing them down. Add those pieces and get a 5 like the one I described above and you still have the makings of a really nice team that has a lot of versatility despite the obvious sting of losing Lewis.


Speaking of, I'm waiting to see what the narrative on the whole "front of the jersey" is going to be when Lewis commits to some Johnny Come Lately program in Chapel Hill. If not there, I'd be interested in where anyone else thinks he'll be going.


The possibility that Flagg would make a terrible choice and return to Duke might be holding up a Nate Ament commitment to the Blue Devils, but if he ends up at Kentucky, I'll call it a fair trade even if we lose Lewis and stop pursuing Folgueiras.

Oddly enough, I'd read that there's some smoke to Ament going to, of all places, Tennessee. I guess I can see it because Barnes coached Kevin Durant (both he and Ament are from DC/the DMV), but talk about underwhelming given his choices unless his goal is to go to a Final Four. I know Arkansas is heavily involved as well, but Ament is signed to Reebok, and Cal doesn't always fare as well when recruiting outside of the Nike bubble.

[plantmanky]

Well

[Old School Hound]

To win nowadays you better pony up big $$$ and also win big in the portal. Man, how college athletics have gone into the $hitter !!!

[Van Hagar]

ESPN, in their way too early top 25 rankings for next year, has Kentucky at 6th, and as the highest ranked SEC team. Now, the portal can make drastic changes still, but if we could get one more high impact front line player, we may be the SEC favorite heading into next season.

[jetpilot]

To win nowadays you better pony up big $$$ and also win big in the portal. Man, how college athletics have gone into the $hitter !!!

[/url]



[Image: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/146...normal.jpg]



Sean Davis


@seanmdav

·
[url=https://x.com/seanmdav/status/1910848293195731052]13h






The current college system is even worse than professional sports, where you can at least have enforceable contracts between employer and employee. Right now it’s just perpetual free agency where coaches are having to recruit the same player day after day.
Quote






[Image: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/190...r_mini.jpg]

Tim Murtaugh

@TimMurtaugh
·
13h
It’s insane that this is a college football player who is upset with his $2 MILLION PER YEAR CONTRACT with his SCHOOL.

College sports are dead. x.com/no3sports/stat…

[jetpilot]

ESPN, in their way too early top 25 rankings for next year, has Kentucky at 6th, and as the highest ranked SEC team. Now, the portal can make drastic changes still, but if we could get one more high impact front line player, we may be the SEC favorite heading into next season.

Louisville 3rd and Arkansas 7th in that poll. Going to be another fun year, and I have no doubts UK is going to get 2 more excellent players.

[jetpilot]

Garrison coming back. Team is freaking loaded and will get another player or two. 4-star superstar decommitted because he was worried about playing time. Sky is the limit.

[jetpilot]

Jelavic, the rich keep getting richer

[Cactus Jack]

Jelavic, the rich keep getting richer

21 year old with professional experience in the same league that produced Jokic and a host of other NBA players (mostly bigs).

I expect that there'll be some type of change in how NCAA teams can pull more seasoned professionals in from overseas over time, but this is where we are for now. I'd suspect that, if nothing else, colleges will need to start buying out these types of players from their contracts with the Euro League teams.

Just like the crop of kids whose recruitment was effected by COVID and the eligibility/roster changes that came with it, right now probably isn't an ideal time to be a three star typr kid coming out of high school unless you want to take a JUCO year or two as a ramp up to earning under NIL later. Thanks Diego Pavia.

[jetpilot]

Jelavic, the rich keep getting richer

21 year old with professional experience in the same league that produced Jokic and a host of other NBA players (mostly bigs).

I expect that there'll be some type of change in how NCAA teams can pull more seasoned professionals in from overseas over time, but this is where we are for now. I'd suspect that, if nothing else, colleges will need to start buying out these types of players from their contracts with the Euro League teams.

Just like the crop of kids whose recruitment was effected by COVID and the eligibility/roster changes that came with it, right now probably isn't an ideal time to be a three star typr kid coming out of high school unless you want to take a JUCO year or two as a ramp up to earning under NIL later. Thanks Diego Pavia.

Why? All the good college basketball players are professionals now.

[jetpilot]

Matt Sak BBN
@MattSakR2NG
Kentuck added:

1. The best center in the protal
2. A PF who was gonna start at Bama
3. A 5 star center
4. A top international big man

And Mark Pope still convinced BG to come back

Despite he “experts” insisting he will portal

That is CULTURE

[Cactus Jack]

Why? All the good college basketball players are professionals now.

Because I don't see the Euro teams losing out on all the time and money they've spent on their development. I'd think that they start trying to lock them into longer contracts where teams have to buy their rights like the NBA.

Also think that NCAA fans would lose interest in seeing what they perceive as foreign mercenaries coming into the best programs and begin to lose some interest if it's very widespread.

[jetpilot]

Agree totally with locking everyone in, including college NIL players. Foreign players have been in NBA and college for a long time and it grows every year and nobody bats an eye. I don't think anybody cares where anyone is from and it's same rules for everyone.

[Cactus Jack]

Agree totally with locking everyone in, including college NIL players. Foreign players have been in NBA and college for a long time and it grows every year and nobody bats an eye. I don't think anybody cares where anyone is from and it's same rules for everyone.

I don't disagree for the most part. Just wondering if the current status quo for both foreign players and JUCOs remains the same; I can't see it, but wonder how long it will be and how far things will go before they're amended.

Ages 25-29 seems to be most player's basketball prime. In the past, players would have been long through the NCAA system by that time.

Kentucky just signed a 20 year old freshman-to-be who'll turns 21 in less than a month; he'll be a couple of months from 25 by the time he finishes his senior season. Louisville and Iowa State have incoming recruits that will be 22 and 21, respectively, when the season tips off. Huge difference physically and mentally between 24 year old players with professional experience and 19 year old freshman.

I don't see anything changing this season, but given what Florida did with Chinyelu and Condon and the way that this offseason is going for some teams, I think we're going to see a trend.

[Cactus Jack]

Lamar WIlkerson (Sam Houston St.) looks like he's down to Indiana and Kentucky.

Darrion Williams (Texas Tech) looks like he's going to BYU, but Arkansas could be a factor.
Xaivian Lee (Princeton) is uncommitted but there are a host of schools involved. St. John's, Florida, and Kansas may be in play.
Elyjah Freeman (Lincoln Memorial) has Tennessee and Auburn involved. Not much chatter around Kentucky.

Jaron Pierre (Jax State) has committed to SMU.
Alvaro Folgueiras (Robert Morris) has dropped Kentucky.
Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB) committed to Michigan.
Bryce Hopkins (Providence) committed to St. John's.
Blake Harper (Howard) looks like he's going to Maryland.

[-STAT-]

Lamar WIlkerson (Sam Houston St.) looks like he's down to Indiana and Kentucky.

Darrion Williams (Texas Tech) looks like he's going to BYU, but Arkansas could be a factor.
Xaivian Lee (Princeton) is uncommitted but there are a host of schools involved. St. John's, Florida, and Kansas may be in play.
Elyjah Freeman (Lincoln Memorial) has Tennessee and Auburn involved. Not much chatter around Kentucky.

Jaron Pierre (Jax State) has committed to SMU.
Alvaro Folgueiras (Robert Morris) has dropped Kentucky.
Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB) committed to Michigan.
Bryce Hopkins (Providence) committed to St. John's.
Blake Harper (Howard) looks like he's going to Maryland.

Take Wilkerson off the list now, he committed to Indiana.