TheCatsDomain.Com Message Boards: 10 burning questions as countdown to Duke opener begins

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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 10-18-2018, 10:44 AM:

1. How good are these ‘Cats?
SEC media members just picked the Cats to win the conference. No real surprise there. But they are very, very good. There’s not quite as much hype around this team as the 2014-15 team that reached the Final Four undefeated, but this team seems like a slightly better rounded equivalent of that team.

2. Who starts the Nov. 6 in opener vs. Duke?
This won’t be the best five, and it probably won’t be the five who end the game, but as of right now, the likely starting five will be Quade Green and Immanuel Quickley in the backcourt, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington, and Reid Travis in the frontcourt. That leaves Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards on the bench.

3. Will they be ready?
That shouldn’t be an issue. Normally, when the season opens, John Calipari is the guy blending a handful of talented kids with no experience playing together. This year, it’ll be the other coach in UK’s opener who’s stuck with that task. And while Duke’s Coach K also has plenty of talent, Calipari has experienced talent — both in terms of prior seasons of major college basketball and having played together in preparation for and in the Bahaman games back in August.

4. So will this team go undefeated?
No, it’s ridiculous that the 2014-15 team got as close as it did. That team also played in a much weaker SEC than this UK squad will face. Bear in mind that the 1978 and 2012 UK title teams each lost two games … despite each being clearly the best teams in college basketball in their particular seasons of play. Calipari and the Big Blue Nation would love an undefeated season, but given the quality of the SEC, three or four losses isn’t unreasonable — or a reason to panic.

5. Are the platoons back?
Highly doubtful. Back in 2014-15, Calipari experimented with swapping five-man units in for each other in an effort to keep minutes high. The problem was that come NCAA crunch time, he found himself relying on the inconsistent perimeter skills of Aaron and Andrew Harrison, instead of the superior talent of Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker. There could be a bit of the platoon system, but Calipari will do his best to either avoid it or at least keep it pretty quiet.

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Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 10-18-2018, 06:09 PM:

It is nice to know we have so many options with this team. I think they will be a very special group whom we will all enjoy watch playing for our Cats.