🏀 KuBuckets Archive

I started laughing at #2. Such a joke that the media thinks this is the 2nd best team to start the country. All personal feelings aside there is nothing that says #2 in the nation.

KU at #3. Good place to start.

Associated Press Top 25
RANKING TEAM

1 Duke

2 Kentucky

3 Kansas

4 Villanova

5 Oregon

6 North Carolina

7 Xavier

8 Virginia

9 Wisconsin

10 Arizona

11 Indiana

12 Michigan State

13 Louisville

14 Gonzaga

15 Purdue

16 UCLA

17 Saint Mary's

18 Connecticut

19 Syracuse

20 West Virginia

21 Texas

22 Creighton

23 Rhode Island

24 Iowa State

25 Maryland

@BeddieKU23 This is bogus - where's K-State? !Muttley-picture.gif ↗

@BeddieKU23 so do you have reasons to support #2 is ridiculous versus #3 acceptable? Not necessarily disagreeing with your take, just don't understand it.

@Bwag

I have plenty of them. It's an overrated bunch. I get it, its all for show and games. Kentucky could trot out 5 walkons and be ranked.

They return 2 players that were even apart of their rotation last year.

They are going to start at a minimum 3 Freshman. PG, SG, PF/C.

They are really thin in the back-court. Besides the freshman Fox and Monk + returning Briscoe they have little depth. Hawkins has been a career 3rd stringer, Mulder was brought in for practice depth.

No wings on the entire roster. 6 guys above 6'9, nobody 6'3+ to 6'9.

Other than Derek Willis & Malik Monk, little perimeter shooting. Briscoe shot 13%, Fox not an outside shooter with consistency, Hawkins a career 21% perimeter shooter.

We can praise their freshman, they are good- not at the level they have had in the past. I think Adebayo is their most important player because he can score and rebound. They have lots of length in the post but its young. It's just a very unbalanced roster banking of this latest batch of freshman being all-world everythings.

This UK team is going to have to get it done defensively, cause they are gonna struggle to score.

@BeddieKU23 UK will be good later on in the season - really can't take much out of the Clarion given the low level of competition. Agreed about Adebayo - reminds me a bit of Julius Randal. Willis is deadly from outside, but can he do anything else?

@BeddieKU23 you forgot somebody.... Lil cal

@Crimsonorblue22 there's already a note on ESPN's website about him and his "incredible four point play". The slobber fest continues

@HawkChamp said:

@BeddieKU23 UK will be good later on in the season - really can't take much out of the Clarion given the low level of competition. Agreed about Adebayo - reminds me a bit of Julius Randal. Willis is deadly from outside, but can he do anything else?

I bet Cal has to steal some minutes with Willis at the three.

Also I echo the sentiment that Bam is probably their best player.

Robert Morris University approves @BeddieKU23 's message...

@BeddieKU23 I agree that UK is over ranked but it doesn't bother me. I am just looking forward to being ranked #1 after we beat Duke at MSG.

UK is likely to be overrated for as long as the squid is coaching there.

@BShark

Good point, that is so true

@BShark

I was thinking the same thing here but its a major advantage to the opposing wings. I don't remember Willis being this interchangeable athlete.

@BeddieKU23 said:

@BShark

I was thinking the same thing here but its a major advantage to the opposing wings. I don't remember Willis being this interchangeable athlete.

He is not an elite athlete by any means and would absolutely struggled to guard college wings. The problem is UK is extremely thin in the back court and as you already mentioned their shooting is suspect. Willis is the only good shooter on the entire team. Monk is streaky and the rest are below average or Briscoe. It's certainly a conundrum for Cal. That said they should still win 30+ games so it's all relative.

I saw some headline the other day about a UK kid really throwing one down in practice. That must mean they're really good.

@BeddieKU23

UK is thin on experience...what else is new?...but they do have a lot of potential talent; Many think Adebayo will be huge for them as well as Fox and Monk. While I don't consider the squid to be an elite coach, he is not a bad coach and every ranking of College BBall coaches I have seen almost always has him as one of the top 5 coaches.

Do they deserve to be #2? I don't know and I don't believe anyone really knows and at this point is really all speculation. I believe you can take the top 5 spots and change them any way you want and you would not be that far off; Duke has two top players injured and might not be nearly as good at the beginning of the season, actually with his injury history, at this point Giles is a huge "IF" for Duke and I bet coach rat face is worried...he might have to dole out extra money to the refs. LOL.

@BeddieKU23 Yeah, 'Nova being the defending champs and bringing a lot of experience back, Id put them higher than UK, despite my intense dislike of butt face