Official Billy Donovan watch thread...

No problem competing with the East? At this point, Tennessee is head and shoulders above UK, and Florida is probably <i>still</i> better too.

UK's 2-deep in the front court next year consists of Jared Carter (a so-far disappointing 7-footer that was hurt this year) and Mark Coury (a walk-on) at center, Perry Stevenson (a skinny but talented kid) at PF and Joe Crawford and Ramon Harris (a lightly-regarded, athletic Alaskan who joined UK in January) at the 3.

So they have 2 centers who haven't done anything at the college level, one power forward who weighs 190 pounds and a disappointing Burger Boy and an unproven kid at the 3. Unless Bradley and Meeks are planning on scoring 30 ppg each next year, the cupboard is bare and the outlook is bleak, even for competing for the SEC East crown.

 

They could feasibly finish as high as second in the East. That's competing. No, they won't beat Tennessee. But Florida is a question mark, and so is Georgia. Why couldn't they finish second in the East next year, with basically three returning starters and a better coach?

 

Is Lofton coming back to Knoxville next season?

 

My point, too. Barring unforseen problems, Tennessee should win the East by a few games. But Kentucky should be right there in the mix for second, and the Cats will almost surely be an NCAA team.

Now, obviously none of that comes close to the program's expectations. That can't happen for a few years unless they sign an Oden/Durant kind of kid.

 

By every account I've seen, yes. I think he's going to "test the waters," but he'll be back. He's not an NBA player right now. He might never be one. He'll probably be a shooter off the bench, though. The kid can freakin shoot.

 

I guess it's feasible that they could compete for 2nd, but unless Carter morphs into a legit post player, this team will take its lumps next year. Unless Donovan comes and Patterson and Lucas follow, it's unlikely that they're good enough to compete for an SEC title. If Donovan stays and Florida gets Patterson, they're instantly less of a question mark than Kentucky.

Add to it that UK's schedule next year is going to be the toughest in the nation and maybe the toughest in the program's history, and it could get nasty in Lexington next year. They play Texas, UNC, IU, Louisville and in the CVC Classic.

 

Back to the point of "who else?":

If not Donovan, it will be either Gillispie or Rick Barnes, IMO. The weird thing is that, since UK hired Parker Search Firm, there's almost ZERO news coming out. Everyone is in the dark.

 

Exactly. I see UK winning between 18-20 games next year, which would probably be enough to get in the tournament. This team isn't going to have a losing record. They just won't compete for a national title in the next few years.

Now, if they sign Patterson and Lucas (long shots, I know), that changes everything.

Other coaching candidates? Barnes would probably turn down the job because he has better talent and can draw better talent at Texas. Gillispie just got an extension, right? I still say go with a Kentucky boy, Pelphrey or Ford, and hope he can duplicate Donovan's success. It's going to take three years minimum before UK is Final Four-ready.

 

Gillispie has an extension on the table but he hasn't signed it yet, has he?
Rick Barnes would get eaten alive in Kentucky. The guy simply is not a very good coach.

 

Why would we have to do that? We've got every Kentucky fan on the fucking planet posting here.

 

Three years? And people thought I was drunk spitballing Steve Smith.

 

If only we were all so lucky as to live in a world where Big Blue Nation was two guys.