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Posted by ukman (Member # 3032) on 11-29-2018, 07:24 PM:

Just curious if anyone else out there thinks Richards should get some of Travis' minutes? To me Travis is our worst defender. He is terrible on ball, and he is awful when we switch, or he confused on if to switch or to stay. HE also seems to struggle to finish quickly. He is one of the least athletic big men I have seen at UK. Definitely has some positives, but I just don't see why he is getting so much more time than Richards. Especially if Cal values defense most. I know Richards is no all star, but to me he rebounds pretty well (sometimes great), his defense is a little better than Travis, although not great; and he protects the rim better. I also think he is a little better offensively then we see. When he is in the game he strictly supposed set picks. I would like to see what he could do if he got some of the sets run for him like Travis does. Just curious what everyone else thinks. I really was surprised that Richards only saw 9 minutes of action last night as I though he was playing very well, and deserved more time from Travis.

Posted by handycat (Member # 2323) on 11-29-2018, 07:59 PM:

Basically, I agree. IMO, Travis is not athletic enough in a Cal type offense to log as many minutes as he does. He definitely has an upside and will help but it would not bother me at all to see some of his minutes go elsewhere.

Posted by rlt4uk (Member # 3194) on 11-29-2018, 10:48 PM:

I'm glad Travis is getting more playing time. To me Richards is not a good basketball player. He has hands of stone and gets pushed out of position by much smaller players.

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 11-30-2018, 12:10 PM:

Richards has been a real enigma. Clearly, he has the right stuff... he has had some really great outings. But he just doesn't "bring it" every game.

Cal has been really high on Richards, and still gives him plenty of chances to fulfill his potential. But so far, he has not done so. I think I can speak for all of us that we really need him to do so!

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 11-30-2018, 12:12 PM:

BTW, there is no excuse for being muscled out of position on the block. That is basic basketball... stay low, hold your ground, and draw a foul if they continue to push you. Nick needs to develop a nasty streak and start playing tougher.

Posted by handycat (Member # 2323) on 11-30-2018, 02:37 PM:

Cal on Richards.

https://www.aseaofblue.com/2018/11/29/18118041/college-basketball-uk-john-calipari-nick-richards-ej-montgomery

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 11-30-2018, 06:19 PM:

Yep. Pretty well sums it up.

Posted by ukman (Member # 3032) on 11-30-2018, 09:47 PM:

Well, I guess if he isn't working hard in practice that sums it up. Sure hope this lights a fire under him and we start to see some of that potential.

Posted by ALA_KAT2 (Member # 1559) on 12-01-2018, 03:54 PM:

Travis had a good scoring game vs UNCG, but his defense is not good. He's the better overall player though, since he's making a few threes. We need Richards' rim protection ability but he's not consistent enough or just doesn't possess the natural basketball instinct that he needs (and UK needs).

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 12-01-2018, 04:02 PM:

Richards only got to play one minute in todays game. His minutes are starting to disappear very rapidly over the past three or four games. I fear he might be an attitude problem for Cal. He has a ton of athleticism and should be able to provide us a rim protector in the paint but he just does not seem to know or care about becoming a complete player. Hopefully he will get his act together and become a major help to this team as the season goes on, we need another big body inside.

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 12-01-2018, 04:07 PM:

If you give Travis thirty minutes a game he will be a consistent double-double machine. With Richards, it would be a coin toss. He just doesn't know how to play a full game.

Posted by boomdaddy (Member # 2644) on 12-01-2018, 04:26 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by PaulCat:
If you give Travis thirty minutes a game he will be a consistent double-double machine. With Richards, it would be a coin toss. He just doesn't know how to play a full game.

There was a bout 7 minutes where Travis was playing awful. Cal finally put Richards in and he blocked a shot and then Cal took him out and he never played another minute.

After Travis came back in he played better. He was horrible for a stretch and Cal begrudginly played Richards. Kind of reminds of how the QB situation, where no matter what, the back up will not see action.

Long term, he will need Richards, because Travis is flat footed and slow on D. He will get eaten alive at tourney time. If you have not been playing Richards all season, you can't expect him to come into the game with a cape around his shoulders and an S on his chest.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 12-01-2018, 05:13 PM:

After today's game I have some new insight into this team.

Let's look at Travis. As we can all see he can score some points at times and does get some rebounds. But look at how many inside and layups he misses. He could be a 20+ scorer every game if e didn't miss so many shots inside. He has no speed and his defense is not that of a starting 5 or 4 man in Ky's play.

Richards is only a part time player at this time because he doesn't force himself on the game most of the time. He makes a lot of stupid fouls. He is the best rim protector we have but as we saw his minutes are fast dwindling away and Cal will have an 8 man rotation if he doesn't start showing better stuff. Looks like a 4 year player to me or he may just move to another school after this year.

Washington just doesn't seem to be in the game for all the time he is on the floor. He is definitely not looking like the improved Washington we were led to believe. He doesn't seem to know what to do with the ball in each instance.

Montgomery is the the one I can see getting most of the minutes inside by SEC games. He can shoot outside, he can protect the rim, he can dunk it if you get out of his way. He is the future of this team inside and if he progresses he will be a 1 and done.

Herro looks to handle the ball better than any of the other guards and when he gets his 3 shot falling at a 40-45% rate he will kill eams just like that guy did to us today.

Right now I would be giving most of the time to Montgomery, Travis, Johnson, Herro and sharing to other spot between the 3 guards.

Posted by boomdaddy (Member # 2644) on 12-01-2018, 10:33 PM:

Johnson is the star of the team. He is a badass.

Herro has to get his shot falling....he has to

Not sure why a big fellow like Travis can miss a 20 shots point blank around the basket. Drives me crazy.

I wish PJ would look to score more.....he has skills....he needs to be more aggressive on offense.

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 12-01-2018, 10:33 PM:

Montgomery has shown very little, IMO. I hope you are right, though, or we will be hurting in the paint come SEC time.