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Men's Basketball

Early Prediction of Who is Staying and Leaving

Published

5 years ago

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The 2019-2020 college basketball season came to an abrupt end yesterday. No conference tournaments and no NCAA Tournament, something that hit us Kentucky fans very hard. After that, just about every other major sport announced that its events would be cancelled or postponed, basically putting sports on a halt until mid-April.

As I Tweeted yesterday, this was undoubtedly one of the most weird and wide-open college basketball seasons in recent memory. Now, we will never know how it would’ve ended. The worst thing is we won’t see another college game played for another eight months.

Even though I hate the circumstances and wish things were different, I agree 100% with these decisions.

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Now, we get to do something we usually don’t do for another month or so. Think about who stays and who leaves for the NBA.

While I would think Kentucky has a good chance to get most of the roster back, I always lean toward guys leaving, because you know, this is Kentucky.

Here are my predictions for who stays and leaves.

Stays

Ashton Hagans: Kentucky’s point guard this year was all over the place and didn’t end the season well. We all know what happened, and he’s lucky the Cats came back to beat Florida, otherwise my feelings about him would be totally different. I hate the fact that he didn’t get a chance to redeem himself in Nashville, but it might be for the best. He also commented on Nick Richards Instagram post yesterday, saying, “Love you brudda, we will miss you.”

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He has a chance to redeem himself next year and I think he will take it.

Immanuel Quickley: No one knows right now and I have the feeling no one will know until he decides. Quickley is very religious and his father wants him to finish college. The SEC POY will come back and lead the Cats in a big for their ninth national title.

E.J. Montgomery: We all thought Montgomery was going to have a breakout year. Instead it was Nick Richards. Montgomery was a disappointment this year, and according to what Calipari said, may have not been in shape until January. He had the winning tip in against Florida and will come back next year and repeat what Nick Richards did this year.

Keion Brooks: After having a somewhat disappointing freshman year, Brooks shined in Gainesville and was a big piece to the Cats’ comeback in Gainesville, showing his skills, and what he will do next year.

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Johnny Juzang: Unless he transfers, and I don’t know why he would, Juzang will be back for his sophomore year.

Leaving

Nick Richards: No one thought Nick Richards would have the season he had. Richards averaged 14 PPG, 8 RPG, and 2 BPG. Drastic improvements compared to last year. I thought we would get Richards for four years and we sadly won’t. I want him to do well so bad in the NBA. After what he’s done here, he deserves it.

Tyrese Maxey: The only one-and-done this year for Kentucky? Maxey was probably Kentucky’s best player this year and is projected in the top ten of most NBA Mock Drafts. He gone.

Summary

It won’t play out this way, but if it does, Kentucky will get five players back and only lose two. And, they will probably be the favorites to win the national title next year with the recruiting class they have coming in.

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This team was one of my favorites. From losing to Evansville at home as the No. 1 team in the country to winning the SEC Regular Season title. They improved so much. Even though they didn’t get a chance to make a run in March, which they would’ve done, I still love this team and will miss them.

Go Cats.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Jackson State: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, and Betting Odds/Predictions

Published

13 hours ago

on

November 22, 2024

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Kentucky players encouraging each other at Rupp Arena.
Chet White | UK Athletics

The Kentucky Wildcats are back in action Friday to face the Jackson State Tigers in the second game of the BBN Invitational.

To put it simply, Jackson State is bad, very bad. Sitting at 0-5 and ranked 321st in KenPom, the Tigers will likely be the worst opponent Kentucky will play all season.

Coached by Mo Williams, one of LeBron James’ old teammates with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Tigers have only finished above .500 twice in the last decade. This season, Jackson State is predicted to finish fourth in the SWAC.

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Mark Pope recently said he wanted to build a standard, regardless of opponent and, and that will be tested on Friday.

Let’s take a look at the matchup.

More 3-Point Attempts

Admittedly nitpicking, one of the things that Mark Pope was not happy with in Kentucky’s win over Lipscomb was the amount of three-point attempts. While they shot nearly 50 percent from deep, going 12-25, Pope wants to see the number of attempts closer to 35.

The Tigers have allowed their opponents to shoot 47.8 percent from deep, the second-worst mark in the country. Pope and the staff will certainly generate a game plan to take advantage of this. Expect to see 30+ attempts.

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Ball Movement

Despite beating Lipscomb by 29 points, the Wildcats had a season-low in assists with just ten. For context, Kentucky had averaged more than 23 assists per game entering the matchup.

“That’s not us. That’s not who we are,” Pope said after the game.

While there wasn’t a lot of selfishness, the ball just wasn’t ‘flying’ as it has been early this season. This is a priority for the staff and this mature group, and they will aim for 25+ assists.

Keep JSU off the Free-Throw Line

Jackson State ranks in the top 100 nationally in one area: Free throws made per game. So, Kentucky, defend without fouling.

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Kentucky’s offense makes headlines, but the defense has played very well to start the season, holding all four opponents to under 73 points. Let’s see if they can get down in a stance and defend well for 40 minutes vs. a team that stresses contact and drawing fouls.

Opposing Players to Watch

C Shannon Grant 6-11, 290 lbs

  • 7.5 PPG
  • 4.8
  • Preseason All-SWAC First Team selection

G Jayme Mitchell Jr 6-5, 190 lbs

  • 15.0 PPG
  • 3.8 RPG
  • 44.4% 3P

F Romelle Mansel 6-9, 220 lbs

  • 10.8 PPG
  • 5.8 RPG
  • 31.7% FG (second most FG attempts on the team)

Kentucky Wildcats Basketball vs. Jackson State Tigers

Time: 7 PM ET on November 22nd
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
TV Channel: This game will not be on TV and is streaming only,
Online Stream: SEC Network+, ESPN+, and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the radio call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | JSU
Stats to Know: UK | JSU
KenPom: UK | JSU
Team Sheet: UK | JSU

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for the game, so check Thursday afternoon for an official spread. Multiple projections give Kentucky a 99% chance of winning: Bart Torvik (99%), EvanMiya (99.9%), and ESPN (99.0%). The exception is KenPom (92%).

Predictions: KenPom (93-63), Haslametrics (96-63), Bart Torvik (95-61), and EvanMiya (96-59) all are going with a 30+ point victory, Kentucky!

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Players Say They Think About Winning National Championship “Every Second”

Published

4 days ago

on

November 18, 2024

By

Kentucky basketball players celebrate after their big over Duke.
IMAGN

The expectations at Kentucky are the highest of any school in the country, and there is good reason why. The winningest college program ever. Eight national titles, under five different coaches. Seventeen Final Four appearances. You get it, a lot of success.

Fans want the players to have those same expectations. Despite not having the elite talent or preseason hype of great Kentucky teams past, this year’s team still has their eyes set on doing something “people will remember forever”, winning a national championship.

Asked on social media, if hanging banner #9 was all the players thought about “every second”, Ansley Almonor had a response.

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“We do.”

It takes a lot to win a national championship, including some luck, but this team is certainly going to be loved for their desire to live out their dream of playing at Kentucky and their unselfishness. Those two things can take them a long way this season .

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart Seemingly Takes Shot at John Calipari, “Anybody Can Recruit”

Published

6 days ago

on

November 16, 2024

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Mitch Barnhart sitting next to basketball coach John Calipari.
IMAGN

John Calipari and Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart had their differences over fifteen years, but success can hide a lot of things. Not that they hated each other, but they each had vastly different personalities. As that success weaned towards the end of Calipari’s tenure, those issues started to be noticed publically.

If you need evidence of that, despite their efforts to dispute it, there is the infamous press conference where Barnhart talked about “entitled” coaches, shortly after Calipari publicly called for a new practice facility. Then, there were multiple times when Calipari expressed that the administration was not on the same page and that he was facing “headwinds”.

That said, Calipari is now at Arkansas, but those differences and some disdain remain. During an interview on the Kentucky Football pregame show, Barnhart seemingly took a shot at Calipari when asked about Mark Pope’s recruiting philosophy and prioritizing fit.

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“I tell people all the time, ‘Anybody can recruit, not everybody can evaluate,’” Barnhart said. “You can recruit. You can be phenomenal at bringing people to your program. But if it does not fit you, it’s really not helpful.”

Of course, Calipari is one of the best, if not the best, recruiters in college basketball history. At times, he prioritized talent and athleticism over fit.

Quite the coincidence.

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