[Stardust]

Everyone has called Gut and I haters from the tip-off of this season. Yet, the glaring issues of this team were evident at the start. As the season progressed, it became evident to many others. This team with the type of talent that they have and the lack of leadership of upperclassmen doomed this team from the start. Everyone wanted to give this team excuses and wanted soooooooo badly to live in past accomplishments. But there ain't gonna be no Anthony Davis, Kyle Macy and Jamaal Mashburn show up to help this season!

BUT - I did not expect such woes today! I expected this was going to be the "get healthy" game for the Cats. Yet, this team, including the coaching, completely fell apart. It was said in a different thread by insideinfo that maybe Cal is feeling the pressure. I honestly don't think it is the pressure, but I do believe he has NO IDEA WHAT TO DO!

Has he lost this team? No, I don't think so!

Does he know how to take this talented group and get them to play inspired basketball for 40 minutes? No, I don't think so!

Can this team recover? Yes they can, but not because they are going to become a team, or coaching will get them over the hump. This team still has the talent to win on talent alone. But this team's talent is restricted to one guy dribbling the basketball and four others watching. They play flat footed defense. And the have no concept of an offense!

I love Kentucky Blue, but what I witnessed today can only make me hope for next year!

[Stardust]

As I said to Gut earlier, is Willis sooooooooo bad that he can't sniff the floor! I'm not saying that he has anywhere near the talent that these other guys do, but he plays "Roll Basketball"! Can anyone name me another program that goes out night after night without roll players? Yes, it looks great that we put 6 McDonald's all-americans on the roster every year and send as many to the pros each draft. But you show many any other team in the nation that tries to play this kind of basketball? Willis is young, be he is smart and knows the basketball floor! Don't tell me he does no play defense, because no one else does either! We have guys like Willis and Hawkins that will be here for four years (unless they get frustrated and transfer). These types of guys can be the glue that helps the transition of each years one and done's! There is no reason at all that these guy's play SOME roll! I'm not saying 20 minutes per game, but it should be "Something Per-Game"!

[RunItUpTheGut]

I know you and I more or less called this, but I think we can both agree we didn't expect it to be this bad.

It appears this team has no determination what so ever. I honestly think we have some very good players. BUT, they are individual players.
If Im Cal, I would have started thinking about other players at least a month ago. As you stated, are players like Willis, Hood, and Lee really that bad, or is Cal scared to try something new this late?

Whatever it is, it isn't working. I think we could lose out and still make the tourney, but if something is going to try and get corrected, it better happen before the weekends over.

[honestjchsfan]

IMO the problem with this team is coach Cal! IMO Cal has forgot what good basketball is!!!! I really think this is a good group of players that Cal is trying to mold to HIS style of play instead of building a team that plays to its own strengths. This team was built to play zone on defense but as soon as the other team hits a lucky 30 foot jumper the zone is gone! On offense this team has very poor basketball skills! They are poor at passing the basketball, they are poor at moving without the basketball! They are very poor a reading the defense! After Cal was ejected from the game this team started looking better on offense. Cal is going to have to back off and allow this team to shoot the ball! They are in a shooting slump and need to shoot there way out of it!! He needs to take guys out that take bad shots and drive 1 on 3. Reward guys who take good shots! This team is a very poor passing team! A guy may be open on the outside but a poor pass is hard to shoot, we saw the same problem last season! Work on the finer details of the game! Playing smart basketball is what this team lacks and its Cal's fault! Cal has lost sight of what good basketball really is! I really don't understand the logic with all the BAD DRIVES??? If a player takes a open 3 there is a chance at 3 points on a make plus the rebound on the miss. A 1 on 4 drives pretty much leaves you with the chance of a offensive rebound only!

[Stardust]

^ spent many years as a UC grad complaining about Bob Huggin's doing this exact same thing "trying to mold to HIS style of play instead of building a team that plays to its own strengths"

[honestjchsfan]

As I said to Gut earlier, is Willis sooooooooo bad that he can't sniff the floor! I'm not saying that he has anywhere near the talent that these other guys do, but he plays "Roll Basketball"! Can anyone name me another program that goes out night after night without roll players? Yes, it looks great that we put 6 McDonald's all-americans on the roster every year and send as many to the pros each draft. But you show many any other team in the nation that tries to play this kind of basketball? Willis is young, be he is smart and knows the basketball floor! Don't tell me he does no play defense, because no one else does either! We have guys like Willis and Hawkins that will be here for four years (unless they get frustrated and transfer). These types of guys can be the glue that helps the transition of each years one and done's! There is no reason at all that these guy's play SOME roll! I'm not saying 20 minutes per game, but it should be "Something Per-Game"!

At the start of the season I really thought Cal might use a 10 man rotation! I really thought he would press, press and press some more with this team because he had so many players and fouls to give! Cal's whole approach this season has made very little sense to me.

[FBALL]

Now that was a BAD loss.

[Mix1]

Here's why all the freshmen are going pro. Until they institute a straight out of high school or 2 year rule. This will happen every year. NBA is targeting all decent freshmen for this.

http://m.espn.go.com/nba/story?storyId=10538276

[Mix1]

Oh,, and the Harrisons and Young are the Ryan Harrows of this year. I hope all three leave as they're nothing but a cancer. Why do you think Randle only averages 7-8 touches a game. The 3 guards will not pass to him. Why do you think Young jacks up ill advised 3s? Trying to look good for scouts. Hearing Randle,, Willis,, the twins and Young are gone regardless. From an nba scout.

[Warthog]

Smh smh smh

[Stardust]

At the start of the season I really thought Cal might use a 10 man rotation! I really thought he would press, press and press some more with this team because he had so many players and fouls to give! Cal's whole approach this season has made very little sense to me.

Cal, no matter where he has been, has been a 7-8 player coach! I can't say that only playing 8 players has made a big difference to this year, but it certainly will make a difference next year! Willis has been completely wasted, and Lee and Hawkins have digressed because they are scared to death to make a mistake!

[BlackcatAlum]

Can't really debate anything that's being said above.

Coach Cal is the one to blame, sure the twins & Young where overrated coming out of high school, but they haven't shown any improvement since the first game of the season and that's due to coaching. I know they're 18 & 19 year old kids, but they should show some kind of an improvement and they haven't. Am I saying we should run Calipari out of town? Hell no. He's getting the best players out of high school here, but not all of them are going to be as good as a John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Brandon Knight, Anthony Davis, MKG, etc. Sometimes it takes a year or two to start showing their true potential, like with Terrence Jones or Doron Lamb. But these kids don't come to UK because we're Kentucky, they come because we're a NBA factory. Sure being Kentucky helps a lot with convincing these kids to come here, because of the level of exposure they'll get all season, but until Calipari can get them to play for the name on the front of the jersey over the one on the back, they'll never be able to hang another banner in Rupp.

I also agree with the fact that this team should be playing a 2-3 defense and nothing else. Sure you're going to give up a few 3-point shots, but your also going to create turnovers and easy run outs on offense. But, Calipari is too stubborn and will not stay in the zone. Guys continue to get beat off the dribble in the man defense, which is creating the layups and open jumpers for the opposing team. Like you guys eluded too though, Calipari doesn't adjust to his teams strengths - he tries to get them to play ball his way and that's it.

All-in-all, I am upset with Calipari and the whole staff this season and like I said, I don't think we should be thinking about a future without him as our head coach. He is not a bad coach, I mean he took UMass to the Final Four in the 90s, that obviously takes quite of bit of some great coaching to get a program like that to the Final Four. Just think he hasn't done as great of a job as he should have done this year.

[Stardust]

^ I think you are WAAAYYYYY underselling the 1996 UMass team that went to the Final Four. There were five guys from that team that played professionally! Two of which were the greatest basketball players to every play from Puerto Rico! UMass also got their first McDonalds All-American that played on that team. Let's not undersell Cal's being a GREAT RECRUITER from the moment he stepped into Basketball. But let's not oversell him being outcoached by inferior teams in losses throughout his career. I know that can be said about every coach, but Cal has a track record of losing the BIG game! Until he won the title in 2012, his appearances in the Elite 8 and Final 4 were fraught with embarassing losses (and I'm not talking about the post results of having those final 4's stricken from his record). Again, I'm not adding insult to Cal just because I HATED him before he came to UK, there are facts out there for everyone to see for themselves (if you can take off the Blue tinted sunglasses). Bottom-line, I want to see more banners hung in the rafters. Cal is here, so yes, I WANT him to win titles! But adjustments to his style of players MUST be made! You can't just roll out a basketball to the 1996 UMass, 2008 Memphis, and 2012 UK teams that had MORE talent than any other team in the nation! You have to develop an offensive and defensive identity! And the past two years, this team has failed miserably to identify themselves!

[RunItUpTheGut]

^
If not for the best college basketball team ever, that 96 UMASS team would have won the NC with ease :biggrin:

[honestjchsfan]

^ I think you are WAAAYYYYY underselling the 1996 UMass team that went to the Final Four. There were five guys from that team that played professionally! Two of which were the greatest basketball players to every play from Puerto Rico! UMass also got their first McDonalds All-American that played on that team. Let's not undersell Cal's being a GREAT RECRUITER from the moment he stepped into Basketball. But let's not oversell him being outcoached by inferior teams in losses throughout his career. I know that can be said about every coach, but Cal has a track record of losing the BIG game! Until he won the title in 2012, his appearances in the Elite 8 and Final 4 were fraught with embarassing losses (and I'm not talking about the post results of having those final 4's stricken from his record). Again, I'm not adding insult to Cal just because I HATED him before he came to UK, there are facts out there for everyone to see for themselves (if you can take off the Blue tinted sunglasses). Bottom-line, I want to see more banners hung in the rafters. Cal is here, so yes, I WANT him to win titles! But adjustments to his style of players MUST be made! You can't just roll out a basketball to the 1996 UMass, 2008 Memphis, and 2012 UK teams that had MORE talent than any other team in the nation! You have to develop an offensive and defensive identity! And the past two years, this team has failed miserably to identify themselves!

Cal's problem with teaching and playing zone will be his down fall at UK! UK fans are not going to stand behind a coach that refuses to do what it takes to win! If you read Bobby Knight's book,, the team he calls his all time best was beat 92-90 in the NCAA by a Joe B Hall coached UK team that came out and played man to man. Hall knew he had a quickness advantage and caught Knight off guard by playing man to man. Hall played to HIS own teams strength not to Bob Knights team's strength. Hall had the knowledge and skill to teach both zone and man to man defense. Cal talks all this crap about playing threw contact IMO that's his way of blaming the players for not making shots. IMO it is up to the coach to get his players open contact free looks at the basket. Having a player drive 1 on 3 and take some wild shot is a pretty poor excuse for coaching! If he would teach these guys how to pass and how to use the bank board like 5th grade coaches do at least his team would look a lot better. I really don't understand, when a 6ft tall guy is guarding one of the twins , why not have him cut off a high post and down the lane to the block and get him the ball??? You never see either twin or Young try to post there man??? IMO this team is trying to hard to please Cal, they are scared to death to the point that the are afraid to take a transition 3! When was the last time you saw them take a transition 3?? I am to the point were I think Cal is just a stupid jerk! This team fights and get offensive rebounds no other team in the country can get they make hustle plays too! SOS play man to man get caught in switch match up disadvantage lose a key rebound lose the game and SOS players can't handle contact! HEY CAL YOU WHEN YOU CAN'T STOP THE BALL YOU HAVE GOT PLAY ZONE! YOU STUPID ****:HitWall:

[BlackcatAlum]

^ I think you are WAAAYYYYY underselling the 1996 UMass team that went to the Final Four. There were five guys from that team that played professionally! Two of which were the greatest basketball players to every play from Puerto Rico! UMass also got their first McDonalds All-American that played on that team. Let's not undersell Cal's being a GREAT RECRUITER from the moment he stepped into Basketball. But let's not oversell him being outcoached by inferior teams in losses throughout his career. I know that can be said about every coach, but Cal has a track record of losing the BIG game! Until he won the title in 2012, his appearances in the Elite 8 and Final 4 were fraught with embarassing losses (and I'm not talking about the post results of having those final 4's stricken from his record). Again, I'm not adding insult to Cal just because I HATED him before he came to UK, there are facts out there for everyone to see for themselves (if you can take off the Blue tinted sunglasses). Bottom-line, I want to see more banners hung in the rafters. Cal is here, so yes, I WANT him to win titles! But adjustments to his style of players MUST be made! You can't just roll out a basketball to the 1996 UMass, 2008 Memphis, and 2012 UK teams that had MORE talent than any other team in the nation! You have to develop an offensive and defensive identity! And the past two years, this team has failed miserably to identify themselves!

Actually, Cal only coached two players that went on to the NBA at UMass. However, I don't mean to undersell that '96 team. They where probably the second best team in the country that year. Calipari took UMass to the Sweet 16 in 92, 2nd round in 93 & 94, Elite 8 in 95, and the Final Four in 96. That's highly impressive at a smaller school.

I agree, adjustments should have been made to this team so that they can play to their strengths, instead of how Cal wants them to play, which obviously won't get this team past the first or second round of the NCAA tournament.

[honestjchsfan]

^
If not for the best college basketball team ever, that 96 UMASS team would have won the NC with ease :biggrin:

Cal would of found a way to screw it up! He has what many called the #1 recruiting class of all-time and he has found a way to screw that up hasn't he?? Cal had eight 5 star players on this team and can't beat a bad SC team?? There are coaches out there dreaming of getting one 5 star guy because they know if they get ONE 5 star guy they are going to win there league.

[RunItUpTheGut]

Cal would of found a way to screw it up! He has what many called the #1 recruiting class of all-time and he has found a way to screw that up hasn't he?? Cal had eight 5 star players on this team and can't beat a bad SC team?? There are coaches out there dreaming of getting one 5 star guy because they know if they get ONE 5 star guy they are going to win there league.

Player can be 40 star players and it doesn't mean there high school success will translate over to college.
Its especially not fair to rank a bunch of kids that haven't proven squat at number one.

Does that mean good experienced teams are a lot better? NO. Take a look at Michigan States struggles. That early season matchup between the two is now a distant memory.
Point is everybody is different every year. I love reading something like comments on ESPN where somebody like a Kansas fan bashes UK for losing to SC on the same night there team lost to an under impressive OKST team.

It comes and it goes.

[BlackcatAlum]

Cal would of found a way to screw it up! He has what many called the #1 recruiting class of all-time and he has found a way to screw that up hasn't he?? Cal had eight 5 star players on this team and can't beat a bad SC team?? There are coaches out there dreaming of getting one 5 star guy because they know if they get ONE 5 star guy they are going to win there league.

Let's be honest here, you can lead a animal to water, but you can't make it drink it.

The twins are very overrated. I just don't see how Rivals.com had Andrew as the #1 point guard and Aaron the #1 shooting guard in the country. Aaron has been good at times, but Andrew has really struggled this year. But neither are point guards. That's what UK is really lacking this season, a true facilitator of the ball and someone who makes the players around him better. The team just doesn't have that, however, in no way shape or form should UK have lost to South Carolina. Kentucky has blown out one team in the SEC this year, being Georgia. Every game has been close and come down to the final few minutes.

I still think the blame is on the coaches without a doubt. Probably 80/20 on the coaches, but they can't get out there and play for these guys either. But I don't understand why he leaves some of these guys in when they are doing nothing but hurting the team when they give no effort, can't make their free throws, and play zero defense.

[Stardust]

Actually, Cal only coached two players that went on to the NBA at UMass. However, I don't mean to undersell that '96 team. They where probably the second best team in the country that year. Calipari took UMass to the Sweet 16 in 92, 2nd round in 93 & 94, Elite 8 in 95, and the Final Four in 96. That's highly impressive at a smaller school.

I agree, adjustments should have been made to this team so that they can play to their strengths, instead of how Cal wants them to play, which obviously won't get this team past the first or second round of the NCAA tournament.

I said Pro's, not NBA

Talent alone can get you to the Sweet 16, it certainly will be all about who they get paired up with. I expect that the selection committee will purposefully matching the Cats with athletically experienced teams! Let's face it, from a media standpoint, everybody LOVES the upsets. I can see everybody trying to make UK a first round failure!

[Stardust]

After the game, UK released these quotes from Calipari:

“I wish I didn’t get thrown out of the game, so that I could fight with our team.”

“We have a short turnaround to prepare for Alabama, so we have to get back in the gym Sunday and start working on getting better.”

“Proud of the guys for not giving up, but we all have to figure out what do we each have to do to get this team right.”

We have to continue to believe in ourselves and each other, and I know our fans are fighting with us.”

[Stardust]

Cats did go on a 28-17 run after Cal was ejected!

Did it motivate them?

Were they relieved of all the screaming he was doing to each player as they came to the bench?

Did John Robic "COACH" the team down the stretch?

Was the substitutions more logical down the stretch or what you expected?

[cuppett777]

I think if Cal would have gotten Hickey couple yrs ago to be his point guard and Polson backing him up and adding this yr group,expect for the twins then this team would probally have a couple loses,but that's water over the bridge..

[cuppett777]

i guess we will see if they make that run that one of the twins said after the game(they was going to do something special)you can tell they didn't want to answer questions in postgame.

[Kyballing]

The expectations on the twins were two high!!!! Hickey by far a better PG than both. Those guys are tweeners/combo guards. UK likely to drop out of the top 25.

[Jarons]

The expectations on the twins were two high!!!! Hickey by far a better PG than both. Those guys are tweeners/combo guards. UK likely to drop out of the top 25.

They will be lucky to receive votes.

[Spirit100]

Completely off topic attempting to read Stardusts quotes with folks that have ADD are screwed thanks to Dusty Rhodes antics nicker:.

Hell, I don't have ADD and find myself having difficulty reading his posts!

Back on the subject, if folks think Cal is getting the boot due to this seasons results. One, quit smoking this states #1 cash crop. Two, he'd need to go sub .600 next year for folks to begin rattling their new hire sabers and gaining enough support from boosters to run him off. Peoples expectations are currently beyond ridiculous. If you think that time is now I really sympathize for you and your perspective. And if so riddle me this. Who is going to come in and coach freshmen all american teams to win National Titles every 3-5 years……NO ONE!!! Find another more realistic hobby.

So folks learned after two seasons of all american freshmen teams playing as freshmen do and how special the 2012 class was and boom, off with Cals head. I'll support the notion of having 2-3 upperclassmen providing "leadership" and team building guidance from here on out since it's clear the "freshmen" equation has it's limitations.

Go Cats!!!

Prayers to all the pets getting kicked across the yard...

[Stardust]

^ I think you are way overestimating what you think people are saying here. Cal is going NOWHERE! I don't even think that is debatable, and I am the one who is no fan of Cal. I don't think anyone is saying "CHANGE THE COACH", I think people are recognizing that it would do some good the "COACH TO CHANGE". Coach what you have, not what you don't have! He does not have a team that can run his dribble drive, so change the offense to something more conducive to your athletes! These kids are TERRIBLE man to man defenders, then make changes to your defense! Press, add a zone and stick with it, play match-up - bottom-line, try something other than the only thing that you coach!

[honestjchsfan]

^ I think you are way overestimating what you think people are saying here. Cal is going NOWHERE! I don't even think that is debatable, and I am the one who is no fan of Cal. I don't think anyone is saying "CHANGE THE COACH", I think people are recognizing that it would do some good the "COACH TO CHANGE". Coach what you have, not what you don't have! He does not have a team that can run his dribble drive, so change the offense to something more conducive to your athletes! These kids are TERRIBLE man to man defenders, then make changes to your defense! Press, add a zone and stick with it, play match-up - bottom-line, try something other than the only thing that you coach!

Here is a interesting video. At about 9:50 Wooden talks about his motion offense and how he stole it from Coach Rupp but that is not the point I am making with the video. Pay attention to what Wooden says about the different Forwards that he coached. This is what made Wooden great!!! He was a master at adapting his play book to suit the talents of HIS players! I also think this is Cal's biggest weakness as a coach. I also think the "Dribble Drive" motion offense is only suited to a limited number of player types.

[Mix1]

Cal hasn't used the true DDO since the last couple years at Memphis. At UK it has been lesser variations of it.