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Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 11-15-2016, 10:53 PM:

We were so good tonight.......but at the same time not so good. First thing was I was greatly disappointed as the national anthem was being played that only one UK player had his right hand where it should be, while all the Mich. St players knew where to put it. Cal knew where to put it, why didn't his players. Someone needs to tell him to wake his guys up.

Looks like Willis is headed back to the bench if he keeps this up. Looks like he wasn't even looking for his shot, just catch and pass.

Adebayo seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. That one is probably still seeing stars and has a ringing in his ears. Bam is gonna take a while to get in the flow.

Monk was just unconcius.sp

Briscoe is showing why he came back and if he keeps shooting and playing like this he could be a lottery pick, 1st round for sure.

Fox was directing the offense nicely tonight with 6 assists.

Jones wasn't in the game much tonight because he wasn't in the game. Very lost at times. He may be a definite returner next year.

Humphries showed his slowness tonight by getting block on his shots instead of doing the blocking.

Gabriel didn't shoot much ut he had 6 rebounds and 3 steals.

Hawkins didn't play as much tonight but he did have a couple rebounds and assists.

The others saw only mop up duty.

We got a long way to go to get where we need to be but we are seeing who will be in the rotation. It will be a 7 or 8 man rotation for now until some of the others pick up their game. Hawkins and Willis's time will depend on their contributions.

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 11-16-2016, 05:11 AM:

You and I obviously watched the same game last night Bama. I have some major concerns for this team and that is balance is shot distribution, lack of rebounding and lack of a consistent rim protector and three point shooting. Had not Monk been unconscious shooting from behind the arc, we could have had a much tougher game against a very weak Tom Izzo coached team. Michigan State are not a top 25 team this year but may be as the season goes on when they get their other freshmen over injuries and into the line up. I thought the shot selection was very bad at times and that front line players are not yet included in Cal's offense. Front line players only got to take ten of the sixty shots our team took last night, not a very good ball distribution on behalf of the guards. We run absolutely no offense for our front line players and haven't during any of the three games we have played thus far. The jury is still out with me on this team, lots of talent but some of the freshmen have a huge learning curve to be effective at the college level.

quote:

“The group of freshmen, they’re not ordinary freshmen,” said Isaiah Briscoe, who scored 21 points. “They pick up things fast, they listen and they know how to play basketball. We don’t even really run a lot of plays, so that’s big for the freshmen. Malik played well today. I knew he was due for a good game shooting wise. I told him that before the game. He shot well.”

quote:

This quote is from Briscoe after last nights game and certainly makes the case that we are basically playing free lance basketball right now with no real offensive game play other than have the guards take the ball to the basket. Good zone defenses will take away a lot of our current offense and I expect we will be seeing a lot more of them as the season moves on.

We certainly have the talent on this roster to be a decent team but I do not see the ingredients to be a great team, even one that will get us to a final four. I sure do hope my early assessments of this group are wrong.

[ 11-16-2016, 07:31 AM: Message edited by: SCWC ]

Posted by boomdaddy (Member # 2644) on 11-16-2016, 07:29 AM:

Sure the team has a ways to go. I do think we, as fans, forget how young the players are. What I look for is attitude and effort, early in the season, and at the end of the season, execution and team work. Attitude and effort look pretty good to me. Don't see anybody pouting on the bench or refusing to hustle.

This is a team that you know will make a run on any team out there. They may play a close first half, but the runs will happen.

Just look at how well the team is doing now. How dominant will they be, when they dial up the defensive pressure?

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 11-16-2016, 07:33 AM:

Boom, I certainly hope you are right no your assessment of this team and that I am totally off base. I am old school basketball wise and have always felt you have to be an inside out team to be successful in the long run, this team is an outside in team right now and I don't see that changing with the stable of talented guards we are fortunate to have this year.

Posted by handycat (Member # 2323) on 11-16-2016, 07:45 AM:

I figured out the shot selection. Either the guard who crosses half court with the ball shoots it or he makes one pass to another guard who shoots it. I don't think they try to get the front line involved at all. Lots of talent on this team but for me not a fun team to watch. Don't mean to complain about an easy win that I thought we had a good chance of losing but the lack of involvement of the big's frustrated me.

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 11-16-2016, 08:00 AM:

Me too Handy. A good win but against a less than stellar Michigan State team.

Posted by WildcatFanatic (Member # 2932) on 11-16-2016, 09:10 AM:

On a side note, in the 2nd game Kansas beat Duke. [Big Grin]

Posted by Old Norm (Member # 1482) on 11-16-2016, 01:27 PM:

I would have been totally bummed had we lost last night. However, the Puke loss would have just about brought me out of it!

Posted by boomdaddy (Member # 2644) on 11-16-2016, 01:40 PM:

I don't claim to be a guru, just stating the fact that I think things are going well, because of the talented youth that makes up the team. They don't need to be polished this early in the season and they have enough veterans to carry them if they get in a rut, until they find their way.

They are actually playing better than one should expect freshmen to play. There is no Wall or Cousins on this team, but they have more talent, top to bottom, and enough talent to get tougher competition of 5 on 5 in practice than they could expect to find against most of their opponents.

I couldn't be more upbeat about their chances to win it all this year.

Maybe we should go back in time and try to remember some of the players that former coaches used to bring in. The Rex Chapmans and the Ron mercers were few and far between. Most were wobbly colts that were full of indecision and doubt, their first year on the court.

These players are much better and skilled as freshmen. But, they still have to learn to play with other talented players and be a team, instead of the star every time down the court. That doesn't happen righto ff the bat. Maybe at the start or the middle of conference play, the superstars will gel into a team. I wouldn't be upset if they lost a game or two, before the tourney. Being undefeated may be too much of a burden to carry.

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 11-16-2016, 01:50 PM:

It is very hard to judge this team thus far, they really have not played any quality competetion. I am very concerned about three aspects of the game that appear to be lacking, three point shooting, offensive and defensive rebounding and front line scoring. We certainly have NCAA caliber guards but my fear is that our front line players might not develop into big time gamers in just one year at UK, hope I am wrong. They will be an outstanding defensive team because of their athleticism and as of right now their defense is head and shoulders above their team offense. Hopefully they round into a well balanced offensive team by mid December, their defense is already at Mid December level.

[ 11-16-2016, 01:52 PM: Message edited by: SCWC ]

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 11-16-2016, 02:09 PM:

I don't believe Jones will leave after 1 yr. Gabriel may stay for 2 yr also.

Posted by ukcatfannfl (Member # 1425) on 11-16-2016, 05:55 PM:

boom the aau circuit has totally changed the skill sets for the young guys. they play against top notch talent every year for 4 or more yrs in the summer so they are almost "pros" before they sit foot on campus...

Posted by GA Cat (Member # 642) on 11-16-2016, 06:04 PM:

Who the heck is Jones? I am probably missing a joke here.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 11-16-2016, 06:27 PM:

Sacha Killeya-Jones a freshman that averages 6.7 minutes a game playing time and 1 point per game.

Posted by ukman (Member # 3032) on 11-16-2016, 09:22 PM:

I like the way this team plays fast and pushes it up the floor so quick. That can put alot of pressure on a defense. I don't like the fact that our posts only got 10 shots total. I have coached for 20 years and have always been an inside out coach, and I believe you need to be able to score inside when you have off nights, or a good zone team. I changed my way of coaching this year to help them in high school in the future. Having some guys play back to the basket ball has worked in the 8th grade, but then they are 6'3" in high school now playing against 6' 7", and they dont know what to do. I want them to all be able to handle the ball and shoot. We have gone to a 4 out 1 in offense that is very drive and kick oriented. However, we do pass the ball very well, and move off the ball very well. The kids love to play this way. In our first two games we have 36 assists, which has made me as happy as can be. I just want to see our cats have some better movement of the ball, and the players. I think they have the potential to be very, very good. Hopefully Bam and Humphries and develop into solid inside options.

Posted by phillrose1 (Member # 2916) on 11-16-2016, 09:52 PM:

To be totally honest I was watching this game with my father last night and before the game started we both wished for the best but thought the game was going to be a loss due to us having so many freshman and MSt being such a physical team. With us both having this point of view going into the game the win was huge and really exciting.

What I liked about this team, we really pushed the ball up the floor and Cal seemed to use most of his bench. I stated this 2 years ago and I believe this years team while not as good as 2014/15 we have the horses to really run and push teams and beat them in the second half. We really need to get an 8-10 person rotation and use the whole bench. Our guard play looked good for early on and Briscoe looked better but I thought his shooting could still use some work. Our free-throw shooting was great and usually that is a problem for us. I few shoot like that all year we will be a tough team to beat.

We really need to get more touches on the inside, even if it is a pass in and out or back screens with the bigs rolling to the basket while the guards are looking for penetration one the opposite side of the floor. Our defense looked great at times but a few times I thought we helped a little too much and left people wide open for kick out jump shots. Lastly and I hope he just had a bad game but I thought Humphries looked bad last night. I normally don't get on our players but he doesnt seem to have good hands, the ball was stripped from him multiple times our of his grip, he didn't seem to handle passes well, almost every time he tried to dribble he had it stolen and and he really didn't box out well. Boxing out was another area I hope gets emphasized in practice this week. There were multiple times when MSt was shooting a free-throw and end up with the rebound. That really got annoying to see. Simply because it is a fundamental mistake that should be corrected easily.

Did anyone else see these things or were Pops and I being over critical.

Posted by GA Cat (Member # 642) on 11-16-2016, 11:06 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by catmandoo:
Sacha Killeya-Jones a freshman that averages 6.7 minutes a game playing time and 1 point per game.

Thank you. I guess I was having brain f#$*&t on that one.

Posted by Old Norm (Member # 1482) on 11-17-2016, 08:04 AM:

Trying to figure out how to pronounce those first two names, tends to make me forget the simple "Jones"!

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 11-17-2016, 09:04 AM:

I think his last name is actually Killeya-Jones. Like out of the mold of Kidd-Gilchrist etc.

And phillrose1, I echo your sentiments on what I saw against Michigan State. I felt Humphries with his size should dominate without having to hurry his shots. I was very disappointed in his getting his shots blocked by a team who had no player taller than six eight. We have great guards and hopefully our front line will develop and become more involved in the offense as the season goes on. You need much better balance than the guards shooting 50 of the teams 60 shots taken the other night.

[ 11-17-2016, 09:10 AM: Message edited by: SCWC ]

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 11-17-2016, 10:08 AM:

Either Humphries can't jump very high or he was not jumping like he should be. They were definitely taking advantage of him.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 11-17-2016, 11:47 AM:

He can't jump very high.

Posted by bigbluerev (Member # 1633) on 11-17-2016, 01:39 PM:

quote:
I do think we, as fans, forget how young the players are

Exactly - remember, at this point in the season Karl Anthony Towns was not setting the world on fire. He was struggling some. Jamal Murray was no All-American the first half of the season. Even Anthony Davis was viewed more from the eyes of potential than superstar at this point in the season. Those three turned out pretty good.

I think we will be amazed at much some of these guys improve between now and February; Bam being one I expect to improve a lot - very similar to KAT.

[ 11-17-2016, 01:39 PM: Message edited by: bigbluerev ]