[Granny Bear]

What a game!!!!

[16BBall Fan]

It has been nice to watch the Kentucky actually coach and not spend all game screaming at the players or the officials all night!

[Old School Hound]

You just can't overstate the value of having experienced players on the floor, especially in crunch time in a big time environment.

[Spud6]

What a game!!!! I love having old dudes on the team, they never seemed to be bothered by the deficits we were facing and just kept plugging away.

[Old School Hound]

What a game!!!! I love having old dudes on the team, they never seemed to be bothered by the deficits we were facing and just kept plugging away.

Yep. I just mentioned how valuable experience is. Experience doesn't get overwhelmed by adversity. This has been a key missing ingredient for UK recently.

[King Kong]

Great game by both teams!

We were down several times this game.  Could've folded and let it get outta hand.  This bunch took the shots and fought back.  Gritty performance,  we battled and found a way to get the win. 

If we battle like this every game,  I honestly believe we give ourselves a chance at going places this season.  

Hat's off to this team.  Hat's off to Coach Pope and his staff.  This is just the third game of the season.  It's amazing at what the coaching staff has done with this bunch,  in such a short amount of time.  Same can be said for our players,  what they've been able to do in such short time. 

It's just the start of November. We're going to take some shots during the season.  But I am definitely pumped up about it! Even if we lost this game I'd said the same thing.  Especially after the way we kept fighting back and the heart our bunch showed. 

Awesome job by the Cat's tonight in a gigantic game atmosphere!

[Old School Hound]

The thing about it is that UK didn't play particularly well. Williams wasn't very good and Robinson was a no -show... and they still beat the sixth-ranked team by five points. It's a long season but there's definitely reason for optimism.

[Cactus Jack]

You just can't overstate the value of having experienced players on the floor, especially in crunch time in a big time environment.

There are plenty of differences between this Kentucky team and teams of the past, but you get the feeling that most of the players on this team know that this might be the highest level that they reach and their opportunity to seize the moment whereas past teams might have known in the back of their mind that there would likely be much bigger and better things awaiting in life after UK.

For a guy like Jamal Butler or Andrew Carr, this is probably it. For a guy like Jaxson Robinson or Brandon Garrison, these are the moments that may make the difference in getting to the next level. Couple that with their experience and you get the impression that there's another level of hunger that might have been lacking before.

Brandon Garrison is a former McDonald's All-American on his second school that looks like he'll be one of our foundational pieces during his Junior season next year. Imagine taking someone we've had a huge hand in developing and the predictability that comes with it instead of an unknown freshman with more stars. Remember watching Johnny Juzang "throw daggers" for UCLA in the Final Four? Bryce Hopkins for Providence? Garrison will be higher on draft boards but won't be pushed down the bench.

How great was it to see Pope go for the home run on one of the final inbounds plays? Or just to see points off of an inbound under our basket? Heck, a sideout that wasn't something more than a bailout lob into the backcourt?

How about not having to hear cliches during the post-game presser?

It's definitely the honeymoon phase with Pope. I don't mean to be a complete pessimist, as there'll certainly be moments if he sticks around long enough, but he's knocked it out of the park so far.



The Ugly:

- I don't know the exact numbers from the point that Maluach started going out (due to stoppages) but Duke was in control and you can probably run any advanced statistic that you'd like but the point differential between periods where he was healthy and effective versus those when he was on the bench or receiving treatment and see a HUGE difference.

- Koby Brea cannot guard. He wasn't brought in to defend, but there's a reason the most efficient shooter in college basketball was the 6th man at a mid-major. With Butler, Oweh, Williams, and spurts from Garrison, it's not as if he's going to need to lock anyone down for us to win, but he was just getting cooked out there. He's coming off a back surgery and at the point in his career where what you see is probably what you are going to get, and he obviously brings a lot to the table, but there are going to be some nights in SEC play where the starter that a Mississippi State, Missouri, or Texas A&M tries to hide on offense just goes to work on him and Pope is forced into a decision. Late in games, he's probably too much of a target not to consider offensive/defensive substitutions, and when he's stuck out there, he might as well be on an island. Hopefully he's hot enough that we can bite the bullet and trade 3's for 2's.

- Andrew Carr was getting worked early as well. He has better length, defensive effort, and a higher basketball IQ than Brea, but you don't have to close your eyes and squint too hard to imagine a world where he's a defensive liability against more athletic bigs. Maybe it was Duke's familiarity from his time at Wake or the fact that they were trying to take advantage of Flagg and other match-ups they thought they had, but you could tell that they were looking for him early.

- Kerr Kriisa. I'm going to digress so I can draw an analogy. In 2011, the Dallas Mavericks knocked off the LeBron Heat "Superteam" in the NBA Finals. ESPN's "The Sports Guy" Bill Simmonds wrote an article about what NBA championship teams need and "irrational confidence". Without looking it up, the gist of what he said seemed to be that underdogs like the Mavs needed at least: one sure-fire Hall of Famer in his prime (Dirk), one Hall of Famer outside of his peak (Kidd), a solid role player (Tyson Chandler), and one player who wasn't even an All-Star but had the mentality that he's a Hall of Famer (Jason Terry). If you hadn't already guessed, Kriisa is most likely Jason Terry-- tons of irrational confidence. That isn't a bad thing. If the team is ice cold, there's five seconds left, and you need to draw up something for someone, even if he's 0-10 at the moment, Kriisa has the confidence in himself to create something and think he's going to make the next one. That's a double-edged sword. Tonight, he hit a big three that lifted us during a comeback, then took a not-so-great look from deep in the next two possessions. He's in his fifth year of eligibility, so what you see is most likely what you'll get; and trying too hard to tame him risks ruining what makes him valuable, but there'll probably be a game or two where he completely saves us and three to five more where he makes fans want to pull their hair out.

- Collin Chandler. I believe most of the hype and think he eventually spends around 2-3 years in the NBA if he stays healthy, but his time away from the game hurt his immediate trajectory. He probably leads the team in scoring as a Junior, but we need to pump the breaks on any real breakout this season unless it's in February or March (if at all). As is, he played two minutes and never really seemed in the flow. On a night where Butler was in early foul trouble and Robinson was less than his best, that was a bit telling.

[Granny Bear]

I set my alarm for 10:30 pm last night, and boy am I tickled to death that I did!!!  I haven't been back to sleep!! 
It was so worth it too.

I can't let this thread die without mentioning Duke's player, Flagg.  What a fantastic player this kid is and he's only 17 years old!  I know he flubbed the last two possessions, but I think he's the real deal!

I'm wondering if there are any burning couches on State Street.


And it wasn't just the win!  I LOVED the spirit, the resilience and the fight in this team.  At the ending of the game, there wasn't "playing to not lose", they were still playing to win.  When they threw the homerun on that inbounds play, I nearly wet myself!!!!!

[Bluecat]

Not much more for to say at this point that hasn't already been said. This was a complete reverse of a game that we are used to seeing. Normally we are the young team that folds in the end to a more experienced and tougher team. Love seeing a coach make adjustments throughout the game to give them a fighting chance to win. Need Robinson to be that guy, but Butler took that role in getting to the lane and creating. Carr may have been beaten on D many times but he put us on his back late. Very fun game and worth staying up for.

[i82much]

A lot of great comments by people who have a lot higher basketball IQ than myself. My biggest takeaway....halftime....something happened in the locker room. Adjustments were made and confidence was elevated by a calm rational voice in the middle of a stressful situation. Coaching happened. Duke had the more talented players. We had the more talented coach. Heck, I'm normally a nervous wreck in these big games, coach Pope's demeanor even calmed me down.

[Granny Bear]

I wished it had calmed me down!! I couldn't go back to sleep I was so hyped up!!

Lord, what a game!!

[Hoot Gibson]

I fell asleep early during last night's game, but it is great having a competent coach on UK's bench again. The transfer portal has changes NCAA basketball for the worse, but I still look forward to seeing a UK team with a good mix of seasoned veterans and talented young players again.

[King Kong]

I set my alarm for 10:30 pm last night, and boy am I tickled to death that I did!!!  I haven't been back to sleep!! 
It was so worth it too.

I can't let this thread die without mentioning Duke's player, Flagg.  What a fantastic player this kid is and he's only 17 years old!  I know he flubbed the last two possessions, but I think he's the real deal!

I'm wondering if there are any burning couches on State Street.


And it wasn't just the win!  I LOVED the spirit, the resilience and the fight in this team.  At the ending of the game, there wasn't "playing to not lose", they were still playing to win.  When they threw the homerun on that inbounds play, I nearly wet myself!!!!!

I definitely agree with you about Flagg.  He played a awesome game overall,  for the most part.  He had like what,  26 point's and 12 rebounds,  something like that.  Plus him being only 17 is amazing especially in a big game situation like that.  The last minute or two of the game he might have been trying to do to much.  Or the Duke staff was putting to much on him or both.  

This is just Flaggs third game to.  Duke plays a brutal schedule this year.  Scary to think about how much Flagg is going to grow and get better as a player.  Same can be said about Duke's entire team.  

So I too have to give Flagg credit,  he definitely deserves it.  Even as much as it pains me to give a Duke guy credit lol

Again, Awesome performance by the Cat's.  Every so called expert I seen on TV,  was picking Duke.  Honestly I'm glad they were.  Our bunch knew we were facing adversity before this game even started.  We rose to the occasion.  

LIke one or more said on here,  overall we didn't play the best that we could.  We're going to grow from what went wrong and we're going to continue to get better.  Our efforts were good enough to beat one of the country's top ranked teams.  In all honesty I would've been happy with a strong showing,  even if we lost.  Got a bonus here by getting the win!

You could tell Pope was pumped up before this game.  His energy he brings is amazing.  Plus he seemed to stay pretty laid back with that energy,  throughout the game.  He seemed confident,  I believe his attitude really carries over to his players.

[Granny Bear]

Plus Pope's halftime adjustments!!!
Haven't seen those for a while.

[Old School Hound]

A lot of great comments by people who have a lot higher basketball IQ than myself. My biggest takeaway....halftime....something happened in the locker room. Adjustments were made and confidence was elevated by a calm rational voice in the middle of a stressful situation.  Coaching happened. Duke had the more talented players. We had the more talented coach.  Heck, I'm normally a nervous wreck in these big games, coach Pope's demeanor even calmed me down.

Pope outcoached Shyer in this game, in my opinion. Duke didn't even have any timeouts left to call on their last possessions. Kinda reminded me of that NCAA Tourney game when Tubby did a number on Coach K.  Cats were behind by 17 halfway through the second half but staged a furious comeback. Coach K ran through all of his timeouts and Tubby made him pay for it.

[RunItUpTheGut]

Cals sorry ass loses this game by double digit.

Should have made this change years ago.

Awesome to have a coach that can call simple inbounds plays.

[Old School Hound]

^^^

At one point Cal was one of the best to ever do it. He was good for a long time. But like most of us, including Old School, he got rich, fat, and lazy. Right now, Pope is just rich. A few more years he will add fat and lazy to his resume.

[Hoot Gibson]

^^^

At one point Cal was one of the best to ever do it. He was good for a long time. But like most of us, including Old School,  he got rich, fat, and lazy.  Right now, Pope is just rich. A few more years he will add fat and lazy to his resume.

Pitino has not gotten fat and lazy. Calipari was a dud.

[Old School Hound]

Call me crazy(Jet does) but I think nearly 900 wins, national titles, a plethora of Final Fours, second winningest coach in UK history (410 wins) behind Rupp, Hall of Fame, winningest active coach in college basketball is far from being the resume of a dud. Folks continue to let politics cloud their judgement.

---

A billion wins would make a coach a dud, according to some, if he was a northeastern liberal. Cal was one of the best to ever do it but it was best for him and Kentucky to seek new challenges.

---

^^^

At one point Cal was one of the best to ever do it. He was good for a long time. But like most of us, including Old School,  he got rich, fat, and lazy.  Right now, Pope is just rich. A few more years he will add fat and lazy to his resume.

Pitino has not gotten fat and lazy. Calipari was a dud.

Pitino has sex on restaurant tables. That will keep you from getting fat and lazy.  Cal's a family man who takes his wife to restaurants.

[jetpilot]

Give me the guy who bangs women and kicks ass over the blowhard who can't beat anybody all day long.

[jetpilot]

And you have a very poor history of judging anyone's character or any other damn thing.

[jetpilot]

St John's will go farther in March than Arkansas. Any takers?

[Old School Hound]

And you have a very poor history of judging anyone's character or any other damn thing.

Why do you say that, friend?

---

St John's will go farther in March than Arkansas. Any takers?

It's certainly a possibility.

  If Jeff Sheppard's little boy had showed up any at all UK would have made the Final Four last season.

[jetpilot]

Cal sucked for years. Pitino's St.Johns team is very good, nobody will want to play them in March.

[Old School Hound]

And you have a very poor history of judging anyone's character or any other damn thing.

I'm not the one who supports a sex trafficker of underage girls being the nation's top law enforcement official.

[King Kong]

Coach Pope needs to send someone on the coaching staff out shopping! Find and purchase a quality pair of scissors.  

If we keep playing hard,  fighting through adversity,  finding ways to win,  gradually get those scissors out and sharpen them little by little. 

Come April those scissors will come in handy when we're cutting the nets down as National Champions baby!

Whooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

I can't help it I'm still pumped up about this team 

[pjdoug]

Mark Pope can flat out coach.

[Old School Hound]

Mark Pope can flat out coach.

I think he was better than the Duke coach. Nice adjustments and didn't run through his timeouts like the Devils coach did.

[pjdoug]

I set my alarm for 10:30 pm last night, and boy am I tickled to death that I did!!!  I haven't been back to sleep!! 
It was so worth it too.

I can't let this thread die without mentioning Duke's player, Flagg.  What a fantastic player this kid is and he's only 17 years old!  I know he flubbed the last two possessions, but I think he's the real deal!

I'm wondering if there are any burning couches on State Street.


And it wasn't just the win!  I LOVED the spirit, the resilience and the fight in this team.  At the ending of the game, there wasn't "playing to not lose", they were still playing to win.  When they threw the homerun on that inbounds play, I nearly wet myself!!!!!

I loved that play. What a coach. Playing to win instead of trying not to lose. Pope is like a nicer version of Pitino, but he means business too and won't back down.