TheCatsDomain.Com Message Boards: I’m Totally Bummed

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Posted by ALA_KAT2 (Member # 1559) on 03-21-2024, 09:49 PM:

Haven’t been here for a while. Calipari has ruined UK basketball for me and many others. He constantly gets outcoached and lays an egg in the NCAA to Cinderella teams. He’s cheated our state and fans out of any joy. I wish he’d leave but he’s rubbing our faces in it.

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 03-21-2024, 10:25 PM:

If his was any other blueblood program, the coach would be fired. Cal and Barnhart both need to be relieved of their duties.

Posted by ukman (Member # 3032) on 03-21-2024, 10:40 PM:

I really did like this group of guys and wanted them to succeed. They genuinely seemed to celebrate each other and not care who got the credit. As a group, this was one of the teams I have liked the most in recent years. I didn't like the defense, but I still feel a good coach would have been able to figure out how to get this group to at least be an average defensive team. I think they would have been really fun to watch go on a little bit of a run.

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 03-22-2024, 04:28 PM:

Cal recruits his players to go to the NBA.

He coaches them to go to the NBA.

He seems to cultivate the "can't wait for the NBA" mindset.

Thus, when we get to tournament time, these guys are so caught up in the upcoming NBA draft, they aren't very motivated to play. The last two games illustrate this perfectly.

Sure, they play. They even sometimes have great games. But something is missing in our team just when other teams are building momementum. The other teams are playing for their university, for their fans, for the moment. Ours are, well, just playing. For themselves and hoped-for NBA riches.

I am so done with Cal. All he talks about is "family" and "love" and, of course, the NBA. Even when he talks about the university, it doesn't really sound sincere. And when he talks about the fans, he calls us "crazy".

He isn't a bad coach. But he sure could be better. And I think the road to becoming better is to start talking about "UK" and "pride" instead of "family" and "love'. And talking about championships instead of draft picks. And treating fans with genuine respect instead of backhanded complements.

But, I think Cal is trapped by his own methods. He can't start recruiting solid players he can develop over 3-4 years; that would mean a couple of down years as he re-tools the program. So, he is like a junkie looking for the next high, the next one-and-done, just to get him through the season.

This isn't a good place for the program.

Posted by GA Cat (Member # 642) on 03-22-2024, 06:00 PM:

Tip,

I am with you. I don't mind the family and love talk, if it were balanced with pride in your team and team accomplishments. I don't understand why you can both develop players for a future in and out of basketball while also cultivating a winning attitude as well.

Question, Cal has put a lot of players in the NBA and some have even been stars on their teams. However, how many former Cal players have led their NBA team to a championship. Not just won one, but was the alpha dog leader of a team that won out?

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 03-22-2024, 10:14 PM:

We all know how Cal has always started off the practice each year with working on their defense. This realy is the only team he hasn't done that with. They just loved to play offese and make sure everyone was playing good offense. Did Cal ruin this teams all around BB abilities by not making them learn defense? I feel these guys played like Cal wanted them to and didn't give much thought about defense.