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Posted by Trey Ball (Member # 332) on 11-10-2021, 12:59 AM:

I just don't understand what UK is consistently trying to do on offense or defense.

The basketball team has that in common with the football team I guess.

Ware is an enigma to me. He plays hard, will be in the right position, then plays himself out of position. Very low basketball IQ I believe.

Wheeler is feast or famine. Just like he was at UGA. He is loose with the ball and over penetrates. 10 assists great when he is under control unfortunately that is only half of the time as he also had 7 turnovers which all led to easy Duke baskets.

Shot selection was terrible most of the night.

Bright spot was Oscar Tshiebwe. Plays hard and plays the right way. Cal limited him with his stupid 2 foul first half rule.

I really think Cal is just too darn stubborn to change the way UK plays. I also do not understand his rotations/sub patterns at all. Hopkins hardly any playing time, Allen zero minutes.

Toppin is a great kid, plays with energy, but is very limited from a skills perspective from what I saw last year and so far this year. I would much rather see those minutes go to Hopkins who I believe has a great feel for the game, much like the Keels kid from Duke, but what did Hopkins get tonight 1 minute?

Posted by rlt4uk (Member # 3194) on 11-10-2021, 02:16 AM:

Thanks for the breakdown. I didn't get to watch the game because of work. I recorded it, and I may still watch it later. Losing suxs. I thought dukes height might give us trouble.

Posted by EnterpriseCat (Member # 2881) on 11-10-2021, 06:46 AM:

Ty Ty had a terrible night offensively and that was a huge factor. Thought Cal should have taken him out much sooner. Brooks couldn’t guard worth a nickel and of course, the whistles were pro-Duke (surprise), but Banchero and Keels “killed” us. Duke was the better team tonight. Tschiebwe is a stud. We’ll be better than last year, but I don’t see a final four in this team. Wheeler tried to do too much (7 to’s), but played with effort.

Posted by Jarcat (Member # 95) on 11-10-2021, 10:08 AM:

Relax guys, this is only the first game of the season. It's a long time from now til March. Plenty of time to get the kinks worked out. We didn't exactly get blown out of the gym like last year.

Lots of teachable items to work on, as I'm sure Cal and his staff can fix. This should be an entirely different team come tournament time.

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 11-10-2021, 10:52 AM:

I have to side with Trey on this one.

I just can't believe a freshman can get 28 minutes of playing time while shooting 3-14 from the field. I just don't get it. Cal must have some type of deal with these freshman.

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 11-10-2021, 11:30 AM:

I agree with Enterprise on this one. This team looks pretty discombobulated right now, and will be really inconsistent through December. It takes time even for veterans to figure each other out and play as a unit.

But I agree with Trey about Cal's decisions as to who plays. Frankly, they baffle me. My instinct is to trust him, as he has been coaching for a long, long time. But man, it sure is a mystery as to why he does what he does. From a fan's perspective, we only see what happens in the games. Cal sees the practices. But I don't think Cal likes 'gamers' -- those players who may not shine in practice but really up their game when the lights come on for big games.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 11-10-2021, 12:50 PM:

We looked fairly good in the first half but the second half went to hell in a hand basket pretty quickly, even with 3 of Duke's players out for extended periods due to cramps. This game was won on the recruiting trail. If Cal had gotten Banchero the score would have been reversed.

To start with Btooks and Ware are never going to be top UK players. Their BB IQ is lower than a turtles underside. They just don't have it. Allen's not getting on the floor looks like Cal just completely forgot he was on the bench........... or will he ever get a chance under Cal?? I thin k the rest of it can be ironed out. We just don't have a suitable replacement for TShiebwe. As I said Ware is never going to be able to take his place and Toppin is still a question mark. Collins doesn't have the needed weight. When it comes to big men, Cal just lost it at the recruiting table. So now we have the shooters, so it seems, but our shooting % must have been awful because of the number of shots we got up playing fast ball.

I expect us to wrack up a lot of wins between now and the end of December. But we'll have to wait and see how good we are in January when the SEC season begins.

Posted by Trey Ball (Member # 332) on 11-11-2021, 08:09 PM:

I would love to see Cal go all in with the 4 out 1 in offense, but he will never do it and he has the players to pull it off this year. I would love to see UK shooting 35 to 40 three pointers a game with the 4 out and 1 in.

That is a pipe dream though as Cal will never do it.

Wheeler
Washington
Grady
Allen
tshiewbe

I think that lineup could easily score 85 points a game, but it will never happen.

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 11-12-2021, 07:23 AM:

You're right, Trey. He'd never go for that. Cal's philosophy is that defense wins games. I don't think he ever thinks, "Hey, we've to go out and outscore these guys." He's mostly thinking, "We've got to go out and stop these guys.

[ 11-12-2021, 07:24 AM: Message edited by: PaulCat ]

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 11-12-2021, 01:18 PM:

It would have to be Frederick instead of Allen. Cal doesn't even know that Allen is on the bench. He has no faith in Kentucky kids until their senior year. Just look at the record.

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 11-12-2021, 01:27 PM:

I think Trey is right. That would be one heck of a good offensive team, and with effort, decent defensively too.

The funny thing is that the "dribble drive" in its purest form IS a 4-out, 1-in offense. We could space the floor and look like the Warriors in their prime (well, as close as one can come in college ball).

We definitely have the required shooters, but the big in the middle is questionable. That might be the only scenario where Collins could shine, as the emphasis would be on rebounding and put-backs. He can leap out of the gym! But, until he puts a little meat on his bones, it would have to be Tshiewbe or Ware.

The problem is that instead of 4 shooters, Cal wants four dribblers, and we end up with the defense sagging and clogging the paint, and we run into the fray and lose all spacing... and offensive ugliness ensues.

Posted by Trey Ball (Member # 332) on 11-12-2021, 06:00 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Bama Cat:
It would have to be Frederick instead of Allen. Cal doesn't even know that Allen is on the bench. He has no faith in Kentucky kids until their senior year. Just look at the record.

Yep. You could insert Fredrick and Mintz as well. UK should be able to put 4 shooters on the court at all times.

Posted by Trey Ball (Member # 332) on 11-12-2021, 07:26 PM:

Tip,

I’m becoming convinced that Cal has no clue how to coach and teach offense they way it is played today.

I just think of a guy like Tyrese Maxey. He was a prolific scorer in high school. Started his career at Kentucky putting on a show against MSU and seemed to regress as the season went on. Goes to the NBA and is back to being a very good offensive player. He put up 33 again a few nights ago.

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 11-13-2021, 12:09 PM:

Trey,

The evidence is on your side. Our better teams "accidently" found the right formula. The team with KAT in the middle, and the Harrison brothers, Ulis, and Booker on the perimeter, was awesome. We also had Willis (good shooter), Cauley-Stein (IMO, one of the better college centers outside of Davis and KAT), Poythress and Lee at the other big.

That team always had great spacing, good shooting, solid defense, and presented multiple matchup problems for the opponents.

Can this team do the same? Well, if we had KAT or Cauley-Stein, I would feel a little better. But our perimeter game is solid, with Frederick, Grady, Mintz, Washington, and Wheeler. It should be a fun-and-gun team 100% of the time. We'll see if Cal let's them play to their strength, or tries to turn them into a grind-it-out, half-court, dribble-drive mess.