All of this is because Toppin can't hold down his spot. I think Cal will go with defense first, Ware or Ugonna at the 4, what that does is it takes away a player jacking up shots and puts in a rebounder and defender and rim protector. All of those things are positives.
Cal experimenting with Thiero at the 4
- Thread starter Jamal Mercer
- Start date
So our joke of a coach hasn’t played this kid all season, yet now right before league play, he’s going to throw him out there?
It was clear in the Bahamas that Adu needed minutes. It’s also been clear that Toppin gets way too many minutes, for example.
Our coach flat out sucks.
It was clear in the Bahamas that Adu needed minutes. It’s also been clear that Toppin gets way too many minutes, for example.
Our coach flat out sucks.
Maybe next time Cal should actually coach the team in the Bahamas and not just use it as a vacation.
we're safe ,he couldn't hit us anywayThis board?![[roll]](http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/img/emoticons/classic/roll.r191677.gif "roll [roll]")
And Cal will have another excuse for why we lost another game.
no ,no ,no oh hell no that was the only time we looked like we knew what we were doing.
1.) No Final Fours since 2015
2.) No NCAA Tournament wins since 2019.
3.) 9-21
4.) Saint Peters
5.) Slow start to 2022-2023
Yes, you would be correct. I am not satisfied with these past 7-8 years. One, because I’m a Kentucky fan and two, our coach makes $9 million a year and appears to be mailing it in like a third shift line worker at Toyota during holiday shutdown.
Good point. It just rubbed me the wrong way how he said well the Bahamas was for building chemistry and bonding. That's all fine and dandy but use those extra practices to your advantage. That's like a football coach saying he used spring practices for team bonding. No! That is the time to experiment and find out what you have, practice reps, define roles, etc.
Cal has truly lost it!
And that’s another negative thing that happens with this One-and-done crap. You’re bringing in kids that have advisors and people that have way too much say in what happens at UK.
Once they sign on to play at UK, those people should have no say, but they do, because Cal promotes this "players first" garbage and that allows players, and their camps, to make decisions.
This is what happened with the Shaedon Sharpe situation. If Cal didn’t learn his lesson after what happened last years with SS, than it reinforces the simple fact that Cal needs to go. No one player is bigger than UK.
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If Ware is in the starting lineup, I'm done watching. A complete non factor offensively isn't what we need.
I would feel a whole lot better if Cal just came out and said he's been f-ing with us this whole time and it's because he’s fed up with the us (the fans).
If he's actually trying his best, well, that's very disturbing.
What's worse, is he doesn't seem concerned, which would tell me he doesn't care.
If you count the Bahamas games and the exhibitions…UK b-ball is 16 games into the season. Why in the hell is the rotation not set?
I agree. He says things just to say them.
The other day, they were doing some kind of an event, Cal was being interviewed and Ado was sitting next to him, so he tslked about how he has to play Ado more.
I'll be surprised if he actually plays him and if he does, I'll be shocked if he allows him to play more than 2 minutes.
This isn't a terrible idea going into the Missouri game. They have no size. Kobe Brown is basically playing the "5" for them.
Thiero or Livingston at the three or four makes no differance because were always switching on defense. And with this small line up we should have an advantage on offense with quickness, and spacing.
Rebounding will be the key to this small line up. This is not a grind it out line up, press all over the floor
Most of what he does is for draft night, not making it to the final four.
What's bothersome is its taken 10 games for him to even acknowledge it.
Pitino acknowledged it after game 2 in '96 and put Epps at PG and the rest is history.
Regarding rebounding, all the bigs defer to Oscar anyway and don't block out either, jumping out of their shoes trying to get blocks. Livingston does as well though.
They looked better without him actually. Played free and clear.
Agreee. But Cal is never going to press and extend defense. He’s going to play the same degree he always does.
There shouldn't be much difference between the 3 and 4 offensively playing 4-out-1-in.
He just has to play 4-out-1-in. So far, it's been 4-in-1-out (whoeve has the ball is the out man).
He could have been playing 4 out all this time, but, for whatever reason, he brings everyone well inside the 3 point line.
The only thing I can think of for doing this is, to make it as hard as possible to score, so later, when he moves everyone out to the 3 point line, they will feel like they "have plenty of room for activities". That’s the only thing I can come up with.
Agreed.
If Cal plays a 4 out motion offense, the 3 and 4 should be interchangeable. It’s really a Point, 3 Wings, and a Post. The 3 Wings (2-4 spots) should be interchangeable on the offensive end.
Yep. For some reason Cal seems to prefer playing two in the Post. He uses a lot of High Post/Low Post action. He seems intent on bringing that back with this team. I wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up looking like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, declaring the return of disco, he is so behind the times.
Let's wait till he tries is. I still remember him promising to play Hopkins more, just to see him literally never play again
If the experiment is pursued, what's the chance Cal concludes it by yanking Thiero after missing a rebound in the second defensive possession in the lineup?
I hope Thiero plays against Mizzou, but I doubt he'll see much time. He's the only guy we really don't know how good he is against quality competition...because he never gets to play! Maybe he's a revelation similar to Livingston. That would be nice.
If you play 4 out with both Livingston and Thiero on the floor, it doesn’t matter what you call them. If you try to force one of them inside, it also doesn’t matter what you call them.
his knees also need rest he has problems with the growth spurt he is going thru
Why not playing Livingston and Thiero at the 4 and just split the time until Toppin gets turned arouind. I really lilke C.J. and Reeves at the 2 and 3. I just think they need a few games together to become a deadly combination. I wouldn't even care if Cal platooned and maybe didn't give the second bunch quite equal playing time. I think right now Cal is trying to keep everyone happy and that may be impossible! If we brought Wheeler off the bench when the other team is a little fatigued he just might be able to blow by them off the dribble. Of course I like to see them press and I know that is no longer in vogue.
I know he says he blocks out the noise from the outside, but I guarantee he has heard/read plenty of comments from the media and analysts about how his offense is dated, ineffective and archaic. Knowing Cal, all he's going to do is stay committed to his style, just to show everyone it still works.
It’s not fair to the fans, the program, or the kids he cares so much about.
He is all about preparing these kids for the next level, but the NBA doesn’t play anything like this, so I don't understand how this is helping them.
At some point, Cal needs to realize that he's always in a tug-of-war with someone and that maybe he's the problem. It’s well past time for him to swallow his pride and do the simple things that will get so many people back on his side.
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