Buy or Sell: Your Hot Takes on Kentucky Basketball

Cats Illustrated publisher Justin Rowland responds to hot takes from Kentucky fans after the 'Cats exhibition win against Kentucky Wesleyan...

I have long assumed that Wheeler would be a starter with my logic being that he kind of "unlocks" the shooting potential of this team with his ability to penetrate and find guys outside the arc. It seems like shooting is the thing that can best define this team and it's hard for me to let go of the idea of Wheeler setting the table for all those guys. You do give up something with Wheeler's own shooting but if he can hit 30% rather than an Isaiah Briscoe that would at least command respect. He was a bit sloppy and will have to clean that up.

Calipari has already said that he sees Wheeler, Washington, and Tshiebwe as the three starters. I presume he also envisions them as closers.

But I will say, Mintz's stock is up for me and that has to impact somebody.

There were a few people who seemed to come away feeling this way. The more I've thought about and watched the game I at least understand where you are coming from. The offense looked good to me. Certainly a huge improvement from last year, which you knew it was going to be. The defense did not look very good. At least it didn't scream lockdown defensive team to me. But we've seen Calipari teams get better defensively as the season has gone on, especially in terms of perimeter defense.

It looks like a solid team rebounding and rim protection wise but not vintage Cal in those areas.

The offense makes this team interesting but the other areas remain question marks. But they have an awful lot of quality scorers and the passing was much better so I think they're going to be at least solid.

There was some of that which definitely has to be cleaned up. I thought Mintz played really hard on the defensive end. You never wonder about effort with him and the backcourt defense wasn't one of the biggest problems last year.

Collins and Jackson look like very different players. I don't think he's going to start at first but he does seem to be more polished in at least some parts of his offensive game than Jackson. I'm not sure Collins is going to be that kind of defender when he's in the game. Jackson became really special in some of the things he did.

I could see that for TyTy and if he's that level then Kentucky will be really good.

The passing is what stood out to me since there were so many dead spots on the court last year. There was no flow, no ball movement, and that's back. I've always thought the best college basketball teams are typically the best passing teams. Tends to speak to guard play and experience.

The frontcourt is a question when Tshiebwe is out of the game in my mind. Maybe they play faster. I just don't think you can take much from that game when it comes to Ware or Oscar, frankly.

Ware and Brooks were on the court when Tshiebwe is out. My early opinion is they should consider playing faster when Tshiebwe is out. Ware plays so hard but is still going to struggle not to get pushed around by the bigger guys that he faces.

There is no substitute for having a bunch of guys who can put the ball in the basket. Free throw shooting has improved over time under Calipari and I expect that trend will continue with this team. The bigger question for me is how many times they will get to the free throw line. I could see Washington becoming someone who learns how to make a living there. That's what made Quickley so excellent as as sophomore. He figured out he can just go shoot 10 free throws if he needed to. No reason for me to think TyTy won't become that kind of player.

Agree that Fredrick is probably the best shooter but he's in a slightly better position compared to Dontaie Allen in my book. He's more experienced but does he do enough besides shoot when options like Mintz and Grady are available?

Hopkins is super impressive physically and in some of the things he can do on offense. He's got an impressive build and he can move it. He looks like a truck going to the rim but he also has shooting touch and passes well.

But he is going to need to become very focused on attention to detail on defense. If he trusts Calipari in that part of his development he can be an outstanding college player. I could see ups and downs as someone very gifted learns the nuances of what goes into being a player.

Sell. Why would you worry about a team that has several proven three-point shooters?

I wouldn't read into shot selection in an exhibition games. Sometimes we see guys trying to break bad shot selection habits into late January or early February.

If anything Brooks, Collins, and Hopkins knocking down shots is just gravy. It's going to be Washington, Mintz, Grady, Fredrick, and/or Allen taking those shots when it matters.

Buy. I came away feeling convinced that Washington will be Kentucky's leading scorer for the season. The really optimistic view is that he can be like Brandon Knight or SGA in terms of impact maybe without some of the early growing pains because he did not look like someone straight out of high school. Very mature and smooth player.

Several have said this and I agree. it does need work. We've known this is going to be a backcourt-powered team. I don't think it's quite like the 2015-16 season on paper though. This team probably doesn't quite have that team's backcourt but the frontcourt shouldn't be such a weakness that it puts a low ceiling on them.

I didn't come away feeling like the defense is destined to be something bad about this team. It's fair to wonder how much of a strength or a limitation it might be. But it does seem like defense will have to be the major practice focus for a while.

He impressed me in the exhibition. Look, we've seen flashes from Brooks for two years now. There have been a couple of times in the last two years when I've felt like he's on the brink of maybe turning out to have a PJ Washington kind of impact. I'm not sure he is going to make that turn from being a great complementary piece into a true go-to All-American level player but that's okay. What they really need from him is enough consistency to be able to bank on 10-12 points and 6-7 rebounds. If he's that every night and a somewhat consistent shooter that's a really good player. I would focus on that need for consistency as an important piece over becoming a star.

He's impressive for sure. Sophomore Quickley is kind of what I thought watching him and some others saw it too. He has the look of a kind of guy you wouldn't want to see in March but it's early. I just think he's got a very high floor and he might be the rare freshman who doesn't have extended growing pains. He fits right in on a team surrounded by older players.

Probably a fair take. But I think he's done enough that if you ever need him in a pinch then he can safely be out there and might do some solid things.

Sticking with the TyTy praise, I could see that. Top 5-10 pick. He's going to go pretty high. That much seems pretty clear.

I don't know that it will be a great defense but I just wouldn't be overly concerned about it yet either. If you go by KenPom then a Calipari defense is rarely ever going to be bad and I sense some are afraid it's going to get them knocked out of the tournament early. I just don't see that level of angst as justified coming out of an exhibition that wasn't close.

Agree with that. Not really who he is. There will be some games when they feed him and he takes advantage of not being double teamed. You'd like to see him convert those opportunities but I'm not expecting Kentucky to go to him in those situations consistently, even if it goes against what Calipari has wanted to do for so long.

I'm not sure he's going to have to draw a double team against teams with solid interior defenders. I'm interested in finding out at how he'll be at kicking out to shooters. He's going to be a relentless offensive rebounder and will do much of his work that way. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm not against this take. I sort of like the idea of having a three-guard lineup out there with Wheeler, Mintz, and Washington, but it's still early. I think at some point this year Grady will really start to impress. Brooks needs to be consistent but has certain qualities that I like in those close out situations. He's quick to the ball and experienced.

One of the things I was watching was his natural foul consciousness when he's on the court. After he picked up two I did notice him battling and fighting for a loose ball and thinking he was going to pick up a quick third. I don't think Tshiebwe had "huge" foul issues at West Virginia but he is going to have to play careful at times because I do think they are a very different team with him out. It's easy for me to see the frontcourt as a potential weakness when he has to come out.