Round table: What's the ceiling for Kentucky's defensive potential?
Speed, athleticism, skill ... the Cats have it. Maybe not experience, but John Calipari has, once again, a supremely talented team.
The defense is where this team could really set itself apart from a lot of the other squads across the country. The Cats Illustrated staff's preseason basketball round table moves on to the defensive potential of Kentucky's 2017-18 basketball team.
RELATED: Where will the Cats find their offensive punch?
RELATED: How significant is Kentucky's lack of experience this year?
RELATED: Who wins the SEC in 2017-18?
RELATED: How much will Vanderbilt's injury hurt Kentucky?
When you look at Kentucky's roster on paper what do you think the team's defensive potential is like heading into this season?
T.J. Walker, Basketball Recruiting Analyst: This should be John Calipari's best shot blocking team he's ever had at UK. You don't have an Anthony Davis or a Nerlens Noel, but you have so much length across the roster. The guards will block shots and the bigs will, too. It could be his best overall defensive team, but that will depend on how much a lockdown defender Diallo is for the Cats. The defense will be the strength of this team. Show original message
Jeff Drummond, Managing Editor: The defensive potential of this UK squad is off the charts. While they may not have an intimidating shot-blocker along the lines of a Nerlens Noel or Anthony Davis, Richards could develop into a decent rim protector, and they've got a bunch of long, athletic guys at every position that will make getting clean looks a nightmare for opponents. I think this team will need great defense in order to create the type of offense we're used to seeing. The big key, as it always is, will be getting all of these guys on the same page and communicating defensively. I don't think Cal will ever fully commit to it, but if he decided to go zone with this bunch, they could really be scary. Jim Boeheim would cut off a body part to coach this roster.
Justin Rowland, Publisher: I think it should be one of the nation's better defensive teams but it's tough to tell how elite it's going to be early in the season. Commentators said P.J. Washington's defense left a little to be desired in pick and roll situations when he was playing in Egypt. There isn't one clear out of this world shot blocker who's good enough offensively to stay on the court enough minutes to lead the country in swats. But the length of this team is going to bother a ton of shots inside and some opponent game plans will be scrapped. Intimidation will be a real factor. The improved shot blocking (and let's be real, in spite of no "rim protector" the last couple of years, as spoiled fans like to say, it's still been one of the best shot blocking teams in the country) will allow for continued on the ball pressure and the Cats have the backcourt personnel to do that.
How much better will the Cats be defensively than they were last year? That I'm not sure of. They ranked very high in KenPom's adjusted defensive ratings last year and the defense carried the team for stretches (although some national media were slow to catch onto that). Malik Monk obviously wasn't much of a stopper but between De'Aaron Fox's on-ball pressure, Derek Willis' defensive improvement, Bam Adebayo's footwork and versatility in guarding every position and true defensive stars like Dominique Hawkins and Isaiah Briscoe, I'm not even convinced the team will be better defensively.