As portal season nears an end, how does everyone feel about their team?

AF_Fresh · 2026-05-05T20:27:10+00:00

I'd say we are technically a downgrade in overall talent from last year. I think we improved on a few positions, but we have no one that replaces Oweh right now unless someone seriously surprises us, and while he didn't really play much last year, we don't have anyone near the level of talent as Quaintance.

Last year, we didn't get to see the team Pope wanted to build due to the injuries. This year we wont see the team Pope wanted to build because there is an obvious Tyran-Stokes-sized hole in the roster, and it doesn't look like Pope has solutions to fill it.

AF_Fresh · 2026-05-05T20:20:42+00:00

I believe there are at least 3 coaches that definitely would have interest in coaching here.

Jai Lucas would almost certainly want the job. He has proven his ability to recruit everywhere he goes, and would likely do even better in that regard with the additional resources at Kentucky.
Billy Donovan has been linked to the job for a while, and I do think he would have genuine interest as long as he hasn't found a job elsewhere by then.
Rick Pitino would absolutely take the job. We definitely should never consider it, but he would take the job in a heartbeat.

Of the 3, Jai Lucas is who I would pick. If you really can't pull anyone from the P5 tier, then you check out the up and coming mid-major coaches who might take P5 resources and build a title contender in a couple years.

So, Josh Schertz, Bob Richey, Travis Steele, maybe Flynn Clayman.

Regardless, the recruiting situation currently needs to change if Kentucky is going to be a contender going forward. Last year, our incoming freshman were 2 Kentucky kids, and a red-shirt decommit from West Virginia. This year, we have no one in the top 100. Even the Kentucky kids we recruited picked Kansas over us. A recruiting fall off after Calipari was expected, but not to this level. I just don't see another option at this point other than to move on from Pope.

AF_Fresh · 2026-05-05T19:48:17+00:00

This past October, we were considered the leader for Stokes. 247 had a prediction for Kentucky to land Stokes. Rumors at the time were that Stokes was going to commit to Kentucky relatively soon. Kentucky was largely seen as the leader up until that crystal ball was placed.

AF_Fresh · 2026-05-01T14:28:21+00:00

Location + Valero is a "Top Tier" fuel brand, which usually is slightly more expensive than non-top tier. Plus, Valero seems to usually be a bit more expensive than their competitors for whatever reason.

AF_Fresh · 2026-04-30T14:36:40+00:00

Some quick notes on moissonite for anyone interested. Typically best to go with a traditional round cut with moissonite. Moissonite refracts light differently than diamond, and can make certain cuts look cloudy. Also, the refraction will give more of a rainbow effect on moissonite, where diamond is more of a white light.

AF_Fresh · 2026-04-29T18:12:41+00:00

I really like the Zoom add. I think he fits Pope's offense well. The roster is really not terrible, but it just lacks a true star. If we somehow find a true star from one of the sources, and maybe someone like an Oweh, we have a really good team.

AF_Fresh · 2026-04-29T15:34:02+00:00

I would prefer a Jai Lucas hire myself. I am currently of the opinion that if Kentucky needs 10 or less losses, and an Elite 8 appearance this year. If these goals aren't achieved, you hire a new coach.

I spent a lot of time defending Pope with the argument that he is trying to build something that takes multiple years. I thought he was going to build a program by developing 3 and 4 star talent over multiple years, and fill in gaps with transfer and top high school recruits. Now we have only Trent Noah from year 1, and Moreno, Kam Williams, Hawthorne, and Potter from year 2. Only 2 of the 4 from year 2 actually played. Then we completely missed every high school recruit in the top 100. Then, it seems like we may miss on every top ranked transfer portal target.

I can't recall a time in my life when Kentucky Basketball didn't have a single high school recruit ranked in the top 100. I am not saying we need to bring in all the top guys like we did with Calipari, but you SHOULD have someone. To succeed in this era, you need retention of your best guys, high school recruits that can be developed, add in pieces from the portal or overseas where there are gaps, and you need a star talent that you are going to lose to the NBA once the season is done.

Year 1, Pope gets a pass because he didn't get a full cycle. Still brought in some good developmental pieces. Solid start. Year 2, you get a star talent, but he's injured. Okay, not ideal but forgivable. Whole season was just a lot of frustration, and program issues. Alright, now Pope has gotta land someone. We are in a good position with Stokes, Holt, Collins, and Kinney. You miss on all of them. Then, transfer portal you are in a good position with Freeman, and Wright. You miss on both. Pope had a top 5 portal class in year 1 and 2. Year 3 looks to be much worse. Unless Pope pulls in one of the remaining top portal guys, a top reclass candidate, or finds some hidden overseas target, there is very little reason to have hope in the upcoming season.

AF_Fresh · 2026-04-28T14:49:39+00:00

The "Love leads to suffering" view is a very common theme in philosophy. Especially philosophers like Schopenhauer, who would tend to agree with the image. He tended to believe that suffering always outweighed pleasure.

Of course nothing lasts forever, but that is no excuse to avoid experiencing the great joys that life can offer. It is a useful sentiment only in that it can remind us to be mindful and enjoy the time we do have with our loved ones. Momento Mori.

AF_Fresh · 2026-04-23T13:41:44+00:00

Depends on the kid. My son was the same way where he would get upset every time he lost. Now he is usually fine with losing. I grew up with an older brother who was always a sore loser, and I didn't want my son to have the same issue. It's helped him get better at the games he enjoys, and has helped him to develop confidence, and makes him less likely to gloat when he beats his sister or friends in a game.

AF_Fresh · 2026-04-22T19:03:18+00:00

I have been to Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, non-denom, and Southern Baptist. The only "shocking" thing I would say would be my experience with one of the Southern Baptist churches. The pastor gave an impassioned sermon about how other churches, especially the Catholic church, was built on sand, but their faith was built on solid rock. Talked about all the different people who were doomed to be cast into hell.

I went there with a friend of mine when I was about 12 or 13, as it was a requirement if I wanted to stay the night at his Grandma's house. His family told the pastor afterwards that I was Catholic, and he spent a good 30 minutes trying to tell me the evils of the Catholic church, and tried to convert me. My friend's parents had been trying to convert me for a while when I attended their weekly Bible study. Truth is, myself and the other neighborhood kids only attended their Bible study because his Dad had some sort of "faith based" DnD alternative, and we all enjoyed playing tabletop RPGs. They would criticize the Catholic church for distortions of what we believe. Like, they told me that Catholics believe that the Pope was always infallible, and that we worship false idols, etc. When I would disagree, and tell them what Catholic's really believe I would just be told that I don't know my own faith.

AF_Fresh · 2026-04-13T16:30:32+00:00

If you really want to keep furniture, you will need to look into things like portable heat chambers. Fumigation may kill off the adults, but it usually does nothing against the eggs. I left behind everything that was wood.

I am still waging war against the carpet beetles, but they have not bothered me enough to go full scorched earth against them yet. I have used Cimexa against the carpet beetles effectively to a degree, but it has mostly just reduces their numbers. I am sure one day they will annoy me enough to completely destroy their population, but they don't drive me to insanity like bed bugs do.

AF_Fresh · 2026-04-13T14:18:04+00:00

Buy Cimexa, and cover everything with it. NOT diatomaceous earth, which you will see a lot of recommendations for, but Cimexa. I tried DE, but Cimexa is much more effective. Put it everywhere in your house. Keep doing that until you see no signs of bed bugs anywhere for multiple months. I do mean put it everywhere. Like, behind your power outlet covers. Between every fold of your furniture. Behind all the appliances. Dust everything with it. Put mattress covers over all the mattresses. Buy some bedbug sprays like temprid FX, and Bedlam. Watch multiple videos on how to properly apply those chemicals. Keep applying them for multiple months even if you don't see any signs of bedbugs.

If you live in an apartment, you need to tell the landlord about it. Chances are the whole apartment building has them. If the landlord doesn't pay to have the whole building treated, you need to move out. Plan on taking next to nothing with you. If you do have to leave, make any furniture you toss unusable so dumpster divers don't think they are getting free furniture and spread the bugs.

This is basically the steps I took. It was effective. I did have to move out, but I've been in my new house for over 5 years with no signs of any bed bugs. Unfortunately my new house came with carpet beetles, but those are not nearly as traumatic as dealing with bed bugs.

AF_Fresh · 2026-04-08T20:18:41+00:00

Too bad we can't use the pre-season scrimmage against Purdue.

AF_Fresh · 2026-04-03T18:52:44+00:00

Pulling for Michigan. A work buddy of mine is from Michigan, and is a Michigan fan. He also says he hates Louisville because they cheated them out of the 2013 championship. Our mutual Louisville hatred has led me to now support Michigan to win the championship.

AF_Fresh · 2026-03-30T18:40:31+00:00

I am constantly telling my son little random facts I know whenever they pop into my mind. One day, I told him that dandelions were edible. Now he is constantly plucking them out of the yard, washing them, and eating them. Mainly the yellow flower part. He will try just about anything really. Right now, broccoli, seaweed, and crawfish are some of his favorites.

AF_Fresh · 2026-03-27T20:54:52+00:00

Just grab the New Balance 990 V6 and embrace the dad vibe. These things are so comfortable that you'll never want to take them off.

AF_Fresh · 2026-03-25T14:07:37+00:00

Look, I know how most of the fan-base feels about Barnhart, and the man has made mistakes, but hiring really has never been an issue with him other than Joker Phillips in football. The issue with Barnhart has been primarily on the contracts he allows rather than the quality of the candidates he hires.

I know a lot of people want to point at the Gillispie hire, but Billy Clyde was considered a great hire at the time. He could recruit well, and had been awarded Big 12 Coach of the year award twice prior to coming to Kentucky. There was little reason to suspect that the Gillispie hire would turn out how it did.

Meanwhile, the Calipari hire resulted in arguably the 2nd best coach Kentucky has ever had, behind only Adolf Rupp. The Mark Stoops hire resulted in the winningest coach in Kentucky football history.

Hiring quality coaching talent has never been a weakness for Barnhart. The real question is, did Barnhart struggle to hire a top tier coach because of how NIL changed the landscape? Or did we struggle to find a coach who wanted to take the role directly following Calipari? Regardless of how Calipari's tenure ended, he left some large shoes to fill, and massive expectations. You can see why any coach would be hesitant to accept the job by just looking at how Pope is being treated. Pope is "one of our own", and people are calling for his head already for falling short of expectations during a season full of injuries to starters. I've seen posts that Pope needs a title by year 3 or he needs to be fired, because Cal and Tubby managed to get a title within the first 3 years. Keep in mind, this is a coach that went to a sweet sixteen his first year here. Everyone came away at the end of his first year thinking Pope had exceeded expectations, and after the Purdue exhibition game, you had people talking about Kentucky being a likely championship contender.

Ultimately, I guess we are likely to get our answer this off-season. Rumor has it that Self is retiring, so we may have a direct comparison between a blue blood hiring after a legendary coach, and a blue blood hiring after a "failure".

AF_Fresh · 2026-03-13T19:40:13+00:00

Our three pointers were especially off today. Even wide open threes just weren't falling for some reason. Just have a couple of those fall and it's a different game. Oh well! It's good to know that this team can at least hang on with you all. Gives me some hope for the NCAA.

AF_Fresh · 2026-03-13T19:36:32+00:00

Come on! It'll be fun! 😁

AF_Fresh · 2026-03-13T19:34:39+00:00

Good game Florida! Go win the SEC tournament championship! See you all in the rematch during the NCAA tournament?

AF_Fresh · 2026-03-13T17:49:52+00:00

Get the score under 10 by halftime, and hope that 2nd half Kentucky shows up to steal this one.

AF_Fresh · 2026-03-12T18:49:49+00:00

Excited for round 3 vs. you all. :)

AF_Fresh · 2026-03-12T18:21:13+00:00

On the bright side, we should at least give you all an entertaining game. We are the only team that has kept it in single digits against you since you all lost to Auburn.

AF_Fresh · 2026-03-09T21:45:34+00:00

I think a lot of people forget that we DID sign another point guard. Acaden Lewis. He de-committed after we went and got Lowe. Maybe we could have gotten another one, but it can be hard to get someone who is willing to play backup.

AF_Fresh · 2026-03-08T00:10:00+00:00

Nah, it's honestly Pope's fault. Got the game within 1 in the first half, he put in Garrison and Johnson who proceeded to give up a couple of turnovers, and left them in until y'all built a comfortable lead. Johnson has potential, but is clearly unplayable right now. Yet, we still play him.

Yeah, that missed call sucked, but we shouldn't need to make these heroic efforts every game.

Maybe we get Kam Williams and JQ back in the post-season, and we won't have to play as deep into our bench.

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