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Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 01-03-2023, 10:28 PM:

I guess this is what we are going to see from now on. Take the full 30 sec on the shot clock and say a prayer. Real exciting BB to watch. It just barely worked tonight but one play going the other way and we could have lost. Cal is desperate now. He knows he has to win a lot of games or he could be in real trouble. Slowing it down with 10 minutes to go and hanging on is his only hope in the SEC. I'm lost as to which team or teams UK should beat. Yea for Toppin, Oscar and Wheeler. They were as close as it gets to being the star of the game. [Razz]

Posted by rlt4uk (Member # 3194) on 01-03-2023, 10:50 PM:

I really enjoyed how we played. LSU is a good team, and this is a good win.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 01-04-2023, 06:02 AM:

Now my question is, are they getting tired late in the game? Oscar and Wallace played the entire game. Wheeler came out for 3 minutes (only when he picked up his 2nd foul) Toppin played 31 minutes and Livingston 29.

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 01-04-2023, 06:48 AM:

And I don't think Ware saw the court.

Posted by BCD (Member # 2053) on 01-04-2023, 07:17 AM:

I know unlike me, they are young, but I worry about the toll the season will take on them by playing so many minutes this early. I know you shorten the rotation as tournament play begins, but your two best players playing 40 minutes seems extreme. Just my $.02

Posted by EnterpriseCat (Member # 2881) on 01-04-2023, 09:11 AM:

Ware was injured. I know the college game is more rigorous than high school, but I wanted to play the entire game and never wanted to be taken out. I think taking them out prior to a timeout gives them 3-4 minutes of rest, but only out 1 minute of game time. That would be the best way to handle their minutes. Conditioning is the key.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 01-04-2023, 11:01 AM:

And all this comotion seems to tell me Cal has found his 7 man rotation. That's all that played as far as I have seen. Collins and Reeves are the subs, one big and one small. The rest may be lost on the bench unless we get a laugher somewhere in the SEC standings. So be it if we can win all our games. But of course we all know that's not happening. This is Cal's method of managing a roster. I believe 7 players is all he can manage. But if he wins all the time, so be it.

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 01-04-2023, 11:08 AM:

I still see a nine-man rotation, with Ware being an option along with Collins, and Frederick along with Reeves.

But, right now, both Ware and Frederick are injured, so we only have seven.

BTW, last night was a solid win. LSU is a good team, and we beat them with a short bench. Let's take that as a positive. I really, REALLY like the new Toppin. He and Livingston as starters have given this team new life.

Posted by handycat (Member # 2323) on 01-04-2023, 11:32 AM:

quote:
Let's take that as a positive.

Positive comments are hard to find around here anymore.

Posted by Old Norm (Member # 1482) on 01-04-2023, 12:17 PM:

That's because there are a few here that just can't stand Calipari.

Posted by Old Norm (Member # 1482) on 01-04-2023, 12:19 PM:

And that wasn't a positive comment either!

Posted by ukman (Member # 3032) on 01-04-2023, 12:59 PM:

That was a good win last night, and LSU is a solid team. The team played well until we decided to slow it way down and play the clock with about 8 minutes left. That is what enabled LSU to get back in the game. And that is Cal telling them to slow it down.

I have always felt Cal went to that way too early, and it would make comfortable wins close, and close wins turn into losses. We all remember Wisconsin. When they are playing well, like last night, just let them play. Then if you have a decent lead with 2 minutes or so left you can start to play the clock game. We just end up with bad shots almost every possession. We don't do anything until there is about 10-15 seconds on the shot clock, and then we end up with someone (usually Wheeler) having to take a bad shot as the clock hits 2 seconds or less.

Wheeler played really well last night. He made 3 threes, 2 were nice shots and the bank. He took care of the ball for the most part with 9 assists and 2 turnovers I think; but the thing I liked the most was his 6 rebounds. IF he can play like that and only take 6-8 good shots a game he will be great for us. He just needs to be able to keep hitting those kickout 3's, or on the reversal. When he has time to set up and shoot he is making them pretty good. Oscar was great, and made his free throws, which is huge. Hope Toppin can keep this roll going as well and that we can get some consistent shooting out of Reeves, Wallace, and Livingston.

Bama will be a huge test, and we will only win if our guys just flat out play better than them. If it comes down to coaching moves or execution I'm not too sure we win. Although, I was impressed with the play out of the timeout by Cal later in the 2nd half. The one for Toppin to get the dunk. But I was not impressed when he yelled at Toppin to double the ball in the middle of the court at the end of the first half. That decision led to a super easy shot for LSU to end the half. Those decisions by coaches can kill you in a close game.

We have the player pieces there to be a really good team. Hope they can put it all together as we get into the rest of league play. We have some great opportunities for really quality wins, and if we win those we could easily get ourselves into a 2-3 seed for the tournament.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 01-04-2023, 06:07 PM:

First of all we need to win some good games to get back in the top 25 rankings. Gamews like last night make me feel like someone is standing on both my feet. To me it just gets boring to come down and wait until we have less than 5 sec to shoot. And then just throw up a prayer. Guys can make mistakes playing slow ball just as easy playing slow ball as they do playing fast. And we have been able to prove that a few times.

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 01-04-2023, 06:27 PM:

I don't remember the game, but Cal's Memphis team had a 9-point lead on Kansas with under three minutes to play in the championship game and lost. I can only assume that Cal took the air out of the ball during those last three minutes. You would think he learned his lesson the hard way.

Posted by handycat (Member # 2323) on 01-04-2023, 06:31 PM:

Hey Norm, glad to see you post anything, positive or negative. We don’t see enough posts from you on this part of the forum anymore.

[ 01-04-2023, 06:33 PM: Message edited by: handycat ]

Posted by Old Norm (Member # 1482) on 01-04-2023, 08:23 PM:

Thank you, Mister Handy. I really shouldn't be coming to TCD as much as I do now. Ms Millie had a stroke a couple of years ago, and for all intents and purposes, is an invalid. Two of our six kids do help a lot, and without them, I probably wouldn't be here on TCD at all. The daughter that helps, lost her husband about twenty years ago and raised their four kids with some help from us, and the helpful son retired from teaching last year. All is going pretty well though.

Posted by ukcatfannfl (Member # 1425) on 01-04-2023, 11:49 PM:

I second Handy's post Norm...I miss your posts and praying for u and Millie and family. best Ed

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 01-05-2023, 05:57 AM:

If memory serves me correctly, Paul. Memphis lost their game to Kansas the same way we lost to Arizona in'97. They had a few players on that Memphis team who couldn't buy a free throw to save their lives, so KU began fouling them and they kept missing!

Nazr went 1-10 at the line in '97's championship.