Denzel Aberdeen enters the portal

[IrishPokerDog]

Pope is a good coach. He will keep KY competitive. But the reality is Florida has 3 titles this century and KY has 1. KY Jelly still the standard in the SEC when it comes to hoops due to their lengthy tradition, recent results favor Florida. Aberdeen is a really good player, if rumors are true you guys shelled out 2.2m for our backup point guard so that tells you all you need to know about the current state of basketball affairs.

We needed the PG, as our 5-star PG HS recruit decommitted, and we need the ball handling bigly…..

Have no idea on his NIL take home - I’d be somewhat surprised if it’s that much….. but the UK bball collectives have money to burn now that it’s likely to be a $20.5 million direct school NIL with all deals over $600 going through an approval clearinghouse

 

[gatordad3]

We needed the PG, as our 5-star PG HS recruit decommitted, and we need the ball handling bigly…..

Have no idea on his NIL take home - I’d be somewhat surprised if it’s that much….. but the UK bball collectives have money to burn now that it’s likely to be a $20.5 million direct school NIL with all deals over $600 going through an approval clearinghouse

As much I've been a fan of Denzel Aberdeen, his ball handling gets out of control as well as being a ball hog. That won't sit well with Mark Pope.

 

[IrishPokerDog]

As much I've been a fan of Denzel Aberdeen, his ball handling gets out of control as well as being a ball hog. That won't sit well with Mark Pope.

Yeah, Williams was like that last year…Pope rotates often enough to where I don’t see it being an issue. Minutes are eventually dolled out according to on court plus minus

 

[46885]

As much I've been a fan of Denzel Aberdeen, his ball handling gets out of control as well as being a ball hog. That won't sit well with Mark Pope.

yea and Denzel is literally either on that night or completely off to go along with the excessive dribbling.. I loved him in his role for us, but he's definitely not a top player or at least not yet like Alijah Martin.. The games he disappeared when his shot wasn't falling were very noticeable, luckily we had another 7 headed monster to rely on from night to night. There was like a 4-5 game stretch towards the end of the season where I didn't even notice Aberdeen on the floor because he wasn't giving us anything offensively at all.

 

[Nicktheslick]

yea and Denzel is literally either on that night or completely off to go along with the excessive dribbling.. I loved him in his role for us, but he's definitely not a top player or at least not yet like Alijah Martin.. The games he disappeared when his shot wasn't falling were very noticeable, luckily we had another 7 headed monster to rely on from night to night. There was like a 4-5 game stretch towards the end of the season where I didn't even notice Aberdeen on the floor because he wasn't giving us anything offensively at all.

Maybe so but his defense was exceptional and rarely did it not show up.

 

[46885]

Maybe so but his defense was exceptional and rarely did it not show up.

judging by watching the style pope was playing and watching Kentucky last year, they don't believe in defense.

 

[Gators1853]

Pope is a good coach. He will keep KY competitive. But the reality is Florida has 3 titles this century and KY has 1. KY Jelly still the standard in the SEC when it comes to hoops due to their lengthy tradition, recent results favor Florida. Aberdeen is a really good player, if rumors are true you guys shelled out 2.2m for our backup point guard so that tells you all you need to know about the current state of basketball affairs.

True but Kentucky lucked out when John Calipari bolted for the chicken money. Pope understands the assignment and pushing kids to the NBA when they are not ready is not it.

As for Aberdeen, I sure would love to have him back.

 

[IrishPokerDog]

True but Kentucky lucked out when John Calipari bolted for the chicken money. Pope understands the assignment and pushing kids to the NBA when they are not ready is not it.

As for Aberdeen, I sure would love to have him back.

It shows how arrogant and out of touch Cal was…..he really thought our AD and school admin would tremble and give him carte blanc on NIL, and back off their “performance expectations “, if he dabbled at leaving for Arky. He was shocked at how poorly he read the room….and that UK saved $34 million

I know of not a single UK fan that wasn’t ready for Cal to be gone….my final straw was the loss to St. Peters

 

[Gators1853]

judging by watching the style pope was playing and watching Kentucky last year, they don't believe in defense.

From the looks of UK's portal this year they may have solved that issue. I don't expect Kentucky to be near the offense it had last year but rebounding and defense have certainly improved.

If Pope and Coach Golden stay at their respective jobs for the foreseeable future I look for some classic games. Golden will keep us at the top and Pope is likely to keep Kentucky at the top. Should be fun for us fans.

 

[Gators1853]

It shows how arrogant and out of touch Cal was…..he really thought our AD and school admin would tremble and give him carte blanc on NIL, and back off their “performance expectations “, if he dabbled at leaving for Arky. He was shocked at how poorly he read the room….and that UK saved $34 million

I know of not a single UK fan that wasn’t ready for Cal to be gone….my final straw was the loss to St. Peters

Was Cal the one who said the Greatest Day In Kentucky Basketball history was getting the most players drafted into the NBA? As a fan that would totally turn me off.

With the history of Kentucky basketball for over 100 years that had to be the dumbest or least informed statement made by any coach. I often wondered if Calipari was not as interested in winning as he was getting players to the next level. Having only one championship in 15 years at UK was a failure based on his talent.

Since 2000 (25 years)
Kentucky 1 NCAA Championship
Florida 3 NCAA Championships

With half of the talent

 

[IrishPokerDog]

Was Cal the one who said the Greatest Day In Kentucky Basketball history was getting the most players drafted into the NBA? As a fan that would totally turn me off.

Yes

…... I often wondered if Calipari was not as interested in winning as he was getting players to the next level.

Yes, also correct

Having only one championship in 15 years at UK was a failure based on his talent.

Also correct for the trifecta