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Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 02-11-2018, 04:19 AM:

Box Score

Comments from Cal:

quote:

“It’s not frustrating. What it becomes is, why is it happening? Again, you’re so into how you’re playing you can’t give that energy to the team. That’s what young guys do and I can’t seem to get them over that hump. They’re more concerned with how they’re playing and then when they’re concerned, they look really bad individually. You look like you can’t play basketball, you’re not very good. And when you’re in that fighting mode and all of a sudden, all of the good stuff that you have in your body comes out, you really look like a good player and you’re playing for us instead of yourself. There’s not enough trust there yet. It’s not just one guy. We’ve got a bunch of guys not doing the stuff that we need.”

quote:

Those comments pretty much sum up many of the problems with this team. This is the first team Cal has had at UK that he has not been able to get to play together as a team. He has a bunch of pretty boys on this team who are not prepared to get their hands dirty for the good of the team and their coach.

[ 02-11-2018, 08:11 AM: Message edited by: SCWC ]

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 02-11-2018, 08:43 AM:

quote:
Comments from Cal:

They’re more concerned with how they’re playing and then when they’re concerned, they look really bad individually.

I believe this is on Cal. With his very short leash, you can see that this team plays scared and does not have very much fun on the court. They're scared of making a mistake and being immediately sent to the bench. I'm really surprised at Cal for that comment.

[ 02-11-2018, 08:44 AM: Message edited by: PaulCat ]

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 02-11-2018, 09:03 AM:

I'm tired of hearing what he has to say. Why don't he just admit he didn't get the guys he really wanted. Theyre playing in other shades of blue and other colors. I agree these kids are playing scared. They were prima-donnas in high school and are trying to continue playing that way. When guys like Knox just walk away from a guy going to the basket with no one on him I'm fed up with these kids. They are taking no more action than they have to. It's time for the season to be over and let Knox, Washington, Richards, and some o9f the others go to the G League where they can either play or call it a career. Don't look now but we are looking 5 straight osses in the face and I don't know when that happened last.

Posted by jerseycat (Member # 9) on 02-11-2018, 10:11 AM:

If source is correct:

Last five losses in row was 1990, Pitino's first year. Finished year 14-14.

The previous year, 1989, Sutton's last, had another 5 losses in a row. Finished year 13-19.

More recent close to 5 in row were:
2009 and 2008 with 5 losses in 6 games.

Posted by ukman (Member # 3032) on 02-11-2018, 12:09 PM:

A lot of the blame lies with Cal. The way he jerked some of these kids on and off the court, combined with the fact that he would leave others on the court for making the same mistakes, or making no effort, is one reason this team lays so poorly. For the majority of the season it seemed that Knox, Diallo, and earlier on Washington had free reign. They would play lousy defense, take bad shots, and not rebound and he would leave them in for 30+ minutes. But other guys would do the exact same thing and they would get yanked immediately. I don't think they trust the coach at this point. Hope they have some sort of team meeting and get everything out in the open and can then move on. If not we are going to have one of the worst finishes to a season that I can remember.

Posted by ALA_KAT2 (Member # 1559) on 02-11-2018, 06:23 PM:

Some good analysis here.
I'm getting tired of coach blaming the players for not playing for the team. Whatever he's trying to get them to do is not working, except for Alexander being able to beat his man off the dribble and get to the rim. Maybe he needs to blame coaching and take some of the pressure.
Not having a very good Center to guard the basket is hurting our defense, and it hurts our offense because we have no one to throw it to in the middle and expect good results.
We have a couple guys who refuse to play hard defense, and that has lead to many open dunks and layups for our opponents. Maybe that's what Calipari is talking about, but if so, I'd be frustrated and angry.
If Richards and Washington stay, I think we will look much better next year with Herro and a couple good shooters coming in.

Posted by Cold Spring Cat (Member # 14751) on 02-12-2018, 11:17 AM:

My question would be: Do his assistants have any say in how the team is run? Are they not able to pull him aside and tell him what they are seeing?

I blame the entire coaching staff here - the brunt falls to Cal. He needs to let go of the "we're young" and the "this is my youngest team" excuses. Fact is, these kids need to be further along than they are this far into February. I would have forgiven a loss like this back in early December, but we are 3 weeks removed from the beginning of the conference and NCAA tournaments.

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 02-12-2018, 02:25 PM:

I don't know, CSC. He has proven to be a capable teacher and coach over his entire career. As a former teacher myself, I know that some classes just take on a dynamic of their own, and never respond to instruction like one would expect. Ultimately, responsibility rests with Cal, but I honestly put this on the players.

The fact is that this team IS young, and you can't wish that away. It is the defining characteristic of the team. It also seems to have low inherent basketball IQ. And the 'talent' here is more raw athletic ability than basketball talent. It seems to be just a bad mix.

[ 02-12-2018, 02:27 PM: Message edited by: Tiptree ]

Posted by Cold Spring Cat (Member # 14751) on 02-12-2018, 04:42 PM:

I can certainly see your point too Tip. [Smile]

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 02-12-2018, 05:36 PM:

The way their shooting has not gotten better as we got further into the season, it makes me believe some of them will not get past the 5 star players they were in high school. I don't even lis5ten to Cals explanation we are young, we are not team players and all we think about is ourselves. I think if some of them would start shooting better we would be winning. Our defense for the most part is good enough to win as long as we don't give up 8-12 three pointers. That weave offense we do around the outside does not do much except get a guy a 3 point shot, which they miss.

Posted by Old Norm (Member # 1482) on 02-12-2018, 05:58 PM:

Bama, I would agree with you about our defense, had it not been for the 59 point second half by A&M. No excuse for that at all.