Remember when we were all wondering about what kind of team Mark Pope was going to assemble in his first year as Kentucky's head coach? Remember when each of assistant coach Cody Fueger's "BOOM!" tweets were more therapeutic than the previous one?
Good times.
There was also an unintended result as the roster construction process was in progress. Let me explain what I mean. This team is just full of alliterative names, so many guys with first names and last names that begin with the same letter. I doubt that I was the first person to notice this. This team isn't the first team to have some alliteration on the roster, but it does have more depth than any other team in Kentucky basketball history.
Kentucky set foot on the hardwood for the first time in the 1902-03 season. The first player that had some alliteration in his name was Lexington native Shelby Shanklin who played from 1906-10. The first (of several) teams that had two players with alliterative names was the 1911-12 squad which featured Brinkley Barnett and Brandy Brandstetner.
What about the teams with three same letter guys on the roster? This has happened four times. The first occurrence was in 1946-47 when you had Bob Brannum, James Jordan and Malcolm McMullen. The second time was the trio of Bill Bibb, Bob Burrow and Harold Hurst in 1954-55. Then there was Bernard Butts, Harry Hurd and Roy Roberts in 1960-61. Lastly, you had Brad Bounds, Gary Gamble, and Larry Lentz in 1965-66.
That's what makes this team exceptional in that department. There are four alliteration guys on this team. Four! Ansley Almonor, Collin Chandler, Kerr Kriisa and Otega Oweh. They unknowingly set a record the moment they walked on campus! We'll have to wait and see what happens with the current roster after the season is over but we already know that more alliteration is on the way. This time next year all eyes will be on incoming freshmen Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson.
Check out some other notable Kentucky alliteration names from the past:
Rick Robey
Bret Bearup
Sean Sutton
Rodrick Rhodes
Saul Smith
Todd Tackett
Rajon Rondo
Patrick Patterson
Darnell Dodson
Nerlens Noel
Mychal Mulder
Malik Monk
Kevin Knox
Johnny Juzang
Brandon Boston
Shaedon Sharpe
Kentucky's affinity for alliteration isn't just limited to players on the team. You can see it in the processes they teach every day. Did y'all listen to the Mark Pope Show last Monday Dec 16? What was Coach Pope talking with Tom Leach about? The importance of defending with a "championship chest". They are emphasizing the need to defend with their chest, try to avoid reaching and taking the correct first step defensively to cover ground and stay in position. He said that Lamont Butler, Otega Oweh and Trent Noah were the best at that.
The championship chest resides under an even bigger alliteration umbrella: banner behaviors. Had the privilege of talking with Associate Head Coach Alvin Brooks III about this before the season started.
The banner behaviors are definitely paying dividends. Evan Miyakawa runs a very popular analytics website that Mark Pope and his staff reference often. This team as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Evan has Kentucky ranked as a top 10 team and rightfully so. However he doesn't have a Cat on his top 10 players, top projected playmakers or most indespensable players lists. Otega Oweh, Kentucky's most consistent player to date, wasn't on any list.
Speaking of Oweh.
Otega Oweh On Offense
Otega has come in and fit right in. He's stuffed the stat sheet in every single game. He's scored in double figures in all the games, shooting 37.5% from three-point range. He's defending, dishing and putting in work on the boards as well. Lamont Butler was lights out in the Louisville game but Oweh's flurry at the end was pivotal too.
I talked with Tony Delk, the OG 00, the other day and asked him how he thought the current 00 is doing.
"He has been good in my eyes. His shot is a little funny, but he makes it. I love his motor. They are playing some good basketball."
That's high praise from the former SEC Player of the Year, Regional and Final Four Most Outstanding Player. It will be fun to watch how Oweh and the rest of the team continue to gel and get more comfortable with Pope's system and each other.
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